Akil’s broad multi-jointed wings of tanned leather bowed against the ceiling, a dusting of embers raining from their arched edges. As those wings flexed, the muscles in his broad back rippled. Every ounce of flesh looked as though it had been sculpted from obsidian, every muscle lean and powerful.
“Vos inhonesto mihi.” Akil’s growl thundered around my aching skull. You dishonor me.
I watched his right shoulder bunch, one wing jerking a little as he altered his grip on the sword and twisted the blade deep in its snug-fitting wound. The serpent demon grunted, skewered as it was. It was only when Akil tore the sword free, ripping open the chest of the beast, that it collapsed forward, tail twitching. A dark pool of blood bloomed around its hideous body. Its green eyes hung open, unseeing. Dead.
Akil turned, and I caught a glimpse of his true face before I bowed my head. Cut from the very fabric of the elements, his face barely resembled the man I’d left beside the car. He appeared more beast than man with spiraled horns twisting from his forehead, his wide gaping mouth brimming with jagged teeth. Dark wrappings of power thrashed around him, seeking their next victim. An aura of energy simmered against his flesh. The thin veil of reality fizzled into dust at his feet.
I’m not ashamed to admit that I cowered on my hands and knees before him. The other part of me had slunk away into the farthest corners of my mind, curling herself into a tiny insignificant flutter in my chest, hardly there at all.
He crouched before me, thick muscular arms resting on stocky knees slick with a sheen of energy. When he held out a hand, elongated fingers tipped with curved claws, I had no choice but to take it. My delicate fingers curled in his, my human flesh so pink and fragile. His writhing tendrils of power curled themselves up my forearm, snaking around my elbow before leaping to my shoulder. I had enough time to realize the darkness had entwined itself around my legs like creeping vines, before the weight of it dragged me down. I fell, and the darkness rushed up to greet me.
Chapter 7
The party had spilled out into the hotel foyer. The inebriated guests wore masquerade masks ranging from vampires to ghosts and demons. Akil’s idea of irony, I guess. It would have been hilarious, had I not just seen one of the originals of those so-called myths slice a serpent demon in half.
Akil sat in the center of the head table like a scene from a modern day last supper, leaning crookedly in his chair as he laughed at something the woman beside him said. They all wore masks, so only mouths and eyes could be seen. The more subtle expressions remained hidden. He had given up trying to catch my eye and now appeared to revel in the role of charming host. His mask sported a pair of devil horns. Those around him had no idea that the beast sat among them. He played the part of a human a little too perfectly, but nobody would suspect him. He was too charming, too successful, too influential to be anything other than the city’s most successful developer.
I poured myself some more wine and slumped in my chair. It wasn’t as if I didn’t know what he was. I felt the power in him every time I shared the same airspace as him, but it’s one thing to know and another to see. I’d deliberately forgotten who and what he was for the sake of my sanity. My half-human mind couldn’t keep up with what I’d seen, despite the fact that much of the same elemental energy ran through my veins. The human brain struggles to comprehend the truth about demons. The netherworld exists beyond our spectrum of understanding. Our senses are struck dumb by its extremes. Thankfully, the netherworld is locked beyond the veil, out of human reach, but while humans can’t survive there for long, demons can and do live among us here. Higher demons can cross the veil at will, but most prefer their homeland to ours. Aren’t we lucky?
Akil had walked me out of that police department without another soul seeing us. The people had parted in front of us, veering around us without realizing anything was amiss. He had simply peeled the visible reality around us so that we emerged outside the building without so much as catching a sideways glance from the dozens of people on the sidewalk.
Hands planted against the roof of his car as though to steady himself, Akil had stripped the demon from his visible form, shedding layers like a snake sheds its skin, revealing the male vessel inside. Watching him emerge like that—his human form reborn like a moth from its chrysalis—turned my stomach. By the time he’d sat me in the back of the car, I felt numb. When we reached his hotel, I still trembled like a leaf clinging to an otherwise naked branch. Without so much as a word of explanation, an apology, or an ‘are you okay,’ he handed me a cat mask and escorted me inside.
That had been over two hours ago.
If he knew of the turmoil spinning in my head, he hadn’t once mentioned it. For him, it was as though nothing untoward had taken place. Another day at the office.
Nica slipped into a chair beside me, sporting a very fine leopard-print ankle-length dress and a witch’s mask, complete with a cute crooked hat. “Hey there.” She beamed. “Akil said you were coming.” Perhaps my smile came off more as a grimace than I’d meant it to because she flinched, her bubbly mood evaporating. “Did you read all the information in the file?”
It took me a moment to even remember what file she was referring to. I hadn’t thought of Stefan since Bergin had mentioned him prior to turning into a snake-demon and trying to kill me. Now I wondered what the police would be asking. They wouldn’t find a body—of that I was pretty sure—but Bergin wasn’t coming back from a sword through the gullet, and I was technically the last to see him. How would Akil cover it up? Would he even bother?
“You look a little pale, are you okay?” Nica asked.
The concern in her voice roused me from my recall of events. “Yes, I’m okay. Just tired.” I mustered a warmer smile and downed my drink.
She shrugged and refilled my glass. “Something has happened between you and Akil. Am I right?”
I swallowed, reaching for the wine. “What makes you say that?”
She looked past me, down the table to where Akil and a small crowd were gathered. “He looks content, but you see how his fingers are tapping on the base of his glass?” She nodded encouragement, so I had to look.
“He hasn’t touched his drink. That’s the same glass of wine he’s been nursing all evening. And that crowd—some of them are the most influential people in this city, and yet he hasn’t once engaged in business talk. He’s avoiding it, skirting around the topic, which is not like him at all. We both know how greedy he is, but tonight, there’s nothing here for him.”
I looked at Nica with newfound respect. “You know him well.”
“I have to.” She lowered her voice and reached out a hand to clasp mine. “If we play with fire, sooner or later, we all get burned.” She slipped off her mask, revealing a wrought expression. Lines of worry etched into her fine features. “Nobody plays with Akil unless they’re prepared.” She lifted her glass, inviting me to do the same.
“To the survivors,” she suggested. We clinked our glasses together.
“You’re right.” I finally admitted. I sensed the warmth of Akil’s gaze on me but refused to rise to the bait. “Something happened.”
“Well, don’t let him fool you. Whatever it was, it bothered him.” Nica grinned and dipped her head low. “Whatever you did, good on you. It can’t hurt to remind them who holds the true power, right?”
“Who?” I laughed.
“You, us, women. He loves you, Muse, and that’s more powerful than anything else in this mockery of reality.”
That was absurd. Akil didn’t—couldn’t love me. Demons were capable of many things, but love wasn’t one of them. “How much wine have you had?”
She arched an eyebrow and admired the swirl of red wine in her glass. “Not nearly enough. Finish off this bottle with me, will you?”
Chapter 8
As the night wore on, a live band began to play. The crowd got merrier by the minute. Much of the exuberance had rubbed off on me, or perhaps it was the wine. I’d begun to relax a little and mingl
e with the guests. Most were human, but some were not. I caught a few leers from behind the anonymous masks and silently cursed Akil. He’d made a point of telling me that no demons were on the list, and yet I’d counted at least five blending with Boston’s elite. They, of course, looked just like anyone else, but there were clues. Demons move with a fluid grace, as though every step, every gesture, is measured. Nothing is wasted. When still, they might as well have been smartly-dressed mannequins and were equally as disconcerting because of their inhuman stillness. Humans are constantly in motion. Demons are not. They stalk. It’s part of what makes them so efficient.
I gave the demons I’d spotted a wide berth. Akil seemed confident nobody would dare hurt me in his presence, but that wouldn’t prevent one of them driving a dagger into my back before he could stop them. I admired the generous buffet food, wondering if I should eat something from the perfect plates of sandwiches arranged in geometric shapes. Some had yet to be touched, and I had to fight the urge to upset the precise design just for fun.
A hand slipped around my waist from behind, and immediately a sliver of fear trickled down my spine. Akil must have felt me tremble because he bowed his head, whispering against my cheek. “Do I frighten you?”
I didn’t dignify his query with an answer and turned to face him, driving back the fear with sheer determination. He still wore the ridiculous devil mask. I flicked it off to reveal his playful expression beneath, then tossed the mask away with a mischievous grin.
“Dance with me.” It wasn’t a request. His fingers had laced in mine, and he pulled me toward the dance floor before I could concoct an excuse. Thankfully, the music was slow. I had no idea how to dance. They didn’t teach party etiquette where I was raised.
He pulled me against him, hand slipping down to the small of my back to hold me close. I giggled. Alcohol had gone a long way toward soothing my fears. Stumbling a little, I looked at my feet, wondering what on earth I was supposed to do with them. Akil tipped my chin up.
“Just lean into me and relax.”
I obeyed, preferring to let him guide me than risk complete embarrassment. I found the slow beat of the music calming. Or was it standing so close to him that banished my worries? Either way, I let him hold me close as we swayed gently.
“Are you alright?” His deep voice rumbled through me as the music played around us. There were others dancing, but I barely noticed them. I listened to his heartbeat, losing myself in its rhythm.
“I’m okay,” I whispered, and I really was. Akil had that effect on me. “I had that serpent demon where I wanted him, y’know. I was just about to finish him off when you showed up.”
I felt Akil chuckle. The delicious ripple of laughter ignited desire at the very heart of me. “I very much doubt that,” he said. “The detective was a Dahaka servant.” The exotic pronunciation rolled off Akil’s tongue, revealing an ancient accent he usually kept hidden. “A particularly aggressive example. He would have relished devouring you, likely feet first.”
I stopped swaying in time with Akil and looked up. He smiled, but I got the impression he wasn’t joking. With a trembling sigh, I rested my head against his shoulder. “I wanted to leave all of this behind.”
His fingers gently stroked my back. “You can’t.”
“I know, but I could have pretended.”
“Your five year folly almost got you killed.” His arm snaked around me.
I closed my eyes, my grip on him tightening. I’d wanted to be free so badly that I might have gladly died for it. The demons and their ways weren’t me. I belonged in the nine-to-five working day with the Starbucks coffees and kicking back on the couch, Doritos in one hand, TV remote in the other. I enjoyed the mundane. At least that’s what I told myself. It wasn’t exactly true. I could never run from the half of me that danced in the dark.
“Let’s go.” He looked into my tired eyes. “Wait here. I’ll make my excuses, and we’ll go back to my apartment.”
With a nod of agreement, I reluctantly let go of him and cast him a little curl of a smile before he turned and let the crowd swallow him up. He’d promised a night to remember, and the thought of being alone with him with no interruptions—exploring, tasting, teasing—warmed me in the most intimate of places.
A shoulder nudged mine, forcing me to stumble back, just as an arm hooked around me, reeling me into a crushing embrace. I opened my mouth, about to launch a verbal assault on my unwanted dance partner, when I felt the brutal nudge of a gun poke up under my ribs.
“Scream and I’ll pull the trigger.” Stefan drilled his gaze into mine.
We were moving, swaying to the music like those around us, his grip so tight against me that I had no chance but to step with him. “You won’t leave here alive,” I hissed.
“No?” His azure eyes scanned the crowd around us. “I don’t think you know me very well.”
I squirmed in his grip. The pressure of the gun began to bruise me. “I’d have thought you’d have had enough of your games by now.”
He met my gaze as though something I said surprised him. “You’re in danger.”
“No shit.”
“You have to come with me. Now.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you.” I squirmed again. His grip tightened further, wrenching a gasp from my lips.
He suddenly bowed his head, his hair tickling against my cheek and whispered, “You must have realized by now that I don’t want to hurt you.”
Anger flash-burned through me. “Then you’re failing miserably because you have hurt me. You took away the only thing I’ve ever really owned. You stole my life.” As he faced me, I saw his eyes narrow, as though I’d hurt him with my words, but for the life of me I couldn’t imagine why. “Who are you?”
“Please, come with me now. There are others here. You aren’t safe.”
I followed his gaze among the sea of party guests and saw the demons approaching, parting the dancing couples like lions stalking through long grass. Stefan jerked an eyebrow and then the pressure of the gun was gone. His cool grip tightened around my wrist, and before I could protest, I was jogging after him. He led me through a fire door. The music from the party thumped the air and echoed down the stairwell. Fluorescent lights hummed above us.
“Wait.” I snatched my wrist free, forcing him to turn. His long leather coat rippled around him. “Just tell me what’s happening.” I rubbed my aching wrist.
“They’re coming.”
The fire door burst open behind me. I had a moment to recognize one of my suspected demons from the party before he launched himself at me. He sprang off his legs in such a way that he literally pounced, hands and feet slamming into me, throwing me back against the wall. My head smacked against the block work, dizzying me and stalling my reaction. He threw his head back and yawned, revealing a mouthful of razor sharp, needle-thin teeth. Repugnant ocher venom dripped from their points, dribbling over the distorted flesh of his chin.
I flooded my body with power, but it wouldn’t come quickly enough.
A gun blast cracked the air, and the side of the demon’s skull exploded in a burst of blood and bone. I blinked, ears ringing, and struggled to comprehend what was happening as the body collapsed in a lifeless mound at my feet.
Stefan stood a few steps down, gun poised in one hand. He snatched at my hand and tugged me stumbling down the stairs behind him. We didn’t stop until we burst through the doors into the basement parking garage. Orderly rows of cars lined the bays, their glossy paintwork shining beneath the orange strip-lights. I saw his battered, old car ahead.
I pulled back, but his grip tightened. “Wait.” He didn’t stop. “Wait, dammit!” I dug my heels in and snatched him back. “I can look after myself.”
He rounded on me, his smile devoid of all humor. “Are you serious?”
“Who the hell are you, and why do you think you can drag me around like this?”
He snorted a derisive laugh. “I just saved your life—again—and you doubt me
?” His voice echoed around the parking lot, bouncing off the walls and returning with just as much derision in its tone.
“What do you mean, again?”
He looked as though he might have answered when a blood-curdling howl sounded throughout the parking garage. I turned, sensing the source was somewhere behind me. I knew that sound. The beast it came from was no friendly dog. Fear flushed through my veins, adrenalin spiking, racing my heart and ratcheting up my breathing.
Another howl went up, followed quickly by another. The wretched baying echoed.
“Muse! C’mon!”
I searched the shadows among the parked cars but couldn’t see anything, but then I wasn’t going to. I was too human to see them. Then I heard the panting, the tick of claws on concrete, and the thump of heavy pads.
I swung a glance back at Stefan. “They’re for you!” I hoped they were because Hellhounds cannot be outrun.
He dipped his chin and shook his head once, then lifted the gun and fired over my shoulder. The gunshot cracked the air, the deafening boom followed by a dire whine. I trembled even as I summoned my element because I knew it wouldn’t be enough. I couldn’t see the hounds—they were constructs of pure demonic power—but I could hear them. My imagination unhelpfully filled in the blanks.
Stefan grabbed my arm and tugged me backward. I finally found my nerves again and ran beside him, heeled boots skidding on the concrete as I ducked around Stefan’s car and tugged open the passenger door. “Can you see them?” I panted, throwing myself into the seat.
Demons & Djinn: Nine Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy Novels Featuring Demons, Djinn, and other Bad Boys of the Underworld Page 148
