by Мишель Роуэн
“You okay?” It rested the shotgun over its shoulder and offered her a clawed hand.
She eyed the monster warily, but couldn’t take her eyes off the T-shirt. The monster looked down at itself.
“The woman is a goddess,” it said. “Even back in the Sean Penn years. I’m Lloyd, by the way.”
She tentatively took his hand and he helped her to her feet. She looked at his smiling face. He had sharp teeth, too. But the fact he was a Madonna fan made him less scary. “Lloyd?”
He nodded, then looked over with a frown to where Nathaniel lay. He hurried over and knelt by the demon’s side. Val ran to join him.
He gently ran his clawed hand over Nathaniel’s bruised and bleeding face, resting for a moment on his forehead. Nathaniel looked like he’d been run through a paper shredder for all the cuts he had on him. His shirt was torn down the front to show the bloody ruin of his chest.
“Is he . . .” Val began. “Is he gone?”
Lloyd looked up at her. “Nah. He’ll be okay. Nathaniel’s a trouper. It would take a lot more than this to do him in.”
She felt surprised by that. “You know him?”
“Yeah, we go way back. Who are you?”
“Valerie,” she said absently. “And this is . . .” She reached up on her shoulder to touch Reggie but he wasn’t there. She looked frantically around the dark, deserted street. “Reggie? Where are you?”
She saw a little furry bump on the road over where she’d faced off against the Nightflyer. She ran over to see Reggie lying on his back, legs in the air. She took her index finger and pressed it against his furry chest and was relieved to feel his wildly beating heart.
“Reggie, snap out of it.”
A paw twitched and he moved his furry face to the side to look up at her. “My life flashed before my eyes.”
“And?”
“I think I need to do some good deeds. ASAP.”
“You do that.” She leaned over and let him crawl slowly up on her still unpleasantly damp shoulder before she stood. “Reggie, this is Lloyd.”
“Eeeekk!” Reggie yelped. “Err . . . I mean, nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.”
“How did you know we were out here?” Val asked. “So you could rescue us?”
“Actually, I didn’t. Just doing a little Nightflyer target practice. I find that it helps me reduce stress.” Lloyd picked Nathaniel up as if he weighed next to nothing. “It’s still not safe outside and I’m nearly out of bullets. I think we should head back to my place. It’s close by.”
That was the best suggestion Val thought she’d ever heard.
Lloyd’s semi-attached home was three blocks away. He fiddled with a key to open the front door, flicked on a light, and let them inside. The interior of his home was different from what
Val would have expected for a one-eyed monster. Very nice, mostly a color scheme of roses and pinks. Warm and inviting. A narrow hallway led to a living room. Stairs led up to the second floor.
“Your wife decorates?” she asked. After her brush with death she was now feeling as sober as she had before their visit to the faery pub. Although, a headache had set in: an instant moonshine hangover.
Lloyd smiled and shook his head. “Nah, you’re looking at a confirmed bachelor.” He glanced around his place. “Oh the pink? Can’t help it, it’s my favorite color. So soothing. Also, it helps to stimulate creativity.”
Val followed as he carried Nathaniel up a flight of stairs and placed him onto a double bed.
Nathaniel lay there very still and unconscious and broken.
She turned to Lloyd’s shadowed hulk of a figure in the quaintly decorated room. “You’re sure he’ll be okay?”
He nodded. “Promise. He’s pretty cut up, but demons tend to heal quickly. Don’t worry your pretty little head.”
She looked at him sharply. “I’m not worried.”
Lloyd fiddled absently with a bedside arrangement of gerbera daisies. “But I thought you said—”
“I’m not worried.”
He nodded again. “Why don’t I go make some hot chocolate while we wait for him to wake up?” He left the room without waiting for an answer.
Val looked down at the unconscious demon. His severe wounds had already started to heal.
She reached down to touch where a claw mark had been on his cheek and was now nothing more than a faded line, and she traced it slowly with her fingertip to his full lips as she remembered how it felt when he’d kissed her.
“Uh, Valerie?” Reggie said, still propped on her shoulder. “Would you like to be alone?”
She jerked her hand away. “No. Of course not.”
With a last look at the demon, she quickly left the room, closing the door behind her.
Val sat in Lloyd’s living room, cross-legged on a plush easy chair and sipped her hot chocolate. He’d put little marshmallows in it. It tasted good, soothing somehow. But it didn’t take her mind off the injured demon upstairs. He’d risked his own existence to save her life.
Told her to run and leave him behind.
But only because she’d commanded him to keep her safe.
What difference did it make, anyhow? She’d survived. He was going to pull through. Then they’d find Julian before the stupid demon unwittingly brought about the end of the world.
After that she’d never have to see Nathaniel again. As soon as this dark-time was over, she knew, at least she thought she knew—if the information Bud the biker faery had given her was accurate—where she could find Julian.
At a meeting with the mayor first thing tomorrow. Was he the one Julian wanted to sell the key to? The mayor of the Underworld?
She shook her head and took another sip of her drink. And she thought her life was complicated before this.
Lloyd came down the stairs. He’d gone to check on Nathaniel. When he saw Val was watching his descent he shook his head. “No different.”
She nodded, hating the knot of concern that curled in her stomach. “Then we’ll wait.”
Reggie was snuggled up in a ball next to her, soundly asleep on a velour pillow. She didn’t think she’d be able to sleep for a year, and that’s if everything turned out okay. And if everything turned out okay she wouldn’t have to sleep anyhow. Angels didn’t have to sleep.
Only if they’re bored, which rarely happened.
That would have been a good thing to put in her notebook. If Julian hadn’t destroyed it, that is. Her eyes narrowed at the memory. As if she didn’t hate him enough already.
Stupid demon.
Lloyd sat on the sofa next to her, folding a leg under him. He leaned forward and grabbed a magazine off the coffee table.
“Cosmopolitan?” he offered.
Val shook her head. “No thanks.”
“There’s a good book excerpt in it this month.”
“I’m happy to hear that.”
“Do you read romance?”
“Excuse me?”
“Romance novels. Do you read them?”
She looked at the one-eyed gray monster. “Not especially.”
“You should. I hear Trixie L’Amour’s a great author. She’s profiled this month in Cosmo.”
O-kay. Val looked around at Lloyd’s pink living room and noticed that there were several framed poster-sized book covers. Love Me Forever by Trixie L’Amour. Ravishing Rachel by
Trixie L’Amour. Lust in the Dust by Trixie L’Amour.
There seemed to be a theme developing.
She looked at Lloyd. “Don’t tell me.”
He nodded enthusiastically. “Do you want an autograph? I have some newly printed bookmarks, too.”
“You’re Trixie L’Amour?”
He grinned. “Guilty as charged.”
“But you’re a . . .” She paused not knowing what to call him without it sounding like an insult.
“A demon.”
“You’re a demon? I thought you were a mons . . .” She broke off again.
; “A monster?” he finished. “I’m insulted. Monsters can’t string together a coherent sentence. I have been nominated for three, count ’em, three RITA awards.”
Val nodded. “Then I apologize.”
He waved her off with a smile. “It’s okay. Besides . . .” He leaned over and pulled a hardcover from under the couch to show her the back cover photo of a beautiful brunette woman. He tapped it with a clawed finger. “That’s what my fans think I look like, anyhow.”
Reggie snored loudly.
“But you live in the Underworld,” Val said.
He nodded. “Uh-huh. Everything I do is through e-mail, so I don’t have to leave unless I need to. I did one book tour, but trying to keep up the glamour spell nearly wore me out, so I keep a low profile now. Besides, it adds to the mystique.”
She handed the book back to him. “Interesting.”
“No, you keep that one. It’s my first to hit the New York Times Best Seller list. Well, the extended list. But still.”
She studied the cover. Desperate Hearts by Trixie L’Amour.
“So you’re a romance-writing, one-eyed demon who lives in the Underworld,” she summed up.
“New York Times best-selling, romance-writing, one-eyed demon who lives in the
Underworld. That’s correct.” He grinned. “And what’s your story, Valerie?”
She blinked at him. “I’m an unjustly convicted fallen angel, motel maid, on a quest into the
Underworld with a Tempter Demon and a talking rat for a . . .” She paused. “For something important.”
He shook his head. “You and Nathaniel, huh?”
“Me and Nathaniel what?”
“You’re together?”
Reggie snored again, which distracted her for a second.
“No. Not other than the fact we’re currently traveling together. That’s all it is.”
“I’ve never seen him protect a fallen one before. And I’ve known Nathaniel for . . . for a very long time.”
“I guess I’m just special.”
“I guess you just might be.”
“So what does he really look like, anyhow?”
“Excuse me?”
“Nathaniel. He introduced me to Donovan, another demon, who was using glamour to look attractive. Nathaniel won’t show me what he really looks like, denies he’s using glamour at all. But I’m dying of curiosity.”
“He’s telling the truth.”
“Really? So he’s always looked so . . . so . . .”
“Dreamy?”
“I was going to say arrogantly handsome, but”—she shrugged—“that works, too.”
Lloyd rubbed his four-fingered hand along his gray chin. “Did Nathaniel tell you he was once human?”
“Yeah, he mentioned it, but he didn’t go into details. I figured he sold his soul to the devil or something.”
He smiled again, baring his sharp teeth. “As a human, Nathaniel was tempted by a demon named Alexa.”
Val choked on her latest sip of hot chocolate. “Alexa?”
“You know her?”
“Sort of.”
“She’s had her troubles, that one. An excellent Tempter, but not always focused. She made a grave mistake with Nathaniel.”
“What happened?”
Lloyd studied her for a moment. “Perhaps I shouldn’t be telling you this. Nathaniel probably wouldn’t like it very much. But . . . it is a good story.”
She leaned forward, making sure the interest showed on her face. “And you tell it so well.”
He smiled widely. “It’s a gift.”
“So tell me about Alexa and Nathaniel.”
“There was no Alexa and Nathaniel. Or rather, there never should have been. Alexa was assigned to tempt Nathaniel’s father, who bore the same name. Back two hundred years ago, Hell was recruiting fairly heavily for new demons. Hell and Heaven had a little scuffle—to put it mildly—that led to the demise of many angels and demons and when the uneasy peace was restored, the balance had to be restored also.”
“Use the force, Luke,” Reggie mumbled in his sleep.
Lloyd continued, “She was assigned to tempt this human with a reputation for being evil. A cold-hearted, corrupt human with no goodness in his heart. He would have made a fabulous demon.”
“But?”
“But she came across the younger Nathaniel first. He was bedridden, dying of consumption.
He didn’t have much time left to live. She mistook him for her actual assignment and made her offer to him. Probably sounded pretty good, too, I’m sure. Eternal life, good looks forever, power, influence. I don’t think he even considered any other options.”
“What other options did he have if he was dying?”
“Dying.”
“Oh.”
“Once he’d been demonized, the reality of what he was sank in. Humans are rarely successful demons, I’m afraid. No matter how despicable they were in their former lives, it is rare to find one who can stomach the tasks of working for the head office. And those are the humans who are evil to begin with. Nathaniel simply had the misfortune of being born to a horrible father.”
Val frowned. “So you’re trying to say that Nathaniel was never supposed to be a demon. But now he has eternal life and good looks, and he’s complaining? Please. Cry me a river of fire.”
“Not exactly. Alexa was punished severely for her miscalculation. Nathaniel’s father was to be a high-ranking demon. But his son, with no evil in his heart, but the face of an angel, was sent to the low-end ranks of Tempter.”
Lloyd leaned back in the sofa and took a thoughtful sip of his cocoa.
“Well,” Val said after a moment, feeling slightly stunned by what she’d heard so far.
“Obviously after two hundred years he’s gotten used to the job. He doesn’t seem to have any issues with tempting now.”
Lloyd snorted. “Is that what you think?”
She nodded.
“It’s true, most wide-eyed fallen angels and other targeted humans he may have been assigned to might look at him as if he’s their knight in shining armor. But he knew that what he’d been trained to tell them, that he’d be by their side forever and protect them, was all a lie. He knew that. And the guilt ate away at him.”
“So why didn’t he just stop?”
Lloyd placed his mug on a coaster on the coffee table. “Do you think it’s that easy? Just hand in your two-week notice and leave? Well, it’s not. It’s called Hell for a reason, Valerie. And not because it’s a super-fun place to be. Nathaniel had as much chance at quitting being a
Tempter as a fallen angel has of going back to Heaven.”
Val frowned deeply.
“But he can’t complain too much,” Lloyd said. “There are perks. The better the demon is, the more successful he is, the more freedoms he’s allowed. The higher he may be able to rise in the ranks. Unfortunately, though I like Nathaniel a great deal, he is on very thin ice at the moment. And you know what happens to ice in Hell, don’t you?”
Val blinked.
“There is no ice in Hell,” Lloyd laughed a little, before his face regained the serious expression it had to start with. “Sorry. Old joke. The point is, there are very strict rules that must be adhered to for all Tempters—including certain conduct with their assigned fallen angels. There are limits to how far they can tempt. Boundaries. Some Tempters have gone over that line, gotten to know their assignment too well, and they have been punished accordingly. To break the rules of being a Tempter Demon is a very dangerous undertaking, indeed.” He eyed Val with his one great big eye. “This is his last chance. Just one more screw up on his part . . . I can’t believe he would risk everything, even for one as beautiful as you.”
Val clutched her mug so tightly that her knuckles were white. “What do you mean ‘his last chance’?”
“I mean his last chance or . . .” He brought his two hands together to make them look like flapping wings.
Val shook her head. “What’
s that supposed to mean?”
Lloyd stopped flapping. “Don’t you know what happens to failed demons?”
“No.”
“First their minds are manipulated. There are those who are quite adept at that sort of thing.
The demon will walk in behaving one way, and walk out an entirely different being. It’s as if what he once was has been wiped away forever.” He stood up from the sofa, walked to the window and looked out at the darkness. “That is the first stage. If that is not successful in making them behave how the head office wishes them to . . .” He trailed off.
“What?” Val prompted. “What happens then?”
He turned to face her. “They are turned into Nightflyers.”
Her eyes widened with shock. “Those things that attacked us? You’re kidding.”
He shook his head. “Failed demons are turned into Nightflyers as their final punishment. An eternity of pain and mindless torment, and your only thought is to feed.”
Reggie’s legs began moving in his sleep as if he were trying to run away from something.
“Claire, save me, baby! I love you!”
“And you’re telling me that Nathaniel . . . is a failed demon.”
“Almost a failed demon. The last I heard, he’d been given one last chance to redeem himself in the eyes of Lucifer. To bring in a fallen one.”
“Me,” she said dully.
Val couldn’t believe what she was hearing. If he failed in his assignment to tempt her, he’d be turned into one of those terrible Nightflyer creatures? That he’d been made a demon by mistake?
And she was his last chance to make good on his past failures.
And yet still he protected her from the very monsters he might become in the very near future.
“You’re different,” Lloyd said after a moment.
“Me? Different?”
He sighed and absently thumbed through the romance novel he held. “You seem unlike other fallen ones I’ve come in contact with. Not that I’ve met very many. I was never a Tempter. I can see, though, why you’ve affected him. You must be very special.”