by Patti O'Shea
She’d been through his desk—he’d caught her redhanded—and the moved coffee table gave away the bookcase as the location of her most recent search. Curious, Conor went to the shelves. Moving the table back where it went, he attempted to sense what she’d touched. It was easy to track a person’s energy sig, but it was much harder to read traces left on inanimate objects. At least, it was difficult for him.
Closing his eyes to focus, Conor studied the shelves. It took a few minutes, but Mika’s presence was stronger at the top. He double-checked and decided that, while the energy was fainter down low, it was also more complete. She’d started there and worked up.
How close had she come?
Holding the palm of his hand about half an inch away from the spines of the books, he moved it across the third shelf, then the second. She’d finished with both of those—and recently too, unless he missed his guess. Conor checked the final shelf and found where she’d ended. Seven books. She’d been only seven books away from the one containing the spell.
If she’d started at the top instead of the bottom of the bookcase, she would have put her hands on it right away. If that dark demon hadn’t shown up, she might have found it tonight. He rechecked her energy sig and noted that her search had been thorough and careful—not something most people would have expected from Mika, he guessed. But her methodical approach didn’t surprise him; he’d seen how precisely she’d organized his papers.
Conor reached for the book, then shot a quick glance at the bedroom doorway. The coast was clear. Returning to the desk, he held the text and stared at it.
The binding was old but not original. Its cover was blank, no title or hint of what was inside, and there weren’t many pages. Amazing how much trouble this one slim volume had caused. It had brought Mika into his life long enough for him to trust her, to want more time with her, and then it had taken her away from him. This book was also responsible for Ben’s death, and for the dark demons trying to kill Mika.
Leaning forward, he waggled the text in his hands. For years he’d searched for a way to call his father forward, to exact retribution for his mother’s rape. But he’d had a major obstacle—he didn’t know who had sired him. And as far as Conor could tell, there were only two ways to draw someone out of Orcus: Either the summoner used the demon’s name, or he put out a random request and took whoever showed up.
His mother had chosen option number two, not realizing she’d get a Kiverian.
But this spell…Conor ran a hand over the book’s cloth cover. He was sure he could use this spell to force his father to face him. Conor simply needed to figure out how to adapt it so that he only brought forth one particular demon and not all of them.
The incantation in its current form would give him power over all demons allegedly, but it would also open the veil between Orcus and the Overworld. That was the last thing he wanted. He was a slayer. He hunted outlaw vampires and werewolves and occasionally demons, whenever they managed to appear. It was his fondest desire to rid Crimson City of demons. Each and every one of them.
Or at least, that had been his goal. Conor wasn’t as dead set on it as he’d been before Mika. He shook his head. Was he going to think of life this way from now on. Before Mika and After Mika? As if on cue, she shifted in bed again, and he wondered if she were having as much trouble quieting her thoughts as he.
Conor opened the book and stared at the ornate writing. He’d spent years studying, trying to work out the phrasing he would need to call forward one specific but unnamed Kiverian. He’d examined every other summoning spell he’d found, and with the info he’d gathered, it was just a matter of time until he perfected one. Or it would have been. Before Mika.
Nothing was simple any longer.
Congratulations on the vishtau.
He could almost hear Nat’s laughter. Conor gripped the edges of the book tightly. He should have checked out what a vishtau was immediately, but he’d been more focused on other things. Like Mika. And the demons running loose in the city. Particularly the Dark Ones.
He didn’t remember reading about the vishtau in any of his books, and no one he’d talked with had ever mentioned it until Nat. But there was one person who damn well should have told him what it meant. Her keeping it a secret had been one more manipulation, one more lie.
And she could be pregnant. Shit, he couldn’t be a father. What the hell did he know about parenting? It wasn’t like he’d had any role models. His mother had considered him her punishment for joining a cult, and his father was a brutal rapist. Conor scrubbed a hand down his face. But if the worst happened, he’d have to deal with it. He wouldn’t run from his responsibility.
Standing, he closed the spellbook with a snap and put it back on the shelf. He wanted to go into his weight room and work out some of his emotions, but he couldn’t—not with the protection down around his house. While he doubted his foes would return in the few hours left of darkness, he wouldn’t chance it. He wouldn’t be caught worn out and off guard.
Reluctantly, he went into the bedroom and stripped down to his shorts. He felt Mika awake. She was watching him, but she didn’t say anything. Good. Pulling back the covers on his side of the bed, he crawled in and tucked a hand behind his head.
Mika moved, pressing herself against his side. “Conor—”
“Don’t touch me,” he said. She froze at the coldness of his voice. Tough shit.
Her hand stroked down his chest, and his body responded. That pissed him off. Conor grabbed her hand, stopping it mid-caress, and grunted: “I said, don’t touch me.”
“But…” She trailed off.
“But what?”
“You came to bed.”
It was hard holding on to his dispassion when she sounded so bewildered, but he managed. “I’m here to continue protecting you. I need to be close to do so.” He turned his head and gave her a hard stare. “I gave my word. But you stay on your side of the bed and keep your hands to yourself, got it?”
“Yeah, I understand.” She sounded hurt.
She withdrew slowly, and he fought the need to reach out and drag her to him. He felt cold without her body next to his. And he felt alone.
Pissed off that she still affected him, Conor turned onto his side, putting his back to her. He wasn’t going to waste his time obsessing about a liar. There were more important things to consider—like, was his father really in Crimson City?
Ben had once been a good judge of character, but demons lied often and well. The one who had professed to be his father might have said that only to get Ben’s cooperation. Those demons must have gone to Phoenix and waited for an opportunity to approach him. To enlist his aid, one had claimed to be Conor’s father, and convinced the retired slayer that he had nothing but his son’s best interests at heart. Ben was big on family, and Conor had never told him why he felt such antipathy for the man who’d given him half his DNA.
But was it just a lie?
Conor would know the instant he was close enough to read the man’s energy signature whether or not they were related. It was unlikely, he knew, but if it really was his father…
If it really was his father, then Conor wouldn’t have to worry about adjusting the spell or making a mistake and letting all the demons in Orcus run free on Earth. And he could put aside his tentative plan to enter the underworld to search for the man.
It would be easy to hunt the bastard down in Crimson City. Easy to kill him.
Ignoring the disquiet that stirred within him, Conor smiled coldly. Finally, he’d be able to take the son of a bitch down.
Chapter Fifteen
It was amazing, Conor thought as he rounded the hood of his truck, how fast things could change. Less than twentyfour hours ago, he’d been eager to get to Mika, and now he almost dreaded reaching her. He opened the passenger door, and reluctantly took her elbow to help her down. The last thing he wanted to do was touch her, but the pickup rode high, had oversized tires, and lacked a running board. As soon as she wa
s safely on the ground, though, he pulled free. Mika didn’t say a word, but her sigh spoke volumes. He ignored it and scanned their surroundings.
It had been a long time since he’d been in this section of LA. The area was rundown, but there were signs of renovation everywhere. Some of the buildings were finished, reclaiming the elegance of their early days, and many others had scaffolding and additional indications of work in progress around them. A year from now, this wouldn’t be the same place.
Although it wasn’t dark yet, the streetlights were shining, illuminating the sidewalks. Twilight wouldn’t last much longer. He guessed they had about an hour till it was night.
“Come on,” he ordered without glancing her direction. It still hurt too much to look at Mika, to know she didn’t give a damn about him either.
He saw Hayes as soon as they rounded the corner. The man leaned against his beat-up Mustang, arms crossed over his chest. Although he didn’t look over, Conor knew he was aware of their arrival.
“What the hell did you bring her for?” Hayes demanded when they reached him.
“Nice to see you again too,” Mika said smoothly.
“She has demons after her. I couldn’t leave her home alone and unprotected,” Conor replied.
Hayes ignored Mika and argued, “You did exactly that a couple of days ago.”
“Things changed.”
The freelancer muttered another curse. “Some help you’re going to be if you’re busy babysitting her.”
Conor heard Mika growl low in her throat, and hooked a hand in the waistband of her jeans in time to keep her from surging forward. She turned her glare on him. “Behave,” he warned her coldly. Damn demons and their emotional responses. He turned his icy stare on Hayes next. “Don’t use that tone. If you’re pissed at me, take it out on me.”
“I apologize,” Hayes said, addressing Mika. When she nodded, Conor released his grip.
“Are we going to stand here until everyone the neighborhood is aware of us or are you going to fill me in on why you called for backup?”
The other man hesitated, then with a shrug, said, “I’ve found a couple of demons.”
“Where?” If these were the pair after Mika, he could take care of them and get rid of her. There was nothing he wanted more than to have her gone. And maybe the one who’d claimed to be his father was with them. Maybe he would find out the truth or if it had been a lie to fool old Ben.
“See the opening between the two houses to my left? If you look through, you’ll see another building behind them. I think it might have been a small hotel, but it’s in rough shape. They’re holed up in the lobby—or at least in a large open area located in the front. I want to go in there after them, but I’m afraid they’re going to rabbit out the back.”
Conor reached out and probed the energy. There were two signatures, like Hayes claimed. One was definitely a demon—not one of the Dark Ones after Mika, but still very dangerous. The other…Well, Conor wasn’t sure. The energy kept morphing the same way it did with Nat, yet he knew this wasn’t his informant.
“It would be better if I went in there after them.” How could he allow a human to face a demon darker than his own breed?
This time, it was Hayes who moved. He straightened away from his car and said, “No. I found them, you’re backup, nothing more. Got it?”
Since Conor wouldn’t want someone else horning in either, he nodded and reluctantly agreed. “Okay, they’re yours. Do you have a plan, other than walking inside?”
“Yeah, make them talk, then kill them.”
“Oh, that’s a great plan,” Mika piped up. “Do you know anything about what type of demons you’ll be facing?”
“Type? Who the hell cares?” Hayes looked incredulous.
Instead of grabbing Mika by the jeans, Conor hooked an arm around her waist and anchored her at his side. The feel of her warm body distracted him for a moment, and he pushed the awareness away. He understood why she was angry. Humans believed a demon was a demon, and that there was no difference. But Mika would be little threat to anyone unless they cornered her and she was fighting for her life. She’d told him the night they’d met that her branch was mischievous, not dangerous, and from what he’d seen, he concurred with that assessment. At least in that one thing, she hadn’t been lying.
“These demons might not know anything about what happened to the team,” he cautioned. Conor ignored Mika’s curious stare. “Demons rarely work together, and if this duo wasn’t involved, they’ll have no idea what you’re asking about.”
“True, but then these could be the demons behind the whole thing. Either way, I’m going to find out. Are you going to help me, McCabe, or do I need to call someone else?”
“I’ll help.” What else could he do? “What do you want me to do?”
“Cover the back,” Hayes said at once. “If they run, try and hold them for me.”
“Sure,” Mika said. “We’ll just—”
“Mika,” Conor growled. That would be all he needed: her mouthing off to Hayes and giving something away. The man wasn’t stupid, and Mika was impulsive. Who knew what she’d say?
“There’s some good cover in the rear,” Hayes told him. “I’ll circle around to the front and you can get into position. I’ll wait ten minutes to enter. Okay?”
Conor nodded. “I’ll be ready.”
As Hayes walked away, Conor released Mika and checked his watch. He scanned for signatures again, but the pair inside the building hadn’t changed position. “What kind of demon is that in there?” he asked Mika abruptly. “It’s an energy I haven’t read before.”
“The stronger of the two is a Grolird. The other is a spinner. Probably one that gave an oath in exchange for protection, since spinners are pretty weak demons.”
“Spinner?” It was a reference he hadn’t heard before, but he immediately associated it with the creature whose energy kept morphing—spinning—between species.
“It’s a slang term. I don’t remember what the real name of their branch is because no one uses it.”
Spinner. That meant Nat was…Son of a bitch. All these years and he’d been getting intel from a demon. No wonder Nat knew what Conor was, knew that Mika was half demon as well.
“Is a spinner stronger or weaker than Mahsei?” Conor asked.
“Stronger.” Mika smiled and he had to look away. “They’re about mid-range, but still considered weak, especially as far as a Grolird is concerned.”
Why the hell did her smile continue to make his heart lurch? He knew she was a liar, knew she’d used him, manipulated him. With perfect clarity, he could recall the times she’d derailed him from questioning her about anything she didn’t want to talk about. And despite it all, he wanted her with an intensity that made him ache.
She’d backed off, mostly stopped pushing and provoking him. Probably because it wasn’t to her advantage any longer, the cynic in him said. Conor shrugged it off. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that he didn’t have to deal with her teasing and game-playing.
When he realized Mika was staring at his profile, watching him, assessing, he glanced at his wrist. “We need to get into position,” he said. “You get behind me and stay close. And if those two demons do run out the back, you stay hidden, do you understand me?”
“Yes, sir!” She jerked to attention and snapped off a crisp salute.
Conor scowled at her before cloaking his presence from humans. After he felt Mika do the same, he headed for the opening that Hayes had pointed out. As the other man had said, there was plenty of cover, and he kept them behind the overgrown bushes. When they were in position, he dropped the mask and marked the time. Two more minutes.
Those two dragged into fifteen, and Mika started fidgeting. Conor gave her a pointed look, and though she stopped moving, he could feel the impatience bubbling inside her.
At twenty minutes past the mark, she whispered, “What’s taking so long?” His glower didn’t faze her. “Well?”
&nb
sp; “Maybe they’re talking to Hayes. Now be quiet.”
Just past the thirty-minute mark, Mika stiffened. Conor stared intently at the back of the hotel, but he didn’t see anything. He looked over his shoulder and raised his brows.
“Watcher,” she said, so quietly he read her lips more than heard the word.
Once he knew what she was reacting to, he found their spy easily. He was stationed to their left, and behind them. Conor analyzed the angles and swallowed a curse. They were directly in the bastard’s line of sight. Studying the area, he tried to find a new position, one that gave them cover from two directions, but before he could choose a spot, he detected motion.
The back door flew open and the spinner and the Grolird ran out. One was male, the other female, and there was more than an oath of fealty between them; Conor knew it in the flash of a second.
He moved, and drew the weapon Nat had given him. Hayes would be right behind these two, and no way in hell was he giving himself away as a demon by shooting energy from his hands. “Hold it right there,” he ordered, blocking their escape route.
The male demon, the spinner, put himself in front of the female, shielding her as he prepared to fight. She was the stronger of the pair, so what the hell was this about?
“Get out of our way, Kiverian,” the male warned.
“Conor, let them go,” Mika said from beside him.
“What the hell are you doing? I told you to stay put!”
She ignored him. “They’re mated. They’ll fight to the death to protect each other, and for what? So Hayes can ask some questions? If he didn’t get his answers already—”
The freelancer staggered out the back of the house, pistol drawn. There was blood running down his temple, but he didn’t look too battered. Conor had his gaze off the couple for a fraction of an instant, and they took the opening to run.
Swinging around, Conor aimed, but they were already out of sight. He ran after them, and as he reached the corner he spotted them. Raising the weapon, he took bead on the duo, but he couldn’t shoot them in the back. Which Mika should have known, but apparently didn’t. She knocked his arm as soon as she reached him. Not only did it throw him off balance, it caused his finger to squeeze the trigger.
