“All right.”
Juliana pretended not to see the sheen of tears in Anna’s eyes as they hugged.
Jeremiah took her place when she moved away. He said nothing, just stood in front of Juliana and looked at her. She stepped forward to lay her head on his chest and he wrapped his arms around her. He was always so warm. All fire elementals were, for obvious reasons. He held her for a long moment with no one saying anything, but she felt the tremble in his hands.
Anna once told her that she was as much a part of the family as their own children. Juliana thought about how many times Jeremiah had brought her here hurting or half-dead and how many times these same four people were waiting for her when she woke up. Tears lodged in her throat and she swallowed them back down. She stepped back to keep from crying.
Jeremiah cleared his throat and handed over her phone. “I called Sara. Told her you were fine. Thanks for not making me a liar.”
She scrolled through the missed calls, frowning when she saw the same number over and over again. Thomas. It had to be. She cleared her calls and looked at the little family in front of her.
Anna was a head shorter than Jeremiah with flaming red hair and brilliant green eyes. She’d been a Celtic demigoddess of love once upon a time and she looked it. She’d given it up when she fell in love with a fire elemental from northern Africa. Not that one could ever quit being a demigod, but she’d retired from the responsibilities that had come with her former position. No more matchmaking for her. Unless it was Juliana or one of her sons, then the gods help them.
Their boys were both bigger than Jeremiah, broader through the shoulders. Their pure black hair was set off by the pale skin and green eyes they’d inherited from their mother. Twins. Gorgeous twins. Simon and Seamus would never be more than friends to her, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t appreciate the view. Especially when the gods were nice enough to give it to her twice.
“You had some other visitors, dear,” Anna said looking sheepish. “One of them ran off before we caught his name. The other one was Michael, but he was only here a moment. We told him we’d have you call when you woke up.”
“The other one was another vamp,” Seamus piped in. “He came in here acting like you were no one’s concern but his, but I’d never seen him before.”
Her heart sped. There was only one person it could be. She didn’t want to care that Thomas had been there. That he’d been possessive of her. But she did. She groaned as she realized how horribly disappointed she would have been if he hadn’t come by. Curse him.
“I was ready to escort him out when Michael showed up and they both left,” he finished.
She looked at Anna. “My vampire’s back in town. So far he hasn’t received the welcome he anticipated.”
Her eyebrows crawled into her hairline. “Well, you have had an interesting few days. We really must talk more often.” She kissed her husband’s cheek. “You better go talk to Ben. I’ll see you at home when you’re finished.”
Jeremiah put a hand on Juliana’s elbow and steered her from the room and down the hall. He kept a tighter grip than normal and she knew he was worried she wasn’t as steady on her feet as she appeared. “Your vampire?” he asked.
“Thomas Kendrick,” she answered and instantly wished she hadn’t.
He stopped, took both arms in his hands and turned her to face him. “You know Thomas Kendrick well enough to call him yours?”
She looked at him without saying anything. To explain, she’d have to tell him more than she was ready for. Even Anna didn’t know everything. Not only had Juliana been trying to pretend Thomas didn’t exist for the most part, she’d be painting a huge target on her back should word get out they were United. Particularly since they weren’t together. Thomas’s enemies could go through her to hurt him and wouldn’t have to get past him to do it. Even the Agency didn’t know about the union. Thomas hadn’t registered it. She’d checked. Unions were required disclosure. If the Agency found out about it they’d reprimand her at best. At worst, she’d be out of a job.
When it became obvious she wasn’t going to answer his question, Jeremiah released her and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Never mind. I don’t think I want to know.”
She patted his shoulder. “That’s probably a wise decision. Come on, let’s get this over with.”
She tapped lightly on Ben’s door and swung it open even as Jeremiah was asking the receptionist if he was in. Ben looked up when she entered. Dark circles ringed his eyes and she wondered how long it had been since he fed. He smiled when he saw her, flashing a bit of fang. Yeah, he was overdue.
“I was worried about you, Norris,” Ben said, his English accent heavier in his exhaustion. “All right?”
She nodded and lowered herself into one of the chairs in front of his desk.
Jeremiah took the other chair and started talking. “Our vic at the warehouse was a witch. A woman in Nathaniel’s building opened the door to our agents assuming they were there about the sons she reported missing.”
“Sons...as in more than one?”
Ben nodded and looked at Jeremiah. “What was it you called them?”
“The Summoner and the Sacrifice. Positively identified. Visually for one, dental for the other.” Jeremiah ran a hand over his head. “Fifteen and seventeen. The Witness was fifteen, too. A friend of both the boys.”
Several deep breaths failed to ease the tightness in her chest. Babies. Nothing more than babies. And their mother had lost them both. For what? What did the Master want so badly that he’d sacrifice three teenagers to achieve it?
She cleared her throat. “How did they get involved in something like this? Did you get anything useful out of the mother?”
Ben tapped his fingers on the desk. “Not really, she was too distraught. They had to medicate her. The search didn’t turn up much either. None of the stuff we usually find when someone is learning how to summon demons in their spare time. The mother did say the eldest was an adept spell caster.”
“There was a new video game system and several unopened games in the brothers’ room,” Jeremiah said. “When we asked her, she claims the boys told her they were doing odd jobs for the neighbors to earn extra cash.”
“So they were hired, just like we’d figured. Money’s a big motivator for a kid.” It wasn’t until they got older that people realized some things just weren’t worth any amount of money. “And mom had no idea who it might have been?”
“Quite frankly, she seemed pretty clueless about what went on in her kids’ lives. She claims there was no one new around. We’ve got agents questioning all the neighbors,” Ben said.
“What about the book?” she asked, shifting in her seat.
Jeremiah shook his head. “Mother didn’t know anything about it, either. James has it in lockdown at the Apocryphan. He’ll let us know if he finds anything.”
All of the especially dangerous magical items they found went to the Gathering’s headquarters for safekeeping. They’d also study the object on a consultant basis for the Agency if asked. Gods forbid they do anything for free just to be helpful. Well, they’d do it for her, just not the Agency. Partly because she was a mage, but mostly because James and Sara claimed her as family. And since James was the Director of the Gathering they did what he said. Which generally included not pissing him off, and helping those he considered his.
James disliked the Agency both because he felt they tried to butt in where they weren’t welcome and because he didn’t like Juliana working for them. And because he couldn’t do anything about either of those situations, he exerted control where he could. Namely the assistance he provided to the Agency with magical artifacts. James told her more than once her employer could suck his balls before he’d do anything for them without sending a bill.
Juliana sighed. They had gotten absolutely nowhere in the investigation while she’d been out of it. “So the demon jumped from our victim to the fae. No question why there, that kind of power would be
hard for a demon to pass up. Any word on the host yet? What about other victims?”
“No word on the fae,” Jeremiah answered. “There haven’t been any other victims that we know of.”
“Nothing since the pier?” That was odd. Maybe the demon had completed its task and returned to its realm. But if that was the case then where was Nathaniel?
“There’s been no sign of them at all,” Ben added. “I’ve got everyone I can spare out looking, even the trainees.”
She sat up straight in her chair. “Trainees? Are you nuts?”
He looked offended. “They’ve been ordered not to engage.”
“Oh. Well, that makes it okay then.” Sarcasm all but dripped from her voice.
Jeremiah coughed to cover his laugh. She took that to mean he’d had the same conversation with their boss while she was incapacitated. Nice to know everyone she worked with wasn’t a complete idiot.
“One thing I know—you’ve got two demons working together, behaving themselves in an effort to not be found. As long as they keep a lid on their violent tendencies, we aren’t going to find them,” she said. They sat in silence and absorbed the direness of their situation for a moment.
“What are we going to do about Nathaniel?” she finally asked.
Ben leaned back in his chair. “Obviously I can’t send anyone but a Walker after him. Anyone else is going to get killed. You’re sure he was demon-ridden and not just louped out?” Demons had been known to make shifters forget their human sides before.
“He usually lights up like a Christmas tree for me. He didn’t even register.”
He sighed. “You’re the logical choice to send after him. You’ve got the most experience with demons and I think you’d be the most likely to get him back in one piece.”
“But...” she said so he didn’t have to.
He shook his head. “There is no but. It’s got to be you.”
Jeremiah leaned forward in his chair, eyes wide. “Wait just a minute. You can’t be serious.”
“Why not?”
“Because she just got out of the cursed infirmary. That’s why not.”
Juliana said nothing, just shifted her gaze between the two of them.
“And what would you propose, Agent Grace? Sending trainees after the demons for real?”
“I propose you call in Walkers from other territories and give her a chance to recover.”
She put a hand on Jeremiah’s arm to stop him from saying anything else. He shifted his glare to her. “As much as I appreciate you sticking up for me, I’ve got to agree with Ben on this one. I need to be out there. I don’t know about Nathaniel’s demon, but the other one is cognitive.”
“It spoke?” Ben asked, surprised. “You had a conversation with it?” Most of the demons encountered in their realm were low level grunters capable of little beyond simple words and base destruction.
Juliana nodded in answer.
“That means it’s at least seventh level,” Jeremiah said. There were ten levels of demons, with a first level demon being the most powerful and therefore most dangerous.
She pursed her lips. “I’d give it fifth, maybe even fourth if it’s hiding like this. That means it’s smart, thinking things through.”
Jeremiah slumped back in his chair, indignation no longer enough to keep his spine stiff.
“That’s not all,” she said. “It knew who I was.”
“You mean it knew you were a Walker?” Ben asked.
“No, I mean it called me by name.”
Their eyes widened and they blinked at her for several long moments. “Well, I have no idea what to make of that,” Jeremiah finally said.
“Thanks. That’s helpful.”
“On a not entirely unrelated note, I received a call from the Council.” Ben looked at her expectantly, but she said nothing. She knew of no reason for the vampire Council to call him. And even less reason why she should care they had. “They advised me you should be kept from the more dangerous assignments and you shouldn’t be permitted to return to work until you are completely healed. And they didn’t even mention the demon. They were hung up on the troll bite.”
She froze, fear slicing through her body like a dragon’s talon. “The Council has no authority over me.”
“They claim that since you were raised in a coven they do.”
This had to be a joke. She waited for him to get to the punch line.
“I informed them that whether that was true or not, the Agency superseded the Council’s authority when it came to you. They weren’t happy about that. I’m sure I’ll hear about it at my next coven meeting.”
“Sorry, Ben,” she told him. “But they don’t own me. They never have.”
He grinned, flashing fang again. “Figured you’d say that. Here’s the deal. You’re off duty until tomorrow. Hopefully that will appease the Council and Grace here. That should also give you time to heal enough to be in fighting form. And find out why the vampire Council is suddenly interested in what you do.”
She knew who to blame for the Council’s intervention without even asking. Thomas had sat on the Council for years. This was no doubt his way of trying to control her without her knowing who pulled the strings. Did he think she was a complete idiot?
“Go home. Get some rest.” Ben waved them out of his office.
“He forgot to eat again,” she said to Maria the receptionist as they passed her desk. She rolled her eyes and picked up the phone while mouthing a thank you.
As soon as they were out of earshot, Jeremiah stopped walking and leaned against the wall. “You didn’t seem horribly surprised by the Council’s intervention. What’s going on?”
She sighed and leaned against the wall opposite him. “I don’t talk about my past. You know that.”
“I’m waiting.”
Obviously he wasn’t going to let her get by with her normal evade and dodge technique. “You know I was raised in a coven, right?”
He nodded.
“Thomas Kendrick pulled me off the streets when I was twelve. He gave me a home and his protection, but I didn’t see much of him.” Not until she was older anyway. She smiled a little. “I might have neglected to mention that Sara’s maiden name is Kendrick. She’s Thomas’s little sister. Anyway, I’m assuming he’s using his sway with the Council to try to control me. He never cared for my independent streak.”
“That’s not everything,” he said after a moment.
“That’s all you’re getting.”
He shook his head as he straightened. “You’re never going to run out of secrets are you?”
“Gods I hope not. There’s stuff I really don’t want you to know.”
He laughed. She was glad he found her amusing but she wasn’t joking. The people that knew about her past were small in number for good reason. Safety being the primary one, but it was followed closely by embarrassment. While it was true she’d be a target for multiple people should her union with Thomas get out or certain aspects of her origin, Thomas walking out the morning after their union was beyond humiliating. It wasn’t something she was going to share unless she had to.
The Agency knew more than most because it was part of the application process, which meant that Ben knew because he was her boss. Sara knew most of it, which meant James knew. Anna knew some. But almost half of Juliana’s life was unknown even to her. And Thomas had tried to find out where she’d been those first twelve years, had hired detectives even, to no avail. That shit screwed with your head. And it made her keep the parts of her life that she did have that much closer. Her secrets were nobody’s business but her own.
She ran a hand down her face. “Go home to Anna. I’m going to pick up my blade and head out.”
He looked down at her. “Take care of yourself and don’t go after Nathaniel on your own. Promise me.”
“That’s an easy promise to make. I’m sick of seeing the inside of the infirmary.” Besides, with Michael in town, she had a ready and able partner. All sh
e had to do was call.
His lips pursed. “Me, too.”
He walked around the bend toward the portal room and she headed to the armory. She wasn’t stepping foot out of the Agency without her blade in hand. The fact she couldn’t wield it at the moment was beside the point. There were two demons in town summoned by dark fae magic. And she just happened to possess a sword forged and blessed by one of the gods of the dark fae. She loved when she had an advantage, especially when the opposition knew nothing about it.
Chapter Seven
Juliana’s patience with her invalid status lasted almost as long as the daylight. Jeremiah’s patience with her ended long before that. The sun had just neared the horizon when she called for the last time.
“Juliana,” he said with a growl before she had a chance to say anything, “if there is anything to report, anything at all you need to know, I will call you.”
She sighed. “Sorry. I hate being out of commission.”
He laughed. “Everyone hates it when you can’t work. Trust me.” With that pronouncement he hung up. She should have been offended, but he was right. She made a nuisance of herself to everyone around her when she was on leave. Nothing made her feel more useless.
She paced the floor as night fell. There had to be something she could do. She’d tried to call Michael several times throughout the day only to have the call kick straight to voicemail. And she knew damn well he wasn’t sleeping. Despite Altereds’ preference for the dark, with very few exceptions, they weren’t limited to it. Not even the vampires. Michael in particular preferred to stalk the day. He was avoiding her. She’d let him for now.
James was a dead end as well. Though he had nothing to report on the book yet, he assured her some of his best mages were working on the problem. She knew better than to try to rush anything having to do with magic or the Gathering. They both took their own sweet time.
A knock sounded at her door and reverberated through the silence of her house. A glance through the peephole revealed Simon and Seamus Grace standing under her front porch light. Thank the gods, someone had come to save her from her own special blend of insanity. She swung open the door, looking between the two of them for explanation.
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