by Dianna Love
They’d dropped Reese on the sofa with her head positioned so that she could see a fuzzy image of the door at this end of the room if she barely moved her eyelashes.
Evalle pulled out her mobile phone. “I’m going to find out how far away Storm is. I’m thinking he’ll know what to do.”
A tone sounded on a small display panel by the door. Reese risked opening her eyes just a tiny slit, which allowed her to see Evalle smile, then put her phone away without using it.
Evalle said, “That might be Storm.”
Who the hell was this Storm? Had to be Evalle’s boyfriend, or husband, the way she smiled. Reese checked out Evalle’s left hand. No ring.
The energy in Reese’s chest came to life in a big way and added to her misery.
What the ...
“I’m here ...” a male voice called from the hallway.
Just as he got to the door and swung inside, Reese came alive. She rolled off the sofa and to her feet, wobbling into a run.
Isak stopped her.
Storm roared, “What the hell is that doing inside my wards?”
That’s who they were waiting for? Reese tried to squeeze between Isak and the wall.
She shouted, “Get him out of here.” Pain rushed through all parts of her body. The energy and poison were having a party.
Evalle grabbed his arm. “Whoa, honey.”
“Let go, Evalle.”
“We think she’s sick.”
Truth. Bile rushed up in Reese’s throat. She couldn’t stop the shakes. This was no different than staking a lamb for a sacrificial offering.
Storm’s eyes went bright red. “Not a problem. I’m going to kill her.”
Heat baked Reese’s brain or she’d have had something snappy to throw back at him.
Isak stepped forward, blocking Storm. “Back off, dude. She’s unarmed.”
Reese silently cheered for the super-sized human.
Shoving his face up at Isak, Storm warned, “Get out of my way or I’ll toss you through that wall.”
That must have been possible, because Evalle raced over and wedged her hand between them, pushing the men apart.
It looked as if moving a building over a foot would have been easier. She stepped fully in front of the demon. “Storm, what’s wrong? Don’t get upset with them. I brought her in here.”
What was the relationship between Evalle and that demon?
Storm had been shaking with fury, but when he turned his eyes from Reese to Evalle, his faced calmed.
He went from angry to confused. “Do you not know what she is?”
“No, we were all wondering, so if you do, then tell us.”
Reese spoke up in a raspy voice. “What exactly do you think I am, demon?”
They all turned to her.
Storm’s hard stare returned, but his eyes were golden now. “I know what you are, demon.”
“Heh. I guess it’s true about takes one to know one.” Lame, but she wasn’t at her best.
Storm’s red headlights glowed hot again.
Taking potshots at a demon while she had no powers and was cuffed might land her the Stupid Award Of The Year.
Reese said, “Okay, everyone calm down. I am not a demon.”
“I can sense your energy, but ... ” Storm argued, but he frowned as he did. “You’re telling the truth.”
How would he know if she lied or not? She explained, “I am a demon magnet, though, which means I have demon blood in my ancestry. Demons turn rabid around me, because of the energy inside me. I don’t harm others and can’t help my ancestry. When I have my powers, I kill demons like the one I killed at the park.” She stared at Storm when she said, “Although, I am impressed that this one maintains such good control.”
Adrianna sucked in a breath at that and Evalle’s face crinkled with a look of “oh, shit.”
Storm said in a tight, but even, voice, “Move, Isak. I’d like to address her one-on-one.”
Isak must have been tired of battling everyone. He said, “You know what? It’s not a human. She’s all yours.”
The traitor left Reese standing alone, leaning against the wall for support, with sweat soaking her shirt that had almost finally dried.
“It? You called her an it?” Adrianna said in a tone that warned Isak he had hit on a sore topic.
Storm saved Isak by walking up to Reese and yanking everyone’s attention to the imminent bloodbath. Why had they kept her alive if they were going to let a demon kill her?
When Storm stood only a foot away from her, Reese’s energy lashed at her insides, burning her along with the poison. She’d never spent this much time so close to a demon.
Not and both of them still be alive.
Her knees banged together from her body weakening and she hated it. Hated to ever feel vulnerable.
But she was not backing down. “What are you waiting for?” she taunted him.
Storm smiled and she wondered if that was the face he showed prey right before they were slaughtered. He put his hand on her stomach.
She jerked at the rush of energy that flooded toward him. Done with him toying with her, she snarled, “It calls to you, doesn’t it? Demons live for a chance at this kind of power. You want it, don’t you?”
For some demented reason, she wanted to prove he wasn’t stronger than she was. That he couldn’t hold out against the pull of her energy.
At this point, she’d help him to gouge out the damn energy. It throbbed with hot zaps of pain through her chest.
Storm’s jaw flexed. He studied her intently as if trying to decide something, then he whispered words that sounded like the Haida speech pattern, but she didn’t understand the language.
Reese gasped for air and slid down to the floor. Her knees had given out. She looked up at him. “What did you do?”
He arched an eyebrow at her. “Based on you being the one cuffed, you’re the one expected to answer questions. Not me.”
The pain in her chest receded, not all the way, but on a one-to-ten scale, it was down to a six after Reese had just suffered ten thousand. She wrapped one arm across her waist—an effort with flex cuffs on her wrists—and stretched her fingers to the gash in her side.
Yep, still there.
Evalle let out a rush of air that sounded relieved. She stepped up next to Storm but looked down at Reese. “You looked perfectly healthy when you were fighting in the park. Are you having a reaction to Adrianna’s power?”
Reese considered lying just to make them all feel guilty, but she didn’t have the energy to play games. “No.”
“Why are you sick now and you weren’t then?”
“I had on a protective disk that someone tore off my neck.” She searched the faces for a sign that someone had it. No one seemed to know what she was talking about.
“What’s your name?” Evalle asked.
“Reese.” She clamped her lips shut and groaned. “Sorry for the short visit, but I got hit with a load of poison earlier from fighting a pair of jötnar demons. Since I doubt I’ll last much longer, I’m done answering questions.”
Adrianna came over. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Reese shook her head. “You can’t fix this. Ask him.” She nodded in Storm’s direction.
They turned to Storm, who still looked as though he hadn’t made up his mind not to solve her problem by removing her head from her body. In another fifteen minutes she’d be begging him to do just that.
Chapter 9
Evalle considered Reese’s condition and Storm’s anger. She put her hand on his arm.
Her mate lost his demon glare when he turned to her and waited to see what she’d ask of him now. Clearly, bringing a demonically influenced person into their home had not gone over well. She couldn’t fix this now, not with an audience.
She squeezed his arm and said, “We need to talk to her. It’s very important. I’ll explain it all as soon as I can, but I told Quinn I’d keep her safe until he gets here. Can you do anything?”
The furious glint slid away and Storm’s warm brown eyes returned. He brushed his hand over her hair. “Maybe. Let me see.”
He moved out of Evalle’s grasp and sighed when he took in the pitiful sight of their captive. Addressing Reese, he said in an even tone. “I will help you if you swear on your life not to harm me or what’s mine.”
Reese struggled to look up and forced out, “Yes, but—”
He produced a knife and leaned down.
Eyes terrified, Reese clamped her lips shut and followed his every move.
He sliced through the flex cuffs then stood up.
She rubbed her wrists, now wary as she kept him in view.
Storm held both of his hands over her and lifted his head. He spoke in a tongue that Evalle had heard before, but not often.
It took a moment before she realized he was speaking Ashaninka. He’d been born part Ashaninka and part Navajo, but he’d gotten his demon blood from his South American roots.
Well, damn. She hated for him to tap that side to help anyone, but interrupting him right now might do greater harm to Reese.
Tonight’s private conversation just got more conflicted.
As he spoke, the lights in the room quivered and the air turned brittle cold. Storm’s voice had a sharp, nasal tone but was filled with respect.
To Evalle it sounded as if he were calling upon his ancestors to do him a favor.
Hair on her arms stood up.
Adrianna’s white-blonde locks lifted off her shoulders.
Isak wore a horrified expression, but kept his gaze locked on Reese, unable to look away.
Reese grabbed at her chest. She made garbled noises as if something inside her struggled to get out.
Evalle kept track of Isak to be sure he wouldn’t pull out a demon blaster and use it. His eyes couldn’t get any rounder.
Adrianna, on the other hand, watched Storm with intense fascination. The kind of attention a student would give a master, which was quite a compliment considering Adrianna was the baddest witch in the east these days.
Maybe in any direction.
Reese’s eyes turned white. Her body lifted up in the air, arms hanging loose and head dropped back.
Black smoke curled up from her open mouth. It continued to feed out in a silky tendril, then rolled into a dark ball that smelled sick and nasty.
Her body shook, but slowly her form shifted upright until she stood flatfooted. She gasped for air then bent over, hands on her knees and coughed, sucking in one deep breath after another.
Storm kept his eyes shut, but turned his face toward the black cloud floating over Reese.
He shoved his hands into the dark mess.
No! Evalle reached for him, but before she could grab Storm to pull him back, the cloud exploded into microscopic crystals that sucked into themselves and sizzled out of existence.
She grabbed his face, turning his head to her. “Storm, are you okay?”
He opened his eyes. The red glow died down and returned to his normal brown eyes. He blinked and all sign of demon was gone. “I’m fine.”
She held his face. “Don’t ever do that again, okay?”
He kissed her, murmuring, “Then don’t bring a demon home again.”
“It wasn’t intentional.”
Reese argued, “I’m not a—”
Ignoring Reese, Storm spoke over her, suggesting, “How about next time you treat something unknown like it might be a rabid animal and lock it in a cage until I get here?”
She dropped her hands. He was still angry, though keeping it hidden from the others. She knew it came from him thinking she’d been at risk, but he also knew she killed demons for a living.
Just to let him know she wasn’t fooled, her lips twitched and she shrugged. “I don’t see a cage, do you?”
“I’ll build one.”
“You do that.”
He sighed. “Ever the hellion.”
Adrianna interrupted. “She’s stable again. She might make it this time now that you got the poison out of her.”
Evalle leaned in, pausing right before she kissed Storm lightly to say, “Thank you.”
He sighed again, the sound of a man in love who knew he could not win this fight. “You’re welcome.” He turned the quick kiss into one he put his stamp on that told everyone in the world that Evalle was his.
He added in a whisper next to her ear. “Let’s wrap this up. I have plans for you.”
When he pulled back, she quipped, “Then don’t piss me off again.”
“I’ll work on that, sweetheart.”
Even angry, he had the ability to send her heart somersaulting with his endearment.
“You two done making up?” Isak asked, not the least bit happy.
Storm turned around, putting a protective arm over Evalle’s shoulders, and she let him.
Isak grunted out a derogatory scoffing noise.
Adrianna had caught the whole exchange. She told Isak, “You could take a few tips.” Then she walked over to wash her hands.
Evalle didn’t need her empathic gift to know that Storm was enjoying a smug moment.
The security monitor on the wall made a soft ding. She started to go check.
Storm kept her in place. “That’s Quinn. I gave him and Tzader codes for entering and set the ward to allow them to come in.”
Adrianna stepped back over and teased, “What about me?”
“I have a code for you, too, but I need you physically here to set the ward.”
He’d clearly surprised her. “Okay, thanks.”
Isak said, “That will be handy.”
Storm replied, “For them. You, on the other hand, can only come inside when invited.”
Evalle slid a look at Adrianna, whose smirk said she enjoyed the exchange, which only pushed Isak’s irritation level up another notch.
Those two needed to stop circling each other and find a room.
“I got here as soon as I could,” Quinn said, striding into the room. He nodded at Storm then asked, “Has anyone gotten anything out of that woman yet?”
Adrianna chuckled. “Storm did, but the only one it helped was her. She was loaded with demon poison.”
Reese stepped forward and told him, “That woman has a name. I realize it may strain your alpha egos, but try to show a little respect and talk to me as if I have a mind.”
Evalle wanted to dislike Reese because of catching her in the middle of tonight’s mess and because of Storm having to tap his demon blood to help her, but she had spunk. A fighter. Evalle certainly couldn’t disparage the woman for having mixed blood. She knew well enough how it felt to be shunned because of prejudice. Of all the people in the room, Evalle might be the only one who saw beneath the woman’s bravado to the fear.
Storm’s empathic side had to be alerted, but he may have been too pissed off at first to sense Reese fully. The confusion trickling into his expression probably meant he was finally taking a deeper look at Reese.
Reese might be earning a bit of sympathy. Or so Evalle thought until she caught the dark thoughts simmering in Quinn’s eyes.
He didn’t look a bit sympathetic.
She spoke to him telepathically. What’s wrong, Quinn?
Let’s deal with this woman first. Then he asked the room, “Nothing useful, huh?”
Storm and Adrianna gave Evalle odd looks, searching for an explanation. They knew Quinn well enough to catch that something was off.
Isak didn’t.
Evalle would have to ask Isak to leave or they’d be forced to dance around what they could say.
Isak’s phone buzzed. He lifted it and read the monitor. “I need to go.” He put his phone away and told Adrianna, “I’ll call you later.”
“Why?”
Evalle almost spewed the water she’d just slugged back.
Not the least bit put off, Isak walked over to Adrianna. Standing toe to toe with her, he said, “To talk about having dinner.”
“Why?”
Sounding perturbed now, Isak stared down at Adrianna. “Because I want to share a meal with you. Why is that difficult to understand?”
She gave him a dainty shrug. “I’m a strange person. Not even a person. I’m a nonhuman, based on the definition you use, so why would you want to have dinner with such a being?” She paused and added with emphasis, “An it.”
Isak muttered under his breath.
Evalle caught something about a woman turning him into a lunatic.
Storm hugged Evalle. He might not like Isak, but she caught a touch of sympathy rolling off Storm. Storm had gone through a lot to win Evalle’s trust. She figured he could empathize, even with Isak, when a woman was making a man crazy.
Leaning down, Isak said, “I’ll call. You’ll answer. We’ll discuss this later.” Then he picked her up, kissed her hard, dropped her back down and walked out.
It took Adrianna a second to realize what he’d done and yell, “Hold your breath waiting on that.”
His booming laughter answered her.
Quinn started rubbing his head.
Evalle took pity on him. She asked Storm, “Did you get your bar stocked?”
“It’s our bar and the answer is yes.” He started for the bar built into the wall. “Two fingers of Boodles, Quinn?”
“Absolutely.”
“Tea for you, Adrianna?”
“I can get it. I found it earlier when I opened the wrong cabinet.”
“What do you want, Reese?” Evalle arched an eyebrow at the woman, warning her she had few friends in this room. In other words, don’t mouth off at a potential ally.
Reese must have taken the hint, because she politely requested a soft drink.
Once they all had something in hand and had pulled chairs into a half circle to face Reese, Quinn asked Storm, “What can you tell me first?”
“She has demonic energy—”
Reese gave him a frown then told Quinn, “I clarified that I’m not a demon, but a demon magnet. Big difference.”
Quinn looked to Storm with a question in his gaze.
