by K. A. Fox
“I know Sir. But I’m glad I was here when she needed me.”
Angus nodded. “You know, these scars will be an easy way to identify Delaney once the rumors spread that she’s been hurt. And the rumors will spread.” His tone sounded worried and it made me wonder what things he still hadn’t told me. “We’ll have to find some way to disguise them.” He whistled low and then stood up. “Now, I know too well the type of healing Cal did requires a lot of rest afterwards. So, I suggest all of you use this time to do exactly that. Detective Bishop, if you choose to stay, I expect you will be a gracious guest and do as you’re asked. I understand your need to be close to Delaney right now, but you will honor the boundaries she puts in place. We’re all too busy to play babysitter to you right now.”
Torren nodded, watching as my father shook Cal’s hand, then pulled me into a hug. With a quick kiss to my cheek, Angus popped out of my living room, the faint waft of char the only reminder he’d been there.
With my father gone, Torren recovered the ability to speak and turned wide eyes to us. “I don’t believe it. Is the Devil really Irish?”
Chapter Twenty·Five
I wasn’t sure what to do with Torren for the night. It wasn’t fair to kick Cal out of the room he’d been sleeping in and it was the only spare bedroom I had. For now, as worn out as we all were, Torren didn’t object to sleeping on the couch. I think all that mattered to any of us was sleep. We’d deal with the rest of it in the morning.
Once it seemed like Torren was reasonably comfortable in the living room, I wished him a good night and plodded upstairs to get myself ready for bed. More than anything, I wanted to brush my teeth. After everything that had happened and the sleep I’d needed to properly heal, they were feeling filmy and gross. Scrubbing them clean was the only thing on my mind so I was off balance when I bumped into Callum in the hallway.
He steadied me, then pulled his arms away, stepping back to give me a little bit of space.
“Sorry about that, Laney. Didn’t think you’d be up here quite so fast. Everything okay down there?”
I nodded. “I think so. It’ll work for tonight at least.”
“How are you feeling? Any pain or nausea?”
He sounded so professional in his concern. “I’m fine. Tired. Which I guess is probably normal after all we went through.”
“Yeah, your body’s been through the wringer. Get some rest tonight and I’ll make sure you’ve got a good breakfast waiting when you get up. You’ll probably be starving then. Appetite takes a little while to kick in after you start healing, but once it hits, you’re going to want to eat just about everything.”
He started to walk into his bedroom, but I stopped him with a touch on his arm. “Cal, I want to thank you for everything you’ve done to help me. I know you didn’t want to come here in the first place, but obviously, I wouldn’t still be here without you. And you managed the whole situation with Torren and Angus really well. Most people wouldn’t have known what to do. Including me. So, thanks.” I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, recognizing how hard it had been for me to admit I had needed his help.
I looked up to find his gaze intensely focused on me. “You’re welcome, Delaney. Really.” There was a husky quality to his voice when he said my name that made me almost uncomfortable, if only because I thought a part of me wanted it to mean more than it probably did.
“Okay, well, good night then.” I started to turn away but then changed my mind and threw my arms around him in a quick, awkward hug. Then I rushed into my bedroom and shut the door without looking at him again.
When I woke in the morning, I was stiff and sore, but determined to face the problems in my home head on. I wanted battle armor. Best to make do with whatever was comfortable. I grabbed my favorite teal sweater and the most worn pair of jeans I had clean, slipping them on. The waistband gaped in the back, evidence of the fast healing of the day before. The mirror was no friend to me either, every bruise in high relief on my fair skin. Trying to cover them would be too obvious, so I settled for washing my face and dashing on a tiny bit of lip balm to help heal the cuts that were starting to sting.
Feeling as good as I possibly could after the previous day, I made my way downstairs. As promised, breakfast was waiting for me. Waffles and eggs were steaming and ready on the island while bacon sizzled on the stove. Cal watched over the meat and Torren was at the table. An uncomfortable silence reigned.
Might as well dive in. I sank down onto the seat across from Torren. “So, I think today we need to get your stuff moved out here and a proper bed set up. I don’t expect you to sleep on the couch until this is all resolved, and it’s only fair you have somewhere for your things. There’s a small room upstairs that we should be able to fit a bed into for you.”
Torren nodded. “Thanks Delaney. I appreciate it.” Then he was back to drinking his coffee, his eyes studiously on the wood of the tabletop.
I turned to Cal, who had remained quiet while he finished preparing breakfast. Based on the amount of food I could see, it looked like he intended everyone should eat. I even suspected he’d made extra bacon for Moose, who was lurking under the table in anticipation of strategically dropped pieces.
“Smells good, Cal.” My stomach grumbled loudly, and I added, “You’re right. My appetite is definitely coming back. We’ll need some food to get ready for the work ahead of us today. We’ve got to drive into Omaha, get Torren’s stuff picked up, find a bed and get it set up out here before it gets too late.”
“My stuff’s in Hazelwood already,” interjected Torren. As I turned back to him, he said, “I moved out to the bed and breakfast after we saw each other at the coffee shop.” He paused, obviously uncomfortable. “I just felt like I needed to be closer to you.”
“Okay,” I said brightly, forcing cheerfulness in my voice. “That will make things a little easier. We can call Donna Kay and let her know you’ll be checking out today. Then we’ll pick up your stuff.”
Neither Cal nor Torren said anything else, so I grabbed a plate and piled it high with food. I really was hungry, more than I could ever remember being, and everything smelled delicious. I wasn’t going to pass this up. Not if I could help it.
Ignoring the tension in the air, I sat back down and dug in to my breakfast. Eventually, Cal and Torren both got plates of their own and joined me at the table, the sound of utensils scraping against the plates our only accompaniment. Moose was lingering by my feet, his head still under the table. I suspected more than a few small bits of bacon had found their way onto the floor, happily scavenged by the dog. If we could have managed some conversation, it might actually have been a pleasant meal.
The food disappeared with amazing speed. We cleaned up together, my lonely attempts to engage them in some discussion got simple sentence responses in return. I finally gave in and left the room, grabbing my phone and calling Donna Kay at the bed and breakfast. I let her know Torren was going to be checking out and I thought we’d be there soon to pick up his stuff. She said all he needed to do was sign the check-out paperwork. She’d have it printed up and ready for him.
Going back into the kitchen, I saw Moose and Cal walking a slow perimeter of the house, starting in the backyard and continuing around, clockwise, until they were out of sight as they passed to the front. Torren cleared his throat and when I turned my attention to him, said, “He’s out checking the defenses with the dog. Said something about making sure the wards are in place and fully charged.”
I nodded. “Probably smart. When we leave, I’ll close the wards but if there’s a hole we need to mend, it’s best we have that fixed ahead of time.”
Torren’s gaze was unsure, but he tried for a grin. “I, uh, have a lot to learn about things here.”
I understood his confusion and even the worry I could detect below his words. “Hey, what you’ve been through and learned the past couple days would be a shock to anyone. Give yourself some time to adjust and you’
ll be fine.”
His eyes were bleak. The shadow of unshaven growth on his jaw stood out starkly. He looked hopeless. He shrugged and then stood up, pushing back the chair. “I’ll get out of your way for now.”
“You don’t have to leave. We can talk while we wait for them if you want.”
He froze, looking like he wanted to sit back down with me but also like he was afraid to. “Um, I’m not sure it’s a good idea right now.”
“Let me guess? Part of you wants to sit here and talk, so you can stay close by me, but there’s an independent part of your brain that’s begging you to get as far away from me as fast you can.”
He swallowed and a muscle in his cheek began to twitch. Something in the air between us changed and I could almost feel his fear, his tension, creeping into my own muscles.
“How would you know that’s how I’m feeling? Can you read my mind now?”
I shook my head, relaxing back in the chair and trying to appear as harmless as possible. “I’m not able to read your mind or anyone else’s. But I know what it’s like to feel torn between two things. It’s scary and uncomfortable. Makes you question everything, about yourself and life in general.”
He let out a small breath of air and some of the strain eased from his shoulders, but he still didn’t sit back down. His attention turned back to the windows, looking away toward something I couldn’t see. For a moment, he looked young, unsure and the five years that separated us disappeared. “I feel like I need to be out there, trying to find the man killing those women. Stop him before it happens again. But I can’t leave. Something inside won’t let me. It makes me . . .” He didn’t finish, his fists clenching as he fought with himself.
“Those situations make me angry.” I said the words softly, hoping they would be of some comfort. “I like to be in control and when I feel like I’m not, well, it scares me. A lot. The way I usually react to being scared is to get angry. I did everything I could when I moved out here to build a life that I was in total control of. That way, I would feel safe and be sure that everyone else was safe from me.”
“But you left this house and went to Angel Falls to stop that killer.”
“Yeah, I did. But, if you look at how I did it, I made sure I was in control of everything from start to finish. I had a plan, which I planned and revised over and over until I felt like I had accounted for every possible eventuality. I did everything I could to make sure nothing would go wrong.”
“And it worked.”
I looked up, surprised to see he’d settled back into his seat, his hands on the table near mine. “I don’t know if it worked out exactly as I envisioned,” I said, “but it got the job done and I made it home. For example, I never dreamed that someone would think about following the paycheck or if they did, that it would ever lead them to me. Smart thinking on your part.”
He smiled down at the table top, but in a brave movement, looked at me and met my eyes. The blue was stormy today, swirled with gray. They still looked pained, but maybe some of that had lessened since we’d started this conversation.
“I can’t say it was smart, really,” he said. “I just knew something felt off about the way you left. How you managed to take that guy out. It was too clean. He had the upper hand, he was bigger than you, but you still managed to walk away with only cuts and bruises. It was ...” He stopped and coughed, sounding almost embarrassed. “Well, it just seemed amazing to me.”
“I don’t recommend trying to take down a demon all by yourself, you know,” I said, trying to keep my voice light. “Angus made sure I had training in case I ever needed to defend myself against an attack. Instead of using it as a defense, I turned it into offense. Not so hard when you know what you’re doing. And Uncle Newt is a hard teacher. I’d been knocked around by him often enough that I learned a lot before ever thinking about taking on that Chaos Demon.”
“See, that’s what’s going to get me.” There was still a thread of disbelief running through his words. “The idea that there are all these different types of demons running around out there and I only know about two of them right now. The Chaos one and the creature that got into your house.”
“The Proles,” I offered.
He nodded. “Yeah, that one. But I saw pictures of the guy you killed, and he looked nothing like that other thing. How can they both be the same? And how will I know what they are before it’s too late?”
I thought of how best to explain this to him. “Well, all demons were born from one source. But there are different types of demons, families you could say, each classified by what they do best. And they don’t all look alike. Some have a more human form than others. Or can at least project one so they are more likely to blend in.”
Torren was pensive, nodding his head as he followed along. “Like the one you called a Chaos Demon. He was good at causing chaos. The fight that started in the club when he was trying to lure the dancer outside away from everyone.”
“Exactly. And the Proles is a child’s demon. They like to lead children away until they have them alone, and then they eat them.”
He blanched at that and I couldn’t disagree with him. It made my stomach hurt just thinking about it. No one had ever given me an idea of how many children had been stolen by Proles demons, but to me, even one was too many.
“What about the other ones you hear about in stories? Like a Succubus.”
“They’re out there.” I gave him a wink. “So I’ve been told, at least.”
His lips parted to ask me another question, but we were interrupted by the back door opening as Callum and Moose came back inside.
“You ready to go?” asked Cal.
“Sure. We were just waiting on you guys to finish up. I’ll grab my stuff and we’ll head over to the garage.”
I picked up my purse, wallet, and the keys I needed for my SUV. With four of us and Torren’s luggage, we’d need the space. Even if I had Moose shrink down to his smaller size, it felt like the guys took up a lot of space. Making sure they weren’t sitting on top of each other could only improve our situation.
Chapter Twenty·Six
With me leading the way out of the house, we all stepped into the backyard and headed toward the garage. As soon as we stepped outside the heaviest set of wards, the prickle over my skin told me we were moving beyond its protections. I let the guys go on ahead and turned back to face my home. I held my hands out, palms up, and whispered, “Protect,” loading as much intent as I could into the word, asking the wards to please renew themselves and continue guarding my home while we were gone. I’d been taught that it never cost you anything to be polite, and even though there were practitioners that treated magic rudely, I’d never been that way. It always felt natural for me to ask for help from the stones.
I let the energy I held charged within me linger on my palms, until anyone with magical sight would have seen small flames leap to life, dancing on my skin. I whispered the word again, then pushed the flames out and away from me, directing it along the line of ward stones encircling the dwelling. The magic raced away from me, and I saw a haze of heat move around the house, following the lines I’d created, until they crossed each other, once, twice. As I stepped back, I heard the gentle hum as the wards recharged and swelled with the new energy I’d infused them with. It was a sound that always made me feel safe.
Catching up with everyone at the garage, I unlocked the SUV and we piled in. I appreciated that neither Cal nor Torren tried to take the driver’s seat. This was my car, after all, and I was the one who drove it. It was time to hit the road.
I drove faster than I probably should have. I would have turned the radio on, but once we were on our way, Torren spoke up, peppering me with questions.
“So, about those demons again,” he started.
I saw Cal look over at me and glanced back at him, meeting his eyes for a second before returning my attention to the road ahead. I answered his unspoken question. “Torren was askin
g about demons. It makes sense that if he’s going to be stuck with us, he should have as much information as possible.”
Cal didn’t say anything, but out of the corner of my eye I saw his shoulders relax, dropping down a fraction.
Torren continued. It was obvious once he was interested in something, he didn’t let up until his curiosity was satisfied. “You said demons all came from the same source. So, what is it? Where do they come from?”
I swallowed, unsure what his response to the answer would be. Before I could say anything, Cal stepped in. “Angus is the source. He created them. Every single demon carries a kindred magic, one of his abilities. They’re born with it.”
“Like Delaney?”
Cal shook his head, shooting me a look that felt heavy as it settled on me. “Not in any way. She’s the only one of her kind.”
I blushed, surprised by my reaction to those words. Hoping to deflect some of the attention and lighten the serious atmosphere that filled the interior of the SUV, I said, “Torren, what do you know about Sirens?” I watched him in the rearview mirror and saw the shock on his face.
“Sirens are real? They’re demons?”
“Yep. Angus made them too. Did you wonder why he chose to be a musician when he came Above?”
“Well, no, not really. I guess it just made sense. You know, the whole sex, drugs and rock n’ roll thing.”
I laughed. The fact that most musicians had a reputation for living wild lives had only given Angus even better cover when crazy things happened around him. “Sure, there’s that. But Angus can use his voice to ensnare people. It’s almost like when he sings he’s casting spells on everyone listening. Compelling them to do what he wants them to do. Sirens inherited that trait from him.”
