She glared at me in the mirror, but kept her mouth shut. I took that as her accepting my mandate. At least for a few minutes.
I turned and addressed Lili, saying, “How long before you can get word to the Princess?” I was bone-tired, but there was no time to rest. “We need to let her know what’s going on. We will aid her, and once we do that, we leave this world behind for good.”
“The Prince will likely be by the Princess’s side for the rest of the day, as our rules dictate. Once she dismisses him, he will call a meeting with the Council of High Demon Lords to figure out what is to be done about you. He will not come back to his quarters until daybreak. Demons need very little sleep, so we do not use our homes like you do.” Her voice held a wistful note. “But I have the Princess’s private number and will try it now.”
Rourke stood next to me. “Where does the Prince keep his important information, demoness?” We were all standing in a foyer of sorts. It had tall, vaulted ceilings and was very clean. There were very few personal items scattered about, save some knickknacks on various tables. Some of the items looked as though they’d been collected from different planes, set around to remind the Prince of his travels.
My eyes narrowed for a moment as I spotted something perched on the table under the mirror where Selene had just stood. “Is that a shrunken head?” I pointed to what looked like a withered pygmy head. “From our plane?”
“Yes,” Lili replied, not even bothering to glance where I gestured. “Before he was the Prince of Hell, and was only a high-ranking demon, he was summoned to your plane often, by many. He brought back… a souvenir each time.”
“That head doesn’t look like it was given freely.”
She shook her head. “No, unfortunately for some summoners, most of his trinkets were not. The Prince has always been a very fierce, very proud demon. He was meant to rule, not to be called upon like a slave.” She turned abruptly and started walking through an entryway. “His personal rooms are this way.”
We all followed, including a pensive Selene, who kept running her hands over her hair and face, hoping for a miracle. Keep an eye on her, I told my wolf. I want to know if she suddenly generates a lot of power. My wolf gave me a “no shit” look and shook her head. Well, lately we’ve been on opposite sides of the argument. I’m just trying to keep it real. She huffed at me and turned her back. My wolf was such a good sport.
We strode through a huge living area decorated in straight lines and smooth textures. There were several long black couches made out of some kind of demon material. It was all very orderly. I didn’t see a kitchen or any place to prepare food. “Where does the Prince eat?” I asked, thinking about the horrid gazebos. I knew for a fact that the Prince of Hell did not eat with the common demons.
Lili stopped. “In the main kefefr laat, of course. That’s where all the Demon Lords and demonesses eat.”
“What’s a kay-fay-frea lay-at?” Ray asked.
“It’s the main dining room. We have four meals a day there. Each feast is a very elaborate event.”
“Is your food always… alive?” I asked, wondering if I really wanted to know. “From what I’ve seen, demons prefer to have their meals wiggle and fight.”
“Yes,” she said. “We prefer our food breathing, but we do… mix it up on occasion. Freezing the main course and letting it thaw just before we partake of it is a recent favorite.”
I shivered. That was just plain gross.
“That’s fairly disgusting,” Tyler commented, not having to read my mind on that one. “Even in my wolf form, I make a clean kill before I eat.”
“We are… not like you, if you haven’t noticed,” she said. “It took me time to adjust to it too, but my demon side takes great joy in food that… puts up a struggle.” Her pupils elongated, radiating her pleasure. “It’s an acquired taste.”
“Well, it’s one that none of us will be acquiring any time soon,” I finished.
We continued down a long hallway with a beautiful bowed white ceiling, and at the end was another elaborate door.
Lili pushed it open without incident. “This is where the Prince conducts his business while he is home. Do not touch any of the buttons on the desk if you do not wish for company.” She went across to the far wall and pressed a lever, and a sheet of material cascaded down one wall. She turned back to us. “There you go. No prying eyes. Once this is down there can be no surveillance.”
Rourke strode immediately to the Prince’s desk, fingering all the notes and books piled there. “I know the Prince will have specific demon law books as well as High Law books that cover the rights of all supernaturals. If the Prince of Hell is also the judge and jury of the Underworld then he must have access to all information and I want to see it.”
Lili walked behind the desk and opened a large cutout in the wall to expose row after row of orderly books. “You are welcome to look here, but all these demon books are written in Demonish. I doubt you know the language well enough to read it.”
Rourke grunted his response.
All the books were adorned with strange characters on the spines, like hieroglyphics.
“If he has High Law books,” Tyler stated from the doorway, “they will be footnoted in English as well as all the popular European languages.”
Tyler and I only spoke English, since we’d been raised in America and we were very young on the supernatural age scale. I had no idea how many languages Rourke spoke, but my guess was many.
“I know some Demonish phrases,” Rourke said. “But of course the written language will be a challenge. But the demons have close ties with the Shamans of the East, correct? They worship the Underworld and speak many European languages. I know a lot of those.”
Lili appraised my mate with a calculated gaze. “Yes, the Shamans do have a strong connection to the Underworld. Unfortunately, they are not involved in any of our laws. We use them for… ceremonies.”
I followed Lili and Rourke behind the desk and sat down in the chair. It was ridged and cool. “There has to be something here we can work with, Lili. We need information, specifically about the Scriptures.”
Lili strode back to the entryway where Tyler stood. Ray and Selene had stayed outside the office. I could hear them bickering about something in the hallway. “I will check the other rooms and see what I can find.”
I nodded toward Tyler. “Go with her and see if you can come up with anything.” Watch her like a hawk, I said. Something’s up.
I’m on it. He turned and followed her out, closing the office door behind him.
I swiveled in the chair and met Rourke’s heated gaze. It was the first time we’d been alone since he’d arrived. Shivers raced up my spine and a calm heat spread over my entire body.
Instead of speaking, he simply extended his hand.
I took it and energy immediately zinged up my arm in a delicious current. He tugged me out of the chair with a gentle pull and led me back around the desk toward a door I hadn’t noticed before. It wasn’t one of those concealed cutout doors, but looked like a regular working door.
“Before we continue our investigation, I need you to help me clean this crap off,” he said, grinning like a cat with a canary. He had a point, as he was still covered in dried blood from the orthrus.
We reached the door and he turned the knob. It gave easily. He swung it wide.
To reveal the biggest bathroom I’d ever seen.
20
“How’d you know there was a bathroom here, you tricky beast?” I laughed.
“I didn’t.” He chuckled. “I was actually hoping it was a bedroom.”
Before I could respond he had me pressed up against the doorjamb, mouth slanted over mine. It was a needy kiss and I responded in kind, my tongue delving deeply into his mouth, matching him stroke for stroke.
His hands slid down my body, electrifying everything along their way. He broke the kiss with a growl and ran his delicious blond stubble along my jaw and down my neck. “My beast we
I shivered. “I—” His tongue found its way to the hollow of my neck and as it licked, a small sound erupted from the back of my throat. “—I… promise.”
He shook his head as he gazed up at me, his eyes slightly unfocused. “I realized something huge when you left.” His irises radiated their emotion like tiny prisms of the most beautiful emerald. “I can’t take a backseat where you’re involved. We’re either in this together—as a team—or it doesn’t happen. My beast can’t stand it and neither can I.” He ran his tongue up my jaw, stopping a hairbreadth from my lips. “Deal?” he purred.
With his passion and love pressed against me, my wolf howling in pleasure, there was no way I could say no. He was right. This was where we needed to be. We were a team, bonded together in the most primal way possible. I gazed up at him, knowing my eyes were full of the same emotions, a kaleidoscope of violet. “Deal,” I whispered.
His lips took mine again as he slid his hands down my back until they were firmly planted around my backside. In one motion he picked me up, and I obliged by wrapping my legs around his waist. He walked us into the large room covered in an intricate mosaic of black and white tile, kicking the door shut behind us.
I broke the kiss as I glanced upward. Everywhere I could see were row after row of what looked to be sprinkler heads. I gazed back down at my mate with one eyebrow arched. He flashed me a devious smile and reached a hand over and flipped a large switch on the wall.
Demon water cascaded down around us in heavy currents, coating us completely in seconds.
It was thick and warm, instantly eating off all the nasty grime as it went. Rourke leaned into me, his cinnamon-laced breath on mine. “No one will begrudge us a quick shower break.” His eyes twinkled. “I smelled like old roadkill. A demon would scent me a mile away, making our getaway much too risky.”
“I hadn’t noticed any nefarious smells,” I replied coyly. “You always smell like heaven to me.” I cupped a hand around his jaw as I moved forward and took his mouth slowly, enjoying the feeling of the wetness coupled with his heat.
Once our kiss deepened, he walked me over to a ledge that ran around the large showering area. My backside fit perfectly onto the shelf and he pressed his way between my thighs, flattening himself against me.
Gods, he felt so good.
My hands splayed along his now-clean torso and I leaned over and bit his bottom lip. No other man in the history of the universe was as hot as he was. I would dare anyone to say otherwise. My wolf barked her agreement.
The shower continued to rain down as I covered his mouth with mine, my tongue plunging deeply. He returned my kiss with a sigh, tilting our heads together, melding them perfectly. His full warm lips felt ridiculously good against mine. He took his sweet time exploring my mouth, making my toes curl in pleasure. I ran my hands up his neck and into his hair, grabbing fistfuls and forcing us together even closer. I had missed him an insane amount.
I broke the kiss reluctantly, pressing my forehead against his, sliding my hands down his neck, my nails raking his bare shoulders as I murmured into his lips, “We only have about three minutes left to spare in here, you know. We are in the bowels of Hell and it’s imperative we stay focused. People are waiting for us. As much as I regret it, this is not the time for loving.”
“I am laser-focused,” he answered in a serious tone, his voice raw. “This is the most important mission I’ve had in days.”
I laughed into his lips. It felt so good to relax for a few precious moments. “It would be highly inappropriate for us to lose ourselves right now. I know how we operate, and if we give in, we will be lost for hours.”
He gave me a throaty growl. “I’m up for making this quick if you can manage it.” Water rushed down his face and throat and it was hard for me not to lick it off him. The demon water had no taste, and other than bring thicker, it was a lot like our regular water. “After all, you’re the one with the problem. Always wanting more. It’s all I can do to keep you satiated.”
“Quiet!” I squealed, smacking his chest right as the water magically shut off. It must’ve been on a timer, but that was fine because we were squeaky clean. “That’s so unfair. You’re the one who never seems to be finished. Don’t you ever get tired?”
“Not when I’m around you.” He nuzzled my throat. “I’m sure that’s a huge hardship for you.”
I laughed as his hands wandered their way up my chest. “It totally is. I’m drained most of the time.”
“I want to be drained,” he growled as he thumbed my sensitive peaks through the jumpsuit.
“Ahh,” I moaned as my head angled back against the wall. “Rourke, honestly, you have to stop. There will be time for this when we get home. If the Prince comes back here before—”
There was a polite knock on the door and I straightened up.
Tyler cleared his voice politely. “Um, I think we found something that may help us. Lili said it’s important. Also, is that the bathroom? I could use a rinse-off.”
“Yep, it’s the bathroom,” I called. “We’ll be right”—Rourke tweaked me deliciously hard—“ out!”
“Gotcha,” Tyler said, amusement in his voice.
“You win this time,” Rourke whispered in my ear as he tugged me off the ledge, “but all bets are off the next opportunity we get to ourselves. Being connected to you is the most important thing and I don’t give a shit about anything else.” He held me tightly against his length. “I’m taking you.” He leaned over. “Make no mistake about it.”
I slid my hand all the way down to and cupped him, giving him a gentle squeeze. A low growl issued out of the back of his throat.
“I’m all in.” I rose up on tiptoe to his ear. “But only if the timing’s right. I want to enjoy you.”
“Oh, there will be much enjoyment to be had.” He grabbed my hand and led me to what had to be a wall of dryers, even though they looked more like trumpets erupting from the wall. “Now we dry off. After all, we can’t go save the world sopping wet.” He grinned as he punched another button on the wall and the dryers sprang to life. “And I just may have to take that jumpsuit off you to make sure there’s not a drop of water left clinging to it.”
I laughed as he slid me backward, pressing me firmly up against the tiles.
A girl had to get dry somehow.
“What’s in your hand?” I asked my brother as I walked up behind him. The dryers had been ridiculously effective and we’d been dry within a minute, much to Rourke’s chagrin. I’d had to drag him from the bathrooms, promising to do delicious, naughty things to him later.
“It’s an official written warrant for your arrest in the Underworld,” Tyler answered, waving the parchment in the air.
I snatched it from him and scanned it quickly. “It says I’ve committed ‘small, answerable crimes’ to be judged if ‘the defendant arrived to the Underworld of her own volition.’ ” I walked around and sat on one of the black couches, which didn’t give an inch. Ignoring the rigidity, I asked, “Who issued this? I doubt it was the Prince of Hell.”
“No,” Lili answered. “The Prince did not have a hand in that. That was issued by the magistrate, but in order for you to be charged with a crime here someone had to file the appropriate paperwork citing your crimes in detail. No demon here would know about the two imps on your plane or the Camazotz you killed, because to us they simply disappeared. If any demon was upset by the loss, one could rationalize that the Lunar Goddess had purchased them, so therefore they were her responsibility. But in reality, no one would’ve gone looking for them.”
“So what does that mean?” I asked. “The Prince filed a complaint with the magistrate because he had his own agenda?” That wasn’t exactly surprising. “According to this, he went against his own law to lure me here.”
“Not exactly,” Lili replied. “Demons are wordsmiths of the highest degree. That piece of paper does indeed accuse you of crimes. It makes me wonder, however, why he would go to such great lengths to get you to come here. But either way, the Prince has fulfilled the prophecy by luring you here. If you had not arrived, there would be no uprising.”
“That’s what I’ve tried to tell the Prince all along, but he’s too pigheaded to understand. If he would’ve left me alone, none of this would’ve happened. Now I want to know what the new Scriptures say,” I said pointedly, arching an eye at Lili. “That’s information we desperately need.”
“I told you already,” she answered, appearing uncomfortable once again. “I cannot tell you the exact wording, it is forbidden.”
“Forbidden why? And what do you care?” I said. “You’re only half demon and you want to leave this plane behind and never look back. Why would you worry about protocol now?”
“It’s not protocol, it’s superstition,” she replied. “Demons are highly superstitious about only a few things, and repeating the Scriptures to a non-demon is one of them. If I tell you, I potentially place a hex on the Underworld. I won’t do it, so don’t ask me.”
I begrudgingly understood superstition. Wolves are highly superstitious about many things, including myths and legends, which had made my life much harder than it needed to be for a very, very long time.
“Fine,” I said, crossing my arms. “Don’t tell us in exact words, just give us an idea. Paint a picture.”
-->
