Dark Bound

by Kim Richardson

  “They say Elysium is the closest doorway to the Netherworld,” continued the cat, as he eyed the coffee dripping into the glass mug. I swear I could see drool forming at the corners of his mouth. “And by closest I mean like right next to it, where the planes from the two worlds meet. That’s why if you open a door, it could very well be your last door since demons of the Netherworld might be waiting on the other side to pull you in.”

  Yikes. And I was going there.

  I wasn’t claustrophobic, but the idea of being underground in tight spaces, not knowing where we were going in the cursed maze, with demons and half-breeds lurking in the shadows had my blood pressure rising.

  After I’d poured a small amount of coffee in a small bowl, I placed it in front of Tyrius. Glancing at my phone on the counter, my thoughts drifted to Jax and my heart seemed to fall to my gut. A tendril of heat rose from my neck to my face as I remembered his kiss. His square jaw and nearly hairless, muscular chest. Back to those damn lips again…

  I was being an idiot. And then I got mad at myself for letting myself think about him.

  “Stop sulking. It doesn’t suit you.”

  I pulled my eyes from my phone to find Tyrius staring at me, his white whiskers stained in brown.

  “I’m not.” Liar. Liar. Liar.

  Tyrius made a strangled sound in his throat, and his eyes were full of amused disbelief as he licked his lips. “Right. You’re just mad because you like him and he hasn’t called you back.”

  “I don’t like him.” I wanted to kick myself. Not hearing from him had left an aching emptiness in my soul that had never been there before. I never got torn up about guys, never let my guard down, never let myself get attached because when I did, things got complicated. I hated complicated. I didn’t have time for complicated. My life was complicated enough as it was. No need to add drama. So, what was happening to me?

  “You like him,” repeated Tyrius. “And I don’t even have to be a baal demon to know you’re lying. I just have to look at your face. It’s all red.”

  I bit my lip as more waves of heat splashed all over my face, knowing I probably looked like a freaking tomato. “Drop it, Tyrius. I’m too tired.”

  “And he did kiss you. That’s got to be messing with that head of yours.” Tyrius’s eyes flashed. “I’m getting a buzz.”

  I shook my head. “I just thought he was my friend. That’s all. Now, I’m not so sure—”

  A knock pounded on my front door.

  I flinched. Heart pounding, I spun to look at the door while I pulled slowly away from the counter.

  “You expecting company? Father Thomas, perhaps?” whispered Tyrius. When I looked back at him, he was starting to shake from the effects of the coffee, making him look like he was about to Hulk-out. Great. That’s all I need now, a giant baal high on coffee.

  I mouthed the word “no,” and pulling out my soul blade, I tiptoed to the door.

  The door shook on its hinges as someone pounded on it again and again. I doubted it was a demon or a half-breed. They never knocked. And whoever this was, it was clear by the thunderous door-beating they were impatient.

  Wrapping my hand around the handle, I yanked the door open and pointed my soul blade at a pair of pink bejeweled glasses attached to a plump, twenty-something woman. Her blue eyes were round and full of fear.

  I lowered my blade. “Pam? What are you doing here?” I stepped aside to let her in and closed the door behind me. I had no idea the angel-born knew where I lived. Pam wore an r-shaped birthmark on her forearm, marking her as being from House Raphael, the angel-born house that formed healers and doctors. She was as clever as they came.

  “I know. I know. I’m sorry to show up so early at your front door like this,” said Pam, slightly out of breath as she stepped into my living room. “I just… didn’t know what else to do.”

  I frowned at her flushed face and the worry in her tone. Her red hair was pulled back into a messy bun, showing off her rosy cheeks. A white lab coat was stretched around her thick middle, making me wonder if she’d left in a hurry or if lab coats were her usual apparel of choice.

  “Pam!” Tyrius leaped from the counter and raced over to Pam, his tail in the air as he rubbed his face over her legs repeatedly. “Ah… the smell of formaldehyde.”

  Concern flashed over Pam’s face. “What’s the matter with him?” She knelt down and began examining the cat’s head and eyes, even opening his mouth and checking his teeth.

  I sheathed my blade. “Coffee.”

  Pam just looked at me but said nothing as Tyrius toppled over and exposed his belly. He began purring loudly as soon as Pam’s fingers raked his fur. Her face broke into a smile. I wasn’t sure who was enjoying themselves more, Pam or the baal.

  An exasperated sigh shifted from me. “Pam? What’s going on?”

  “It’s Jax,” she said, her fingers gently stroking Tyrius’s fur as though he was the last cat on earth. “I haven’t heard from him in over three weeks. We always keep in touch. We’d made a promise when we were little that we’d always look out for one another, no matter what.”

  “What gives you the impression something’s wrong?” I asked, hearing a tinge of fear in my voice that I hoped Pam didn’t pick up on.

  With some effort, Pam straightened, leaving spread-eagle Tyrius at her feet looking like a dead cat. She pushed her glasses up her oily nose with a trembling finger.

  “Because,” she said, her face flustered, “he hasn’t returned any of my phone calls or texts. That’s never happened before.”

  A feather of tension loosened from me, knowing Jax wasn’t just ignoring me. But it was immediately replaced again, tightening my gut, by the shifting fear and worry on Pam’s face. When I moved my gaze over her clothes and her hair, she looked like she’d slept in her clothes for the past few days or hadn’t slept at all.

  Pam’s gaze turned intense. “Something’s wrong. I can feel it in my bones.”

  “So what do you want me to do?” I said, not fully understanding what she expected from me. “I haven’t heard from him either, and you’re one of his closest friends.” A glimmer of hope flashed in her big round eyes, and at that moment I knew what she wanted from me. I moved to the kitchen and leaned my back against the counter.

  “You want me to track him. Don’t you?”

  A loud sigh of relief brought Pam’s shoulders down. “Would you, Rowyn?” Her eyes were bright and shimmering, and she blinked fast. “It would mean so much to me.”

  How could I say no to that? “Sure.” I looked at Tyrius who was ignoring me completely, his full attention focused on Pam.

  It was going to be tight. I couldn’t sacrifice more than a few hours to find Jax. The bank thing was coming up in five days, so waiting just a day more would be problematic. But I also wanted to find out what was going on with Jax. Now I had an excuse. I wasn’t doing this for me. I was doing it for Pam. Yeah, right.

  “Well, since you know him better than all of us,” I began, “where do you suppose I start looking?” I was a Hunter, a demon and half-breed Hunter, not a private investigator. I killed demons for a living. But was there really a difference between tracking a faerie and tracking an angel-born?

  “Try his parents’ place.” Pam’s shoulders tightened, and her sudden relief was replaced by a sullen expression. “I would go myself but…”

  That got my attention. “But what?”

  Pam’s face went ashen as she pulled her gaze from me and looked at the floor. “His mother hates me. The last time I went over to see Jax, she shut the door in my face.”

  I watched the pain and embarrassment on Pam’s face and I felt my anger rise. I couldn’t imagine anyone being that nasty to Pam. She was such a kindred spirit, a good and kind soul. How could anyone treat her that way? Now I really wanted to meet this woman.

  “She sounds like a bitch,” mewed Tyrius, who seemed to have recovered from his caffeine-induced coma as he sat.

  “Jax lives with his paren
ts?” I thought it strange that a man his age, albeit still young, would still be living at home, but then again the angel-born weren’t like regular humans. I’d heard of families that shared their homes with their children and their grandchildren—given that they were large enough to fit them all.

  Shaking her head, Pam pinched her lips and said, “No. He has a place of his own in Parks Hollow but I’ve already checked there. The doorman says he hasn’t seen Jax in weeks.”

  “Maybe he’s vacationing in Europe,” I offered. “Doesn’t he have family in France somewhere?”

  Pam’s glasses slipped further down her nose as she shook her head. “He always answers my calls, even when he’s overseas or just out of town. This is different.” She pulled off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. “Sometimes when he thinks about his sister,” she added, putting her glasses back on, “when he’s in that state of mind, he goes there, to his parents’ place.”

  Suddenly, Pam’s face reddened two shades darker. “I’m sorry. You must think I’m an idiot. I know. I know. I’m overthinking this. Jax is a skilled warrior. I’m sure he’s fine but… but it’s just… I’m worried about him. That’s all.” She met my eyes. “Something’s wrong, Rowyn. I know it.”

  I reached out, grabbed her hand and squeezed, surprising myself. “Don’t worry,” I said, feeling Tyrius’s eyes on me as I let her go. “I’ll find him. And I’m sure it’s nothing. Maybe he just needed some time to himself to clear his head after all that’s happened.”

  “Cindy’s death probably brought up some dark and painful memories about his sister,” said Tyrius. “That’s got to do a number on anyone.”

  Pam nodded, her eyes growing dull and her face paling. “That’s what worries me.” She swallowed, as though bracing herself for what she was about to say next. “The last time we spoke he said he knew… knew who killed Gillian.” Her eyes lingered on my face, her lips trembling as she asked, “Is that true?”

  Crap. I could see she wished it wasn’t. I’d seen how desperate Jax had been to find his sister’s killer, and now with the demon’s name, I knew he’d done something stupid. Something very, very stupid, like go after it. Alone.

  Tyrius shifted nervously on his feet, his tail twitching behind him, and I knew he was thinking the same thing.

  Jax had gone after the rakshasa demon. Damn.

  “Yes, it’s true,” I said softly, straining to continue looking at her as I saw the panic shifting in her eyes like a storm. “The demon Degamon gave us its name. Strax. And it’s a rakshasa demon, just like I thought.”

  Pam’s face blanched as she nodded solemnly. “I remember. The ones that shape change and feed on the souls of the young and offer their victims’ hearts as a sacrifice to their master.”

  “That’s the ones,” said Tyrius.

  Pam had gone still, too still. Real pain and fear shone in those blue eyes. She swayed on her feet, and for a horrible moment I thought she was about to pass out.

  Pam threw her hands in the air making Tyrius jump. “He’s gone after it! The idiot has gone after it!” She leaped forward and grabbed my shoulders faster than I thought possible for someone her size. “Rowyn!” She shook me. “You have to find him.”

  Her eyes were brimming with tears, and I could tell she was trying to keep her emotions under control. But her fear was slipping through. “He’s not thinking clearly. I’m afraid for him. I know what he’s capable of when he’s like this. I’m afraid of what he might do.”

  Fear coiled in my stomach as I remembered how crazed Jax had been at the vampire club, V-Lounge. I knew how easily he could lose control when it involved demons and half-breeds, how he’d lose himself to that hunger of revenge for his sister’s death.

  Rakshasa demons were slippery bastards, and very deadly. I’d never killed one myself, but they were rare and extremely hard to track and kill.

  A chill scurried down my spine. It had been months since I’d last seen Jax. But it wasn’t just the rakshasa demon that had my insides tightening into a ball until I forgot to breathe.

  There was also the Greater demon Degamon’s claim on Jax’s name. My blood went cold. With Jax’s name, the demon would have total control over him. Without the proper protection spells, charms, and pendants, Jax was a demon puppet. I’d read how to do it in the dark witch’s grimoire, but I’d never even had the chance to tell him how to protect himself since he’d never returned my call.

  What if Jax wasn’t Jax anymore?

  Jax… what the hell have you done?

  I took a breath, exhaling long and slow, and I felt Tyrius’s eyes on me. He probably knew what I was about to say even before I said it. Being soft got you killed in my line of work. When I started the hunting business, I’d made a promise to myself to never mix personal matters with the job and never get personally involved with anyone on the job. Deaths were common in my line of work, and I couldn’t deal with having someone I cared about die without getting emotionally compromised. Not after losing my parents. I wasn’t going to go through that again. Ever.

  I might not be involved, but I was attached.

  Damn it. I cared for the idiot. The faerie queen would have to wait. I wasn’t about to abandon Jax to some unforeseen future as a demon’s pet—or worse.

  Panic fluttered at the edge of my mind and I forced myself to breathe. “Don’t worry, Pam,” I said, seeing a slight release of tension in her shoulders. “I’ll find Jax. I promise.”

  I just hope I’m not too late.

  8

  It was safe to say that the rich never took the bus.

  Tyrius and I had to make the long hike up Maplehurst Road since the closest stop to Jax’s parents’ house was two miles away. Well, I walked while Tyrius rode on my shoulders, commenting on the foliage, the flowered gardens, the paved walkways and the manicured front lawns.

  “OMG. Look, a hedge of New Dawn roses! They must have cost a fortune. Don’t they smell divine,” exclaimed Tyrius, his whiskers tickling my cheek.

  “Not really.” I liked roses, truly I did. I just wasn’t in the mood to talk gardening with a baal demon.

  I was tired, cranked up like a top. I hadn’t been able to stop my heart from hammering in my chest since Pam had left my apartment two hours ago. My mind was a constant battle. There was so much pain, despair, guilt and fear. I gnawed on my lower lip, weighing the risks of what I was about to do by getting so involved and waiting to feel any kernel of fear or emotion.

  I’d tried to get some much-needed sleep once Pam had left earlier this morning, but I was so wired with the thoughts of Jax and the demon Degamon that sleep wouldn’t come.

  It was my fault Degamon had Jax’s name. I had summoned the demon thinking I was cleverer than it, believing I had the upper hand with the name of its summoner. Turns out I was wrong. The dark witch Evanora Crow hadn’t summoned the demon. The archangel Vedriel had. I never saw that coming. And in my foolishness, I had probably ruined Jax’s life. I had probably signed his death warrant and had probably killed him. Swell.

  Gritting my teeth, I walked faster and climbed harder, my thighs pulsing with stamina fed by fear and guilt. Fear was the mightiest weapon of all… and I hated it. I had to make things right.

  The fear fed me with a surge of adrenaline, easing my way up the hill as though I were skipping all the way down instead.

  My face burning, I cursed Jax for the kiss he’d slipped past my mental shields. I reinforced them as I hurtled up the hill.

  “You okay?” Tyrius’s warm breath rubbed the side of my neck. “You’re not talking. When you’re upset about something, you shut down. What’s on your mind, Rowyn? Green eyes… strong shoulders… full lips?”

  “I’m fine,” I lied. “I just want to get this over with so I can concentrate on finding the faerie—you know, the paying job. The one that’s going to save grandma’s house?”

  “Right. And I’m a furry cupid.”

  I made a face, trying to erase that image from the inside of my eyelids.
>
  Tyrius shifted his weight on my shoulders. “What do we do if he’s not there?”

  My boots clanked the cement sidewalk that sparkled as though it were made of granite. “Then, I guess we go look for the rakshasa demon. It’s the only other lead we have. Unless his parents know something.”

  “And that’s if they’re willing to share,” said the cat. “You heard what happened with Pam.”

  The afternoon sun was high and bright as we made the climb. The cool September wind whipped my hair around and soothed my hot face. Once we crested the hill, houses became larger but fewer, peeking from long driveways that snaked around larger lots. Estates. These were no regular houses. These were mansions.

  Tyrius swore. “Damn. It pays to be part angel. Doesn’t it? How much does the Legion pay you people? Only lords of the Netherworld have digs like this, and that’s if they can stay on top of the souls business.”

  “The souls business?”

  “Mortal souls are like money in the Netherworld,” said the cat. “The more you have, the more powerful you are.”

  I frowned, unable to put the words to my mouth. My eyes darted to a red brick house with tall Roman pillars at the front. I wondered what it must have been like to grow up in a neighborhood like this. It must have been awesome.

  “Which one is Jax’s?” said Tyrius after a moment.

  My gaze fell on the estate across from us, sprawled within rolling green fields. A two-story Tudor manor house was arranged around a central courtyard. The grounds were framed by woods overlooking a large spring-fed pond that was occupied by a flock of Canadian geese and a great blue heron.

  I pointed to the Tudor house. “That one.” My awe might have subdued my fear had I any room left for that emotion. I didn’t.

  “Are you sure this is where Jax’s parents’ live?” asked Tyrius, his voice holding traces of amazement and shock.