My legs wobbled a little bit as I made my way to the bathroom to change. I hadn’t eaten enough today, and my legs still weren’t back to one hundred percent. Before I put on my suit, I dialed room service and placed my order. I couldn’t wait to see the person’s eyes go wide when they saw that all that food was just for me. It was going to be glorious.
AFTER MY SECOND order of ice cream went down, I waddled back into the bathroom and took a quick shower. It made me think of the many times Jackson and I had showered together. This particular shower was easily big enough for two. No matter what I did, I couldn’t stop thinking about him. Would it ever get easier? I would have to spend some time with Sarah and figure out how she dealt with it all of these years. It couldn’t have been easy. From moment to moment I felt like I was going to break.
I slipped into some panties and threw on one of Jackson’s old T-shirts. It still smelled like him. The bed was just as luxurious as everything else in the room had been. It didn’t take long for the food and the hot tub to work their magic. Almost as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out like a light. At some point during the night, I heard Marcus stumble in and head off to the other bedroom.
The morning came quickly, and I rolled out of bed. I hit the button on the coffeemaker and placed an order for a couple of omelets and some toast. Marcus was going to need it to help his stomach after whatever he got into last night. The door to his room was open, and I could hear him snoring. No reason to wake him up just yet.
I went through my stretches, testing the strength in my legs. They felt good. Maybe not a hundred percent, but they were getting better. The recovery time from yesterday to today had been pretty short, and I wasn’t aching, so something I was doing was working. After the server dropped off the food, I grabbed a cup of coffee and hit the shower.
Dressed and ready to eat, I finally walked into Marcus’s room and kicked the bed. “Time to get up. We’ve got work to do.” He let out a groan, so I kicked the bed again.
“Just five more minutes,” he mumbled into his pillow.
“Five minutes won’t help you feel any better, but a few cups of coffee and some toast might.”
“Seriously, April, I need to get some rest.”
“Well, you should have thought about that last night. We have demon activity to check out, and I told you to take it easy.”
“Does Jackson hate you as much as I do when you’re right?”
I smiled. I couldn’t help it. “Probably. He just has the sense not to say anything.”
Marcus finally rolled over. He wobbled for a moment and then straightened out. Once he kicked his legs over the edge of the bed, I left the room. If he fell back asleep now, there probably wasn’t much I could do about it. A few moments later, I breathed out a sigh of relief as I heard the shower turn on.
I turned on the morning news and sat back with a glass of juice and one of the omelets. It seemed like everything in Vegas was slow except for a rash of homeless disappearances. The authorities seemed baffled as to why there would have been such a vast migration of their homeless populations. Unable to explain what some in the city were calling a blessing in disguise, the authorities had set up a task force to track them. As of now, they hadn’t been able to find anything yet.
It seemed like our demon problem here might have been bigger than we thought. It crossed my mind to call Adam and let him know about the news, but we didn’t have any idea of the extent of the problem or if there really even was one. Who knows, some sleazy politician could have put the homeless people on buses to another state and slipped them a couple hundred in cash to keep quiet. After today, we should have a better idea of what was really going on.
If the demons were behind the disappearances, that meant there were a lot of them here, and they had been organized. That was a scary thought. What kind of demon could pull all of them together and unite them like that? Not to mention clearing the homeless out of a city with a population of over a half million was no easy task. I wondered if we had any tourists to add to the mix.
Marcus came into the living room and sat down. He looked like he was doing a lot better, but you could never really tell when someone was that hung over. There were only so many varying degrees of looking like shit. He looked like half-baked shit, which meant he could probably handle a car ride. I filled him in on the news, and that seemed to sober him up even further. He dug into the food and filled his cup with coffee.
“So how was your first night in Vegas?” I asked with a smirk.
“It was horrible and wonderful all at once. I can’t wait to do it again.”
“I’m not sure if I should be scared to come out with you or excited.”
“Excited. Definitely excited,” he mumbled through mouthfuls of food.
“Finish up and pack up your gear. We are out of here in thirty. After we kick some demon ass, it’s your turn to pick out the digs.”
“Hell yeah.” Marcus shoved two pieces of buttered toast into his mouth and ran for his room.
Thirty minutes rolled by, and I was impressed that he was ready to go. The food seemed to have worked wonders on him. He almost looked like a new man. We checked out, headed for the car, and five minutes later, we were on the road. It was demon hunting time.
Most of the demons liked to stick to a nocturnal schedule. It was easier to seduce prey away from their friends late at night. The good news was they still needed sleep, kind of like Marcus. That meant they probably wouldn’t be ready for us. The GPS took us from the city and up into some small hills. The houses started to grow further apart, but they also became more expensive. I noticed something out of the window. On top of a hill, there was a house that looked eerily like a castle.
“I bet that is where we are going,” I said, pointing out the window.
Marcus looked down at the GPS and then at me. “No way.”
“Tell me the GPS isn’t pointing us there.”
“The GPS isn’t pointing us there.”
I hit him in the arm. “No one likes a smart ass.”
“Remember what I said about being right all the time? It still holds true,” he said with a cocky half-grin.
I slugged him in the shoulder for the second time. “Yeah, I remember.”
“Well, you just did it again.” He stopped at the look I gave him and then started talking again. “But I’m going to let it slide, because that place looks awesome.”
A little laugh escaped from my lips as Marcus rubbed his shoulder. “It sure does, but it’s huge. Send a message to Adam. Let him know the address that was in the GPS and tell him we might need backup. There could be something bigger going on here than we can handle by ourselves.” In fact, if that place was full of demons, we were in way over our heads.
“I’m on it.”
I heard him typing quickly on the phone, but I kept looking back at the amazing house. Seriously, how much did something like that even cost? It had to have the best view of the city for miles around. Every now and then, I got a peek of something blue and shimmering. That meant they had a pool as well. I almost hoped that it wasn’t demons. It was scary to think they had been able to amass a fortune that big in such a short period of time.
“Marcus, get our weapons ready. As soon as we stop, we need to be prepared to rock right away. I think it’s best that we go in quietly on this one, at least until we know more about the situation. At the same time, I’m going to have the car ready to go. If the odds look bad, we bail and wait for backup.”
“Just how many demons do you think there will be? I mean, we could probably take out twenty by ourselves.”
“Maybe on a good day, but how many archfiends could we take?” Marcus just shook his head. “Right, and I doubt whoever owns that house is just another demon in a meat suit.”
“You’ve got a point. So if it gets too hot to handle, retreat to the car and we jet.”
“Exactly.”
I could feel the tension in the car now. It grew as we continued to get clo
ser to the house. That place could be housing hundreds of demons. More if they had carved down into the hillside. I almost told Marcus to call Adam and that we would wait for reinforcements, but I really wanted to handle this on my own. I needed to prove to myself that I was up to the task, and I had one of the best magic-users in a generation by my side.
We pulled up the long drive. I circled the car around so it was facing back down the street. We stepped out, leaving the doors open and the engine running. Marcus tossed me my swords and strapped them into place. We walked up to the door, and it opened just as I was about to ring the bell.
A short portly man walked out and gave us a tiny bow. He had wild blond hair and a mustache to match. He eyed our weapons a little suspiciously but didn’t say anything.
“My mistress is expecting you. Please follow me.” He turned smartly and walked back into the house.
I looked at Marcus and shrugged my shoulders. We had planned on going in anyway, if for nothing else, just to get a lay of the land before we returned with more people. The short little man walked with kind of a waddle as we followed him deeper into the house. The white marble floors shined in the sunlight streaming from the floor-to-ceiling windows to our right. Huge marble pillars lined the entranceway, making it feel almost like a coliseum. He led us past a staircase that went up and down, and then turned to the right, leading us into a beautiful office.
The office was lined with dark wooden shelves and was dominated by a massive wooden desk of the same color. It was stunning. Like something you would have seen in a magazine or on HGTV. The little man scurried around the desk, said something to the person sitting in the high-backed leather chair. I heard a woman’s voice say something back to him, but I couldn’t make out the words. He scuttled quickly from the room as their conversation came to an end. The chair began to slowly turn around.
CHAPTER 20
JACKSON
When I came to, I felt a hand on my chest. My fingers clenched around the hilts of my swords, and I started to scramble away.
“Easy, I’m not going to hurt you,” said a silky sweet voice.
The demon smiled down at me, although her eyes seemed cautious. There was no doubt that at the first sign of hostility from me, she would flee. Her wings were already spread out, ready to carry her away. But why was she smiling? I had just killed her master.
“Salina, what are you doing here?”
She rose to her feet, bringing her wings back and tucking them behind her. I was still trying to figure out exactly what happened. When I returned home, I needed to find out from Sarah how long it would take before I could switch between beast and human forms without being drained. That and I’d never heard her talk about being separate from her wolf. Mine felt like it was an entirely different person. Today passing out after the change could have just as easily led to my death.
It was hard to concentrate with the naked demon standing before me. Her perfect form was on display, and her smile had turned into a slight smirk as my eyes roved over her body. A thought of a beautiful redhead flashed through my mind, sobering me instantly. I hadn’t realized how close I had become to being enthralled by Salina’s magic.
A small frown creased her pouty lips. “I came to see who won, of course.”
As if anything was ever that simple when you spoke to a demon. For the first time, my eyes moved away from Salina as I stood up. My swords slid neatly back into place over my shoulders. The massive part of the stone ceiling I had brought down dominated the room. Adramelech couldn’t be seen under the stone, but the liquid oozing out from the edges told me my attack had been successful. What would happen to me now? Would anyone be able to send me back home?
Magic poured into me, easing the strain of the battle. My limbs started to feel better almost instantly. From one step to the next, I was almost completely healed. The beast inside of me was pushing for control. It hated this place and missed its mate. My wolf was getting harder and harder to rein in. The beast wanted control. It wanted to tear the flesh from the demon standing in front of me. He howled inside of my head, but for now, I was able to hold him back.
The clothes I had been wearing hung from me in tatters. My pants reduced to shredded shorts, and my top only covered my shoulders. The rest was just strips of fabric. My boots had been completely ripped from my feet during the change, so for now I stood barefoot on the stone floor. I had a change of clothes in the bag in my quarters, but I wasn’t sure how safe the palace would be for me now.
Salina kicked something on the floor next to her, and I noticed it was my bag. When I looked at her, she just shrugged her shoulders and tried to pin me down with her eyes. She was exerting every ounce of her brand of magic on me now, but it wouldn’t work. The beast inside of me raged at the insult. It cried out that it only wanted its mate. She must have seen something of the wolf flash across my eyes, because she took a step back and her magic stopped tugging at the edges of my perception.
I didn’t waste any time switching into a new set of jeans and a T-shirt. I was sure Salina grabbed a nice eyeful for herself, but that didn’t matter. I had a sense of time slipping through my fingers. All I wanted to do now was get out of here before anything else could happen. I needed to get home to April, to my family.
“Salina, you have to tell me how to get home.”
She had taken a few steps back from me before she answered. “You don’t. Only one of the princes can open a portal directly to your world. Otherwise, we have to wait for one to be opened.”
“Can you still contact Stillman?”
“I’ve tried, but he isn’t responding,” she said with a small frown.
Fuck, well, that wasn’t going to work for me. The anger I had felt while battling Adramelech was quickly coming back. It was getting harder and harder to control the urges of the beast. My wolf wanted me to rip this demon apart and not stop until I killed every one of the tricky bastards that got into my path. One of them somewhere would be able to open the portal I desired.
“Do you think he will respond to you eventually?”
Her frown deepened, and for the first time, I caught a hint of real emotion flicker across her perfect face. “He’s never not responded to my call.”
Did that mean he was dead or just that he was willing to ignore the demon to make sure that John and I never made it back home? I had no idea what to do. If only another prince could open the door. I might have to find one and force them to do it for me. I was sure that I could kill another one, but if more than one of them attacked me, I wouldn’t be leaving hell.
“How do I find another prince?”
“I’d advise against that course of action. When word of what happened here reaches them, they will come for you. I’d suggest not being here when they do.”
“Well, I need to do something. I can’t stay here forever.”
“There is one demon that might help you. There will be a price to pay for his services. That is if he will even offer them to you.”
“Tell me what the price is,” I snarled. I was done playing games. I would be going home, and I wouldn’t be waiting for a portal to appear.
“Jackson, son of John. I do not think it will be a price you are willing to pay.” She lowered her eyes in submission.
“I’ll decide the price that I’m willing to pay for my freedom. Where can I find this man?”
“I can summon him for you, but I suggest that you do not ask me to.” She kept her eyes down the entire time. Something was going on here, but I was out of options and tired of waiting.
“Do it. Summon this demon.”
She didn’t ask any more questions or try and talk me out of it again. She just bowed her head, and I felt the pull of her power. A few moments later, a small portal appeared and a man stepped out of it, wearing a cloak with the hood up. He walked forward, and his hood continued to shroud his face in shadow. He reached a red-skinned hand out to stroke Salina’s cheek, and she flinched away from it. He waited with a commanding prese
nce until she let him run his fingers down her cheek. It was almost as if he expected her to purr at his touch.
I’d never seen Salina back away from anyone’s touch. How horrible was this man if a demon of lust didn’t want to be touched by him? Salina moved a few steps away from the man, but he seemed satisfied with his dominance over her. He had yet to turn and look at me.
“Salina.” His words dripped with ice. “Why have you called me?”
She seemed visibly shaken. “Adramelech has been defeated.”
The man before her started to laugh. It was high pitched and came out as more of a titer than an actual laugh. He turned to look at the mess on the ground before turning back to her. His laughter hadn’t stopped, but it took on a cruel edge. “And you want to beg for my forgiveness?”
“I need no absolution from you. I have summoned you here at the request of another.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. I was so looking forward to the pleasure of your touch again.”
Salina moved another step backward, and her wings unfurled. She didn’t want anything to do with this man, and that had me worried. Just who in the hell was he, and why was she so afraid of him?
He laughed as she prepared to flee. With one hand, he reached out toward her, and she dropped to the ground. Her wings folded nicely behind her back, and she walked forward to stand behind him. He released his magic, assured that she knew exactly what was expected of her.
Slowly the man turned toward me. “So you are the one who killed my progeny?”
Well, shit, that couldn’t be good. One thing I had learned since coming to hell was that showing weakness was death. I pointed toward the stain on the ground. “If that puddle used to be your progeny, then yes, I did kill it. Adramelech refused to honor the terms of our deal as I saw fit.” A growl came from under the man’s cowl, and he strode forward until he was only standing a foot away. I refused to back down from his charge. Instead, I jutted my chin out and straightened my back. “All I want to do is get back to my world. Can you help me or not?”
The Rising Darkness (Ascendancy Legacy 5) Page 15