by Parker Blue
Then again . . . maybe not.
I SURE WISH I COULD READ HIS MIND RIGHT NOW, Fang said.
Ditto.
"Do you know how to release your father once you find the books?" Shade asked.
Trevor smiled at him, seeming relieved for a question he was willing to answer."Yes, I do. And I have everything I need to do just that."
The way these two got along set my teeth on edge."What if something happens to you?" I persisted."What if you die before the books are found?"
Trevor smirked."You'll just have to make sure that doesn't happen, won't you?"
I wasn't about to play bodyguard to some idiot demon with delusions of grandeur. Unfortunately, my brain didn't catch up with my mouth in time to stop me from saying,"The hell I will. How do we know you're not lying?"
Shade tried to step in."Val, really—"
"That's it," Trevor said, throwing his hands up in the air."I'm not gonna take this crap from a baby succubus who can't even cut it in the real world." He looked me up and down."I have no idea what anyone sees in you."
Fang growled and the hairs along his spine stood up on end. WATCH IT, BUDDY.
The so-called keeper turned and walked off."I'll find the encyclopedia by myself," he tossed over his shoulder.
"Aren't you going to stop him?" Shade asked.
"No, why should I? He can take care of himself. He's the keeper, you know."
"Val, really. You're sounding childish now."
"I'm what?"
Ignoring my indignation, Shade added,"He doesn't know the city. He could get lost."
"Not with that Smartphone of his."
"He's on foot, without a car, and this isn't exactly the best neighborhood."
I folded my arms and tapped my foot."So? He can call a taxi or rent a car. And if he can handle dark magicks, surely he can handle a mugger or two."
What was wrong with everyone? Had Trevor enthralled everyone but me into believing he was the best thing since submachine guns?
Fang scratched his ear with his hind leg. NOPE. NO SIGN OF THAT IN SHADE OR ANDREW. I WOULD HAVE NOTICED.
Then what has them so snowed?
IT'S CHARM, BABE. CHARM. YOU MIGHT WANT TO GET SOME OF IT.
"What's gotten into you?" Shade asked incredulously."You really seem to have it in for this guy."
"I don't believe him, that's what. Ask Fang. He'll tell you—he doesn't believe Trevor either."
Fang backed off. OH, NO. I'M NOT GETTING INVOLVED IN THIS. YOU TWO DUKE IT OUT AAAAAALL BY YOURSELVES. He trotted back to the car to join Andrew who had scrunched down in his seat, both apparently trying to stay out of the line of fire.
"Why don't you believe Trevor?" Shade persisted.
"He's just too good to be true. I don't trust him."
Shade paced in a circle, and I could read tension in his body and in the agitated whirling of his face."That's ridiculous. He's just trying to find his father and save the world. What's wrong with that?"
"Nothing. If it's true."
"And what do you base your suspicion on?"
"My gut," I shot back."It's helped me survive quite a few vampire attacks. What do you base your trust on?"
He halted suddenly and turned his swirly hooded face toward me. He let out an incredulous laugh and came over to grasp my hands."Is that it? Are you jealous of him?" He looked stupidly delighted by the thought.
"Don't be ridiculous. I know you like what Lola does for you too much to give it up for some pretty guy."
WHOA, BABE, Fang said from the car, to me alone. THAT'S HARSH. YOU MIGHT WANT TO DIAL BACK THE TONE A BIT.
I thought you were staying out of this? I snapped at him.
OKAY. THIS IS ME STAYING OUT. DIG YOUR OWN GRAVE.
Shade looked hurt, then let go of me so I couldn't see his features anymore."I didn't mean jealous of me," he said slowly."I meant jealous of Trevor."
"What the hell does that mean?"
Shade stuck his hands in his pockets and his shoulders went up and down in a shrug."You know . . . he's good-looking, he makes friends easily with all of your friends, and he's the only one who can save the world. That's usually your job, isn't it?"
That was so unfair I didn't know what to say. What made it worse is that he said it in such a matter -of-fact way. Was it true? I spluttered for a moment, then demanded,"Do you really believe that?"
"Can you honestly say it's not true?" he asked softly.
Oh, no. He was not going to try to use calm reason on me to get me to agree with him."Yes, I can. I don't trust him because . . . because . . ." My thoughts were whirling too fast to make sense of them."I just don't, that's why."
"Maybe if you thought about it for a moment—"
"No." I held up a hand."I am not talking about this anymore. We're going to go back to the mansion and we're going to start over, okay?"
"Okay, but I'll drive. You're too upset."
And that ticked me off even more."Fine," I yelled and threw the keys at him."You drive and go get your new friend. I'm walking."
I turned on my heel and proceeded to do just that.
"C'mon, Val . . ." Shade protested.
I ignored him, too mad to even talk to him right now. Instead, I put my head down and quickened my stride. I needed to walk this off.
He started the car and pulled out of the parking lot—away from me. Figured. Perversely, it ticked me off that he didn't even try to ask me to stop.
BECAUSE I TOLD HIM NOT TO, Fang said.
I glanced down. I'd been stomping so hard in my boots that I hadn't even heard the clicking of his nails as he caught up to me."That's no excuse," I muttered, and hated the fact that tears choked my throat and threatened to spill from my eyes.
WHAT'S WRONG?
Damn it, we just had our first fight.
AND IT PROBABLY WON'T BE THE LAST, Fang added wisely. DON'T WORRY, HE STILL LOVES YOU.
I sniffled. You sure?
I'M SURE. AND MAYBE IT'S FOR THE BEST AFTER ALL.
How do you figure?
WELL, YOU WANTED TO STAY AWAY FROM HIM FOR AWHILE. HERE'S YOUR EXCUSE.
Maybe. But I hadn't wanted it to be like this . . . . My shoulders sagged and all of the mad went out of me. Dang. Now I was going to have to walk home.
CHAPTER EIGHT
I glanced around, trying to get my bearings. Where was I? Somewhere on the west side of San Antonio, far from anywhere I wanted to be. Not exactly the best neighborhood. Creepy, in fact. I looked down at my feet. Dang. These boots weren't made for walking, either. And my side was still too sore to be doing much hiking. Losing my temper . . . not the brightest thing to do.
Fang clicked along beside me. YOU WON'T HEAR ANY ARGUMENT FROM ME.
I glanced down at him."Say something helpful," I challenged him.
HOW ABOUT CALLING FOR A RIDE?
I doubted Alejandro would be very happy with me if I asked someone to pick me up after I'd already given away the keys to one of his cars.
THEN CALL MICAH OR THE SCU.
I was kind of on vacation from the SCU, and many of them still saw me as a monster. I didn't even know if they'd come. Maybe Dan would, but he might ask questions I really didn't want to answer. Telling an ex about an argument I had with my current boyfriend just seemed . . . wrong.
I glanced at my phone. Almost two in the morning. Micah would still be at the club. I called his office at Club Purgatory and his assistant Tessa answered.
"This is Val. Is Micah there?"
"Sorry, he's on stage for his last set right now. Can I have him call you?"
I squirmed. Seeing Micah dance on stage for women made me uncomfortable. That's how he fed his incubus lust demon—by drawing small bits of energy from the women he seduced every night in his dance. I understood it, but watching it made me feel like a voyeur since I was the only woman not affected by his act. And, obviously, even thinking about it made me squirmy."Uh, maybe you can help me," I told Tessa."I'm stuck on foot out at Wolff Stadium. Is there some
one who could come out and pick up Fang and me?"
"Sure. The club is about to close and it's pretty quiet here tonight, so I'll send Ludwig."
"Great," I said with relief. The water demon, who also worked as a bouncer at the club, didn't talk much."Thanks—I appreciate it."
"No problem. Where exactly will you be?"
I gave her instructions on where to find us in the stadium parking lot, then sat down under a light pole to wait. Fang flopped down beside me and closed his eyes. WAKE ME WHEN HE GETS HERE.
It was pretty dead here at this time of morning. Not even the undead or the gangs were hanging around to disturb the peace. Just as well—I wasn't in the mood to mix it up right now. Instead, I wanted to figure out what had happened tonight. Why did Shade trust Trevor when I didn't?
I thought back to our encounters. What had Trevor done to make me suspicious? The fact he didn't let us know what kind of demon he was? No, not really. A lot of demons in the Underground preferred to keep their powers secret, and I didn't suspect them of anything nefarious.
Maybe because Trevor was so arrogant about being a keeper? No, that didn't make sense either. Being arrogant made me annoyed at him, not suspicious. Then what?
Was Shade right? Was I jealous of Trevor? He had oodles of charm, made friends easily, totally won over Shade without hardly trying, and even I had to admit the guy was totally hot.
A good reason to hate anyone.
Okay, maybe I was a tad jealous. Maybe I wanted to find something wrong with him. And maybe I was annoyed by his confidence. He thought he could just take the books like they really belonged to him, without anyone telling him no.
Was that it? I should probably give him the benefit of the doubt. Stop getting in his face and cooperate more. Assume he was innocent until proven guilty.
Yeah, a dark part of me agreed. Give him enough rope to hang himself.
Okay, even discounting possible jealousy on my part, I still didn't trust him. But I didn't know why. Maybe something I'd seen and noted unconsciously?
I sighed. If I didn't want to look like a jealous fool—and who would?—I needed to pretend to believe him, especially around Shade. I spent the rest of the waiting time musing on how to go about faking my cooperation.
It didn't take long for Ludwig to show up in Micah's car. As he drove us back to the club, I decided to concentrate on learning more about Trevor, without alerting the guy that I was still suspicious.
The club had just closed, so it was a lot quieter than usual. Fang and I made our way to Micah's office, decorated simply yet elegantly in burgundy and silver for the holidays, and found him and Tessa there. He'd already showered and changed after his act, so thank heavens I didn't have that embarrassment. They were counting the night's receipts when I came in, so I sat down and waited until they were done.
"What's up?" Micah asked."How did you get stranded? Did your bike conk out on you?"
"No. I—" Too humiliating to go into details. I shrugged."It's not important." Changing the subject before he could say more, I asked,"How do you know Trevor Jackson is who he says he is?"
Micah glanced at his elfin-looking assistant."Tessa confirmed his credentials."
"Not exactly," Tessa said."I tried to call the Los Angeles Underground, but no one was there. It is headquartered in an acting studio, so it's usually closed for the holidays. But Trevor had information about the Los Angeles Underground, knew Micah was the leader here, and knew about the books. I figured he had to be one of us."
Micah asked,"Do you have reason to think he might not be, Val?"
"Not really. But do you know what kind of demon he is? Fang can't read him, and I don't think that's ever happened with a demon before."
NEVER, Fang confirmed.
Micah looked thoughtful."No, I don't. But since you had the Encyclopedia Magicka for so many years, a lot of knowledge has been lost." When I grimaced, he added quickly,"I'm not blaming you—you didn't know what your father had given you. I simply mean we don't have enough information to make an assessment."
I glanced at Tessa."I don't suppose you got a read on him?" If the soothsayer demon had a prophecy, that might tell us something.
She shook her head."Afraid not. Touching him didn't awaken my gift."
Oh, yeah, that reminded me."But touching Alejandro did. Why did you tell him that I was his only hope for getting accepted when he has his coming-out party?"
She raised her eyebrows."I didn't know I did. You know I can't control my prophecies . . . or remember them."
"I know." It just irritated me that her prediction had bound me to the vamp for a while.
Fang poked me in the leg. FOCUS, VAL. YOU WERE ASKING ABOUT TREVOR.
Oh, yeah.
But Micah remembered."Why do you think Trevor isn't who he says he is?"
"Just a gut feeling. He's too polished, too slick. I don't trust him. And have you ever even heard of a keeper before?"
"No, but that doesn't mean one doesn't exist." Micah thought for a moment."How would he know about the books if he wasn't?"
Oh yeah, I forgot Micah didn't know what I'd learned."He says his father was trapped inside them by a mage demon." When Tessa exclaimed in surprise, I quickly explained what I'd found out that evening.
"That does make it sound as if he knows what he's talking about," Micah said gently."I've never even heard of a mage demon before."
"Maybe." I was still doubtful.
"I could try to contact the Los Angeles Underground again," Tessa offered."Maybe if I leave a message about how important this is, someone will call back."
"A good idea," Micah said."I trust Val's gut more than most people's."
That gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling. Now I remembered why I liked the folks in the Demon Underground so much—they appreciated the things that made me different from the rest of the world, the things that made me Val Shapiro.
LIKE THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE THE WORLD'S BEST HELLHOUND AT YOUR SIDE, Fang added.
Yep, like that, I agreed, scratching his ears.
"Since he's visiting, I've invited Trevor to the Underground's Christmas party tomorrow night," Micah said."Maybe we can learn more about him there."
Christmas party?
Fang snorted. SHE FORGOT.
Oh, yeah, I vaguely remembered something about a party . . . just not when and where it was happening. Parties, with all those people, made me uncomfortable."I only forgot for a moment," I said defensively."But don't worry, I'll be there. And that's a good idea, Micah. He might talk more to you."
"Do you really believe he wants the books because his father is trapped in them?" Tessa asked.
I shrugged."I don't know. Probably. But he admits he's never actually been a keeper, so I'm not sure why he thinks he'll be able to control the books if his father couldn't." I thought for a moment."And I don't buy his explanation of why they never tried to control me." I glanced at Tessa."You held them for awhile, right? What did you feel?"
Tessa shrugged."I didn't have them for very long—only long enough to bring them from the bar to this office. I do remember sensing the dark magicks. They didn't try to control me, though. Maybe I didn't have them long enough."
"I never felt anything like that. Maybe I'm not sensitive enough?" I was grasping for any explanation.
"I doubt it," Micah said."More likely it was because they'd been with you for so long."
"Maybe." I thought for a moment."Trevor said he could sense the books if he got within five hundred feet of them. Tessa, do you think you could sense them if you got that close, since you know what they feel like?"
The soothsayer demon shook her head."No, I only felt them while holding them. But you had them for what? Thirteen years? Maybe you could sense them."
"I doubt it. I don't remember ever noticing that before."
"Are you sure?" Micah asked."Have you tried?"
Fang broadcast his thoughts to the room. IT'S WORTH A SHOT, BABE. I KINDA REMEMBER FEELING LIKE YOU HAD A SMALL PIECE OF
YOURSELF MISSING WHEN YOU GAVE UP THE BOOKS.
I stared at him in surprise."Really? Why didn't you say something?"
AT THE TIME, I THOUGHT IT WAS BECAUSE YOU AND DAN BROKE UP. NOW, I'M WONDERING IF IT WAS THE BOOKS.
"It might be," Tessa said eagerly."Why don't you see if you can sense them—find them before he does?"
Micah nodded."I would like to have a look at them before Trevor claims them as their keeper. You might even have a wider range than he does."