by Dakota Brown
"How'd you find me?"
"Billy called me. I used magic."
"Really?"
"You don't believe me?"
"Uh. Okay, yeah, fair. I believe you." She laughed a little.
Goosebumps ran along my skin and I shoved myself in front of Mandy, just as a child sized person stepped away from my car.
"Very interesting," she said as she walked toward us. "I would not have expected you to help a mortal as you have this one."
"Holy shit, is that one of the angels?"
"Yeah," I replied tightly. She'd be prepared for the trick I'd pulled the other night, and I had a lot fewer options out in the open. I didn't think she'd hurt Mandy, but she was likely extremely pissed at me.
"What do you want?"
"Well, your head on a pike might be a good start," she stated as if she were discussing the weather.
Mandy tried to move in front of me, but I grabbed her arm and kept myself between the two of them.
"I probably couldn't stop you, but I'd try," I snarled.
"I know." She shrugged.
"Yeah, and then I'd set Chris Price loose on you," Mandy snarled.
The angel raised her eyebrow. "I do not think an exorcist would be much of a problem."
I snorted. "Then you don't know Chris."
She came closer and I resorted to a warning growl, hoping posturing would drive her off.
"Relax, vampire. I'm not here to fight."
Mandy twitched.
"Then why are you here?"
"Your Nephilim friend must learn to use his powers. You need to convince him to come with us so we can teach him."
"Showing up and trying to accost him at the pizza parlor wasn't a real good way to convince either of us to listen to you," I pointed out.
She inclined her head, acknowledging my criticism. "Perhaps. We are not used to dealing with mortals. Still, you must convince him. He'll listen to you."
"You need to talk to Chris. If you can convince her, it'll go easier." I hated pushing this off on Chris, but I thought she might have some perspective that I didn't. Or at least she'd be able to get Ezra's opinion.
"She's consorting with demons." The angel sniffed in disdain.
"You're trying to convince a vampire to help you," I pointed out.
"You're not a demon." She crossed her arms, a bit of a childish pout coming through her otherwise otherworldly demeanor.
I almost laughed, but I kept my amusement to myself. "No."
"I very much doubt your exorcist will be interested in aligning herself with angels now that she's been corrupted by the demons."
"First off, so far the demons have been way more helpful than you guys. Secondly, I'm just as fond of Sabian as she is. Though maybe in a different sort of way. So, you can take your anti-demon attitude and shove it." Maybe my exorcist was rubbing off on me. Mandy gasped quietly, reminding me she was still hiding behind me. Wasn't she getting an earful?
The angel glared at me.
I met her stare. I'd survived for centuries. She might be older, and she might be able to take me out relatively easily, but I was not going down without a fight, nor would I cower.
"We will be in touch when the exorcist returns to this plane." She vanished in a painful flash of light.
I took a deep breath that I didn't really need. "Well, that was entertaining," I muttered.
"Holy shit, Mal."
"You're telling me. Okay, get in the car before something else decides to try and pick a fight with me."
She practically leapt into my Prius. I did the same and fired it up.
"Where is Chris?"
I hadn't expected that to be her first question. "She went to hell with a demon prince to get Sabian back from the other demon prince who basically kidnapped him from us."
She stared at me. "For real?"
"Yes."
I could tell she was trying to decide if she believed me or not.
"I've lived a long time," I said, "and there's no way I could have made that particular scenario up in my mind."
She laughed. "Okay, fair. So, uh, you're really a vampire?"
I sighed. That was what I had expected her first question to be. "Angels are bastards, but they don't tend to lie. Twist the truth, maybe, but yes, I am."
"That's crazy."
I glanced at her while I drove. "Really?"
"Well, I mean. Yes. This whole thing is crazy."
"Mandy, how'd you get mixed up with those two?"
"I was at a bar, looking for a hookup. I swear, that's all. They were hot, seemed nice." She shrugged.
"I've completely lost my ability to judge ages. How old are you?"
"Mal, I'm twenty-five, plenty old enough to go to bars and try to get laid."
I laughed. "I wasn't judging. Trust me. I just thought you were younger than you are."
"No."
"Well, maybe steer clear of the big city for a while."
"There's not as much going on in Santa Fe, but yeah, I'll stick close to home. I'm not anxious for that to happen again." She shuddered.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah."
She sounded like she believed it. I supposed time would tell and hopefully she'd get someone to talk to, but at the moment I believed her.
"So, Sabian."
I sighed. "Sabian is an incubus."
She burst out laughing. "God he's hot."
I nodded my agreement.
She fell silent and I almost thought she'd fallen asleep when she spoke again, voice soft. "Am I going to remember this conversation later?"
That was a fair question. I hadn't decided on that myself.
"Do you want to remember it?"
"Yes. And I swear I won't tell anyone else."
I glanced at her before looking back at the road. Her eyes were wide, and she stared at me, a mix of wonder and fear in her expression and on her scent.
"Can you promise me you won't go looking for other vampires or supernatural beings? Most of them are not nearly as friendly as the ones you've met so far."
"Do you know any who are nice?"
"Mandy..."
"No, really, do you?"
I sighed again but put a little thought into it. "Not locally."
She pushed out her lip in a pout. "No, I won't go looking," she agreed after a few minutes of silence. "If anyone decent does show up locally, would you, uh, put in a good word for me?"
Was she really asking me to play match maker? I shook my head. "No promises, Mandy."
"Well, that's not a no."
"It's not a no."
Her wide grin was interrupted by a jaw popping yawn.
"Why don't you get some rest. I'll wake you up when we get back to your place."
"Thanks, Mal. Thank you for saving me."
"You're welcome."
"Chris is lucky she found you."
I smiled. "I am, too."
Mandy drifted off, and I focused on the road. My life had officially gotten even stranger, but at least Mandy was safe and hopefully I didn't have to worry about her going on a vampire hunt. Maybe I'd talk to Sabian about finding her a nice, friendly incubus friend. I shook my head and wondered what Chris was going to have to say about all of this when she found out. Maybe I should have let the angel kill me.
Chapter 14
Price
I pushed out of the clingy material, expecting to be covered in slime or something, but no, I was just cold. The air on the other side was frigid, dry, and sucked the breath from my lungs. It was significantly darker here than on Earth, and that probably explained why Ezra used sunglasses all the time.
"Wrap yourself in my power and think about being warm," Ezra directed.
Doing what he suggested, I instantly felt better.
"You can do this on your plane, same with cooling yourself down."
"Is that why you and Sabian are never affected by the heat?"
"The elements don't bother us nearly as much as they do humans, but extreme
temperatures will still affect us. This is what we do to protect ourselves."
"Cool." This shiver was completely unrelated to the cold as I looked around.
I didn't see any guardians or anything, but I could sense a presence studying us. Mayhem had shifted to his hellhound form and I put my hand on his back. The landscape was barren, stark, artic almost. Definitely my idea of hell. It stretched endlessly away from the cliff we stood on. Wind tugged at my jacket and whistled around us.
"Yeah, this fits."
Ezra chuckled. "It's not all like this."
"Good."
"I'm going to take you to my home now."
He grabbed my hand, did something, and suddenly we were standing in a completely different landscape. This one was more like an alpine mountain range. Still cool, so I didn't drop my power, but not desolate, and the wind didn't try to steal my soul with every breath. We stood in front of something that looked like an ancient keep on Earth, all granite rock, and solid looking. Sigils shimmered along the crenelations at the top of the huge structure. I turned, able to feel the wards that the sigils powered surrounding us.
Wolves howled in the distance.
Mayhem sat and cocked his head, listening. After a moment, he let loose with a beautiful, yet chilling, howl of his own. Hellhounds then, not wolves.
"Yours?" I glanced at Ezra.
"Yes." His smile of pride had me grinning in return.
"They run the mountains here, patrolling. I was fortunate in my younger years to start a rather prized breeding program and it, and other things, have done well for me. Shall we?" He gestured to the main doors of the keep, which were slowly opening.
"Sure, mate."
I was inclined to trail along behind Ezra, but he offered me his arm, so I let him claim me and together we walked through the doors into his home.
The inside was fairly medieval in that the lighting was from sconces along the walls, though I couldn't tell what was powering the lights. Probably magic. There were no tapestries or art, just bare granite walls that were certainly beautiful in their own right. The floor was stone with carpet runners.
"Is there anyone else here?"
The moment I asked, I knew the answer. I could sense others all around me, though I couldn't see them. Whispers filled the edge of my hearing.
"They're cautious. Your reputation precedes you."
"Ahh."
A pair of hellhounds poked their heads around a corner, ears perked forward.
Mayhem whined, did a little dancing step, and glanced back at me, as if for permission.
I looked at Ezra, hoping he wasn't asking for permission to attack them, though I didn't get that impression.
"His litter mates."
"Go ahead, Mayhem."
He woofed happily and galloped down the hallway. He crashed into the others and they all went sprawling for a moment before they set on each other in a terrifying display of what I hoped was hellhound playtime.
"Ezra? They playing?"
"Yes. They won't hurt each other."
"Hope you're right." I hunched my shoulders before letting Ezra lead me to a large staircase. We went up and through more identical corridors until Ezra pushed a door open into a study. This had more personality. Bookshelves lined with ancient looking tomes, and some more modern. A few trinkets sat on the shelves here and there that I would investigate at some point. A fireplace, a couch, recliner, and loveseat, and a large desk all took up space in the room. It was fairly cozy.
My duffle sat on the floor next to the fireplace, looking untouched.
Ezra frowned, staring at the office chair. Its back was turned toward us.
The chair rotated, revealing a classically beautiful woman. Her eyebrows rose when she saw me on Ezra's arm.
She was platinum blond, with perky boobs just the right size to entice guys, and horns that curled around her ears, kind of like Mayhem's. Her blood red lips curled into a lazy, confident smile.
"Ezra, you're finally home," she purred.
"Hello, Mez," Ezra said tightly. "What are you doing here?"
"Your gate ghouls let me in," she answered and glanced at me. "Perhaps we can talk without your toy present."
My fingers twitched and I longed to give my first exorcism in hell a try, but I kept my mouth shut for the moment.
Mez got up from the chair and stalked forward, eyes on Ezra as if he were prey.
Mayhem, get over here, I thought, having no idea if that would summon the hellhound or not.
She was tall, curvy, beautiful, and screamed succubus. I wondered if that were true, or if she were some other female shaped demon.
"Ms. Price is not a toy, and you are not welcome."
She pressed her lips out in a pout. "It is time I produce spawn. I have chosen you."
Mez spoke as if his consent wasn't exactly necessary and that it was now a done deal.
I crossed my arms and glared. I was not sharing my demon.
I'll handle it. We don't want to showcase your powers until we've rescued Sabian. The element of surprise is more important than making a point right now.
Can I stab her?
His lips twitched as he fought a smile. If it becomes necessary.
"Mez, I'm not available right now. Please leave."
Just in case I needed to test my knife on the demon bitch, I went over to my duffle and hauled it over to the couch where I could more easily reach it.
Just then Mayhem and his littermates charged into the room. Through a wall. Not quite Kool-Aid Man style, more like the wall just liquefied for a moment while they crashed through it, then reformed behind them.
Holy shit.
Mez raised an eyebrow as all three of them sank to the ground in front of me, eyes intent upon her, but she didn't comment, outwardly dismissing me, though I had no doubt I had her attention. Or the hellhounds did, anyway.
"Ezra, I offer you a great honor."
I doubt that, I grumbled.
In a way, she's right. It's not one I require, however, he replied.
You'd better not. My jealousy was in full swing, even though I could tell Ezra was repulsed by the idea of doing anything with Mez.
"Thank you," he replied. "However, I am on a mission for our liege, and it does not allow time for dalliances."
Her eyebrows rose and her expression, if anything, grew more possessive. "I see."
Good Lord, Ezra, you just made yourself more attractive to her.
Ezra ignored me for the moment.
"You will notify me when you are no longer occupied. I can wait a bit longer." She sauntered past me, giving the hellhounds a wide berth. Though, as if sensing my anger, she winked at me, before brushing her hand across Ezra's chest and leaving the room.
The hellhounds echoed my growl, and I clenched my ritual knife in my fist. I had not grabbed it, and I wasn't sure how it had arrived in my hand, but I was glad it was there. I nearly went after the demon bitch to use it in her back.
"Ezra." I turned my glare on him. "That was not handling it. That was putting it off until later."
He turned his attention to me, eyes widening slightly. "Chris, I didn't want to reveal anything to Mez."
"Yeah, yeah, right." I sighed, anger still simmering under the surface. "Let's go get Sabian before anyone else shows up that I can't stab until we have my incubus back."
Ezra nodded, though I could tell he had hoped to have a chance to show me around first.
"Promise, I'll stick around long enough to get the tour later. We've taken long enough to get Sabian back."
"You're right, of course. Are you ready?"
I opened my bag, grabbed the sheath for my knife and threaded that onto my belt. Then I tucked my holy water into my jacket pocket, grabbed a few more stabbing implements and decided I was sufficiently armed, along with my magic.
"One thing before we do go, how do I tie my personal wards into your power instead of my own?"
"I can do that for you," he offered. "Likely faster than
teaching you."
"Is it reversable?" Just in case I didn't always have Ezra's good graces. Of course, with the demon mark it probably didn't matter. I thought that would let him bypass my wards, anyway.
"Yes."
Pretty sure he just answered both my questions with one word.
"'Kay, let's do this."
Ezra came over to me, gathered his power, and pressed his hand to my chest. His warm fire burned through me for a moment before the slight constant drain on my energy from my wards eased.
I almost panicked at the naked feeling not having them active gave me, before I felt them tie into his much larger well of stored energy.
"Well, I'll be able to take a few extra hits next time."
Ezra smiled. "Do try to dodge, regardless. They're still dangerous to you. If you take a big enough hit, they'll still overload, just in a different way."
"Noted."
"Let's go outside the wards and I'll take us to Lott's domain. I can't enter without an invitation, so you'll have to summon me."
"Wait, so, like I'm walking in alone?"
"Yes," Ezra replied warily.
"You might have mentioned this."
"I thought I had. No matter, you're well protected. Especially with Lucifer's mark. Get to Sabian, summon me, and I'll help you both get out."
"Terrible plan, mate."
"It's literally the best one I've been able to come up with. Do you have better ideas?"
"No." I grumbled.
"Let's get this over with, then."
We left his keep and I reluctantly let Ezra take my hand.
"Don't forget to summon me," Ezra ordered as he called on his power and transported us out of his domain.
∞ ∞ ∞
It occurred to me, as I stood alone, except for Mayhem at my side, on a baren windswept plain, that I wasn't exactly sure how to summon Ezra in hell. Demon summoning was not my forte. Hopefully, somewhere in that small library of knowledge Ezra had dumped into me, I had the information I needed.
Still, I could sense Sabian now, and I headed in that direction, not sure what else to do. I assumed, at some point, one of Lott's minions would notice me and take me to him.
I was going to shank Ezra when I saw him next. Asshole. I had to remind myself that he wasn't exactly human, and in a way he was displaying a great deal of faith in me that I might or might not deserve. Still, dropping me here and sending me off on my own was not winning him brownie points.
