Call of the Siren (Demons of the Infernum) (Entangled Edge)

by Rosalie Lario

  The last thing they needed right now was more bad news.

  After pretending for a moment that he didn’t actually have to take the call, Keegan answered. “Hello?”

  “Keegan, are you home?”

  “Yes,” Keegan answered warily.

  “Then open up. I’m standing right outside your front door.”

  The phone went dead, and Keegan gave it a blank stare. What the hell? Though they’d met at Eros on several occasions, the Council liaison had never shown up at his place before. Now he was beyond nervous. An undercurrent of fear tightened his throat.

  After rising from his sturdy leather chair, Keegan strode to the hallway and stood there, frozen with indecision. Part of him wanted to tell Brynn the Council liaison was right outside their door, but he also didn’t want to worry her, especially when she’d fallen asleep less than an hour ago. In the few months Aegin had been around, Keegan had come to learn that uninterrupted sleep was as precious as gold.

  He turned and went down the hallway toward the foyer. He unlocked the door and opened it to see Tenos on the other side.

  The tall moon elf wore his customary dark shirt and slacks, and he’d tied long, dark hair back from his face, displaying his striking cheekbones. He arched a brow. “May I come in?”

  Keegan motioned for him to step inside and glanced down ruefully at his T-shirt, worn jeans, and bare feet. “If I’d had a little notice, I would’ve at least put some shoes on.”

  “No need to dress up for me.” Tenos walked through the foyer and into the living room as if he’d been there a thousand times. “I’m afraid I have grave news.”

  His words sparked a pounding triple-beat in Keegan’s heart. His mind raced with the possibilities of what could be wrong.

  Tenos faced him. “Where are your brothers?”

  “Taeg is still in Europe. Ronin’s at home. Not sure about Dagan. Why?”

  “You know things have been rather tense with the Council since your father escaped.”

  “Yes,” Keegan said cautiously, motioning toward the large leather sectional taking up a portion of the room. He took a seat on one end, and Tenos sat on the other.

  “You also know that someone broke him out, someone capable of great magic.”

  Keegan nodded. “We’ve wondered whether it was the dark fae the Council has been searching for, though we don’t understand what the connection would be between the two men.”

  “Likewise.” Tenos leaned forward and placed his arms on his knees, meeting Keegan’s gaze head-on. “Certain Council members have come to believe you and your brothers were also involved in Mammon’s escape.”

  “What?” An avalanche of anger and frustration urged Keegan to his feet. “That’s ridiculous!”

  “I agree, but he is your blood kin.”

  He had to be kidding. “Have they already forgotten that we’re the ones who got him locked up in the first place?”

  After Mammon had devised a plan to take over Earth by using a magical spell book to create an army of zombies, Keegan and his brothers had defeated Mammon and turned him into the Council for punishment. And Keegan had married Brynn, the one person who could read the book and control the zombie army. Even though Keegan had later destroyed the book, he didn’t put it past Mammon to seek revenge on them.

  “If anything, we’re all in grave danger.” Keegan turned on his heel and began to stalk through the room in an effort to quiet the fury racing through his body. “Mammon must want retaliation. I thought the Council understood that. I thought you understood.”

  Tenos rose and held out a calming hand. “Keegan, of course I don’t believe you had anything to do with your father’s release. The mere thought is ludicrous. ”

  Keegan forced himself to stop pacing. “Why would the Council members think it was us who freed him, after all the trouble we went to getting him there to begin with?”

  Tenos let out a sigh and slipped his hands into his pockets, turning toward the view of the nightscape. “You and your brothers killed Asmodeus, the one man who could inform them of the dark fae’s identity…”

  The pieces of the puzzle fell into place. “So they think we’re in league with the dark fae, and consequently with Mammon?”

  “Exactly.”

  Shit. Keegan ran a hand through his hair, not surprised when he noticed it shaking. “What are they going to do to me and my brothers?”

  “They wanted you imprisoned until they could determine your guilt or innocence.”

  Which meant Brynn and Aegin would be left unprotected with Mammon on the loose. Keegan’s hands tightened into fists. “No.” He’d die first.

  Tenos turned and settled his gaze on Keegan. “I managed to convince them that wasn’t the best course of action.”

  “But?” There was no doubt a “but”.

  A flicker of sympathy lit Tenos dark eyes. “The Council has decreed that you and your brothers are to be sent back to Infernum.”

  Keegan couldn’t hold back the furious growl that tore out of his throat. He’d known deportation back to Infernum would be a very real threat ever since the moment he and his brothers had chosen to save Amara by killing Asmodeus in defiance of the Council’s orders. But still, the fact that it was happening was almost impossible to believe.

  Forcing his feet to move toward the sectional, he took a seat on the edge. “What about our families? Brynn, Aegin, Maya, Amara…what happens to them?”

  Tenos’ mouth tightened, and his gaze dropped, as if he found the words he was going to say distasteful. “They can choose to go with you, or they can remain here.”

  Unprotected.

  Keegan’s heart pounded fiercely, threatening to blind his vision. He had to find a way out of this. He had to protect his family…no matter the cost.

  “You’ve been a good asset to the Council these past many years, even if the Council members choose not to recognize it.” Tenos crossed the room to sit beside him, giving him an intent gaze. “The Grand Council member is unavailable until the afternoon after tomorrow, so the official order won’t come down until then, but from what I hear, it’s already a done deal. The majority of the Council members have agreed to it.”

  Something in the tone of Tenos’s words made Keegan stiffen. “The day after tomorrow? So why are you telling me this now?”

  Tenos shrugged, but even though the gesture seemed casual, Keegan knew better. “The Council won’t be worried about keeping closer tabs on you until they give you the order for deportation. Were you to vanish before then…”

  Keegan’s breath caught at the unmistakable meaning. The elf was giving them a head start. A way out. All they had to do was flee.

  And then they would then become the very type of fugitive they normally sought.

  Shit, how could this be happening? How could he even be contemplating this? But then, what was the alternative? He couldn’t subject Brynn and Aegin to a life in his hellish home world. He wouldn’t. And there was no way in hell they were staying here without him.

  Tenos glanced at the black watch on his wrist. “I have to go. For both our sakes, if anyone asks, I was never here.”

  Keegan rose to his feet with a whispered, “Thank you.”

  Tenos shook his head and started for the front door then paused right in front of it. “If you can do it, find Mammon. His recapture would give you the leverage you need to renegotiate with the Council. Until then, do what you must to protect your family.”

  An unsteady nod was all Keegan could manage. Tenos reached out and grasped his hand, giving it a shake. His eyes glimmered with warmth and compassion. “Good luck, my friend.”

  With that, he was gone.

  Keegan locked the door and leaned against it, allowing himself a moment of introspection. His whole body practically quivered with the fear that the Council would succeed in sending them back to Infernum. Away from his family.

  No, he couldn’t break down now. Not when there was so much to do.

  Shoving away fro
m the door, he steeled himself for the long night ahead.

  Chapter Nine

  Morning light streamed in through the filmy white curtain of the Ukraine hotel room, waking Taeg out of a sound sleep. His fiancé Maya was nestled in beside him, fast asleep on her stomach. Her long, wavy hair splayed out all around her in a pool of black and sun-kissed burgundy highlights.

  Shit. Forgot to close the drapes.

  Though who could blame them? It had been a long night of tracking the maliki demons who’d murdered Maya’s family when she was a child. They were getting goddamn close, too. One of the men they’d met last night at a local Otherworlder club said he saw two demons matching their description not less than a week ago.

  Soon enough, those fuckers will be ours.

  Though he had to admit he would miss all this once they caught and killed the bastards. Much as he loved tracking down bad guys with his brothers, hunting with Maya was infinitely better.

  He rolled onto his side so he could better observe his fiancée. Even after all these months together, he still found her just as stunning as when they’d met. More so, perhaps, because he knew her so much better now.

  Who woulda thunk it?

  He’d gone and fallen head over heels in love.

  Well, if he had to take the plunge, at least he’d found the perfect female to do it with.

  His gaze moved down her body, to where the white cotton sheets rode dangerously low on her backside. They’d been so exhausted last night that they’d done nothing more than rip their clothes off and climb into bed, but now, after just a few hours sleep, he was ready to make up for that transgression. His cock hardened as he reached out a hand and slid it down her back to the tempting curves of her luscious ass. She shifted and gave a little moan.

  Yeah, she was tired, and he should probably let her sleep. But he knew from months of experience that once he woke her, she’d be rearing to go. That was just one of the ways in which they completed each other.

  Hell, I’m such a fucking sap. And he couldn’t even find it in himself to be sorry about that.

  Taeg shifted closer to her, about to slip the sheet off her entirely, when his cell phone rang.

  “Damn.”

  Rolling onto his back, he contemplated letting it go to voicemail. But since the only ones who’d be calling were his brothers or the Council liaison, he didn’t have that luxury. Ever since Mammon’s escape right after he and Maya had first arrived in Europe, things had been tense. If one of them was calling now, there was probably a good reason.

  He slipped from the bed with a groan, arching his back until it gave a satisfying crack. When he glanced behind him, Maya was still dead asleep, so he bent and rummaged through his leather jacket until he found his phone and then read the screen. It was Keegan, and by Taeg’s calculations, it was around three in the morning back in New York City.

  Shit. Not good.

  He slipped out of the bedroom into the living area of the suite they’d rented before answering. “Yo bro, what’s up?”

  “I got a home visit from Tenos a few hours ago,” Keegan said without preamble.

  Taeg’s gut twisted. The Council liaison had visited his apartment? That couldn’t be good. He paced the burgundy carpeting of the living area. “What’d he have to say?”

  “He was giving us a heads-up on a Council order that’s set to go down in a few days.”

  By the grim sound of Keegan’s voice, Taeg knew it wasn’t going to be a good one. “What is it?”

  “We’re getting deported back to Infernum.”

  “What?” Taeg’s throat clenched tight, constricting his air. “Why?”

  “Apparently there’s been some rumblings among the Council members. Some of them think we might’ve had something to do with Mammon’s escape.”

  “That’s fucking insane.”

  “Tell me about it,” was Keegan’s low reply. “But since we killed Asmodeus before he could tell us anything about the dark fae, and the fae seems to be the very person who broke Mammon out—”

  “They think we were involved.” Taeg took a deep breath and stopped in front of the window, peeling back the curtain to blankly stare outside. “Shit, bro. We really stepped in it this time.”

  “I know.” Keegan let out a ragged sigh. “And I don’t know how we could persuade them of our innocence.”

  “We can’t,” Taeg said flatly. He knew enough about their employers to realize they weren’t going to change their minds, not unless something drastic happened, like they caught Mammon or the fae the Council sought.

  Shit, if only they knew something about this dark fae, but the man was like a ghost. Taeg had even tried visiting the Vivi sisters, a trio of crazy-ass dark faeries who lived in Faelan and who’d once been Merlin’s lovers, to ask about him. The only thing he’d managed to learn from their demented ramblings was that they had no clue who he might be. According to them, the last remaining clan with powers of his level had died off from plague decades ago.

  “What about our families?” Taeg asked. “Brynn, Aegin, Maya?”

  “According to Tenos, they’ll have the choice of joining us in Infernum or staying on Earth.”

  Taeg’s hand clenched into a fist. That was no choice at all. They couldn’t remain alone on Earth, where they’d no doubt be hunted by his evil father, yet neither he nor his brothers would subject their loved ones to a life on hellish Infernum.

  “Fuck,” he breathed.

  “Yeah,” Keegan said. “You know what this means.”

  It meant they were up against a wall, big time. At least they’d planned for the possibility when Mammon had first escaped months ago. But damn, he really didn’t want to do what they had to do next.

  “I know,” Taeg said. “We’ll get on the next plane over there.”

  “Meet me directly at the hideout.”

  Taeg let out a reluctant chuckle. “Well, if I’m gonna be forced into being a fugitive, at least I get to do it with my family.”

  “Yeah, I guess it could be worse,” Keegan said with a grim laugh.

  “What about Ronin and Dagan? Did you tell them about the hideout yet?”

  Keegan let out a ragged sigh.

  “Uh-oh.” Taeg pushed away from the window and started pacing the room once again. “What’s up with them?”

  “Amara told me earlier that they got into a big fight and Dagan stormed out.”

  “Let me guess—Lina,” Taeg said drily.

  “You know it. Ronin found out Dagan went to Lina’s apartment and flipped out on him.”

  Just what they didn’t need right now. More family drama.

  “Seems to me like there’s some major-ass chemistry between the two of them, but I can’t blame Ronin for being pissed,” he said to Keegan. “I love our little bro, but if I had a sister, adopted or otherwise, I wouldn’t want a player sniffing after her either.”

  “I don’t know,” Keegan grumbled. “I just hope they can pull their shit together. I’m about to go down and talk to them.”

  “Good luck. I’ll see you soon.”

  “Later.”

  “Oh, hey, Keeg.” Taeg hesitated for a moment. “We are doing the right thing here, right?”

  “We’re doing the only thing we can,” was Keegan’s authoritative response.

  “Yeah. Okay.”

  Taeg hung up, the tightness in his chest assuring him that his brother spoke the truth. When he heard a rustle from the other side of the room, he looked up to see Maya standing in the doorway of the bedroom. She was gloriously nude, and he allowed it to distract him for a minute. But then he remembered what they were up against.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked softly.

  He took a deep, calming breath. “The Council is going to deport us back to Infernum.”

  She let out a gasp, going stock still.

  He stalked over to her and placed a gentle kiss to the top of her head. Then, remembering they didn’t have a moment to waste, he brushed past her into the bedroom.


  She followed him, her voice trembling when she asked, “So what do we do now?”

  He grabbed his suitcase and pulled out a fresh pair of jeans. “Now we do the only thing we can. We run.”

  …

  After parting ways with Ronin on the roof of Sam’s apartment building, Lina unfolded her wings and flew home. Yeah, it was a risky move in a city this size, but she always found a way to keep to the shadows. And if anyone got a flash of her flying through the air…well, it was amazing what the human eye could pass off as a trick of the light.

  Sam was dead.

  The sickening reality of that melded with the thought that they had no idea what they were up against. If the dark fae’s mission was to confound them, then he’d done a damn good job.

  What the hell was his game?

  If Ronin didn’t find something on the dark fae soon, it might spell trouble for him and his whole family. While she desperately wanted to not give a shit about that, she found she couldn’t.

  She liked Ronin’s family. His fiancé and his cute little nephew. His brothers. Even Dagan.

  Especially Dagan.

  She was so caught up in thought that she didn’t notice the figure sitting on her sole lounge chair until she’d almost landed on the roof deck of her apartment.

  Speak of the devil.

  Dagan sat on one end of the chair, slumped over with his elbows on his knees. Even though he was clad in the same outfit as earlier, he was rumpled and worse for the wear.

  His obvious distress struck her immediately. That didn’t stop her from noticing the muscular curve of his shoulder in his bent-over position, or the sexy stubble on his chin, though. Not to mention how his jeans caressed his strong thighs, showcasing every angle and curve.

  She sighed, despite herself, feeling the automatic clench of her loins. Something about her responded to him on a primal level, and she was beginning to see it always would. No matter how much she fought it.

  Lina landed with a soft thump on the side of the roof, about ten feet away. Dagan looked up, and his red, bleary eyes widened at the sight of her outstretched wings. She realized with a sudden burst of embarrassment that he’d never seen them before. There was something so intimate about the way his eyes ran over them now, about the way they narrowed and darkened several shades. When her skin shivered and her nipples hardened into tight buds, she absorbed her wings and then tossed her leather jacket on to hide her body’s obvious response.