by Мишель Роуэн
“Yes,” Julian said to the crowd. “It will be well worth the wait, I promise. In the meantime, Mayor Vaille wishes you all to enjoy the party. And I just wanted to say, doesn’t the mayor look fantastic tonight? Your personal trainer is doing wonders for you, great one.”
The entire crowd of gathered demons glanced over at the slug for a silent moment. Then everyone cheered.
“Thank you, my boy,” the mayor said. “Sven does have a way with free weights. He’s a big brute with the cardio, though.”
Julian smiled. “It’s paying off. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have an important matter to attend to inside.” He stepped down from the stage and began to move toward the mansion. Yasmeen went to sit by the mayor’s side and the band started up again.
Val couldn’t tear her gaze away from the blond demon. “I have to go after him.” She stood up from her seat but Nathaniel caught her wrist. “There’s not much time left.”
“Please don’t. It’s dangerous.”
She tried to pull away. “I need to get that key.”
“Julian is evil.”
“Yeah, I already figured that out all by myself. But there’s no other way.”
“I’ll go with you.”
She shook her head. “No. He doesn’t like you.”
“The feeling’s mutual.”
“That’s just it. If I can get him alone . . ” She didn’t really know how to finish that sentence.
Nathaniel’s eyes narrowed and his grip on her wrist increased. “Not a good idea.”
Julian was almost at the mansion. She had to keep him in sight so he couldn’t disappear on her again.
She met his gaze and forced herself to sound commanding. “Let go of me. Right now.”
He did, but didn’t look happy about it. Yasmeen approached them at that moment, and while
Nathaniel’s head turned to her latest accented proposition, Val slipped away and hurried toward the mansion, trying to move quickly and quietly past the pool and along the cobblestone pathway.
Julian had stopped to talk with an eight-foot-tall creature covered in blue fur, so Val hung back for a moment and tried her best to look calm. His ice-blond head didn’t turn in her direction. She didn’t want him to notice her until they were somewhere private. He slipped inside the mansion and she followed.
He again stopped to talk, this time with a big guy with faery wings and a leather jacket with the word SECURITY in silver studs on the back.
“What?” Julian exclaimed after the faery said something in his ear. “Impossible. How did she get past security?”
The faery shrugged and had the decency to look embarrassed.
“What’s going on?” Reggie whispered.
Val jumped and clutched her chest. “You surprised me. Shhh. I forgot you were there for a moment. You’re so quiet.”
“Oh, look. They’ve got Lisa!”
Val’s gaze moved to another leather-jacketed faery who held the girl who’d attacked
Nathaniel outside of Lloyd’s house in his grip. She looked absolutely terrified, but her chin was lifted in defiance.
Val’s eyes widened. “Oh no.”
“How did you get in here?” Julian leaned over to look at her closely.
“Forgot my invitation. Just wanted to have a look around.” Lisa’s voice was strong, but shaky.
“See what all the buzz is about.”
Julian laughed. “Right. Well, what’s done is done. This is good, in a way. We could use a little more entertainment tonight. The mayor so enjoys a good sacrifice.”
The girl cringed as Julian clipped her gently under the chin. “Don’t look so upset. It’s an honor to be sacrificed to Mayor Vaille. Entire ancient cultures used to do it on a daily basis.
He misses that, I think.” He nodded to the faeries. “Tie her up somewhere safe for the time being.”
They nodded and dragged Lisa away in the opposite direction. Julian continued down his hallway.
Val began to follow the faeries.
“What exactly are you doing, Val?” Reggie whispered.
“I don’t know.”
“Aren’t we after Julian?”
“Yes, but . . .” She swallowed and stopped walking for a moment. “I can’t let them hurt her.”
“But—”
“Shh. Just be quiet for a minute, would you?” Her brain hurt. She could do both. She’d help
Lisa and then get back to Julian before it was too late.
Lisa had looked so small and defeated. Not like the butt-kicking girl she met in front of
Lloyd’s house.
“I don’t mean to be the voice of reason here,” Reggie’s small voice whispered. “Because that’s so not me. And I like Lisa a lot, but do you think it’s the first time they’ve done something like this? Or the last time?”
The hair on Val’s arms stood up at the horrible thought. “I’m not here other days, or I’d try to do something then, too.”
“It’s because she’s a fallen angel, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Yeah, you do. It might be at a subconscious level, but you know exactly what I mean. You want to rescue this ex-fallen angel who got tempted and taken to Hell because you look at her and see you.”
She stopped walking for a second and turned her head to see Reggie’s whiskers twitch. “I what?”
“You think what’s happening to her could very well be happening to you. So by helping her in a way you’re actually helping yourself. Does that make sense?”
Val frowned and began walking again. “Not even remotely.”
She felt Reggie shift position on her shoulder. “Well, I kind of confused myself somewhere along my line of thinking. But this is still a bad idea.”
“Maybe I should just leave you right here in case Yasmeen’s pet is looking for a snack later.”
“You wouldn’t let that happen to me, would you?”
“Just watch me.”
He shifted again. Nervously. “We should definitely find poor Lisa. And rescue her. It is the right and noble thing to do.”
“See?” Val braved a smile. “Now you’re talking.”
The faeries stopped and opened a door, and the two of them disappeared inside with their struggling prisoner. Val waited with her back pressed against the wall, barely breathing, until the door reopened and the faeries exited, shutting the door behind them. They began walking in the opposite direction to Val but then one of them stopped and turned his head a little as if he sensed something. She stopped breathing completely and crushed herself up against the wall, hoping the loud banging of her heart wouldn’t give her away. After a long moment, the faery continued to walk away.
“Whew,” Reggie breathed. “That was a close one.”
With her back still against the wall, Val slid along until she reached the closed door, freezing at every little sound, even if it was just her stomach telling her that a brownie and three piña coladas did not meet all of her daily dietary needs. Then she wrapped her hand around the handle and turned it, expecting it to be locked and surprised that it wasn’t. It turned easily and she pushed it open a crack to peer inside.
It was a bedroom, large and ornate with a great round bed in the middle. The room was in shadow, but she could see that Lisa was on the bed, tied up and helpless. She looked over her shoulder to check if anyone was coming down the hallway but she and Reggie were completely alone. She slipped into the room and silently closed the door behind her.
“Lisa,” she whispered. The girl’s shoulders tensed. Her hands were tightly tied behind her back and attached to her feet with the same piece of rope.
Val searched the darkened room with a sweeping glance. Was someone waiting in the shadows just for the opportunity to jump out at her? That would be just her luck. She thought she’d probably deserve it with how careless she was being.
But the room was empty other than Lisa, Val, and the shivering rat on her shoulder. This was a demon party
meant for the darkest, nastiest creatures around. No one would expect there to be a rescue attempt. Lisa wasn’t anything more to them than a mild diversion, probably on par with a tasty, but quickly forgotten hors d’oeuvre.
When Val got to the bed she reached out a hand to touch Lisa’s shoulder. The girl jumped and tried to scramble farther away.
“It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you,” Val whispered. “I’m here to help you.”
She made a mournful sound, muffled from the gag in her mouth. Val tried to untie it but Lisa cringed farther away from her.
Val frowned. “It’s me. I’m not going to hurt you.”
The scared look in the girl’s eyes didn’t go away. Val couldn’t understand it. They’d just met a short time ago when Lisa tried to drive Nathaniel’s gonads into his throat. Didn’t she remember?
Oh. Val looked down at herself. Right. The glamour. Forgot about that.
Not that the high heeled boots or the corset had gotten any more comfortable, but she hadn’t been staring at herself in the mirror every five minutes, so she’d nearly forgotten what she looked like.
“It’s me, Valerie. We met earlier. Nathaniel, remember? I’m a fallen one, too?”
Lisa looked confused.
“This is just a glamour, so don’t worry, okay?” Val continued. “I’m here to help you. Now hold still so I can get this thing off your mouth.”
She reached out with her long, sharp red fingernails, but this time Lisa didn’t move, though she did look scared. Val worked on the knot for a moment—it was pretty tight—and finally got it loose enough to pull it away from the girl’s mouth.
Lisa swallowed a couple of times. “My hands.”
It took Val longer to get those knots untied and she ended up breaking a nail in the process.
She didn’t usually have long nails, but she could now see why breaking one could make you mad—it just ruined the whole look.
“Are you okay?”
“No.” She still seemed confused. “Why do you look like that?”
Val looked down at her cleavage, then back at Lisa. “Um, Happy Halloween?”
Lisa just stared at her.
Val shifted her feet nervously. “I needed to get in here and I couldn’t let them see who I really am. This is temporary.”
“You looked better the other way.”
“I agree,” Reggie said from Val’s shoulder. “Although I don’t mind the twins.”
“Twins?”
“Yes, your two round and beautiful”—his whiskers twitched—“eyes. Yes, your eyes are lovely.”
Lisa frowned. “Your familiar is talking.”
“He’s not my familiar. Although, I think he’s getting a bit too familiar, truth be told.”
“Lisa, gorgeous, it’s me. Reggie.”
She fixed him with a blank look.
“From the motel?”
“Oh . . .” She nodded slowly. “Right. The rat from the motel. I remember you now.”
“See?” Reggie said proudly. “I’m unforgettable.”
“Why are you helping me?” Lisa asked.
Val shrugged. “Why wouldn’t I help you?”
She gingerly rubbed her rope-burned wrists. “I didn’t expect this. You’re putting yourself in danger.”
“Seems to be what I do these days.” Val didn’t say it as a particularly good thing.
“But I tried to barbecue your boyfriend earlier,” A grin pulled at Lisa’s mouth. “If I get the chance I might try again.”
“He’s not my boyfriend.”
“Seriously?” She raised an eyebrow. “The way he was looking at you—”
Val held up a hand to stop her. “So I’ve been told. But it doesn’t mean anything. Maybe he just tends to stare off in the distance and sometimes that distance is me. I don’t know. What I do know is he isn’t my boyfriend.”
She shook her head. “I don’t understand why he brought you here, to the Underworld. It goes against all the demon rules.”
Val sighed. “I’ll tell you if you really want to know, but not here. Let’s go . . . somewhere that isn’t here and we’ll chat, okay?”
“Deal.”
Val grabbed Lisa’s hand to help her off the bed, snatched her boots from the floor, and they moved toward the door. Val pressed her ear to it. Reggie pressed his ear to it.
“Hear anything?” she asked him.
“Nope.”
She opened the door and looked out. Nobody was there. She beckoned for Lisa to follow her quickly and quietly down the hallway.
“Okay,” Lisa whispered. “What’s up with you and Nathaniel?”
“He’s my guide to the Underworld. That’s all.”
Lisa looked at her curiously. “How did you manage to convince a demon to be your guide?”
“I summoned him.” They turned a corner. The carpeting was red and plush and the walls were lined with generic, but expensive-looking oil pointings in gilded frames.
“That’s it?”
“Pretty much.”
“Doesn’t sound like something a demon would appreciate. Being forced to take orders from a fallen angel.” She paused. “He hasn’t tried to get away from you?”
“No,” Val answered immediately.
“That’s very strange.”
Val shot her a look. “He has to do what I command him to. It’s part of the summoning spell.
He’s bound to me. Whether he wants to be or not.”
Reggie snickered but didn’t say anything.
“That’s very industrious. Summoning a demon,” Lisa said. “And you’re only just fallen?”
“Two months.” Val was quickly growing weary of this inquisition.
“Two months without being tempted?”
“Nathaniel’s also my Tempter.” After a moment, she added, “So far unsuccessful.”
She nodded. “I heard that about him. His complete failure at being a demon.”
Val’s lips tightened. “He succeeded with you, didn’t he?”
“Oh looky,” Reggie said. “A door.”
“Okay,” Val said. “Consider yourself rescued. Now beat it.”
Lisa smiled. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Now shoo. And don’t get caught again. One rescue per night. That’s the rules.”
She opened the door and Val felt the tropical breeze from outside blow her hair back off her shoulders. “I’ll remember this. See you later,” she said, then winked and slipped out of the mansion, closing the door with a soft click behind her.
“See you later,” Val repeated, slowly turning back around so she could start retracing her steps through the mansion. “Reggie, I don’t want to see that crazy girl again, if I can help—”
Julian stood behind her. “Claire. What are you doing in here?”
Chapter Seventeen
Val forced a smile and tried not to release her bladder at the sight of the blond demon.
“What am I doing in here?” she repeated, and placed a hand on her hip. “Looking for you, of course.”
Julian arched an eyebrow. “Is that so?”
“Yeah, that’s so.” She reached out to tap his chest. “You’ve been avoiding me.”
“I haven’t been avoiding you. I simply had some important duties to attend to.”
“Well”—she tried to look as seductive as she could, but thought it probably came off looking a bit constipated—“your duty is to take care of me now.”
She moaned inwardly. Your duty is to take care of me? That was probably the dumbest thing she’d ever said. And she’d said a lot of dumb things in her two months as a human.
His eyes lit up. Literally. “It would be my pleasure.”
“It wasn’t easy getting away from Nathaniel, you know. He’s very possessive.”
His gaze slid to Reggie on her shoulder and she could see an edge of nervousness in his expression. “As is your familiar. It is giving me the evil eye.”
There was a sudden ringing noise. Julian seem
ed annoyed and pulled out a cell phone from his jacket pocket to glance at the display screen.
“Please excuse me for a moment,” he said before he flipped it open and held it to his ear. He moved a little away from them. “Yes?”
“Reggie,” Val whispered, trying not to move her lips.
“Yeah?”
“I need to get Julian alone so I can get that key away from him and I can’t do it when you’re around.”
“Why not?”
“He’s scared of you.”
“I’m tingling with power.”
“Well . . .” She pulled him off her shoulder and set him down on the ground. “Go tingle somewhere else for a while.”
“But—”
“No buts. I don’t have time to discuss this with you. It’s now or never. Just go outside. Find
Nathaniel. He’ll keep you safe.”
“That guy hates me.”
“It’s him or Yasmeen.”
“I love Nathaniel.”
“Go.”
“I don’t want to leave you alone with Julian.”
Val glanced over at the demon on the cell phone, then down at the rat. “Just go. I’ll be okay.
There’s no time to argue.”
Without giving him a chance to say anything else, she turned her back and walked toward
Julian who was finishing up his call. He closed the phone just as she hooked her arm through his. “Let’s go somewhere private so we can get to know each other better.”
He smiled. “Excellent idea.”
“Who was the phone call from?”
“Head office. That’s how they get in touch with us these days. Rather modern, don’t you think?”
“Absolutely. Is that one of those camera phones?”
He patted his pocket. “No, not in the budget. The head office is notoriously cheap, but the phone keeps them from having a direct feed into my mind. Can be a painful thing at times.”
“I’d imagine it would be.”
He led Val to an empty room that contained a long, plush red couch and huge bed that she eyed uneasily. “So, what did you want to know about me?”