by Angie Fox
He broke into a sexy grin and began a slow jog toward us. Another male, caught in a succubus tractor beam. "Nice dog," he said.
"Thanks!" Pirate answered.
But I saw where Todd's attention settled—on Shiloh's ample cleavage and then on the fenris going ballistic at the end of the chain.
Todd stopped close, way to close to Shiloh. "That's a big husky," he said, barely sparing a glance at the beast before his rapt attention returned to her.
"I know," she giggled, smiling up at him.
Yikes. He actually saw the fenris as an out-of-control dog.
And then suddenly, that wasn't our biggest problem. The fenris reared back and took out an entire shelf full of glass jars I'd set aside for spell work.
"Watch out!" Dimitri pulled me forward as they shattered into a million pieces behind us.
Shiloh and Todd didn't notice.
Her skin glowed with a golden sheen. Her hair blew softly, caressing her shoulders. Her cornflower eyes had gone deep blue and she licked her lips seductively.
"Go. I've got it," Dimitri said, moving to grab a broom and clean up the mess.
"Right." I took Shiloh by the elbow. Her smooth skin felt warm, flushed. "It's great to see you, Todd," I said, giving Shiloh a tug, "but we have to go."
It took quite a bit of pulling, actually, to get her moving.
Even when she came along with me, she craned her neck back at him. "What are you doing?" she asked me. "Bye!" she called out, giving him a wave.
"You're married," I reminded her.
"I'm not dead," she said, shaking off my grip.
"Even so, I don't want you feeding on the neighbors." I understood that her half-succubus side drew power from peoples' attraction to her, but she had to tone it down, at least in my neighborhood.
I never thought it would be this hard to blend in, especially where I lived.
"Spoilsport," she said, wrangling the fenris toward our front door.
I waved as a couple of our neighbors drove by in a beige Prius.
Nothing to see here. Just a semi-reformed demon seductress and a big crazy dog from the underworld.
I set Pirate down in the house, but Flappy wasn't allowed. The dragon zipped back to the deck, where he hunched, snarling, his nose pressed to our glass sliding door.
"Here," Shiloh said, handing me the chain.
She kept walking toward the kitchen and the fenris about pulled my arms out of the sockets as it leaped forward to keep up with her. "Down, boy!" I commanded. "Girl," I corrected. "Whatever you are," I said, fighting it as it dragged me into my kitchen.
Shiloh reached into her bag and pulled out a bundle wrapped in daisy-print cloth. The fenris went wild, nails scrabbling against my hardwood as it fought the leash. I tried to keep a hold on it as it turned and knocked over two of our kitchen chairs with its powerful haunches.
Flappy roared and stomped on the deck, rattling the entire complex.
"Wait, wait!" Shiloh laughed, unwrapping a bundle of green alfalfa.
The fenris shoved its snout into the heart of the greenery and immediately began chomping. Then it knocked over another kitchen chair with a wagging tail.
Shiloh dug a hand into the mess of fur on top its head. "That tastes like home, doesn't it, sweetie?"
"Okay, enough with the new dog," Pirate grumbled, as she stepped into his water dish. "I mean, did you ask her? I'll bet she's not even potty trained."
Babydoll gave the dish a sniff before she lumbered over to Pirate's doggy bed and plopped down on top of it.
Pirate's ears went flat. "Oh, no, you didn't!"
She fit maybe one back leg and a butt cheek on the bed. The rest of her made do with the hardwood floor. Shiloh looped Babydoll's chain around our refrigerator and clamped it tight.
"If that's how you want to play," Pirate said, heading for a piece of alfalfa that the fenris had dropped. "I'll just eat this."
He gobbled it up and chewed. And chewed. And chewed. He winced, his shoulders hunching. But he kept on chewing.
"Poor Pirate," Shiloh crooned. "Would you like a doggy biscuit?" She pulled a homemade treat out of her bag. "I have one that I brought just for you." It was shaped like a bone and slicked with white icing and sprinkles.
Pirate's ears perked up. "Oh yes," he said, losing a bit of hay from the corners of his mouth. "Do you know how good I've been? You've been thinking about me, haven't you?"
Shiloh tossed the bone at his feet and just when he bent to see if he could get it into his mouth, Babydoll lurched forward and gobbled it in one bite.
"That's it!" Pirate spit out the hay. "It is on, bitch!"
Pirate lunged. The fenris cowered. I grabbed him. Flappy roared.
"Lemme go!" He scrambled against my hold. "This is between me and the bone stealer!"
"Pirate." I held him up so he could look me in the eye. "Babydoll is a guest."
He struggled to get away. "Not in my house."
"Do you want to go outside with Flappy?" I asked.
The dragon hovered outside the kitchen window, his snout pulsing, pressing heated circles into the glass. I'd have to clean every frigging window in this place—from the outside—if the fricking dragon didn't calm down.
As if on cue, the dragon sneezed—a wet, snotty one—right on my glass.
Shiloh joined me. "I'm so sorry, Pirate. Sometimes the fenris doesn't know better." She scratched my dog between the ears and he flinched. "You're older than she is." She patted him on the head. "I'll bring you another treat later."
Which meant forever to a dog. Poor Pirate.
"Let's all head outside and let everybody settle down," I said, taking my dog with me. Or else Pirate would try to jump the beast again. Babydoll had curled into Pirate's spot, across from the kitchen table, in view of the deck and the beach.
I opened the sliding glass door, and we all ducked out a second before Flappy came crashing back down on the deck. I slid the door closed. I swore these animals were going to tear my house apart.
"So what's the deal with the portal?" Shiloh said as I felt a headache coming on.
I tried to clear my head. Get a grip.
It was a warm, sunny day. We weren't battling for our lives. Not yet anyway.
I set Pirate down. He immediately dashed to join Flappy, and they both shoved their noses against the sliding glass door.
Shiloh and I edged past Flappy's pile of deck cushions and walked out to the railing overlooking the ocean. "We found the remains of a portal crossing down there on the beach," I said, pointing down and toward the left. Luckily, the beach was deserted at the moment. "Everything was fine yesterday. Or at least I didn't sense anything bad down there. But this morning, a guy came through with the fenris. Then he disappeared."
She thought for a moment. "So you think someone placed it there, specifically to get to you?"
In my world, things were never random. "It can only mean trouble," I told her. "But I have no idea who created it. Or why." I turned to her. "I know you can feel dark energies."
She cringed slightly. "I'm trying not to mess with that kind of thing anymore."
I got it. I really did. At the same time… "Is there anything you can do that won't compromise you?"
She gave me a look of dread. "You know how this works, right?"
"Not necessarily." That's why I was asking. "I mean, yes, as a slayer, I know to follow my instincts. I assume you're the same way, right?"
She chewed at her lip. "It's…different for me."
My stomach tightened. "Tell me if we're making a mistake." I didn't want to push her into anything.
"Let me try." She closed her eyes tight and held out her hands, as if she were feeling for energy. "Okay. I can see it," she murmured.
Her skin had that faint glow again, and it was impossible to miss the tinge of darkness that seemed to curl from her very pores.
Despite my better judgment, I had to ask. "Where does it go?"
Shiloh curled her fingers and brought
her hands back to her chest. "There's only one way to find out."
Chapter Five
"Let's think twice about this," I told her. I didn't like how her skin was glowing. Even if it would be nice to know who or what was after me. I took Shiloh by the arm. She was ice cold. Not a good sign. "You don't need to tap into your demon tendencies for anyone. Least of all me."
She'd come a long way from her roots, and I didn't want to reward her goodness by shoving her toward the dark side.
Her blond highlights shimmered in the noonday sun. She watched me warily, expectant almost. "I can handle it."
Sure, because there was nothing wrong with tempting a recovering evil minion with a dark portal. It was like an alcoholic saying she could have just one beer.
Slowly, she extricated herself from my grasp. "It's not going to hurt anything to get a little closer and test the energy a bit. Maybe I can pick up a signature."
It was tempting. But, "This has 'bad idea' written all over it."
She studied me for a long moment. "Are you honestly turning me down?"
I watched the waves crash against the beach. "No." Truth be told, I needed her to do it. I wondered what that said about me, that I was willing to let her take that chance. "Shiloh—" I began.
"Don't overthink it." She took a deep breath, watching the portal like she wanted to devour it.
She turned and headed down the stairs toward the beach. Faster than any human.
Cripes. I headed down after her.
"Flappy, sit. Stay. Guard!" I tossed over my shoulder. But he wasn't paying attention. He trained his eyes on Pirate. My dog had his back arched and his tail up as he rolled a squeaky ball back and forth in front of the sliding glass doors, taunting the fenris.
As long as it kept them up on the deck and out of trouble.
No telling what Shiloh would find—or how she'd change.
I tripped over the last two steps and cursed under my breath. "Shiloh!" She was making a beeline down the wooden walkway. "Wait! I need to tell you something. It's urgent."
Thank God she paused. It bought me time. I picked up the pace.
Yes, I really, really needed to know whom we'd seen on our beach this morning. And if he'd be back. But not like this.
"What?" she asked, when I'd finally caught up.
I had nothing. "I just don't want you doing this alone."
She huffed out a breath and started walking again. Fast.
I jogged to keep up with her. "Why are you so anxious to get down there?"
Never mind that we were messing with a dark portal in the middle of the day. In public.
"I'm hungry, okay!" Shiloh shouted. "I'll just take a taste to let you know what you're up against."
Sure. Just like I could eat only one potato chip.
I hurried after her. At least it was a weekday. We didn't have tourists on this stretch of ocean. Just locals. Most of them seemed to be at work.
She slowed as we reached the beach. "I admit. A small part of me is…excited." She rubbed at her arms. "Still, I work very hard not to feed my minion side anymore."
I gave her a stern look.
"Much," she amended.
Lovely. "You need to calm down," I told her.
"It's always there," she said simply. She wet her lips and looked toward the invisible portal.
"What is it?" I asked. "Can you see it? Can you tell?"
She nodded, unable to take her eyes off it. "It's a temporary link portal," she said, breathy.
I didn't get it. "What does that mean?"
"It can be used again," she said. It began to glow red.
Even I could see it now, as the crackling red portal opened up. It was high tide and the thing was at least fifteen feet out into the ocean.
I watched it as it expanded, gained power. Shiloh had to be doing this. There was no other explanation. I understood it the same as I knew we had to shut this thing down. But first, I had to ask. "Will there be more visits?"
"I don't know," she murmured. "Oh, snap." Her breath quickened as the portal expanded, churning harder every second.
"That's it," I told her. "We've got to get out of here."
She braced herself, trying to get a handle on her urges. Her skin took on a glittering copper hue. "Have you ever given up cigarettes?" she blurted.
Not the time. "I had half of one in college," I said, trying to urge her along.
She wrinkled her nose. "That doesn't count."
Yes it did. It was nasty. "I tasted it for a week."
She shook her head. "You don't know. It doesn't matter, anyway." Her chest heaved as she gazed at the portal. "This is a hundred times worse." She drew a shaking hand over her cheek and down to her chin.
I reached for her. "Shiloh," I warned. "Now."
Without warning, she dodged around me and dashed for the water. Her skin blazed with copper, then orange, then red.
Holy Hades. I went after her.
I felt like I was watching my car roll backward down a hill and nothing I could do would catch it. Stop it.
She was faster than me, more agile.
The tide had moved in from where it had been early this morning. The water hissed as Shiloh splashed through the surf, excited—exalted.
I plowed in after her. The ice-cold water stung my ankles, my legs. Shiloh didn't seem to notice.
This was bad. I tried to run faster. I slogged in up to my waist. One minute the water retreated to my calves, then a wave would hit, knocking me off-balance.
It didn't seem to affect Shiloh at all.
She flung out her hands. "Jo esperitum trucades ala teau esperitum!"
Demon language. Hellfire. She was throwing herself directly at it.
A sound like electrical wires snapping pierced the incessant pounding of the ocean. It shocked me, shoved me back. It energized her.
Hellfire and damnation.
I shoved forward, into the surf. A wave crested at me, as high as my shoulders. I dived straight into it. Freezing water tore at me. The salt stung my eyes. I could taste it on my lips. I surfaced on the other side. I'd gained on her. I could almost grab her.
Shiloh seemed to know exactly where she was going.
Then I saw it. The portal crackled and hissed less than five feet from us. It burned brighter with every step she took, as if it were drawing energy from her. I felt the suction in the water, the draw of dark power.
Without so much as a glance back, she burst through it. I drove forward, as hard as I could, as the portal swallowed her up, body and soul.
It was a horrible idea to fling myself headlong at a dark portal, but I didn't have a choice. I needed to get Shiloh out of there. She was only half demon. Her human side offered her nothing in the way of protection. If she somehow went bad, I'd have a demon on my hands—one I'd have to slay. I didn't know how I'd ever justify that to her husband. Or myself. Not when I'd led her down here.
The energy sucked at my very life force. The tide pulled me deeper. I dived forward again and surfaced, bracing myself to slam face-first into the dark portal.
But I felt the cold slap of churning water instead.
Cripes.
When I surfaced, I didn't see the portal anymore. I turned to look behind me as an icy wave slammed into my back and shoved me facedown into the water. Damn it. I opened my demon slayer senses, scrambling, tumbling. I slid my hands through the sand, searching, scratching them to hell on bits of shell and sand crabs.
Tendrils of dark magic pierced my psychic shield like hot needles, but it wasn't enough.
I spit water and scrubbed at my eyes so I could see something, anything. It couldn't just be gone. Not that fast. Another wave crashed over me.
No. I centered myself, tried to get a grip. I reached out again, harder this time. I could still sense it—dark and stinging. It wasn't anything I could get my hands around.
Okay, then. I wiped the seawater from my face. New plan. I dug my toes into the sand under my feet. It was shifting, unstable.
With great care, I forced myself to lift up, to levitate. The water sucked at me as my chest, my hips, my legs drew up out of the water.
A cold breeze plastered my leather outfit against me and chilled me to the bone as I hovered mere inches over the ocean and searched once more for any sign of the red portal. I craned to see any sparks, any hint of the darkness that hovered just beyond my grasp.
The water swirled below, unwilling or maybe simply unable to give it up.
It was right there. It had to be. I didn't know what to do.
I focused so hard on the portal that I forgot about the levitation until the second before I plunged back into the frigid water. It shot up my nose, stung my eyes. I tumbled blind through the darkness.
A chill washed over me. I didn't know what to do, what to think.
I found my way back up. "Fuck." I stood chest-deep in the Pacific in February. Alone.
It was frustrating. Ridiculous. Scary as hell.
"Fuckety fuck fuck fuck." I fought my way back to the place where I saw Shiloh disappear, for all the good it did. I could think of about a million things that could go wrong when sending a half-damned creature through a black magic portal.
She could be sent straight to hell and be punished eternally for cultivating her goodness. She could be sent to purgatory where she'd be isolated, exiled. Possibly attacked. She could be forced to bind herself to another demon—one that couldn't be defeated and would never let her go. Her husband the slayer would die trying to save her and it would be my fault.
And what would I tell her husband if she didn't come back? I'd never met the guy. He was a lone wolf. And probably a stark raving lunatic, considering he'd fallen for a half succubus. I mean, who does that? Truly?
I waded closer to the shore, trying to follow Shiloh's original path.
A jogger on the beach slowed when she saw me. No doubt wondering why I stood waist-deep in the waves in drenched leather.
She waved when she got close. "Are you okay?"
"I lost my earring," I told her.
It was better than the truth.
I hoped Sarayh wasn't up on her deck watching this. None of the neighbors had witnessed Shiloh's disappearance into the surf or they'd be down here for sure.
