by Мишель Роуэн
Can’t say she blamed him. It. Whatever.
Val backed away until she was out of earshot. She was putting a lot of faith into the fact that
Nathaniel wouldn’t give her away. She felt fairly assured he wouldn’t, what with the whole
“command” thing, but either way it was a risk she had to take. If it meant finding Julian and getting the key, then it was worth it. Then straight back home to Barlow. She’d been gone long enough already.
“So what do you think about that, Reggie?” she whispered. “So strange. I so want out of this crazy place.”
“Squeak.”
“That’s cute, but you can talk now. At least for a moment. I guess familiars don’t usually talk.
You’re doing a good job. Have you been practicing? Sounds like a very realistic squeak.”
“Squeak, squeak.”
She frowned. “A sound which is now getting on my nerves. Would you just knock it—”
Reggie bit her.
“Ow!” She pressed a hand to her neck and stepped back . . .
Into something firm.
She turned around slowly.
“Well, well,” Julian stood there looking at her, from stiletto heels to rat. “Aren’t we a pretty one?”
Val opened her mouth but found that she’d lost her voice—perhaps forever this time.
“Please, allow me.” He reached forward and took her hand in his, pulling it away from the little wound Reggie had made while he’d tried to warn her that frigging Julian himself was standing behind them, wearing an expensive-looking dark blue suit with a white, partially unbuttoned shirt. Looking very nice and appearing to not be afraid of Reggie at all. No, he seemed very calm, cool, and collected. For a demon with low self-esteem and a hidden rat phobia, that is.
Julian looked at her neck, and then touched the wound with his index finger. She felt a familiar tingle . . . the same feeling she got when Nathaniel healed her broken ankle in the alleyway. He smiled at her. “All better.”
Val forced herself to not try to pull away from him in disgust and fear. He didn’t know who she was. She looked completely different from when he’d last seen her at the Paradise Inn after he’d vanquished Alexa and stolen the key. However, he looked exactly the same. Tall, ice blond, high cheekbones, and his arrogant “Aren’t I hot?” mask was firmly in place.
“Thank you,” she finally managed to say and raised her eyebrow in what she hoped looked like a flirtatious gesture.
“I don’t believe we’ve met before.”
“I’m Claire.”
“Julian.”
“My pleasure.”
He smiled a bit wider at that. “Not yet. But it certainly could be. In so many ways.”
“So . . . are you here for the party?”
“Of course.” He glanced over at the mayor and Nathaniel. “What is he doing here?”
“Excuse me?”
“Trying to make his move?” he sneered. “Too bad, so sad.” He tore his gaze from Nathaniel to look at Val again. “Are you here with him?”
She tried to play dumb. “Him who?”
“Nathaniel.”
“Oh.” She glanced over. “Yes, I am.”
“You deserve much, much better than him.”
She smiled at him and forced herself to touch his arm. “I totally agree.”
His lips twitched with amusement. “Claire. Beautiful Claire. I do believe I’ll enjoy getting to know you. And showing you all the ways I could satisfy you better than that poor excuse for a demon could.”
He moved to grab a drink from a passing tray and his shirt opened a bit. His pale but muscular chest revealed something else. On a long gold chain around his neck he wore the Key to
Heaven.
Chapter Fifteen
The Key to Heaven. Right in front of her, less than an arm’s reach away.
She must have stared at it a little too long, since Julian looked down at himself. He touched the key and she thought he meant to tuck it back inside his shirt, but he pulled it all the way out.
“Pretty isn’t it?”
“Very.”
He lifted it so it lay flat on his hand. “Do you see? There are words etched into its surface. It’s an incantation.”
“So you’re saying that it’s a magic key?”
His smile widened, although she did notice his gaze flick nervously for the briefest moment to
Reggie. “A magic key. Yes, it is. And very powerful. Do you like power, Claire?”
“Who doesn’t?”
He shook his head. “No, that is not a proper answer. Do you like power?”
She met his gaze. “I’m a witch. An evil one, that is. I absolutely adore power.”
He closed the small distance between them and took the key, tracing the end of it down her neck, along her collarbone, and down her chest to the ample cleavage that spilled out of the top of the corset. “Then we will get along just fine.”
He let the key drop back into place under his shirt and continued his exploration of her chest with the tip of his finger. She froze in place, unable to do anything about what was happening.
“Unhand her,” a voice said from behind her.
Julian smiled, but his eyes were focused on Val’s glamourized body. “Nathaniel. So good to see you again.”
“She’s with me.”
Julian’s eyes flicked to Val’s. “He’s like an incessant little insect buzzing around my head.
It’s been buzzing for nearly two hundred years, but I’m hoping it won’t for much longer.” His hand moved to boldly cup her left breast.
Nathaniel moved beside them and grabbed Julian’s wrist. Their strength must have been equal as Julian’s hand didn’t budge.
Reggie growled and shifted position on Val’s shoulder. Julian’s hand shot back like he’d been burned.
“Your animal is very protective,” he said.
She glanced at Reggie from the corner of her eye. “It’s probably his little leather hat. Makes him feel like a bodyguard.”
“Mmm.” He turned to Nathaniel, shook his head and clucked his tongue. “Nathaniel, jealousy does not become you.”
“Julian—” Nathaniel shook his own head “—you’re an asshole.”
“Such a brilliant comeback. But what else could I expect from a halfling?”
Nathaniel didn’t reply to that.
“A halfling?” Val said. “Isn’t that like a hobbit? Nathaniel, have you been holding out on me?”
Julian smiled. “A halfling is an impure demon. Something less and unworthy. Something terribly sad and pathetic.”
Nathaniel ignored Julian and looked at her. “Are you okay?”
Julian snorted. “What is this? Nathaniel concerned with someone other than himself? Claire, you must be truly special.” He moved in and whispered in her ear. “I will so enjoy taking you away from him.”
Nathaniel pushed Julian so that he staggered back. “I told you to keep your hands off her.”
Julian cocked his head to one side. “If your actions didn’t amuse me so, I would make you very sorry.”
Nathaniel faked a yawn.
Flames flashed in Julian’s eyes but they quickly died down as a smile snaked across his face.
“I think you will be one of the first I destroy.”
“Is that so? You and what army?”
“The army of my choosing. I will surround myself only with those who please me, and you have never pleased me.”
Nathaniel looked at Val. She’d been watching their tennis match of verbosity with a tight feeling in her chest—and it wasn’t just from the corset. “He’s always been full of himself, this one. Cocky son of a bitch.”
Julian laughed, then ran a warm hand down Val’s bare arm, making her skin crawl.
“I told you to unhand her.” There was no more lightness to Nathaniel’s words.
Julian held her gaze.
“Nathaniel, don’t get possessive,” Val said, knowing full well that
the only way to get her hands on the key was to cozy up to Julian, even if the thought of it made her sick to her stomach. “You don’t own me. I can talk to anyone I want to.”
“Oh, yes.” Julian moved closer to whisper again in her ear. “I do think I like you.”
Nathaniel grabbed his arm, pulled him physically away from Val before his fist connected with Julian’s face with a loud smacking sound. “Don’t make me repeat myself again.”
Julian held a hand to his mouth, then pulled it away to look at the blood. “No finesse. No class. Just like the former human you are. Sad, really. Once I thought you had so much potential—almost equal to my own—but you’ve proven time and time again that you are lacking in so many ways. Especially recently. And one so lacking as you could never hope to be a part of what is about to happen here tonight.”
“A part of what?” Nathaniel’s eyes narrowed.
Julian studied him for a moment, then smiled thinly. He pulled the key from under his shirt and held it in his hand. “This.”
“What is that?”
“This is the universe in the palm of my very hand.” Julian stared down at the golden key with total reverence. “The beginning and the end. The balance of light and dark. Solidified power for me to wield at my whim.”
Nathaniel looked at it for a moment. “That’s funny. Looks like just a key to me.”
“You have no vision. It is so much more than just a key. This is Lucifer’s own Key to
Heaven.”
Val felt her stomach sink as she glanced at Nathaniel. He stared down at the harmless-looking key in Julian’s hand.
“I don’t believe you.”
Julian smiled. “We shall see, won’t we, what is to be believed. Or rather, I shall see. When I open a gateway to Heaven tonight. Won’t they be surprised to see the likes of me in their lily-
white realm? To do a little—how should I put it?—remodeling of their terribly exclusive club.
The mayor has agreed to compensate me greatly for my efforts.”
“Is that what this is all about?” Val asked, hoping the tremor in her words wasn’t too obvious.
“The party? It’s recruitment for your little demonic episode of Trading Spaces?”
“It is a coincidence that the cream of the crop of the Underworld are at the mayor’s party tonight, but it is a lucky coincidence, I’d say.” His gaze slid down to her chest. “And you are more than welcome to join me, my lovely witch. I can show you what a demon of true power is capable of.”
Her mind was working overtime. In a really messed up sort of way, this was the perfect situation for her. But she needed to get him alone. If he let her be a part of his plan, half her battle was already done. He was playing right into her hands.
Big boobs really did pay off in getting men to do what you want, she thought. Who knew?
“I would love to be a part of this.” She sidled closer to the blond demon, and hooked her arm through his. “However can I repay you?”
“I’m sure I can think of something.”
Nathaniel scowled at him. “You want her only because she’s with me.”
A grin tugged at Julian’s lips. “Maybe a little. Would that hurt you? Imagining me enjoying her and she, me?”
He laughed. “I don’t think any woman has ever enjoyed you, Julian.”
“You will not get a rise out of me.”
“No, actually I’ve heard that nobody’s gotten a rise out of you in over a hundred years.”
Nathaniel paused. “Have you ever thought about trying Viagra?”
“That’s very amusing.” Julian said, then glanced quickly at Val. “And completely untrue.”
She shrugged. “Whatever you say.”
“I can prove that it’s a vicious lie.”
“Trust me, not necessary. Look, I want to know more about this”—her gaze flicked uneasily to Nathaniel—“Key to Heaven. Sounds fascinating.”
Julian stroked the key but still looked a little disturbed that his demony manhood had been questioned. “Did I mention that it is solidified power?”
“Uh, yeah, you did. Where did you get it?”
He blinked. “What difference does that make?”
“How do you know it’s really the Key to Heaven? Maybe it’s just an ordinary key that someone sold to you under false pretenses. One of those Antiques Roadshow mishaps.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You amuse me.”
“Goody.”
“It is real. I am certain of its . . . realness.”
Val absently started to pet Reggie, just to see the nervous shift in Julian’s eyes. “I’m just saying that if I’m going to dump my current boyfriend to follow you around like a rock-star groupie, I at least need some sort of reassurance that you’re not just blowing hot air. No demon pun intended.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Are you asking for a demonstration of its power?”
Is that what it sounded like she was asking for? “Yes, that’s right. Can you open up a gateway to Heaven to show me? Even if it’s just a tiny, rat-sized one.”
“Squeak!”
He shook his head. “I’m afraid not.”
Nathaniel snorted. “See? I knew it.”
Julian glared at him. “I will open a doorway only when the mayor is ready for me to. But the time is nigh. Oh yes, the time is nigh.”
“‘The time is nigh’?” Nathaniel repeated. “Who talks like that?”
Val shot him a look. “So it will definitely be soon. At this party.”
“Yes, very soon.”
She eyed the golden key, feeling a great wave of anxiety wash over her. If only she could hold it in her hand, just for a moment. “Can I touch it? Uh, the key, I mean.”
Julian stared at her so long and hard that she was certain her glamour had slipped and he was looking at the real her—recognizing her from Barlow’s living room—and was seconds away from reaching out to snap her neck like a candy cane. But he didn’t. She still looked like
Skanky the Bad Witch.
Finally he spoke. “I’m not sure that would be wise.”
“Why? Don’t you trust me?”
“Should I?”
She forced a devilish smile to her lips. “Absolutely not.”
He mirrored the expression, then slipped the chain from around his neck and pressed the key into her palm. “Then of course you may touch it, my lovely witch.”
The moment the key touched her skin she could feel its power. She wasn’t magical. She wasn’t even an angel anymore. She was completely human. But she could still feel it humming up and down her arms, filling her with a sense of goodness, and peace, and happiness. Plus, she felt a great sense of ownership. The key was meant for her.
She could run. Right then. Go all Gollum on them and run away with the key in her possession. She looked around the pool to see that more partygoers had arrived. The mayor was now surrounded by four muscular men who seemed to be paying him the attention he desired. The topless girls had put on tight, colorful party clothes. Julian stood in front of Val, and Nathaniel was only a few feet away, his arms crossed, his expression guarded and slightly annoyed.
She wouldn’t get five steps from Julian. There was no chance.
She reluctantly handed the key back to him, feeling ill at having to continue with the façade.
“Nice,” she said. “You’re very lucky to have it. Did you have to kill the previous owner?”
He smiled at the question. “No. But the old bastard doesn’t have more than a couple days left.
I could see the cancer eating away his insides. If I killed him it would have just put him out of his misery . . . so why bother?”
Val clenched her fists at her sides.
“You know who should be a part of this?” Nathaniel glanced around. “Alexa. Maybe she’ll be here later. You seen her around lately, Julian?”
Julian’s expression didn’t change. “No. Haven’t seen her in quite some time. Keeping herself busy in the earthly realm I ima
gine. Perhaps she’s mistakenly recruiting more useless humans to join the demon ranks.”
Nathaniel opened his mouth, but Julian didn’t let him say anything. “I’m needed elsewhere.”
He slipped the key back over his head and Val saw it fall beneath his shirt. “I look forward to speaking with you later, Claire.”
She nodded and smiled before he breezed away without another word and disappeared inside the mansion.
Nathaniel eyed her. “Can I speak with you over there?” He nodded toward a palm tree away from the growing noise of the party crowd by the pool.
She swallowed. “Sure.”
“Holy crap,” Reggie said after he let out a rat-sized sigh of relief. “Sorry I had to put the bite on you, Val. He was very . . . what’s the word I’m looking for here?”
“Evil?”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Full of himself?”
“No, I’m thinking of something . . .”
“I don’t know.”
“I’ve got it. He was just so, so . . . blond. Do you think he colors his hair, or does he have, like, Swedish demon heritage?”
Val rolled her eyes. “You couldn’t think of the word blond? I’m blond.”
“Not at the moment you aren’t, gorgeous.” He nestled closer into her red mane. “But, gee, your hair smells terrific.”
She lifted Reggie off her shoulder and placed him down on the ground. “You’ve just talked yourself out of riding privileges for a while.”
“Oh, come on,” he whined. “It was a compliment!”
She moved toward Nathaniel out of earshot of the rest of the partygoers. He stared at her with annoyance as she hobbled over on her ridiculously high heels.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” His voice was quiet.
“Tell you what?”
“About the key, of course.”
She shrugged. “What was I supposed to have told you?”
“The truth.”
“You wanted me to tell you we were looking for the Key to Heaven?”
“Yes.”
Val rolled her eyes. “Look, I know we haven’t been keeping a score card here, Nathaniel, but in case you’ve forgotten, you’re a demon. I didn’t tell you what we were looking for because .