by Linsey Hall
He paled slightly, no doubt believing my words. Which was easy, because they were true.
“Frankly, I’d blow this whole place up.” I gestured to the ceiling like an interior decorator with big plans. “But I’ll settle for tearing your balls off and feeding them to you if you don’t answer my questions.”
Even Declan winced a bit.
“A necromancer demon,” squeaked The Weeds. “A necromancer demon was wearing it. Named Tekarth.”
“What’s his plan?”
“I don’t know.”
Declan shook him.
“The balls, Donnie. Don’t forget about the balls.”
“I really don’t know!” He threw up his hands. “I’m just the go-between. Folks come to me; I find the demons and hook them up. Then I take my pay and go.”
“So, who hired this demon?”
“I don’t know that either!”
“Fates, Donnie, you’re an idiot.” I sighed. But he was so freaked out that I believed him. “What do you know about them?”
“Just a guy in a cloak. Had his signature hidden and everything.” The Weeds frowned. “Actually, it could have been a woman.”
“That tells us nothing.” Declan tightened his fist.
“Wait, wait. They wanted a necromancer demon who could go into a church.”
I frowned. “A church?”
Most demons could enter churches. But I had heard something about necromancer demons being barred from them. Which meant that Donnie would have had to pull some strings to find a demon who could enter one.
“Yeah, yeah. I had to find a demon who could wear a cross dipped in holy water and still not burn. It was hard, man.”
Okay, to my knowledge, the demon hadn’t yet been in a church. “Which church?”
“Um, Exe… Exe…” He frowned, his brow creasing. “Exeter!”
Declan glanced at me. “There’s a huge cathedral in Exeter in the southeast UK.”
I caught The Weed’s eye. “That the place you’re talking about?”
He nodded frantically.
I leaned close to his face. “Now listen closely, Donnie. You try to figure out who hired this demon.”
“But they wanted to stay hidden!”
“I don’t care. Figure it out. Because I’m coming back, and I’m going to want to know who they were.” I gave him my coldest expression, one that I’d practiced quite a bit in the mirror when I’d been transitioning into Aerdeca, and he paled. “Be ready, Donnie.”
“Hey! You there!” The voice sounded from behind, and I turned and spotted a dozen burly guards headed toward us. I shot Declan a look. “I think that’s our cue.”
Declan nodded sharply, then loosened his grip on The Weed’s neck. We turned and sprinted, heading the opposite way of the guards.
“Get them!” shrieked The Weeds.
I looked back. “You’re going to regret that, Donnie!”
He paled even further. At this point, he was basically transparent.
“Get me my info!” I turned back and ran, holding my hood up over my face despite the fact that this part of the hall was dark and abandoned.
“I have no idea how to get out of here,” Declan said.
“Me neither.” My lungs heaved as I ran. The guards behind us were fast, and I really wasn’t in the mood to fight twelve. I’d win, but I’d definitely get a bit knocked around.
We passed a few different hallways, but none seemed to head back into the stadium where we could lose the guards, so we kept running forward.
A tiny black blur streaked ahead in front of us.
The cat!
I pointed. “Follow him.”
“A cat?” Declan sounded skeptical. “All right.”
We raced after the cat, which led us through a labyrinth of tunnels and hallways. Finally, we reached a staircase that went endlessly upward, and we began to climb.
My heart was about to thunder out of my chest, and at some point, the hellcat disappeared, clearly no longer interested in the aerobic exercise.
But the worst was the sound of demon footsteps, hot on our trail. They were fast, and strong, and I was running out of energy.
Finally, we burst out into the ticket booth area.
“Hell yeah.” I gasped, then sprinted for the exit.
“Stop them!” shouted a deep voice from behind us.
Yeah, no way I was stopping. I raced out into the alley, then into the main Grimrealm market. The horror of it slapped me in the face anew, and I’d definitely be having nightmares tonight.
“Head for the tunnel!” Declan shouted from behind.
I sprinted through the crowd, dodging as many smelly bodies as I could. There was a commotion kicking up around us, no doubt because we were running through the market, which just screamed thief. Declan was right at my back, though, and we kept going.
A quick glance back showed the demons about ten feet behind Declan. They were so tall that their stride was enough to catch even me.
So, these were the circumstances that would lead one to use a transport charm so close to the Grimrealm exit.
“You got a charm?” I panted.
“Yeah, almost there.”
I sprinted as fast as I could, pushing myself. If I were caught in Grimrealm, I might never escape. The thought was enough to give me that extra bit of juice.
Finally—freaking finally—we reached the tunnel. Declan dug into his pocket and hurled a transport charm to the ground in front of us. I didn’t know where it was leading us—the one who threw the charm got to decide—but right now, I didn’t care.
I jumped in, leaping headfirst into the ether, which sucked me up and spun me around through space, finally spitting me out onto some soft grass.
Gasping, I stared at the sky. Until Declan landed on top of me. Somehow, he managed not to crush me.
I panted, looking up at him. “Did anyone follow?”
“No. It closed.”
I closed my eyes, thumping my head back on the grass. The night was cool and dark here, quiet in the way of safe spaces. Eventually, my breathing slowed, and the panic disappeared. Along with it came awareness.
Mostly of Declan, who was still on top of me.
I opened my eyes. “You’re still here.”
“I like it.” His dark eyes sparkled in the light.
Damn, he looked good. And smelled good. And felt good.
Warmth rushed through me, and I imagined what he’d look like with fewer clothes.
Really good.
His face was so close to mine. His lips so full.
I could just lean up and kiss him. It was a fantastic idea. My heart was going a mile a minute and my whole body felt like it was full of lava.
I should definitely kiss him.
“Aerdeca?” Mari shouted. “Are you out there?”
My head thumped back on the grass.
Shit.
I’d almost kissed Declan O’Shea.
13
Declan sighed and climbed off of me. I scrambled to my feet, brushing my legs off. Well, that had been…a thing.
I looked around. We were in my back garden. It was surprisingly big for being in the middle of the city, with a high brick wall built around the entirety.
“How did you get us back here?” I asked. “How’d you even know it was here?”
“I had to spy on you from somewhere yesterday.”
Ugh. I’d almost forgotten how we were at odds here. I stalked toward Mari, who stood silhouetted in the back door, her Elvira dress sweeping the ground and revealing a spectacular amount of cleavage. It was a fantastic disguise, since absolutely no one looked at her face when she wore that dress.
I turned back to Declan, who actually wasn’t looking at her tits. He was looking at my ass.
I arched a brow. “You can go now.”
“No way.”
“Did you have any luck?” Mari asked.
“Yes, but I need to get in touch with someone in Exeter, then we need to head
there immediately.” I stopped on the stoop and turned around to face Declan again.
“What are you still doing here?”
“We’re a team.”
“Why?”
“Because I’ve seen how good you are, and I don’t want you swooping in and stealing my prey. If we work together, you’ll get what you want—his blood—and I’ll get what I want—for you not to steal him out from under me and kill him.”
I scowled at him. “That doesn’t work for me.”
“I’m not going to ask why you’re so opposed to this, but I will tell you that I have excellent contacts in Exeter who can help us out.”
“Help us out, how?” I asked.
“I’ve got a guy who will know if a necromancer demon has gone in or out. With one call, we’ll have eyes on the ground there.”
I frowned. It was definitely too good an offer to pass up, because I didn’t actually have friends over there. My closest friends were in Northern Scotland, at the Undercover Protectorate, and that was hundreds of miles away.
“Okay, come in. We’ll eat while you call your buddy.” I stepped back, letting him precede me into the narrow, dark foyer.
The main part of the house—our public space--was done up in a very Victorian Gothic style that suited the rest of Darklane. The wallpaper in this narrow hall was a black velvet floral print, with golden sconces on the wall. It wasn’t quite my style, but I didn’t hate it.
“Come on.” I led him into my place, where Mari was leaning against the counter, her brows raised.
“You guys look beat,” she said.
“I’m surprisingly tired.” Grimrealm had done a number on me.
“You should be. You were gone ten hours.”
“Ten hours?” I nearly shouted the words.
“Claire warned us that the librarian’s place eats time. She forgot to tell you.”
“No wonder I’m beat.” And no wonder the librarian had looked like the crypt keeper. I walked to the counter where the tiny portal to the Chinese restaurant was located and rang the little bell three times, indicating three portions. As I waited for food, I turned to Declan. “Call your guy.”
He nodded, pulling a phone out of an interior jacket pocket. As I listened to him talk, I gave Mari the rundown on what had happened in Grimrealm.
“And you didn’t see anyone we know?” Mari whispered.
“No. Well, maybe. I freaked out at the sight of one big guy, but I couldn’t place him.” Some of my memories of the past were fuzzy, repressed by anxiety and time.
“Good,” Mari said. “Then we’ll just see what Declan’s guy has to say.”
Finally, Declan hung up the phone and turned to me. “No necromancer demon in the Exeter Cathedral yet.”
“How can he be sure?” I didn’t believe anything that certain.
“My guy lives there. In an apartment over the tea shop right next to it.”
“Well, that’s convenient,” Mari said.
Declan nodded. “He’s an angel.”
Suddenly the story was a lot more plausible. “So, he’d know if a necromancer demon showed up.”
“He would, without a doubt. He’ll feel it as soon as the demon enters the city. Then he’ll call us.”
My shoulders relaxed just slightly.
“He said we can catch a couple hours shut-eye, and if anything changes, he’ll tell us. We can transport directly there.”
“I can take us,” Mari said. She had the gift of teleportation, but she hadn’t gotten it the easy way. It’d been one of our escape plans as kids, and she’d created the magic using our dragon blood. We hadn’t realized we’d need to get to the exit tunnel to use it, though.
“We’ll sleep in our clothes,” Mari said. “Just in case we need to run for it in a hurry.”
That was the best plan I’d heard all day. Maybe teaming up with Declan was a good idea. I’d still have to steal the demon out from under him and kill it, as he put it, but this was convenient.
A second later, the bell on my counter rang, and three boxes of food appeared. I went to them and opened them, then passed Mari her favorite—Mongolian beef. I looked up at Declan. “I hope you like lo mein.”
He grinned. “I like everything except ambrosia.”
“Ambrosia?”
“Angel food.” He made a disgusted noise. “Not for me.”
“Well, eat up.” I handed him the container of lo mein, then dug into my sesame chicken, wondering if I should crunch up some Cheetos on top.
Nah, that was over the top. Even for me.
“Well, I’m going to hit the hay.” Mari took her food and a fork to the door. “Call me on the comms charm when you want to go. I’ll meet you in the foyer in a flash.”
I smiled at her. “Thanks, sis.”
She nodded, then gave Declan one long look before leaving.
Probably wondering where he would sleep. I was wondering that too. I blew out a breath. “I guess you can stay on my couch.”
“Thanks.”
I could let him sleep on the couch in our public living room—the one in the middle house. But I didn’t want him snooping around. Better to have him close.
“Come on.” I grabbed a fork and ate as I walked toward the living room.
It was a narrow space, a real Victorian Darklane relic. I’d painted everything in different shades of white, with tons of textures to give it life. Blankets, pillows, three-dimensional paintings made with thick paint. There were a few splashes of color in those, but mostly, it was white.
After all the darkness in Grimrealm, I liked the brightness of the white. The calm.
I swallowed a bite of chicken and gestured to a big white couch. There were a few blankets tossed over the back. “You can sleep there.”
He gave it a skeptical look. “I don’t want to get it dirty.”
“That’s what magic is for. Don’t worry about it.”
He gave me a thoughtful look. “You have more at stake here than you let on.”
“What?” Damn, this angel was insightful. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
He gestured around the room. “You. You’re a strange one. Half the time you dress like an ice queen out of the pages of some fashion magazine, and you live in this perfect apartment, and the rest of the time you’re running around half covered in blood trying to kill one of the most dangerous demons in the world. Those two things don’t match up.”
“Why don’t they?”
“They just don’t.”
“That’s not an answer.” Even though he was right—at least about me having more at stake here. I thought the rest matched up fine. I could like pretty things and murdering demons at the same time.
“You’re risking a lot for just an ingredient for your shop.”
“I like risking a lot. Just like I like my pretty apartment and clothes. I’m an enigma wrapped in a mystery wrapped in a riddle, just like I told you, and you’re never going to figure me out.”
A small smile quirked up at the corner of his mouth, and heat bloomed in my belly. “I think I like that, actually.”
“Yeah? Well…” I had no idea what to say next. But I knew I wanted to get him off this topic of conversation. “What about you, then? You’re a good guy—I can feel it from your magic—but you’re a fallen angel with some darkness. What’s the deal with that?”
He shrugged, chewing and swallowing a bite of lo mein. “I was a battle angel. A high-ranking one in the demon wars.”
“The demon wars?”
“Most supernaturals didn’t realize it was happening because we were that good at our jobs. But there was a period of about ten years where demons were escaping hell in record numbers, in a location that was remote enough no humans saw them. I led an army of battle angels against them in a series of wars, holding them back until we finally defeated them and closed the portals.”
The idea of him leading some angelic army on a hellish battlefield of death fit. He’d have done good work there,
for sure.
“What happened then?” I asked.
“The wars ended. It was all I’d ever trained for. All I’d ever lived for. And afterward…”
“You didn’t want to go do normal angel things.”
“I didn’t. And I don’t think they’d have let me in, anyway.” He smiled wryly. “By that point, I wasn’t quite pure enough.”
“All the killing?” That hardly seemed fair, since he’d been trained for that.
“And other things.”
The way he’d said “other” had some heaviness to it.
“Other…” Oh, right.
He gave me a wicked smile. “I wasn’t quite pure enough for heaven. So I fell.”
“And now you’re on earth. A bounty hunter.”
“For the right causes. It’s got everything I like. Danger, excitement, adventure.” He gave me a long look. “And I meet interesting people. Ones that I’d like to get to know better.”
Well, that wasn’t going to be me. “We’d better get a few hours shut-eye so we’re good to fight this demon.”
He nodded. “Thanks for the place to stay. We make a good team.”
“Um…night.” I turned and walked away.
How the heck was I going to sleep with him so close?
“Aerdeca! Wake up!” Declan’s voice cut through the deep and dreamless sleep that I’d fallen into.
Okay, that was a lie. I might have been dreaming of Cheetos.
Either way, I wasn’t dreaming anymore.
I popped bolt upright, turning toward the door.
It was still closed, but Declan pounded hard on it from the other side.
“I’m coming!” I shoved my feet into my boots, glad I’d decided to sleep in my clothes, then pressed my fingers to my comms charm. “Mari, time to go.”
“On it.” Her voice went from groggy to alert over the course of the two words.
I bent to tie my shoelaces, then leapt up and sprinted for the door. Declan waited in the living room, and together we raced out into the main apartment.
Mari already waited in the foyer, dressed in her black fight wear with her ebony hair in a high ponytail. It was slightly poofed in the front, a mini bouffant that looked badass with the black sweep of makeup around her eyes. She wore a bow and arrow at her back. Though she could stash it in the ether like I did with my weapons, she often preferred to carry it.
