by Tina Folsom
“So you think…?” Enya stopped herself from putting into words what she suspected.
He shrugged. “Don’t know, but I assume so. In any case, it’s best if you take her rather than one of the guys. She might need a shoulder to cry on afterward. The pregnancy is hard enough on her. The hormones make her more emotional than before, and that’s when she needs her girlfriends.”
“You think I’m Winter’s girlfriend?”
“Of course you are. All the women here are. But she admires you the most. So do that for me, please?”
“Sure. She’ll be in safe hands.”
Logan squeezed her shoulder and turned back to the stove.
At least accompanying Winter to Cinead’s new house would take Enya’s mind off her problems. It was better than sitting around, waiting for an assignment to fall into her lap. And she liked seeing Cinead. She loved the older man’s deep voice and the soothing effect it had on her. But if Logan was right, today would be a difficult day for the respected statesman. Winter had so far always shared her visions with the compound inhabitants first, the good ones and the bad ones. For her not to share this vision and insist on speaking to Cinead first meant two things: it was a vision about his baby son, and it was bad news, very bad news. Just how bad, Enya would have to wait patiently to find out.
~ ~ ~
Winter looked a little worse for wear when Enya picked her up from her private quarters. The baby bump was barely visible, but her face looked ashen. As if she’d seen death. Maybe she had.
“Hey,” Enya said softly. “Are you ready to leave?”
“Not really, but Logan already called Cinead, and he’s expecting us.” Winter sighed. “Sometimes I hate my gift. It seems I’m always the bearer of bad news.”
Enya forced a smile. “Don’t say that. You’ve helped lots of people with your visions. Logan, Pearce. And so many more. But not everything can have a good outcome.”
Winter nodded. “I know that. But I’d so hoped for good news for Cinead. He’s lost so much.” Tears welled up in her eyes. She sniffed and took a breath.
“You can do this,” Enya said.
Winter pasted a smile on her face. “I can do this.”
“Okay, then.” Enya led the way to the portal, which was located on one of the lower levels of the vast compound. In front of it, she stopped.
“I hate taking the portal these days.”
“You’re not afraid of it anymore, are you?” Enya asked, and laid her hand over the symbol of the dagger that was etched into the stone.
“No, it’s not that. But ever since I got pregnant, I get so dizzy in there.”
Underneath Enya’s hand, the stone warmed, and suddenly, it was gone, revealing a small, cavernous space behind it. “It’ll pass. And it’s only a few seconds.” Enya stepped through the opening and took Winter’s hand. “Just hold on tightly if that makes you feel better.”
Winter entered the portal and put one arm around Enya’s waist. “Thank you.”
A moment later, it went pitch-black around them. Enya concentrated on their destination and felt the portal respond to her command. Underneath her feet, she felt the ground wobble.
“Ugh!” Winter exclaimed. “I’ll be sick.”
“Almost there,” Enya said, though she felt a queasiness too, as if Winter’s feelings were contagious. “A couple more seconds.”
Just in time, they arrived and stepped out of the portal. Winter took a deep breath, and Enya did the same.
“Better?” Enya asked.
“Better.”
Enya looked at the camera that pointed at the entrance to the portal. It appeared the security system had already been hooked up, which meant Cinead would be alerted to their arrival. Having been in the house only a day earlier, Enya guided Winter through the cellar to the steps that led up to the first floor. In the foyer, Cinead was waiting for them. Two workmen were carrying a heavy painting covered in protective wrapping through the door into the home.
“Which way?” one of the men asked Cinead.
“Excuse me for a moment, Enya, Winter.” Cinead turned to the two men. “To the first landing on the main steps. Right there.” He pointed up the wide steps that made a turn halfway to the second floor.
“Okay,” the man replied, and he and his colleague headed toward the stairs.
Cinead turned back to his visitors. “Enya, Winter, so good to see you.”
“It’s been a while, Cinead.” Winter took his hand with both of hers and clasped it.
Cinead looked at her hands and then back at Winter’s face. “It’s bad, then?”
Winter motioned to the open door that led into the living area. “Shall we sit down?”
Cinead nodded. “Enya, would you?” He pointed to the two movers, and Enya understood. She was to watch them.
“Certainly. I’ll be out here.”
Cinead and Winter disappeared in the living room and closed the door behind them, leaving Enya to watch the workers grunt and puff as they heaved the heavy painting up the stairs and leaned it against the wall on the first landing. The older of the two pulled out a box cutter and started slicing open the cardboard wrapping.
Both men were human, but belonged to the Stealth Guardians’ network of trusted individuals. They’d been vetted extensively to make sure they didn’t have anything in their background that made them particularly vulnerable to the influence of demons. In addition, they were only given sufficient information to perform their duties, not more, not less.
Movers were always used only once to make sure they could disclose at most two Stealth Guardian locations, should the demons get their claws into them. Only items too large to fit into the portals were moved by humans. There were other security procedures too. Ever since the Stealth Guardians had allied themselves with Scanguards, a vampire would wipe the men’s minds of memories associated with the move. Computer geeks at the various compounds around the world—like Pearce—would do the rest to wipe out any electronic records.
When the two men finally freed the life-size painting from the wrapping that had protected it during its journey, Enya looked back up to the landing. The painting was of Cinead as a young man. His dark hair was unruly, his brown eyes piercing. They drew her to him, demanded she look at him, admire him. The magnetism that emanated from the man in the oil painting was palpable. Together with his deep voice, what woman would have been able to resist him back then? He reminded her of the man she hadn’t been able to resist. But she didn’t want to go down that path. Couldn’t. So she continued watching as the two movers mounted the painting on the hooks provided.
Cinead had truly been a handsome man in his younger years. Even now, he was virile and looked no older than a human man in his late fifties, when in reality he was several centuries old. And now truly alone. Would Enya end up just as alone?
Behind her, a door opened. She cast a look over her shoulder and saw Winter emerge from the living room. Her eyes were puffy. She’d been crying. She pulled the door shut behind her and met Enya’s eyes.
“We should leave. He needs to be alone,” Winter said, her voice laden with pain.
Enya nodded. “And the movers?”
“The council sent a guard—”
The sound of footfalls came from the corridor.
“There he is,” Winter said.
Enya recognized the young man who approached as a Stealth Guardian and nodded to him. “We’ll see ourselves out.”
A nod and a short greeting, and Enya led Winter back down into the basement. When they reached it, Enya squeezed Winter’s hand.
Winter forced a smile, but it was one of sorrow.
“How did he take the death of his son?” Enya asked.
Winter’s eyes widened. “Death?” She shook her head.
Enya stopped in her tracks. “But… uh, Logan said it was bad news, and you also—”
“He’s not dead. It’s much worse. Cinead’s son is a demon.”
Enya’s heart stopped b
eating. She felt as if choking on the air she couldn’t expel. Before her eyes, everything became blurry, as if she was being whirled around her own axis. But then everything came back, clearer than before.
The baby picture, a small oil painting, which showed Cinead’s son lying naked on his belly. The painter had captured the birthmark in the shape of an axe on the baby’s bottom.
The painting depicting Cinead as a young man, who shared features with another man in Enya’s life. How had she not seen this before? How could she have been so blind when the signs had been there all along?
She stopped and turned to Winter. “I just remembered I forgot something upstairs. I’ll be back in a second.” Not waiting for Winter to respond, Enya walked toward the stairs and, once out of Winter’s line of sight, made herself invisible.
14
Zoltan stared at the five demons coming at him. They didn’t look friendly, nor did they seem to have any respect for their leader.
The sun had just set, and he was only a few steps away from his apartment building. He’d taken the back way, through the alley, because his contact lenses were on the verge of disintegrating, and he was hoping to avoid being seen. Apparently that was his first mistake. His second was that he hadn’t slept and was exhausted. He’d combed the city for Enya. Without success. Mick hadn’t delivered any better news. So Zoltan had decided to return to his condo, rest for a few hours, and then try again. He wasn’t going to give up. He needed to talk to Enya. But the way things appeared now, it didn’t look like he’d get the chance.
Five demons and five deadly daggers against one exhausted Great One. The odds weren’t good. Whoever wanted him dead was stepping up his game and had clearly gotten some good intel. To encounter assassins only steps away from his hideout in the mortal world meant Zoltan’s antagonist knew about the place. Not that this fact was the most important one right now. After all, a dead leader didn’t need a condo anymore. To his own surprise, one regret surfaced: Zoltan would never know what it would be like to have Enya in his bed every night.
Zoltan gripped his dagger tightly. He wasn’t going down without a fight. He’d take a few of these bastards with him. Turning to his left, he charged the demon on the outer flank first, a move the idiot hadn’t anticipated. Zoltan slammed into him, dagger first, lifted him off his feet, and tossed him toward the other four. Three of them managed to get out of the way; only one got knocked off his feet by the injured demon. Both crashed onto the asphalt, while the other three advanced.
Zoltan glanced around, but there wasn’t much he could do. Turning tail and running back to where he’d come from wouldn’t get him far. Besides, he wasn’t going to die a coward.
With a grunt, his jaw clamped shut, he lunged forward and let his dagger fly. It hit its target: the chest of one of the approaching demons. The bastard tumbled backward. But the two others were unimpressed, and the demon who’d crashed to the ground earlier was on his feet again. Zoltan ducked to pull his second dagger from his boot. The action cost him a valuable second, allowing one of his attackers to lunge for him, his dagger pointed at Zoltan’s heart. Temporarily off balance, Zoltan swayed. With his free arm, he instinctively blocked the assassin’s dagger hand, but he felt its tip rip his sleeve.
Already, a second attacker came charging from the other side.
“Fuck!” Zoltan cursed.
He pushed the demon whose knife had almost sliced into his arm away from him, and to his surprise, the bastard stopped in mid-motion. His mouth opened wide, and his eyes glazed over with utter surprise. An instant later, he fell to the ground, green blood bubbling from his mouth.
“What the—”
But Zoltan had no time to figure out what had happened. The second attacker was upon him, wrestling him to the ground, while a third joined the melee. Zoltan thrust his knee up and managed to toss one of his attackers off, but the other made a downward motion with his dagger. Zoltan couldn’t get his arm up fast enough to block the attack.
“Shit!” This was it.
But the dagger stopped an inch away from Zoltan’s chest, and the attacker’s head was jerked back as if by invisible hand. In the next second, somebody slit the assassin’s throat, and green blood spurted over Zoltan. Now he knew he wasn’t alone. Somebody was helping him. Somebody who was invisible.
Confused, the third demon who’d lunged for him froze for a split second. It was long enough for the invisible rescuer to plunge a dagger into his heart. Zoltan jumped up, grabbed a dagger from one of the dead demons, and charged for the only demon still standing, but somebody tripped him, making him fall forward. Zoltan ripped his head toward the asshole: the injured demon on the ground. A punch landed in his face, whipping it to the side. Zoltan rolled, then jumped up and whirled back to the injured demon. Just in time, because the assassin had gotten back on his feet and was coming for him. But this time, Zoltan was prepared. He barreled past the bastard, pivoted, and plunged his dagger into the demon’s back, twisting it for good measure, then pulled it out and kicked the dead creature to the ground to join his dead brethren.
Behind him, he heard grunts, some definitely belonging to a woman. And she was in trouble. Green demon blood had splattered on her, and even though she was still invisible, the specks of demon blood weren’t and gave away her position.
“Enya, duck!” Zoltan called out, and lifted his dagger hand over his shoulder. When he saw the specks of green demon blood move, he took the shot and threw the blade. It found its target. The last of the five demons stumbled for a few seconds, before he fell forward, dead.
Zoltan breathed hard and braced his hands on his knees. Adrenaline was pumping through his veins the way a bullet train cut through the landscape. He’d survived, but not thanks to his own doing. He looked up, and in front of his eyes, Enya became visible.
“You saved me.” He shook his head. Had his groveling actually worked on her? Had he known of the power of groveling before, he would have used it earlier.
“We’ve gotta hide the bodies. Help me.” She motioned to the large trash containers lining one side of the alley.
Together they heaved the first demon into the container.
“I was looking for you,” Zoltan said. “Looks like you got my message and decided to agree that we talk.”
She huffed. “Don’t flatter yourself.” She pointed to the next body and gripped the dead guy’s legs.
Zoltan hooked his hands under the demon’s arms, and they carried him to the container, swinging him back and forth to get enough momentum to heave him over the ledge.
“Listen, Enya, we clearly have something here. You and me. We want the same.” At least when it came to sex.
She tossed him an annoyed look. “If you’re talking about getting your dead friends off the street, then yeah, we want the same.”
He lifted up the third guy. “They’re clearly not my friends.”
“And there I thought all demons stick together.” She took the dead guy’s legs. “Guess there’s trouble in the Underworld.”
“You could say that. Somebody wants me dead.”
“That’s pretty evident.”
The third body landed in the garbage container.
“Somebody wants to usurp me. Whoever it is, he’s getting pretty desperate.”
She raised an eyebrow. “A revolution? So they want a more lenient leader?”
“On the contrary. They want a tougher one. One who can deliver results when it comes to annihilating the Stealth Guardians.”
She shook her head. “I see. So you figured you’d bag me and cement your reign on my back. What girl wouldn’t like to hear that from the guy she’s been sleeping with? Nice one, Romeo.”
Zoltan let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. “Enya, it’s not like that. Not anymore.”
“Oh really? You’re telling me you changed? Bullshit! Demons don’t change.” She gave the fourth demon an extra-hard kick before they tossed him into the container.
“You keep saying
that, but it doesn’t look like you believe it yourself. Or you wouldn’t have come to my aid tonight. Damn it, Enya, you saved my life. You can’t tell me you had no reason for it. You feel something for me, and you know that I care about you.” It wasn’t a complete lie. Because he desired Enya, he was concerned for her wellbeing, therefore he cared about her.
“It was quid pro—”
“No it wasn’t, and you know it. You know I sent the two demons last night to attack you so I could save you, hence it doesn’t count.”
“There were three demons, not two.”
He nodded. “I didn’t send the third.” He motioned to the container. “Whoever sent these assassins also sent the third demon last night.”
“This is fucked up!”
When Enya turned away from him and headed for the last dead demon, he snatched her bicep and made her pivot. “I agree. It’s fucked up. But it doesn’t change the fact that you saved the Great One tonight, the one person you claim to hate the most.” He pulled her closer. “And don’t tell me it’s because you think you owe me something. Tell me the truth.”
Enya glared at him. “You want the truth? I’ll give you the fucking truth.” Her nostrils flared. “There’s a chance that you were born a Stealth Guardian and kidnapped by the demons.”
Zoltan let go of her arm as if he’d been burned. His heart thundered into his throat, cutting off his ability to speak.
“Yes, I think you’re Angus, the son of one of our council members. That’s why I had to save your life. Because if you are who I think you are, I have to try to save you.”
“That’s impossible. I would know if I was a Stealth Guardian once, or if I was kidnapped. Trust me, I was neither.”
“There’s an explanation for it, but this isn’t exactly the right place for a long chat. So if you don’t mind…” She pointed to the fifth body.
“Fine, let’s finish this,” he growled. But the whole notion of him having been born a Stealth Guardian was still ludicrous, no matter the explanation. He was a demon through and through.