I nodded. Weaker half-demons were relegated to the human realm. The underground was for pure-blood demons, or half-demons from strong bloodlines. The weaker amongst us simply wouldn’t survive, and half-demons were usually human enough to live in the mortal world like regular citizens. It was part of why Nix and her father had hated me and my dad so much. They were stuck in the human world, working menial jobs just to survive.
“I get why they’d approach the Coalition,” I replied, “and why the Coalition rejected them, but where do I come in?”
Devin sipped his coffee, then set his mug on the island. “The Demon Council is worried the half-demons will reveal their existence. Having witches attempting to summon them is bad enough. They don’t want thousands of mortals trying to summon them. They want to hire you as a sort of liaison to work with the wolves and keep everything quiet, but they cannot prove themselves partial to any individual demon, so they asked us to hire you instead.”
“And what do you get out of it?” I asked skeptically.
He raised a pale brow at me. “The Demon Council contacted me and asked a favor. I didn’t feel like dying, so I said yes.”
I flicked my gaze to Lela and Lucy as they both nodded in agreement.
I shook my head. “You know, you don’t have to do whatever they tell you. They might make the laws for demons, but they have no jurisdiction over wolves.”
“That doesn’t mean they can’t still kill us,” Lucy argued.
Lela shuddered. “Or trap us in the underground as slaves.”
I sighed. “Okay, so say this all actually makes sense. Why couldn’t you just tell me this over the phone? You do know I only get one trip up here per week?”
“Because we want to hire you for something else too,” Devin explained.
“Go on,” I pressed, my curiosity steadily increasing.
Devin took another sip of his cooling coffee. “Ever since the big reveal, tensions have been high between the wolves and vampires. It’s turned into a struggle to prove who’s the least threatening to the humans, which has led to wolves trying to catch vampires doing bad things, and vice versa.”
I snorted. “The vampires are definitely going to lose that battle.”
I hadn’t known many vampires except for Jason, but for the most part they were the soulless monsters of horror movie lore. There were a few exceptions, like Jason, but most simply gave in to their darker instincts, murdering as they pleased.
Devin shook his head. “Everyone loses that battle. We’ve hidden what we are for centuries for that very reason. The humans have good reason to fear us all. They don’t need any extra proof.”
I absentmindedly drummed my fingers on the countertop, still wondering what any of this had to do with me, and why it couldn’t be said over the phone.
Devin watched me for a moment, then sighed. “You still don’t get it, do you?”
I shook my head.
“If things continue as they are,” he began patiently, “it will mean outright war between the vampires and werewolves. The witches have already sided with the vampires—”
“Wait,” I interrupted. “The witches are seriously siding with the vampires? Why?”
Devin smirked. “Because despite all of our differences, witches hate demons more than anything else.”
I sighed, finally catching on. “And the demons are associated with the werewolves because of me.” I lifted a hand to rub my brow. “They really are preparing for a war.”
Devin nodded. “I don’t know the Demon Council’s true intent. Either they do actually want to stop full blown war from happening, or they’re playing us, and want us to eradicate the vampires and witches.”
I let out a long breath. “So either way, kind of bad.”
He nodded. “Very bad.” He turned his attention to Lela and Lucy, waiting by silently. “Tell her what you’ve learned.”
Both nodded, then Lucy turned to me and explained, “The local coven has shut us out. Not even Rose is returning our calls.”
“Seriously?” I replied. “After all we went through with them, they ran off to join the vampires?”
We had a history with the local witches, thanks to Nix. She had killed a few of them for revenge, and I’d worked to save those who’d remained.
“They were all terrorized by demons,” Lucy stated matter-of-factly, “and werewolves for that matter. I don’t really blame them. Hell, if it weren’t for you and Chase, I’d probably want to side with anyone but the demons too.”
I cringed. “Speaking of Chase, he came in to see me today.”
All eyes were suddenly riveted to me.
I glared at each of them in turn. “Nothing as exciting as apologizing for everything. Sam was murdered, and Chase is being framed for the crime.”
Lucy’s jaw dropped. “How could you not lead with that, Xoe!”
Devin tsked at me. “Here you’ve let me go rambling on and on. You know, we were all friends with Chase.”
“And Sam,” Lucy added, turning her gaze down to her feet.
I sighed, then walked around the island and hugged her. I’d nearly forgotten that she and Sam had dated. It had ended pretty much like it had with Chase and I, but that didn’t mean she didn’t still care about him, just like I cared about Chase.
As I let Lucy go, Lela put a companionable arm around her.
Lucy closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, then opened them. “Do we know who really killed him?”
I shook my head. “Not yet, but I’m on the case. That’s why Chase came to see me. If the Demon Council finds him guilty, he’ll most likely be put to death.”
“Then why are you here?” Devin chided.
I flung my hands in the air. “You said it was an emergency!”
Devin pinched his brow and shook his head. “Dorrie does tend to exaggerate. Go back underground and help Chase. I’ll call your cell once I have more information on the witches, and what the Demon Council would like from you. We’d like to avoid war if we can, but I fear we’ll end up doing whatever the demons want in the end.”
I crossed my arms. “I know you want to stay alive, but you don’t have to listen to everything they say.”
He shook his head. “No, you don’t. They like you, which is why I’m glad you’re on our side, even with your inability to prioritize emergencies.”
I glared at him. “Fine. Keep me posted on everything that’s happening, and I’ll do all that I can. Now who wants to give Nix and me a ride?”
Lela raised her hand, but Devin grabbed it and lowered it for her, then turned to me. “Jason can give you a ride. We still have to go over the more mundane pack meeting topics.”
“What about Max?” I suggested, fighting the nervous squirming in my gut.
Devin rolled his eyes at me. “I’m sure Jason won’t bite,” he looked me up and down, “unless you want him to.”
I held up my hands in surrender. “Fine, Jason can take me and explain to me what he thinks the vampires might be planning.”
“Good idea,” Devin muttered, dismissing me.
I gave Lucy a forlorn look. “We’ll get together next week?”
She nodded. “Sure, if we’re not neck deep in witches and vampires by then.”
With that comforting thought, I waved to Lela, then went to find Max and Nix. Jason could help me transport Nix to wherever she wanted to go, then it was back to the underground to work on a murder case. I knew I should be more worried about the possible war brewing, but for now, I’d have to focus on saving a single demon. A single demon who had once meant more to me than anything else. Now I felt like I barely knew him. He’d become a true denizen of the underground, while I’d still choose to run with werewolves over demons any day.
Chapter Four
“Are you warm enough?” Jason questioned, glancing over his shoulder at Nix to catch her nod.
I put on my seatbelt as we cruised down the narrow country road, snug in the front seat while Jason drove. He’d put
on the heat full blast for Nix, considerate even of people he didn’t like. That was just Jason though, nicer than most humans, which was rare for a vampire.
Jason turned the car off the dirt road and onto a paved one, leading toward the nearest highway. Nix had requested we take her to the shopping district of Shelby, a good thirty minutes away. Thirty minutes in the car with Jason . . . but at least we weren’t alone.
Of course, not being alone also meant we couldn’t discuss everything Devin had told me. Jason didn’t keep in touch with any vampires that I knew of, but he was a bounty hunter by trade, and tended to be just as good at tracking information as he was people.
He caught my eye as he drove, clearly wanting to speak, but not going through with it.
I waited a few more minutes in discomfort, then blurted, “So, where are you living these days?”
“I’m staying at Devin’s until I find a place,” he explained, seeming relieved I’d spoken first. “Though he’s made it clear I’m welcome to stay there long term.”
“Living with Devin,” I mused. “I think it would take me about three days until I snapped and threw a fireball at him.”
Jason chuckled. “You love Devin far too much for that.”
I rolled my eyes, but couldn’t argue. Devin was a pain in the ass, but when my dad had died, he’d been the friend who truly understood how I’d felt. He’d given me the advice I’d needed to move on.
He glanced at me again, while Nix remained silent in the back seat. “How are you liking living full time in the underground? Lucy told me about the new Demon Code. That must be difficult.”
I nodded. “It is, and it isn’t. Only being able to come up once a week helps me ignore the fact that I don’t really belong up here anymore.”
Nix snorted.
I whipped my head around to glare at her. “Do you have something to say?”
“It’s just funny to hear you imply you actually belong down there. You’re still half human. You won’t ever really belong anywhere, just like me.”
I turned forward in my seat, hating that she was right.
“None of us really belong,” Jason consoled. “The human parts of us will never quite be human enough.”
“Ain’t it the truth,” I muttered, my mood souring further.
I wasn’t quite human enough for my mom either. She had tried for a while, but we’d simply grown apart. It was hard to maintain a relationship when discussing any aspect of your life gave the other person panic attacks. I couldn’t really blame her. She’d wanted me to go to college, get married, have babies, and everything else normal girls were expected to do. Instead I’d been so overwhelmed by the demon half of my life that I’d dropped out of high school, and eventually fled to the underground.
Jason took another turn, and we exited onto the highway.
No longer in the mood for conversation, I turned up the radio. Jason caught my eye a few more times as we drove, but that was it. We rode all the way to the city in silence.
Once we arrived, Jason parked in one of the smaller lots, leaving the car idling while Nix and I stepped out. I closed the door behind me, then met Nix’s waiting gaze. “Well, I suppose this is goodbye.”
She scoffed, suddenly angry. “So you’re not even going to warn me?”
“About what?”
“The war that’s about to happen?” she asked sarcastically.
“How did you . . . ” I began, then shook my head. Nix was a pretty girl, and too clever for her own good. She’d probably made herself seem harmless to manipulate an answer out of Max.
“Never mind,” I continued. “You’re going into hiding. You’ll probably be safer than any of us.”
She rolled her eyes, shrugging her flannel up on her shoulders to ward away the cold. “True, but still, I’ll keep my ear to the ground. If I learn anything, I might even find you and let you know.”
“Thanks for the warning.”
Either not catching the insult, or not caring, she turned and walked away. Ever a mystery, was our Nix.
I turned back to the car and opened the door to peek in at Jason. “Thanks for the ride. I guess I’ll just take off for the underground from here.”
“Coffee first?” he asked.
I stared at him for several seconds, not having expected the offer. “Um, sure. I would like to hear your whole take on the werewolf/vampire war.”
He smiled, then shut off the ignition and exited the car, locking it with the clicker on his keychain. He met me on the other side, then looked me up and down. “You forgot your coat.”
I shrugged. “Nix caught me off guard, and I wanted her out of my house. I was preoccupied.”
He shrugged off his leather coat and handed it to me.
I eyed it for a moment, then took it. The inside was still warm from his body heat, and held his familiar smell. Hiding my sudden discomfort, I tugged it on and started walking.
As he joined my side to walk toward the sidewalk, I debated all of the things I wanted to say to him, but there were just too many subjects to choose from. There was no way to fit them all into the time it took to drink a single cup of coffee. At the rate my mind was going, we’d need five or six cups at least.
It wouldn’t be the first time I’d had that many cups while pulling an all-nighter, many of which I’d pulled with Jason . . . and with Chase. Even after all these years, it somehow felt like nothing had changed. I was still the confused, headstrong girl who had absolutely no idea what was good for her . . . or for anyone else.
It didn’t take long to find an open coffee shop. The shopping district is full of them. Just about every block had at least one bookstore, two coffee shops, and three bars. I wasn’t sure how they all stayed open despite the competition, but they managed.
Jason held open the clear glass door for me to walk inside, and instantly my nerves eased with the scent of fresh brewed coffee. A few other patrons sat at the high top tables, but were spread out enough that we’d have ample privacy.
We went up to the counter and ordered, coconut milk latte for me, and straight black coffee for Jason. We waited for our drinks, then carried them to the far corner table near the dramatic black gauze curtains obscuring the view of the street.
We both sat, then proceeded to sip our coffees in awkward silence. It wasn’t necessarily awkward because of how we’d left things, but because we’d just gone such a long period of time without speaking. It felt strange. I’d known him since I was sixteen. He’d been there when I’d first found out I was a demon, and when I’d taken over the werewolf pack. He’d even been there for me after my dad died, even though we were no longer dating. We’d been through so much together, and now he felt like a stranger, yet also not. He was still just . . . Jason.
He cleared his throat. “So I assume Devin informed you of the possibility of war, and of the demons’ role in it?”
I nodded. “You know I’ll always stand with you guys, not the demons.”
He frowned. “That might not be wise. You’re part of their community now. You should play by their rules.”
“You know I’m not any good at playing by the rules.”
He chuckled, then took a sip of his coffee, seeming to relax. “Yes, I’m well aware of that fact.”
I smiled, suddenly glad we’d decided to have coffee. I had few friends these days besides the wolves, Dorrie, and my human friend Allison. It was nice to know that perhaps I still had Jason too.
“So I have something to tell you,” I admitted, “and I maybe need to ask for your help.”
He nodded for me to go on. “Anything.”
I took a deep breath. At one time, Chase was a sore subject, considering I’d fallen in love with him while I was still dating Jason, but he and Chase had still been friends, if only because of me.
“Sam was murdered,” I explained for what felt like the millionth time, “and Chase is being framed for the murder. I’m looking into it, but it would be nice if you could keep an ear out for any info
rmation up here. Sam had many dealings with other supernaturals.”
He blinked at me in surprise for a moment, then nodded. “Of course I’ll do anything I can. Chase and I have had our differences, but he’s no murderer.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “My thoughts exactly.”
Jason watched me for a moment with a thoughtful expression, then asked, “So you have no idea who it is? You’d think since you’re living with Chase, you’d have a few leads.”
Now it was my turn to blink in surprise. I knew he’d only come back to town recently, but I was still taken aback. “Seriously? No one told you?”
He tilted his head, absentmindedly running his finger around the rim of his mug. “Told me what?”
Oh boy. I’d just assumed Lucy would have let the news slip, or Max, but of course they would leave it to me. “Chase and I broke up. He was getting into trouble with Sam. I tried to convince him to stop. He moved out ten months ago.”
An unreadable mixture of emotions crossed Jason’s face before he shook his head. “Well, I feel like a fool.”
I laughed. “It’s okay, I feel that way most every day.”
He chuckled, and suddenly we slipped right back into the way things used to be. “I guess I really did miss a lot while I was in Utah. So tell me more about what’s going on with Chase. I assume him being found guilty by the Demon Council is something we’d definitely like to avoid.”
I nodded. “His trial is in two weeks. If we don’t find the real murderer, Chase will be put to death. Not that I’m going to let that happen regardless. If it comes to it, he’ll just have to go on the run.”
“I can help with that,” Jason offered. “And I’m sure Abel will help too. Maybe he can set him up with one of the more remote packs.”
I sipped my coffee, then set my mug down, feeling queasy at the thought of Chase having to stay on the run forever. He was from a weaker bloodline than me, so we didn’t know if he’d end up immortal, but most of the Council were. They would hunt him for at least his entire lifetime, just like they would Nix.
I let out a slow exhale. “Let’s just focus on getting him off the hook for now. Nix gave me a tip to start with, so I’m going to check it out first thing tomorrow morning.”
Minor Magics: The Demon Code Page 3
