Night Lurks

by Amber Lynn

  “This is nice, Walt. I am glad you thought of it,” Alex says and grabs a steak from the plate in front of him. That triggers a chain reaction and everyone starts digging in. I would really hate to see what our grocery bill looks like every month. I hope Sebby has a farm somewhere where he is raising all of this beef.

  “Oh, Princess, I know we are short on time, but Papa Gentry would like a word with you. He said it wouldn't take long, but you should probably give him a call,” Jonas says in between bites.

  Great idea. Maybe this time he won't tell me I have to wait to find out more information. “It is a few minutes ride over to whatever bar we are visiting. I can call him on the way. Walt, you do know that we don't have time to do all of these dishes, right? Demon Boy didn't tell us what time to be there, but I would like to be there as close to sundown as possible.”

  “I bet we will have a lot of sitting around time twiddling our thumbs. Do you have any plans on how to make us look like we aren't just waiting to attack someone?” Jake asks.

  “I doubt there will be a single person in the bar that doesn't know who we are. Nyx can't leave the house without drawing attention,” Marcus states. “If people aren't afraid of her, they are enamored. I would suggest she wear a disguise, but since we have been seen daily wandering around with her, it is just as bad for all of us.”

  “We could always use Jake as bait. We went that route using Will on our last rodeo and Jake has been salivating ever since he heard me mention we had a succubus issue,” I say watching everyone else eat. I am too excited to find Sebastian and I don't think I would be able to keep my food down.

  “Really? You mean it? You are actually going to let me converse with a succubus. Are you insane?” Jake asks surprising me. Up until this point, he had been begging me to let him go play with her.

  “I thought you said you wanted to meet her and it would be a great way to die if she killed you,” I tell him wishing I could quote his exact words back to him.

  “It would be a really fun way to go,” he says with a bit of a glazed look that I can only assume means he is visualizing the event in his head. Jonas smacks him to get his thoughts refocused. “Yeah, well, anyway, you are going to have to give me the night off after you come in and do your killing, cause I did some reading up and them succubi give off some crazy hormones. I know the necklace I have on will block that kind of thing, but I have to pretend to be getting into it if we want her to believe she is walking away with an easy meal. Hank is going to get involved and he doesn't like to be rushed back to sleep.”

  Now, I am really glad that I didn't have anything to eat. The table might be covered with vomit if I had. I guess I can understand his reasoning and I have no problem giving him the night off. If I have Sebby back, I may just be otherwise occupied myself.

  Alex coughs a little bit. Hmm. Not sure if it was my thought that caused it or if he is having a little problem chewing. I will have to remind him he should take little bites.

  “If needing the night off is your only issue with fulfilling the task I could order you to do anyway, then you have it. I would ask that you stop referring to Hank in my mate's presence. It makes her a bit uncomfortable,” Alex replies after taking a quick sip of water.

  “No problem. I won’t be able to go in all commando like last night. A few knives are about all I will hazard, so you guys better have my back. I would ask for some of those little magic pellet thingys, but I am too afraid they would burst in my pocket and turn me into a frog.”

  That is a very legitimate fear. Even with all the jokes about his little brain, Jake is smart and I don’t worry that just the knives alone will be enough to keep Candace busy until we can swoop in with assistance.

  “I don’t think I need to give you much of a description of the shrew. When every guy’s eyes start to follow a tall blonde, you will know she is there. I don’t know if she will even bother putting on clothes for the occasion,” I supply trying to think of any advice that might be useful. “I am not sure if she would respond better to you playing hard to get, or if falling at her feet is your best bet. I don’t know if I mentioned that she is really into giving her food punishments and has taken it as far as castration. I joke about doing that type of thing, but I don’t doubt for a second that she has, many times, to the same person.”

  Every guy at the table cringes and decides they have had enough to eat. “I will keep that in mind. How exactly do we want this to work? I don’t doubt my charms will get her to pick me, so I can get her out of the bar and from there you need to tell me what you want.”

  “I think it would be preferable that she actually takes you home with her, right?” Alex asks looking to me for further ideas.

  “We need her to lead us to Sebby. If Demon Boy shows up like he says he will, he might be able to make her see sense, but I don't trust that he will be there when we need him. Part of me would prefer him not making an appearance. Like you mentioned, there was something a little off about him when we parted ways last night and I worry about that. It is obvious that Candace is someone he knows intimately and I don't know where his mind will be if I go to kill her.”

  “I am all for doing this on our own, but I doubt the demon would get in your way if she was going in for the kill. He wants you bad, Nyx. You got the way Alex and Sebastian pine after you, which is totally normal given that they are your mates. Then you got him that wants to impregnate you anyway possible. The dude knew you were an angel and he still wanted to get busy with you. There is something wrong with that picture,” Walt suggests.

  “I say we deal with him if he makes an appearance. I am sure I have said it a hundred times in the last day, but I want my Sebby back now. Are you guys ready to roll?”

  I push my chair back and stand up. I haven't loaded up with the freeze balls, yet, so I make my way to the coffee table where they were left last night. I put two in my holster and then force Will to take the rest. I haven't seen him in action and I want to give him a little extra protection. I think that is it. Now, it is time to find me a succubus to slay, since my dragon slaying days look to be over before they began.

  Chapter 19

  A plan in motion stays in motion

  “When this is over, I am getting a new Suburban,” I say as I climb into Alex's Camaro. We have Will and Smitty riding in the backseat. “We don't travel as a whole group often, but this three car thing is a little bit silly. We look like a funeral procession.”

  The fact that all of the vehicles are black doesn't help matters and the only other vehicle that Clyde fits nicely into is the Jeep. It is one of those Wrangler models, so with him only three other people fit and it is a tight fit with his big butt.

  “At least I have a butt. You got nothing back there but a pancake to sit on.” Clyde says letting me know that he is listening like usual.

  I ignore him and take out my phone. I am really looking forward to this conversation. I punch in my dad’s number and wait for him to answer.

  “There’s my little angel,” he says in way of greeting when he picks up. “I am happy to find out I can finally call you that and mean it.”

  “Gabe mentioned you wouldn’t have been able to tell me no matter how much you wanted to. I guess I can forgive you for stringing me along these last few months.” Alex has started the car and is pulling out to get us moving.

  “After I found out about you, I started looking into what your mother could have been that would have actually allowed us to create you. It wasn’t easy to figure out because angel wasn’t even in the same stratosphere as my brain. One of them was kind enough to visit me one night and fill me in on most of the details. Without him, I would still be in the dark.”

  “It sounds like a lot of people have been getting visits from the golden winged guys. Do you know anything more about my mother? The guy I talked to didn’t seem to like her very much and I didn’t have enough time to do a proper interrogation.”

  “She said her name was Lucy, but that is all I really know
. I haven’t been able to find her, but since I assume she knew what she was doing when she seduced me, I have been trying to keep you away from her. I don’t know why she didn’t raise you. That has been confusing me to no end.”

  “It doesn’t really matter. I am supposed to go through some strange process of trials and I guess at the end of them I get my halo or something. You didn’t happen to hear anything about what I have to do, did you?” I ask.

  We are already almost to the bar, so this is really going to have to be a short talk. I am sure there are all sorts of questions that I should be asking, but it isn’t the best time for me to get into a long conversation.

  “So far, no. Now that you have mentioned them, I can try to look into what exactly will happen on your birthday. I have found out enough information that I know your life will be changing. Thankfully, we still have some time to fully get you adjusted. I am thinking if we just align your lumbar region a little to the left, things will be good to go.”

  “And Alex wonders where I get my sense of humor. I am sorry this is going to have to be a short call, but duty calls.” I really do wish I could spend some more time talking things out. I think I may have had that same thought about two minutes ago, but it just goes to prove my mind is too focused on my task.

  We are still a few blocks away from Gulliver, which I really wish had an apostrophe and a S on the end. It just seems odd without it there. Alex has pulled the car over so it is time for action.

  “You take care of your business and we will talk when you get back home. I don't think we will have any secrets between us after this.”

  “Only the secret location of where you are hiding out,” I say and smile knowing there will always be something between us. It is kind of like a game for us. Daddy has something I want to know and he spends as much time during our conversations avoiding any and all questions I try to ask about the subject. “Love ya, Daddy.”

  “Love you, too.”

  I hang up and put my phone in my pocket. “We need to let Jake have one of the vehicles to himself. It can't be the Jeep since they have Clyde, so someone is going to have to either cram in the backseat with Will and Smitty or tie themselves to the bumper of the Jeep.”

  With us all parked along the side of the street in a nice row, everyone is able to hear what I am saying. It reminds me that I am going to have to start testing Will to see if his senses are improving yet. It hasn't been that long and he has said the fangs haven't even appeared, so I am not hopeful that he would be able to hear me a block away like everyone else.

  “I am the smallest. It only makes sense that I try to squeeze in the car with you guys. There is no way I am letting Clyde sit on my lap,” Dante says and I hear doors opening and closing. The slams are followed by a knock on my window.

  I open the door and step out letting him in. At least it isn't Walt or Jonas trying to fit back there with two other people. It may be uncomfortable with the three that are cramming in, but it won't be painful.

  “Okay, Jake, go pick yourself up a she demon. We will move into places we can observe from after you have established yourself as a loner. I figure fifteen minutes should be long enough for the girls to be all over you,” I tell him.

  “Funny. I was thinking maybe two minutes. I will try to prolong their desires so you don't miss anything fun,” Jake responds and then drives off.

  The car stays quiet exactly three seconds before Will opens his mouth. “While we are waiting to get in position, I have to ask, how often do you have to do things like this? I know that you are a P.I., but since I have known you, you seem to be moving from one crisis to another. How do you even get a chance to sleep at night?”

  I don't feel like mentioning that I have spent way too much time unconscious lately for reasons not of my own doing. I hope to be able to ease him into that part of my life. I am not even going to pretend that I won't find myself laid out from blood loss again in, most likely, the near future.

  “I work hard all night and by morning I have no problem getting my head to meet a pillow. I don't let what I do for a living dictate my sleeping habits. Well, at least most of the time I don't. You have lived a sheltered life as a human, but I have seen all the things wrong in this world and I don't have a problem taking them on as I can.”

  “And now you have found out you are going to be an angel. Are angels really like what I have read about in the Bible? I haven't been a firm believer in the greater power out there, but it was mostly just from lack of proof.” Will has a lot to learn as far as going out on missions with me goes. I am going to have to sign him and Phee up for classes on when words should be avoided.

  “On that subject, I know as much as you do. Angels exist. That has always been a given for me because demons are out there. You cannot have the good without the bad. The world would be utter chaos if either of the forces were totally in control. Who exactly the angels answer to, I cannot say. I haven't met the person, but they sure must have a lot of power to be in control,” I reply. “Maybe after I am done with this ascension thing, I will be able to fill you in on all the good stuff.”

  “Can we save the theology talk for later? It isn't a subject I am comfortable with,” Dante says from his place in the backseat.

  “We need to get moving anyway. Leaving Jake alone for too long is probably not a good idea. Plus, if Ben shows up, he may screw up our plan,” Alex says starting the car and leaving before anyone has a chance to agree.

  I didn't really think about what would happen if Ben, or anyone that knows Jake, decided to stop and have a long conversation while Jake was waiting for Candace. That could really be a mess.

  Alex picks a spot in the Gulliver parking lot that is about as far away from Jake's Caddy as possible. Jonas follows suit with the Jeep.

  When the engine turns off, I start to focus my hearing towards the bar to see if I can hear anything. We were far enough away before that trying to tune in would have been a headache of way too many conversations at once.

  I can pick up a lot of conversations, but so far nothing from Jake. The Caddy is still here, so he should still be inside. We are parked in a position where I can see the front door. If Candace hasn't showed up already, I will be able to watch her enter. It would be nice if it were me sitting in the bar waiting for her right now. My hand has been itching to slap her for a couple of days now.

  I know she isn't going to be as strong of a demon as Ben; I do worry about little tricks she may have and just how well the charms the guys are wearing will work against them. Her thrall should be neutralized, but Ben can do things like freeze people and who knows what else. He can make things just show up and I doubt a little necklace could stop that from happening.

  Everything I have read indicates the she demon should just have extra abilities to draw sexual partners in and I hope the person that wrote The Big Book of Succubi wasn't a succubus trying to deceive the rest of the world. The book doesn't really exist; I was making it up in case anyone was curious.

  “That her?” Alex asks bringing me out of my jumbled thoughts.

  I had just been thinking about how great it was to be able to see the door and I am not even paying attention. Bad Nyx. Alex has seen Candace in my mind, so he shouldn't have to ask. I think he was only doing it because of my lack of focus. The woman he points out is the one I remember. Today she is wearing skintight red leather from head to toe. I am guessing demons don’t have to breathe because it would be an impossible task in something like that.

  “Affirmative. It is a little strange that I haven't heard lover boy at all. I would have thought he would be establishing himself as a customer and ordering drinks at least.”

  I pick up Jonas laughing from the other vehicle. “Oh Princess. You are lucky you didn't figure out what noises coming from the bar were being made by him. I would say he didn't have any issues establishing himself. I have heard the sounds enough to know when he picked out a girl and met her in the bathroom for a quickie. Smelling of sex might be a goo
d idea. It will let her know he is virile. That should be something she looks for in a guy.”

  That news is not surprising at all and I concur that it is a great thing I cannot pick out the sounds of Jake having monkey sex in the bathroom amid all of the other noises. If I ever am able to pick out his grunts and other weird noises that happen during the act, I think I might have to kill myself.

  We sit quietly waiting for anything to happen. I am not great at this part, but I trust Jake won’t keep us waiting long.

  “Don’t even bother,” I hear the female voice I am waiting to hear say. That doesn’t sound good. “I am too much of a woman for you?”

  “Doubtful, but I am sure you are more of a bitch than what I was hoping to find tonight,” an unknown male voice replies. I am pretty sure he is replying to her. The voice is from the same general distance, but there might be fifty guys gathered around her by now.

  “You are lucky you are such a weak paranorm or you would be finding out how big of a bitch I really am.”

  “Is there are problem here?” I hear Jake ask.

  “Hmm. I think things are looking better. Why don’t you have a seat?” Candace says. Jake didn’t seem to have a problem picking her out. Maybe taking care of business in the bathroom cleaned the cobwebs out of his brain.

  “I haven’t seen you in here before, are you new to town?” Small talk. Blagh.

  “You could say that. Are you offering to show me around?”

  “I have a place I would love to show you, but I have a friend visiting and I don’t think he would like to listen to me making you scream.” I guess the small talk is over. Sadly, the sex talk is starting. I don’t think I win listening to either.

  “Are you sure you can live up to that promise? I can be difficult to please.” I highly doubt that. She just has to get a guy in her thrall and she is ensured a good time.

  “I come with a money back guarantee. No one has ever left my bed dissatisfied.”