“Is he alone?”
Marge shrugged and went back to working on the computer. “Would it matter?”
Lexi realized Marge was right. “No.”
“Before you go back there,” Marge hollered after her, “are you working today?”
Lexi didn’t even break stride. “No.”
“Today is some skip’s lucky day,” she heard Marge mumble.
Lexi walked past her own office to TJ’s. His door was closed, and she was about to just walk in, but at the last minute changed her mind. She was, after all, about to ask him for a favor.
She knocked and waited for him to growl, “Come in,” before opening the door.
TJ was sitting at his desk, scowling fiercely at his computer.
“And I thought I was in a bad mood,” she observed.
He clicked something on the screen and then sat back in his chair to give her his full attention. “Damn paperwork,” he grumbled. “It’s bad enough we have to fill out so many forms at the police station, but then for Jonathan to pile all these others on top…it’s enough to make you want to quit.”
Lexi hated the paperwork too, and they shared a sympathetic moment. Then they both smiled. “You love the job as much as I do,” she said. “We both know we’ll never quit.”
He smiled and ran his fingers through his hair. “What brings you here so early?” he asked. Outside, Lexi could hear cars driving along the street. The garbage truck was making its weekly circuit, and the banging of a Dumpster lid was a loud staccato in the otherwise relatively quiet morning.
“I need a way to keep track of someone without them knowing it,” she said simply, getting straight to the point. “Something nonmagical. I thought maybe you might know of something I could use.”
“A personal tracking system?” He nodded. “Sure, I might have something you can use. How close can you get to the subject?”
“As close as I need to—she’s a friend.”
His expression turned grim. “You know that if she finds out you put a trace on her, she’ll probably get pretty mad.”
Better mad than dead, Lexi thought. “I’m willing to risk it.” She figured putting a tracer on Mai was the only way to keep her safe at this point.
Seeing that Lexi wasn’t going to change her mind, TJ picked up the set of keys on his desk, selected one and opened the lower file drawer.
He pulled out three necklaces, a pair of earrings, a pin and a small plastic bag filled with flat metal discs no bigger than the end of a pencil eraser. Then he pulled out a small handheld receiver. “You have a couple of choices,” he said, laying everything out before her. “Each piece of jewelry has a transmitter, which works great if she wears one of them.”
Lexi tried to remember if she’d ever noticed Mai wearing the same jewelry two days in a row. She couldn’t remember. “What about these?” She pointed to the bag of discs.
“These you can slip into pockets, or use the adhesive back and stick them on clothing.”
She couldn’t decide which would be better, and, seeing her dilemma, he came to her rescue. “Tell you what—take them all. Use what you want and then bring me what’s left when you’re done.”
“Thanks. Are they all synced to the same receiver?”
“Yes.” He picked it up and turned it on. After adjusting a couple of buttons, he handed it to her. She saw a grid for the lower west side of Hell’s Kitchen. There was a blinking dot of light on the spot where their office was located.
She looked up at TJ, and he smiled. “Watch.” He took one of the small flat discs from the plastic bag and wadded it up in a piece of paper. Then he went over to open the window. The sound of the garbage truck grew louder. TJ waited, and when it lumbered by, he tossed the ball of paper out the window.
Lexi’s eyes were glued to the screen of the receiver where a small dot of light started moving along the line that represented their street. She continued to watch as it turned the corner and continued down the next street.
She looked up at TJ and smiled. “Very cool.”
He laughed. “I thought you’d like it.” He gathered up the jewelry and remaining discs and placed them into a velvet bag, which he held out to her. “Here you go.”
“You’re sure?” Lexi wanted to double check.“I know this stuff is expensive.”
“I won’t refuse any contribution you want to make,” he said suggestively. Lexi just rolled her eyes, and he laughed. “Seriously,” he continued, “I have a friend who’s an electronics engineer. He likes to tinker with new things. He gives me a lot of these. The receiver is another matter. Break or lose it, you just bought it, and don’t ask how much it costs, because neither one of us can afford it.”
Lexi wasn’t so sure she wanted to take the chance and started to hand the stuff back to him.
“No, keep it. Just don’t let anything happen to it.”
She thanked him, took the stuff and headed home. She was exhausted, but worse than that, she was in pain. The buildup in sexual energy had become a continuous ache.
When she walked into her apartment twenty minutes later, she was surprised to see Darius there, making himself at home.
“How’d you get in here?” she growled at him, trying to harden herself against the sudden excitement of seeing him.
He gave her a lazy smile. “I have a key, remember?” “But I had wards guarding the apartment. How’d you get past those?”
“Those wards only work to keep out the things you want kept out. They obviously don’t apply to me,” he said with a smile.
She rolled her eyes and, doing her best to ignore him, carried the bag of electronics to the kitchen table. “Where have you been?” he asked, getting up from the couch to follow her.
“I’ve been with TJ,” she replied automatically, her attention focused on getting out the necklaces so she could decide which to give to Mai.
“All night?”
“What?” she asked distractedly.
“Your bed hasn’t been slept in.”
She held up the first necklace, searching for the transmitter. “That’s right.”
“I see.”
It was his tone that finally made her realize he’d drawn the wrong conclusion. She was tempted not to set him straight, but seeing his closed expression made her change her mind. “I was with Mai all night. She was determined to go back to the Crypt after I picked her up from jail.” She paused and looked at him. “I’m sorry I left you there. I was afraid to leave Mai alone.”
He raised an eyebrow. “So you didn’t leave me there because you’re mad at me?”
“No.”
That seemed to lighten his mood, but then he frowned. “Who’s TJ?”
She picked up a different necklace to study. “He’s the other bounty hunter in my office. I needed to talk to him about tracking devices, so I went in early.”
Darius gestured to the array of jewelry laid out on the table beside the receiver. “What’s all this?”
“Micro-transmitters and a GPS receiver.” At his confused expression, she went on.“It’s the stuff I got from TJ.”
“What’s it for?”
“I’m hoping it will help me keep tabs on Mai without her knowing it. That way, if she goes to the Crypt again, I’ll know it. Then I might be able to stop her before she gets herself into trouble.” Of course, she couldn’t call in a raid each time, she thought. She’d have to think of other tactics.
“Are they magic?” Darius asked, coming over to take a closer look.
“No. Technology. Here’s how they work.” She went through the same demonstration TJ had given her, and the look on Darius’s face afterwards made her smile. He seemed truly awed.
“It’s fascinating.” He picked up the receiver and looked at the screen. “What happens if one of the transmitters goes beyond the area shown here?”
“There are ways to adjust the view to show as much or as little of the city as you want—up to a limit. After that, you lose the signal.”
&
nbsp; She stood next to him, leaning over so he could see the screen as she zoomed the view in and out. She tried hard to ignore the warmth of his muscled arm, and when he took the receiver from her, she couldn’t help remembering how those strong hands had felt against her naked skin.
She suddenly realized that she’d stopped talking, and, feeling the heat of his gaze on her, she looked up and her breath caught in her throat.
Seeing the way she looked at him, Darius wanted so badly to pull her into his arms, but knew he shouldn’t. “I ran into Paddy Darby while I was in the Crypt,” he said, stepping away from her. “We ended up in jail together and had an interesting conversation.”
“Really?” she asked, almost too casually. “What about?”
“About how he’s Dr. D. Patrick.”
“What?”
He had her undivided attention now, so he told her about Paddy’s involvement with the initiation ceremonies and the demon.
“I just can’t believe it,” Lexi said when he was done. “We have to tell the police. I know a lot of those people didn’t ask to be converted, so he’s responsible for murder.”
“We’ll have to deal with that later. There’s more. Do you remember how we heard him singing that song in the bar? Well, the hounds of hell are real. They’re shade demons believed to be locked away. If Amadja releases them…” He shook his head. “Now I know what the succubus meant about needing to feed Amadja’s pets.”
Lexi’s eyes widened at the mention of the succubus. “When did you talk to her?”
He quickly told her about his encounter with the succubus, though he did his best to skirt over the seduction parts. Somehow, he didn’t think Lexi would appreciate hearing that.
“And that’s not all,” he hurried on, hoping he was giving her too much information at once for her to focus too long on Daphne. “Paddy saw my tattoo and as much as admitted he’d seen the same one on Tain. So I know Tain is there—it’s just a matter of finding him.”
Lexi took a step toward him and laid her hand on his arm. “I know you’re worried about your brother, but you can’t go after him yourself. Not with the succubus out there. Talk to Adrian first—please.”
“Okay,” he agreed, somewhat reluctantly. “Let’s call him.”
She picked up the phone and dialed Adrian’s number, and soon Darius was talking to him.
“I think you should come to Seattle as soon as possible,” Adrian said, unsurprisingly, after Darius explained everything. “They know you’re there, which means your life is in danger.”
“But I know who this demon is,” Darius argued. “I can bind him and destroy him.”
“Don’t you think we thought of that?” Adrian asked. “Amadja isn’t his real name any more than the name I knew him by. The only sure way to destroy him is to combine our powers.”
“Tain is here,” Darius said.
“You saw him?”
“No, but I know he’s here. If I can get to him—”
“Don’t even think of trying to rescue him,” Adrian said. “Trust me, he’s not the same—he’s crazy.”
“So we turn our backs on him?”
He heard Adrian’s sigh. “I don’t like it any more than you do. Come to Seattle and we’ll figure out what to do.”
They talked a few minutes more before Darius hung up the phone. He looked over at Lexi, who was studying him closely. “He wants me to fly to Seattle.”
“I think you should go,” she said. “I’ll get you another ticket.”
Darius felt a stab of disappointment. “Careful,” he said, keeping his tone light. “I might think you want to get rid of me.”
“It’s not that,” she said. “I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”
“Ah, so you do care.” He’d been keeping his tone light and teasing, but there was nothing playful in the way he looked at her.
“I don’t know why I should.” He heard the hurt in her voice. “I obviously repulse you.”
“What?” He was stunned. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”
“Then why is it that every time we start to have sex, you stop?”
He saw the pain and hurt in her eyes and knew he had to tell her the truth. “When I was summoned to the dream dimension, Whitley warned me about two things. The first was about my life force—which I told you about. The other thing he warned me about was…embarrassing, if you must know the truth.”
“Go on,” she encouraged when he hesitated.
He took a breath. “Sekhmet was afraid I’d enjoy myself too much while I was here, so she quickly cast a spell as I was being pulled to Earth. But only pieces of the spell touched me, and it got twisted.” He looked at her, praying she’d understand. “The gist of the spell is that if I climax while having sex, I’ll forget everything, including—”
“—who you are,” she finished for him. Then her eyes shot sparks. “You were with that woman that first night, weren’t you? The one with the pink hair. You climaxed with her, and that’s why you lost your memory.”
“You make it sound like I was cheating on you,” Darius countered, getting a little heated himself. “As I recall, you weren’t interested in having sex with me at the time. Furthermore, I wasn’t with a woman. She was a demon. And not just any demon—a succubus. She sucks the life out of you and leaves you for dead. Although now that I think of it, maybe that’s just women in general.” He was beyond frustrated and making matters worse, but he couldn’t seem to stop. Then he heard a small chuckle and turned to see Lexi smiling at him.
“If you are planning to spend any time with me at all, I think it’s only fair to warn you that I get a little bitchy around the full moon.”
“Lexi,” he sighed, all the fight leaving him. He closed the distance between them and cupped her cheek with his hand as he gazed deep into her eyes. “I never meant to hurt you.” He dipped his head and captured her lips with his. The hunger that shot through him was intensely primal, and when she wrapped her arms around his waist, he kissed her like he might never get the chance again.
Finally, they broke apart, both a little breathless. “Much as I want to stay, I should probably go now,” he said. “But when this is over, I’m coming back to finish what we started. That’s a promise.”
“I’ll be here,” she told him. “However long it takes, but please be careful.”
“I will.” And then, before he could change his mind, he walked out the door.
After Darius left, Lexi couldn’t help wondering if he had really told her the truth this time. His explanation about being jinxed by a partial spell, while possible, was a little hard to believe.
Not sure what to make of it, she forced her attention to more urgent matters. She went to the kitchen table where the necklaces were spread out and found the one she thought Mai would like. She put it into the velvet pouch, put the bag with disc transmitters in her pocket, along with the receiver, and left.
When she got to Mai’s apartment, she found her friend busy working on her story.
“How’s it coming?” Lexi asked. “Any chance you’ll let me read it?”
Mai scowled at her. “You know the rule—not until it’s finished.”
“So—do you have plans for tonight?” Lexi asked, not bothering to be subtle.
“As a matter of fact, I do,” Mai replied. “But don’t worry. I’m not going to the Crypt. I have a friend coming over—a male friend.”
At Lexi’s surprised look, Mai smiled. “Before you ask, he’s not anyone you know. Just a guy I met, but he’s drop-dead gorgeous, and so considerate and fun to be with.”
“Oh, Mai. I’m so happy for you.” But Lexi couldn’t prevent the cynic in her from wondering exactly where Mai might have met this man. Who was he? What was his background?
“Stop it,” Mai said. “I see the expression on your face. Can’t you just, for once, be happy that I found someone?”
Lexi felt guilty now. “Of course. I’m sorry. Yes, I’m delighted you’ve found s
omeone. And I’m thrilled you’re not going to the Crypt. So,” she said with a smile. “Tell me more about this mystery man.”
Mai merely shrugged. “There’s nothing to tell. What’s that you have?”
Lexi handed the velvet pouch to Mai, whose eyes lit up with childlike excitement. “What’s the occasion?”
“I’ll tell you in a second. First tell me if you like it.”
Mai opened the pouch and pulled out the obsidian necklace. She held it up, and Lexi breathed a sigh of relief at the look on her friend’s face.
“It’s not my birthday,” she said to Lexi, obviously fishing for the reason Lexi gave it to her.
Lexi took a breath. “I gave it to you for your protection.”
“From what?”
Lexi looked around and then gestured to the couch. “Let’s sit down, and I’ll tell you what I know.”
Mai listened as Lexi told her everything—about the demon lord trying to destroy the world, Calling the Immortals, the vampire conversion scheme, the succubus—even about finding Howard Parks dead. To her credit, Mai listened to all of it, asking only a couple hundred questions.
“I didn’t tell you sooner because I didn’t know all of it until just recently,” Lexi finished.
“And the necklace?”
“Obsidian is a protective stone. It might not be the strongest magic, but it will help. Please wear it—for me. So I’ll stop worrying about you constantly.”
Mai reluctantly nodded and put the necklace on. “Happy?”
Lexi smiled. “Yes, thank you.”
“So where are things between you and the Immortal?” she asked.
“They’re…I don’t know. They’re confusing. He’s gone to Seattle to be with Adrian until the other two brothers—Kalen and Hunter—show up.”
“Kalen?” Mai repeated thoughtfully. “That’s not a name you hear often.”
“No, I suppose not,” Lexi agreed, finding Mai’s statement odd.
“You like him, don’t you?”
“Kalen? Oh,” Lexi said when Mai shot her a look. “Darius. Yeah, I suppose I do.” She glanced at her watch and stood up, worried that if she didn’t leave, Mai would bombard her with questions she wasn’t ready to answer. Questions about how she really felt about Darius. “I need to go. Please wear the necklace for me and be careful. I’ll call you later tonight.”
The Darkening (Immortals) Page 19