Asta met Dar’s eyes. “I have an idea,” she said, her heart sinking.
His gaze never left hers. Wyatt and all the humans streaming around them disappeared, and all she knew was the press of his sprit-self against hers. He waited, saying nothing, and she knew that whatever she proposed, he’d follow her. He might bitch and moan, he might argue strenuously, but he’d follow her. There was more at stake than her grace, and sometimes personal ethics needed to be put aside for the benefit of those who were helpless — those who she’d vowed to protect with her life.
Moral dilemma be damned. There were some times a preemptive strike was the only option. “We need to steal the bottle. I’m going to kill this demon before he has a chance to get out, and before Carter loses his soul.”
Dar’s gaze turned soft, and his hand reached out to caress her shoulder down along her arm. “You can’t kill the genie. He’s magically contained. There’s no way you can get to him when he’s inside the bottle, and no way to break the bottle until a human completes the terms of the contract.”
“I can’t kill him here.” Asta felt a sort of grim determination come over her. “But nothing material can last in Aaru. If you can manage to steal the bottle, I’ll pop off and get permission to gate the bottle to Aaru. Once the bottle disintegrates, we’ll be able to kill the genie.”
Dar winced. “Ruthless, although I approve. But I thought the Iblis, Ha-Satan, was the only demon allowed in Aaru?”
Asta took a deep breath, hoping her superiors would go along with this plan, would see the need for these desperate measures. “Sometimes there needs to be an exception to a rule.”
Chapter 14
Asta hated to leave Chicago unattended, but this was important. Plus she’d left Dar in charge of the city.
Yeah. The idea of leaving a demon in charge while she dashed off to an impromptu meeting was a bit like letting a wolf guard the sheep, but somehow she trusted him. Besides, as territorial as demons were, others would think twice before choosing that location. Dar had promised to hold down the fort for her as well as steal the bottle from Carter’s room. Upon her return, she could quickly gate it to Aaru. Problem would be solved – as long as she could convince her superiors to go along with the plan.
“Asta, correct? From Gabriel’s choir, and the youngest among us.”
The angel walked toward her, effortlessly navigating the huge boulders lining the mountainside. Below them, surf crashed against the cliffs. Asta felt like her heart was doing the same violent motion inside her chest. He knew who she was. He absolutely knew who she was. His question was meant to calm her nerves, but she was confident this angel knew every single one of his staff, down to the lowliest gate guardian. He nearly scared the bodily fluids from her every time they met. Yes, they were all older than her, but this one . . . he was truly ancient.
“Yes, Ancient Revered One. Thank you for taking the time from your busy schedule to meet with me and hear my request.” It had been incredibly bold of her to jump straight to the top like this, bypassing the other, more senior enforcers, but the head of the Grigori was the only one among them who served on the Ruling Council.
“It was no bother at all. I’m always ready to meet with any of my enforcers or guardians.” In spite of his kind smile, Asta got the feeling she was inconveniencing him terribly.
“Sir, I have a bit of a problem with a demon in my city that leads me to an unusual request.”
The angel sat on a rock, motioning for her to do the same. “A high-level demon? Do you need me to intervene?”
Asta sat, taking a moment to compose herself. Every enforcer needed to call this particular angel at some time in their assignment. High-level demons sometimes required an ancient to take them down — especially if they held too much energy for an angel to absorb. Some demons were like giant batteries — batteries that detonated violently when they died. It had taken only a few angels to meet their end in the ensuing explosions for everyone to realize there was no shame in calling in an elder to assist.
“No, Sir. I mean, this demon might possibly require assistance, but I won’t know until I get him out. He’s in a bottle.”
The Ancient One laughed, and Asta jumped at the unexpected sound. She’d never heard an expression of amusement from him before — seldom heard it from any of the angels in Aaru.
“Ah, a trapped genie. He’s going to be furious when he gets out — they always are.”
His casual attitude was such a relief. “We believe he is bound under contract to grant three wishes and suspect he may have already granted at least one.”
“We?”
Asta squirmed. “I am working with a demon who is under immunity as a member of the Iblis’s household. And a human who, although he is supposedly an idiot, has specialized information and skills.”
The Ancient One’s lips twitched slightly. “Your persuasion abilities have improved significantly over the last few years. Convincing a demon to do your bidding is no small feat.”
Oh shit — shoot. Oh shoot. “It’s not . . . he’s not doing my bidding. We came to an agreement on an exchange of . . . information. I’ve told him that I won’t hesitate to kill him if he violates the terms of his immunity, so rest assured that I haven’t given him any leeway in that regard.”
The elder angel’s lips twitched again, although his eyes remained stern. “I see. So you and your companions will watch carefully to ensure this genie is banished after his service?”
“Dar, the demon I’m working with, believes he’s been trapped for over six-hundred years. We have doubts that the human in possession of the bottle has the ability or knowledge to banish him properly after the service is rendered. I’ve warned him against completing the contract by wishing, but . . . you know how humans are.”
“Yes, I do. It’s not exactly unusual in these cases for the human in possession to have no knowledge in banishment. Once he completes his wishes, then you can kill the genie as he is released from the bottle.”
Here came the difficult part. “Sir, I’m concerned about the length of time before he is released and the resources needed to keep appropriate scrutiny on the trapped genie. In addition, what the human may be requesting from the genie could result in great difficulties. The human who has possession is involved in global cyber security. The effects on positive evolution for the human species could be devastating if a wish were to go wrong. I’d like to find a way to neutralize the genie before he completes his contracted service — whether through banishment, some other return to Hel, or, as a last resort, killing him.”
The smile was clear this time. “Then you’re a better angel than I. Or perhaps you have a sorcerer friend that can release the demon? Otherwise, he’s going to be alive in that bottle until he renders the contracted service.”
Deep breath. Deep breath. “I’d like to request we transport the demon to Aaru. There, the bottle will eventually degrade and we’d be able to dispatch the demon without any undue damage to the progress of humanity.”
The Ancient One leaned backward, narrowing his eyes. “Interesting proposal. We’ve never housed a magical item in Aaru to see if its physical nature degrades as other items do. There’s also a good chance the spell would hold, and even without the physical confines of the bottle, the demon would be trapped and shielded.”
“Sir, I beg of you to consider this. The cost to humanity if the human were to have his third wish granted would be most damaging. The human world runs on computer security, and if that were to be compromised in a catastrophic fashion . . . .
“Asta, by the time the Ruling Council managed to put it on the agenda, the human will be long dead. There is simply no time for this sort of thing, and the odds are, your request would be denied in the end anyway. The angelic host resists allowing the Iblis in Aaru in spite of her lawful right to be there; they’ll never grant passage to another demon, even if the argument in favor is a sound one.”
There had to be a way around this. Angelic law always had
loopholes; it was just a matter of finding one in time. “If the bottle was found in Aaru, transported there by unknown means, what would happen?”
The Ancient One sighed. “You would spend the next two millennia in rehabilitation, that’s what would happen. Or worse, find yourself a Fallen without halo or wings. There is little tolerance for unlawful behavior in Aaru at this time. They would trace it back to you, and the penalty would be severe.”
Asta shuddered. Fallen. It wasn’t just that she’d lose her wings and halo, but she’d be under the black wing of the Iblis — a part of Ha-Satan’s household. Was the potential damage to humanity worth the loss of her eternal salvation?
The elder ancient put a hand on her shoulder, his spirit-self a reassuring warmth against hers. “Little One, you have been an exemplary enforcer. You’ve served the Grigori admirably this last century and are due to return to the comforts of Aaru in a few short days. Don’t risk your future over the folly of one human. Return to your post and monitor the situation. I’ll send another enforcer to assist in your transition tomorrow.”
“No!” Asta caught her breath, appalled at her disrespect. Chicago was her city. The thought of another enforcer there, now or ever, filled her with barely contained fury. “Please, sir. Allow me to see this situation out, even if it extends my service.”
The angel’s black eyes bored into hers. “Humans unexpectedly die with appalling regularity, and their possessions pass on to others. It could be centuries before a human dares enforce the genie’s contract. Perhaps you should reconsider your offer.”
To give up Aaru for another century or maybe more — why was that idea so appealing? Why did she immediately think of spending that time with Dar, trying new foods, singing in bars, doing other things? That one week of sin stretched out for an undetermined length of time.
“Sir, this is very important to me.”
He patted her shoulder, smiling gently. “I’m going to wait to either approve or deny your service extension. In the meantime, I’m counting on you to ensure this genie is taken care of in an appropriate manner.”
Asta’s heart sank. How was she going to be able to ‘take care’ of the genie now that her one idea had been shot down? Time to have a little brainstorming session with Dar and that idiot human.
“Thank you for your time, Most Revered Ancient One.”
“You’re welcome. And, Asta?” His black eyes were no longer gentle as they met hers. “Your manifested form is very convincing — and very dangerous. Be careful when you flirt with sin, and remember that demons always lie.”
Her breath lodged in her throat. Did he know? Those dark eyes always seemed to strip her bare, revealing all her secrets. “I will, Sir. I will.”
Chapter 15
“What are we going to do with this thing if Asta doesn’t come through? Sam knows a sorcerer. Maybe she can call in a favor.”
Dar peeked around the corner of the sub shop and eyed the front of the hotel. Cameras, cameras everywhere. What a fucking pain in the ass. “She doesn’t have any favors to call in.” It was a little embarrassing for the titular head of Hel to be so in debt to a human. Hopefully his sister could get on a more even footing before word spread and other demons saw her reliance upon human sorcery as a weakness to be exploited.
“How about that Gareth guy? She’s gotten a lot of stuff from him in the past. I’ll bet he’s powerful enough to take care of this situation.”
Gareth was months behind on work, and there was the logistical issue of him being in Hel and very unwilling to cross the gates. “Not going to happen. Aaru is our best bet.”
Wyatt kicked at a loose piece of pavement also frowning at the double revolving doors of the hotel from their hiding spot in the alley. “I’m thinking we made a lousy bet. What’s our backup plan?”
There was none, at least none that an angel would agree to. “Add it to our décor until we find a human to fulfill the contract in a benign manner? I don’t fucking know. Step one is getting in this asshole’s hotel room.”
“Can’t you pick locks? Sam can pick locks. I thought all demons could pick locks.”
Dar resisted the urge to punch Wyatt in the face. A bloody nose and a fat lip. A little facial rearrangement would be so satisfying. Wyatt had no idea how lucky he was. I promised my sister I wouldn’t harm you, but I really want to. “Yes, I can pick locks. Phelps has more than just the hotel locks on the door, though. He’s got some kind of thumbprint device. Who knows what else he’s got going on in there. Demon wishes aside, the guy seems to be pretty bright, and he does own a security company.”
“All that for a hotel room? Sheesh, paranoid much?” Wyatt looked up toward the penthouse suite windows. “I assume it’s linked into his cell phone so he’s alerted to a break in. If you’d have given me more than five minutes’ notice, I could have hacked in and blocked the alarm.”
Dar dug through his suit pocket and tossed a business card at the human. “Here. It’s his personal cell, not the business one. Make it ten minutes and I’m in.”
“That gives us five after I block the alarm to grab the bottle and run for it. Phelps is going to know something is up with his security, and, worst-case scenario, that’s how long it will take him to get here from the convention center. Plus the lobby and elevator cameras will still record you. Phelps and the police will be looking for you, Asta, and me.”
“No, they’ll be looking for a rat.” Dar ducked back safely into the alley, exploded all of his physical being outward in a flash of light and rush of molecules, then condensed back as his rat form. It sucked to destroy the nice suit he’d been wearing, but sometimes sacrifice was necessary to make a dramatic statement.
“Don’t let anyone see you or there will be a whole lot of screaming and running for the exits.”
Dar grinned, flashing pointy teeth. He had no intention of being seen. Scaring humans was good fun, but this was a stealthy mission.
With a twitch of whiskers, the demon was off, vanishing under the sewer grate and through the maze of pipes and tunnels beneath the building. A thousand years of navigating underground had given the demon some unusual skills. Even though this hotel’s layout was unfamiliar, he’d noted various air-return vents when he’d visited Phelps’s room two nights ago. Hopping from the sewers into the boiler-room drain then across the floor and up the garbage chute, Dar looked carefully before making a mad dash across the service-area floor to the laundry room. With a quick twist of screws, he was in the ductwork and heading up.
This hotel seriously needed to clean out their HVAC system. The ducts were coated in dust, with faint lines of rust around the joints, and the occasional spot of mold. Dar wrinkled his long nose and sneezed, his eyes watering as he climbed steadily upward.
Fuck, this was going to take forever. He’d told Wyatt ten minutes in a moment of bravado, but now the demon wondered if he’d make it. The ductwork was a maze, slowly winding up around the building. Dar took as many short cuts as he could, but that didn’t discount the miles he’d need to cover before reaching the penthouse.
Miles. Upward. So much for that rounded figure he longed for. Looked like Asta’s predictions regarding the horrible muscles were going to come true. By the time he reached the top floor, his lungs were heaving for air, his legs burning.
There. The huge air-return duct terminated in a ceiling-high grate that overlooked the hallway in front of the bank of elevators. Pausing to catch his breath, Dar rose on two legs and hooked sharp claws into the vent edges. He could see no one from his admittedly limited vantage point. The elevator indicators held steady at the lower floors. Twitching his nose, he breathed deep, recognizing the smells of room service food, newspaper, cleaning solution, and plug-in air freshener. This was the risky part, where he exposed himself in a mad dash to the penthouse door. Every whisker clamored for him to be patient and make sure no one was about, but there was no time to be cautious.
Fuck it. With a burst of energy, he broke the bolts holding the grate
to the wall, propelling it outward. With a quick glance to either side, he sprang to the ground. There were only two rooms on this floor. Phelps was at the convention, and the chances of the other guest or a random maid seeing him were remote.
Galloping across the patterned carpet, Dar reached the door and eyed the levered knob. Snaking his energy up through the door and into the circuit, the demon watched the red light turn green, and then he leapt. Dexterous paws grabbed the handle, and the weight from his body pulled it down. The door opened with a click, and Dar jumped to the floor inside Carter Phelps’s room.
The box on the table flashed. He’d no idea how long until it decided the required fingerprint wasn’t coming and alerted Phelps to the break-in. Even if Wyatt had managed to hack in and block the system, Dar only had a few minutes. Of course, a few minutes were more than enough time to grab a bottle and disappear into the ventilation system.
He raced toward the bedroom, scrambling up the dresser drawer pulls to the top. The bottle stood just as it had the night before. Dar’s tail twitched as he felt the weight of ancient demon energy. Who was this guy?
Something to his left flashed, and Dar realized he had no time left for contemplation. Grabbing the bottle with his front paws, he knocked it on its side and rolled it off the dresser onto the carpet. The ancient glass hit with a disturbing crack.
Ah well. It’s not like the thing was going to break, and the genie was pissed off already. A fall, then a roll along the carpet wasn’t going to put him in a better mood, but the mode of transportation couldn’t be helped. Dar couldn’t take the time to carry the bottle while staggering through the hotel room on two legs. He had to get a move on.
Cylindrical objects rolled well. Bottle-shaped objects didn’t. The stupid thing kept veering to the left, forcing Dar to waste precious time getting it down the penthouse hallway and out the open door. Once there, he didn’t close the door. It wasn’t like he needed to cover his tracks. Phelps would soon know there was a break-in, even if Wyatt had managed to work his magic.
Demons & Djinn: Nine Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy Novels Featuring Demons, Djinn, and other Bad Boys of the Underworld Page 42
