by Tina Folsom
“Yes, and you were fucking a demon. It won’t be the last time. You and I, we have something.”
“We have nothing. You’ve failed in your attempt to serve the Great One by bringing him a Stealth Guardian. I wish I could see his face when he finds out that another one of his stupid subjects has bought the farm.”
Eric chuckled. “Oh, you haven’t guessed yet. I’m surprised. You really thought some run-of-the-mill demon would come up with a plan to seduce a Stealth Guardian and actually succeed?” He attempted to shake his head, but the dagger at his throat prevented him from doing so. “I guess introductions are in order.”
Her throat went dry. Before he opened his mouth again to speak, she already knew what he was going to say.
“I’m Zoltan. I’m the Great One, the ruler of the Underworld.”
Shit! This was Zoltan, the demon she and her fellow Stealth Guardians had been hunting for years? What the hell was she waiting for? She had to kill him, even if she lost her life in the process.
His demon eyes bored into her. “And the man you fucked with more abandon and more passion than you’ve ever shared with anybody before.”
She hated the fact that he was right, hated that it made her hesitate. Any other demon she would have killed twice over already. But Eric? No, Zoltan! If anybody deserved to die, it was him.
“You’re responsible for Finlay’s betrayal, for Tessa’s drug overdose, for the destruction of the council compound, for Winter’s abduction, for Logan risking his life to rescue her. You killed Kim’s mother to get at one of our books. You killed countless innocents! You stole the source dagger! You’re—”
“I’m not behind all of those atrocities. Tessa, the mayor? I never hurt her.”
“Liar!”
“It’s the truth, and I’m still trying to figure out which of my demons went behind my back. However, I admit I invited the psychic to join me in the Underworld, yet she declined.”
“Invited? I don’t call kidnapping an invitation.”
“As if the Stealth Guardians have never done anything against a person’s wishes.”
“We do it for the greater good!” Enya protested.
“And who decides what’s good?”
She glared at him. “I’m not letting myself be drawn into a conversation about good and evil with you.”
“Too late! Damn it, Enya, it’s not all black and white.”
“It is for me.” But even as she said it, she knew she was lying. When it came to her feelings for Eric—no, Zoltan—things had turned a shade of gray. She hated what he was, a demon, but she desired him for who he was, her lover.
“Is it?”
He met her eyes, and despite the evil green color, she saw something else there, something she’d seen when he’d made love to her. Something that looked like affection. She shook her head. She was losing her mind. Zoltan was using his powers on her, the power to influence a person, to turn them to his side.
“Stop it! Your powers don’t work on me. I’m not human.”
“You thought I was trying to get you to do my bidding?” Unexpectedly, he laughed. “Enya, the only way I can get you to do anything I want is to fuck you until you surrender to me. That’s the only time you’ll ever be compliant. And even that won’t last for long. Which means I’ll have to fuck you daily.”
Enya grunted. “That’s never gonna happen again. Because you’ll be dead. And dead demons don’t fuck.”
He cast an eye at the dagger at his throat, then lowered his own dagger and tossed it to the floor. “Go ahead, then. You want to kill me, then do it. Just one last thing.”
She hesitated. “What? Spit it out!”
“Are you gonna tell your colleagues that you fucked Zoltan? Or are you gonna live with that secret for the rest of your life?”
“None of your fucking b—”
“And when you lie in bed alone, awake night after night, will you think back to this moment and wish you’d never found out that I was a demon?”
Her throat tightened. She didn’t want to breathe. Because breathing meant giving her brain the oxygen it needed to think of the scenario where Zoltan was still Eric, a scenario where they were happy. But she couldn’t allow that, because nobody could ever be happy with a demon.
“You were using me! Why would I waste a thought on you once you’re dead?”
“I’m not blind. I’ve seen you fight, Enya. Not just tonight, but many times before. At the cosplay event, you massacred my subjects. You’re fearless, you’re skilled, you’re strong.” He opened his arms wide. “Yet here I am, still alive, where you could have killed me several times by now. I laid down my weapon. I’m defenseless. But you can’t kill me.” His lips curved into a smile. “Because you care about the man you made love to. You care about me. Just like I care about you.”
She pressed the knife harder against his throat and broke the skin. A few drops of green blood stained the blade. “A demon cares about nobody. And you’re a demon! A demon!”
“Funny, how you focus on a demon’s inability to feel, when you could have just told me you didn’t care about me.” He slowly put his hands on her shoulders, cupping them gently. “You didn’t deny it. You do care about me. Because there’s something between us that defies everything, even the fact that we’re archenemies.”
She pushed him back with such force that he landed on the bed. She couldn’t take any more of this. “You know nothing.” Enya spun on her heel.
“I know one thing: the next time we fuck, you’ll be screaming my real name when you come.”
She charged through the door and hurried out of his place, making herself invisible in the process. Moments later, she was outside his building, the cool night air enveloping her heated body. She braced her hands on her knees. Damn it, she should have killed him, should have done what was her duty as a Stealth Guardian. But she hadn’t. Instead, she stood here, doubts and disappointment colliding within her, while her stomach growled in protest.
Nausea rose and hit her out of nowhere. Since she hadn’t eaten since lunch, she threw up only bile. It should have made her feel better, but it didn’t. Tears welled up in her eyes. She didn’t have the strength to stop them. But they couldn’t wash away the pain of having lost something she’d never hoped to find in the first place.
~ ~ ~
Zoltan sat on the edge of his bed, in the dark, his head in his hands, replaying the confrontation with Enya in his mind. How could this have happened? He’d been so careful, so why hadn’t he put new contact lenses in before he’d gone to bed, knowing the old ones would dissolve from the secretion of his eyes while he slept?
Why the fuck had Enya even shown up in the middle of the night? Something had sparked her suspicion, but she hadn’t told him what. Had he been too efficient in killing his own demons? It didn’t matter now. The damage was done. His original plan was destroyed, his location compromised, his assumed name worthless. He should leave now, hightail it out of Baltimore and find another hiding place in the human world, before the Stealth Guardians raided his condo and finished what Enya couldn’t.
Tonight changed everything, and everything changed tonight.
Enya had called him disgusting. The word cut deeper than the dagger at his throat had. Still, he couldn’t let her go. Couldn’t accept what had happened. He had to salvage what could be salvaged. So what if his original plan was shot? It didn’t change anything about the fact that he wanted Enya in his bed—and he’d take her any which way he could.
Still naked, he grabbed his phone from the bedside table and pressed the programmed number. It went straight to voicemail. He wasn’t surprised. Why would she take his call?
“It’s Enya. Leave a message.”
“Enya, it’s me.” He didn’t want to say his name in case one of the other Stealth Guardians heard the message. “Listen, we need to talk. I’m sorry for what happened… for how it happened.” He infused his voice with a pleading tone, a tone men used when they groveled. Women s
eemed to respond to it and were more inclined to forgive a man who used that tone. Of course, he had no actual experience in this, had only observed it in others. After all, he was the Great One. And the Great One didn’t grovel. “I can’t change what I am. But for you, I can change. I can be who you need me to be. Please, give me a chance to explain.”
He disconnected the call and sighed. What now? He couldn’t just sit here and wait for the second shoe to drop. He had to do something. Perhaps he could find out where she’d gone. Back to her compound? Somehow he doubted that. How would she explain to her comrades that she’d discovered where the Great One was hiding, and at the same time admit that she hadn’t been able to kill him because she had scruples? No, Enya wouldn’t put herself in that kind of situation with her brethren. She was a warrior like the men in her group. She didn’t want to come across as a weak female. Admitting that she couldn’t kill Zoltan because she’d slept with him would cost her the respect she’d worked so hard to earn.
In a hurry, Zoltan got dressed, put colored lenses over his green irises, and left the condo. To save time, he cast a vortex behind his building and transported to an apartment building in a rather decent part of the city. There, he looked at the names on the doorbells and found the one he was looking for. He rang three times. When there was no reply after thirty seconds, he pressed the doorbell again repeatedly.
Finally, an annoyed voice came through the crackling intercom. “What the fuck?”
“It’s Eric. I need you to do something for me.”
“In the middle of the fucking night? Come back tomorrow.” The intercom went silent.
But Zoltan couldn’t give up. Not now. He pressed the doorbell and held it down, until after an eternity, the buzzer sounded. “Well, was that so hard?” he grumbled to himself.
He pushed the door open and entered. The apartment was on the fourth floor. By the time Zoltan reached it, the door was already open, and Mick was waiting for him, a shabby bathrobe thrown over his pajama bottoms.
“You’ll be paying double,” Mick said, and walked back into his apartment.
Zoltan followed and closed the door behind him. “I thought you computer guys are up all night.”
“Yeah, right,” Mick said. “What do you need?”
“I need you to find somebody for me.” And Mick was the only person Zoltan could trust with this job, because Mick was human and had no idea who or what Zoltan was. All he knew was that Zoltan always paid, and he paid well for the services Mick provided. Even if there were a demon with Mick’s computer skills or equipment, he couldn’t trust a demon, not with this.
“Who’s the lady?”
Zoltan snapped his head to Mick and narrowed his eyes. “How do you know it’s a woman I’m looking for?”
Mick did an eye-roll. “Oh please, you’re not the first guy showing up here after midnight wanting me to trace his girlfriend who just walked out on him.”
Girlfriend? Zoltan wouldn’t call Enya his girlfriend, but he didn’t owe Mick an explanation. Besides, the situation was complicated.
“Well, then you should know how to find her.”
Mick’s computer was already booting up when Zoltan gave him Enya’s phone number. After a few keystrokes, Mick looked over his shoulder. “It’s a burner. And it’s switched off. Do you have anything else? Place of work? Home address? Facebook account?”
Zoltan shook his head. “She wasn’t exactly very forthcoming with information.”
Mick chuckled. “Fuck, you’re screwed. How about a name?”
“Enya.”
“And?”
“I don’t know her last name.”
“Hate to break it to you, buddy, but she doesn’t wanna be found. Hope she didn’t steal anything valuable from you.”
“Well…” No, she hadn’t stolen anything, though she had destroyed his chance at infiltrating the Stealth Guardians.
“I could put a trace on the burner, see where it shows up when she switches it back on.”
“Do that. Call me the minute you get anything at all.”
Mick nodded. “All right, then. Close the door on your way out.” He turned back to the computer and started hammering away on his keyboard.
Zoltan would have never tolerated one of his subjects speaking to him like this, but he couldn’t afford to disgruntle Mick. He needed him to find Enya. However, Zoltan couldn’t rely on Mick alone. He had to do some legwork himself and comb the city for her.
13
Enya felt as tired and worn out as if she’d fought a battle all night. And in a way, she had. Only the battle was mental, not physical. Over and over, she’d replayed her decision not to kill Zoltan when she had the chance. She couldn’t decide whether letting him live was the most harebrained idea in her entire life, or a sign that behind her tough-woman façade was a vulnerable woman. Either explanation was bad. And what was worse was that she couldn’t tell her brethren. The humiliation would be too hard to bear. Not only that, she’d be brought before the council.
What was she to say? Hey, guys, guess what? I met Zoltan, had a few quickies with him, and then decided to let him live ’cause the sex was so hot.
Fuck!
Well, at least she hadn’t been entirely stupid after she left his condo: she’d switched off her cell phone immediately so he couldn’t trace her—in case he was smart enough to do that—and only switched it back on inside the compound, where a powerful scrambler made sure no phones could be traced to this location. For anybody trying to find any kind of electronic activity at the location of the compound, it was a dead zone. Nevertheless, the Stealth Guardians were able to receive calls and messages inside the compound. Just like she’d received Zoltan’s message.
Enya, it’s me. Listen, we need to talk. I’m sorry for what happened… for how it happened. I can’t change what I am. But for you, I can change. I can be who you need me to be. Please, give me a chance to explain.
What a crock of shit. As if a demon could change! Demons were evil through and through. Zoltan was her enemy, and he’d always be her enemy. No amount of great sex and sweet words could ever change that.
Annoyed at herself that she had allowed Zoltan to wrap her around his little finger, Enya marched out of her private quarters and headed toward the communal kitchen. When she entered, several of her colleagues were finishing their breakfast. Leila was packing lunches for her twins, who had started kindergarten recently—a special one for only Stealth Guardian children, which was located in a secure location in Scotland and only a short portal ride away. Stealth Guardian children from all over the world were educated there.
Looking at Julia and Xander caused a little twinge in the pit of Enya’s stomach. As a Stealth Guardian female, her duty had been to bear children for her race, yet she’d decided to become a warrior instead. She’d never regretted that choice, but for some reason, this morning, she couldn’t help but wonder how her life would have turned out had she taken that path instead. For certain, she wouldn’t be in the situation she’d gotten herself into with Zoltan.
“Morning, Enya,” Hamish called out to her, and waved her to the table.
She approached and poured herself a cup of coffee, then added a little cream. “Morning.” She sat down and took a sip. “Ugh, who made coffee today? It tastes bitter.”
“If you say that a little louder, you’ll offend Daphne,” Hamish warned her. “Besides, the coffee tastes fine. Same as always.”
Enya pushed the cup away. “Yeah, whatever.”
“Pancakes, Enya?” Logan called from the stove.
“No, thanks. Not hungry.” After the night she’d had, she didn’t think she could ever eat anything again. Finding out her boyfriend was a demon could do that to a girl.
“So, what are you gonna tell him?” Hamish asked, nudging a little closer.
“Whom?”
“That Eric guy. Pearce told me he ran the background check and he came back clean.”
Enya shrugged. “Just what he needs to
know to explain what he’s seen.”
“Okay… You want one of us to come with you when you meet him?”
“I’m perfectly capable of handling it,” she snapped.
“Whoa, whoa. What’s that all about?”
Enya caught Leila and Daphne looking at her, having noticed her outburst. “It’s nothing.” When the two women turned their attention back to the twins and their own breakfast, she said to Hamish, “I’m gonna break up with him anyway. So there’s no need to tell him what’s really going on.” This lie would hopefully get her colleagues off her back and off Zoltan’s scent. Because if they dug deeper, they’d eventually figure out who he was. Several of them would even recognize his face: Aiden, Hamish, and Logan for certain, as well as Leila and Winter. And there was a chance that some of the others had also seen Zoltan’s face before.
“You sure?”
“Yeah. He’s not really my type anyway.” True: demons weren’t her type.
“If you say so.” He cast a look at the women. “But you know that nobody here would fault you for wanting a relationship. I mean, you’re the only—”
“The only one who doesn’t have anybody?” Enya interrupted. “Yeah, I’m not blind. But maybe I don’t want anybody. Have you ever thought of that? Maybe I’m not interested in domestic bliss.” She rose from the table and carried her mug to the sink, where she poured the vile liquid down the drain.
Logan sidled up to her. “Hey, could you do me a favor today?”
She gave him a sideways glance. “Depends.”
“Winter needs to see Cinead urgently, but I can’t take her, because I’m on assignment. Would you take her to him and stay until she’s ready to come back?”
Enya nodded. “Sure. So the doll worked? She had a vision?”
Logan looked over his shoulder, but all the others were chatting at the dining table. “She did. It upset her, but she didn’t want to tell me what she saw. She said Cinead should be the first to find out.”
“Sounds ominous.”
“She was shaken by it. I’ve only ever seen her like this when she had visions about her own death.”