The Price of Exorcism

by Dakota Brown

  "Yeah, wards or not, he's definitely a demon," Billy muttered just loud enough that I could hear him.

  I burst out laughing, his words breaking the spell Ezra had on me. "You're not wrong."

  Billy gave me a searching look when I glanced over at him as if trying to decide if I were being literal or figurative. I put on my best poker face and let him keep wondering. There was no way I was confirming that, either.

  Ezra nodded greetings to both Aaron and Mal, though it didn't escape my notice that yet again he stood out of reach of my half angel. Probably just as well. We didn't need Billy seeing any more fireworks if Aaron touched the demon. I kind of wondered what would happen, but not enough to actually want to find out. Their natures certainly clashed, though.

  "Well, we should let you get to work, Billy. Just call Mal if you have any troubles and he'll be by now and again to check in on things," I said.

  "Sure. Thanks, Chris. I appreciate you leaving me some backup."

  We all stood when Billy did, and he gave a quick wave before heading toward the back. Mal followed, pulling out his phone and they quickly exchanged numbers.

  "Ready?" Ezra asked once Mal had rejoined us.

  "Yeah, I guess."

  "Take care of her," Aaron ordered. "We want her back."

  Ezra studied the taller man for a moment before nodding. "I will do my best to keep her from harm."

  I noticed he didn't promise to bring me back to them, but protection was important at this point, too.

  "We want Sabian back, as well," Mal added softly.

  "So do I," Ezra grumbled. "Hence the entire expedition."

  "Speaking of, what does Chris get out of all of this?" Mal asked.

  "Sabian," Ezra said with enough finality that I hoped Mal didn't push him any further.

  "Assuming we can rescue him." I shoved my hands in my pockets and hunched my shoulders. We had to get him back.

  Ezra nodded. "I do not believe the ones who currently have Sabian will expect me to bring an exorcist when I come to collect him. You will have some real advantages that they won't be able to easily counter."

  "Such as?" Mal crossed his arms.

  "She will still be able to banish demons, if nothing else. It simply won't send them as far away."

  Mal glared at Ezra.

  I took a step back until I was leaning against Mal's solid strength. He was coiled tight, and I hoped he would relax a little.

  "I believe we have a flight to catch. Be assured, I will help her discover what she can do in my realm. I do not want Chris harmed any more than you do."

  Before they could argue any further, I twisted around and wrapped Mal in a hug. He put his arms around me, kissing me every bit as possessively as he had the night before, taking my breath away and speeding my heart. I melted into his touch, trying to memorize the way it felt just in case I didn't make it back.

  I really hoped they weren't watching us from the back, but oh well.

  Aaron claimed me for a much more chaste kiss next, though Mal let his hand linger on my shoulder.

  "Like I said, Chris Price, be careful." Aaron clung to me, as if he might not let go.

  "I will," I choked out. Then before I could lose my nerve and run and hide in the walk-in freezer in the back, I headed for the exit. Ezra followed close behind and Mayhem trotted along at my side.

  "I just need to grab my bag," I said once we were out in the desert heat.

  Ezra didn't answer, just followed me over to my car. I noticed he didn't touch me, either, which was good since right now the need to have my skin against his was somewhat manageable.

  He took my bag when I got it out of the back of my car and gestured toward the black sedan he was driving. I opened the passenger door, slid in, and Mayhem jumped on my lap. I waved at my guys, Aaron and Mal both leaning against my car, nearly identical concerned expressions on their faces.

  Ezra put my bag in the trunk and got in the driver's side. Blessed cool air blasted us when he cranked the engine, and then we were headed to the airport.

  "So, please tell me you got us good seats?"

  Ezra chuckled. "How's a private jet?"

  "Really, mate?"

  "Do you really think I was going to fly on a commercial airline?"

  "Uh, well, yeah, I guess. Private jets are a little out of my league."

  Ezra was quiet for a moment before he shook his head. "They shouldn't be."

  I frowned. "Say what?"

  He didn't answer and I dropped it.

  "Who's going to be at this meeting?"

  "A few people I want you to meet. Some other demons. Possibly some of the fae folk. Maybe a few mortals."

  "Okay then." He wasn't going to tell me any more. I could tell by the set of his shoulders. "Is it safe?"

  Ezra just looked at me for a moment before refocusing on the road.

  "Right, mate."

  We made the rest of the trip in silence, though my mind was churning. There were so many things I needed to know and yet I couldn't bring myself to voice any of them. Ezra was heading out to the regional airport, not down to the big one in Albuquerque, and it didn't take us long to get there.

  The demon prince, who was a surprisingly sedate driver–how did he learn to drive anyway–pulled into one of the short-term parking spots.

  "They got driver's ed in hell?"

  "What?" Ezra frowned at me, obviously confused. "No."

  "I'm under the impression Sabian doesn't know how to drive. How'd you learn?"

  "Sabian has spent most of his life in hell other than when he was forced to come to this plane a few times. I, on the other hand, have spent a fair bit of time here in the past."

  I wasn't sure I wanted details, and he didn't offer any.

  We got out and Ezra grabbed my bag. He didn't have one.

  "Mayhem, you got this under control?" I asked the hellhound.

  He wagged his fluffy tail, and I took that as a yes.

  "I'm getting used to having him around," I admitted as I followed Ezra toward the terminal.

  After a few steps, the demon prince dropped back so he was walking next to me and I didn't have to trail after him. It took me a moment to realize that was a deliberate move on his part. Interesting. I wasn't sure how to take his thoughtfulness. Though, to be fair, he hadn't ever shown me anything but kindness. He either wanted something from me, or he actually did like me. I supposed time would tell which it was.

  He took a step ahead of me and grabbed the door and we stepped out of the blazing heat. Ezra slipped off his sunglasses and they just...vanished from his hand.

  Okay, demon tricks. Nice.

  "This way." He gestured, still walking next to me.

  Mayhem trotted along on my other side.

  I hadn't been in an airport in a long time, but it felt reasonably familiar. He led me straight to the security lines. Shit, I was going to have to fess up to the knife because that wasn't getting through security.

  "Ezra," I whispered.

  "Don't worry about security," he replied.

  "But..."

  "Yes, I know you've got all sorts of interesting things in your bag. I can feel the energy they give off. Don't worry," he said again.

  "Okay. If you weren't dragging me along, would you have to go through all of this?"

  "To some degree."

  I'd have to find out more later, because we were now in some sort of VIP line and no one needed to overhear that conversation. Not that there were a lot of people here. Advantages to a regional airport for sure.

  Ezra handed over a couple of tickets and a pair of ID's when it was our turn. What the hell?

  The person checking documents scanned them, glanced at us, and gestured for us to move on.

  "You know, I brought my ID."

  "Yes." He handed one of them back to me.

  "Wait...how..."

  Ezra arched an eyebrow and for once my sarcasm failed me. "Fucker," I muttered.

  He chuckled.

  Somehow
my bag did not set off any alarms when it was scanned and neither did we. Nor did we have to take off shoes, and no one blinked when I left my jacket on. Absolutely no one looked at Mayhem. I'd even almost forgotten about him.

  "Well, that was easier than I expected," I said quietly when we were on the other side.

  "Advantages of traveling with me," Ezra explained.

  "So private jet doesn't mean private hanger on some private airstrip?"

  "Sometimes. It's not actually my jet, just chartered, and it was easier to do it this way."

  "Huh."

  Ezra seemed to know where he was going, and I followed his directions until we got to another kiosk. He exchanged more paperwork he pulled out of nowhere. Summoned was probably the correct term. Then a woman wearing a sharp looking airline uniform led us out onto the tarmac.

  I glanced at the demon prince. Yep, wearing sunglasses again. It was bright out, but I supposed I was used to it. Maybe it was darker in hell? Sabian had never seemed to care, but then, he was a shapeshifter. Maybe Ezra didn't have the same abilities?

  Fighting off the insane urge to run my fingers through his hair and see if I could feel his horns even though I couldn't see them, I shoved my hands into my jacket pockets. Yeah, I did have a pocketknife in there. Oops. I knew Ezra actually did have horns that showed above his soft black curls. I wondered if he had wings, too, that I'd never seen?

  "You're thinking awfully hard there, Chris," he said quietly.

  "Um, sorry, mate." I shivered at the way he caressed my name with his voice. Fuck.

  "I wasn't listening, but you're frowning like you do when you're thinking."

  "Just, uh, yeah...sorry." There was no way I was admitting what I was thinking if he didn't already know.

  Ezra smiled and I focused on the small plane the woman was leading us to. Even without an extensive knowledge of airplanes, I could tell it was fancy.

  "The demon prince thing comes with a big paycheck?"

  "So many favors owed," Ezra replied.

  "Oh." I shivered and decided I just wasn't going to ask in the future.

  Boarding was as simple as walking up a flight of stairs and getting onboard. "Damn," I whispered as I beheld the inside of the plane. Fancy didn't even begin to cover it. At least I wouldn't be crammed into the back of a commercial jet surrounded by a ton of other people. "Some favor."

  "Do you want to know?" Ezra asked as he stashed my bag in a compartment.

  "Nope. I'm good. Ignorance is bliss." I flopped down into one of the forward-facing chairs, and Ezra took the one opposite me so we could look at each other. Lucky me. No. Really. He was delicious to look at. Also, I couldn't help but notice it would keep us from accidently touching each other. Maybe I wasn't the only one that didn't want to be glued to someone's hip. The need was still there, but it was far more manageable than yesterday.

  The rest of the procedure for getting off the ground was somewhat familiar. A flight attendant made sure we had our seatbelts fastened. Even Ezra buckled up. He gave us a quick safety spiel, and then we were taxing down the runway.

  I grinned in enjoyment as the acceleration pushed me back into the seat once we were able to take off and tried to settle in and relax once we reached cruising altitude.

  Then another advantage to being on a private jet became apparent. Really good wine and very tasty lunch. It wasn't as good as what Mal turned out on a daily basis, but it was far better than I'd expected.

  Mayhem jumped up onto my lap and I fed him some of my lunch.

  Once the flight attendant had us taken care of, he left the cabin and we were alone.

  "Safe to talk here?"

  Ezra shook his head. "Not worth the risk."

  "Okay." I settled in, attention glued to the window, trying not to stare at the handsome demon across from me. It was going to be a long flight.

  Chapter 6

  Price

  At some point I must have drifted off. I woke up when the airplane jolted onto the ground.

  "Well, that's one way to make a flight go fast," I said, glancing around.

  Ezra nodded.

  "Please tell me I wasn't snoring?"

  He smiled but didn't answer.

  "Jerk."

  We taxied for a while, then the flight attendant told us we could get up. I stretched when I stood and followed Ezra out of the plane. He grabbed my bag again, and I let him. Though I was reclaiming my holy water and my knife as soon as I could.

  "So, we are going to talk soon, right? I'd like to know what I'm getting into," I stated once we were moving through what was probably the private branch of a considerably larger airport. The humidity had smacked me in the face as soon as we'd gotten off the plane and I was glad to be inside. I lived in the desert for a reason, damn it.

  "Yes. We'll be someplace we can talk soon enough."

  "Good."

  The press of humanity was much thicker, and I automatically shifted in closer to Ezra. Not so much for protection, but to minimize interference with other people obviously in a hurry. I didn't particularly like getting jostled. It always put me in a bad mood and made me want to fight. Something I certainly didn't need to start in an airport. I was also used to home and it had been quite a while since I'd been around this many other people. The east was certainly a different environment than the west. Even inside the air felt damp and I shifted uncomfortably.

  "It's not humid in hell, is it?"

  Ezra took a step ahead of me and people instinctively moved out of his way. I trailed along in his wake, grateful for that particular demonic power. Or maybe it was just his presence. Whatever it was, moving through the press became easier. Mayhem trotted along behind me.

  "Depends on where you are at."

  "Bleh."

  He chuckled and my stomach tightened as the seductive nature of his voice wrapped around me and made me want to rub against him.

  Ezra stopped suddenly and I almost smacked into him. If my duffle hadn't been slung over his shoulder I might have. Instead, I bounced off of that. Mayhem managed not to smash his little button nose into my calf, though I heard him give a doggy grumble.

  "Problem?" I asked.

  "No, just a bit of a roadblock."

  I glanced around Ezra's shoulder. Just a massive press of people waiting for something. A tram?

  "We need to get to that escalator." He pointed.

  For a moment it seemed like an impossible task, but then, after a deep breath that was almost a sigh, Ezra led the way.

  Finally, we were there, and it was marginally less crowded as we stepped onto the moving stairway. I was relieved, at least until someone shoved into me from behind. If Ezra hadn't been a solid rock for me to crash into, we both would have gone tumbling down the escalator. As it was, the connection between us sprang to life with an almost painful surge. Ezra twisted around and caught me before I hit the ground, fingers digging into my arms with his own renewed need to touch me.

  It was a good thing I was seriously pissed off, or I might have melted into his arms in an embarrassingly gushing puddle of desire. As soon as I had my balance, I twisted around to glare at the offender. Mayhem stood between us, fluffy hackles up, teeth bared.

  Ezra, still holding me, guided me backward off the escalator and onto the solid ground. Mayhem, still snarling, backed up with us, though he hadn't shifted to his hellhound form.

  The smirk on the other person's face might have gotten wiped off with my fist if Ezra hadn't had a solid grip on my arm. She didn't look at the dog, though her stance told me she was aware of the Pomeranian.

  "What the fuck, mate?"

  "Chris Price. You haven't changed one bit."

  The person sneering at me seemed vaguely familiar. I mentally erased a few lines off of the woman's face, colored her hair pink instead of dirty blond, and changed her attire from relatively conservative jeans and a T-shirt, to a leather mini skirt, fishnets, and crop tops. She had way more of a tan to her pale skin that she'd had years back, too.


  "Nicki?" Ahh, shit. What the hell was she doing here?

  "In the flesh." She sauntered toward us like she owned the place.

  Ezra pulled me back against his chest and I let him hold me.

  "Care to introduce me to your friend?"

  I still wanted to punch her, but my initial anger had faded into wariness. There was no way running into Nicki was a coincidence, but I couldn't figure out how she would be connected to my trip to New York, either. I hadn't seen her, or Daed, or Tif in years.

  "Uh, yeah, sure. Ezra, this is an old friend of mine, Nicki."

  "Hello," Ezra replied, ignoring Nicki's outstretched hand.

  His fingers tightened on my arms and I wondered what had him on edge.

  She dropped her hand to her side, an amused smirk on her face. "Nice dog, by the way. Pretty sure that's supposed to be on a leash."

  I ignored the taunt.

  "Not going to ask after anyone else?" she taunted.

  I could sense a trap when one was presented and shook my head. "Naw. Don't have time to catch up now. Maybe later. We've got a car to meet." She was up to something for sure.

  "Yes, perhaps later," Ezra echoed and before she could protest or mock us, he pulled me out of the building and into the damp afternoon air. I stopped and Ezra paused behind me. The smells of the city, exhaust, and various food overwhelmed my senses. The press of humans combined with the screech of tires, and angry honking of cars, added weight to my shoulders. Holy shit I'd gotten used to living in New Mexico and I was off kilter from running into someone from my past. I leaned back against Ezra's chest and tried to breathe the air. Once upon a time, I'd thrived in this kind of environment. Now it felt alien.

  "Are you okay?" He leaned down to speak in my ear, his breath tickling my hair and sending shivers through me.

  "Yeah," I lied.

  He wrapped his arms around me, much like Mal would have, and let me have my lie.

  A black town car pulled up to the curb and the driver got out and bowed to Ezra.

  "My lord." The man set off my senses and I was willing to bet if he had taken his sunglasses off, I would have seen red rimming his irises. He gave me a wary look, but otherwise ignored me.