by D. G. Swank
“Not anymore, your…nothing. He is fair game.”
“I thought Okeus has claimed the daughter of the sea for himself as well, although for a different purpose.”
Caelius lowered his head. “He has only decreed we can’t kill her, your nothing. I will not be out of bounds to use her.”
“You mean rape her,” I interjected.
Abel shot me a glare that insinuated I was to butt out.
“You can’t be serious,” I said, taking a step toward him. “You intend to let this monster rape my cousin!” Most of what they’d said sounded like borderline gibberish to me, but that message had come through loud and clear.
“Let me handle this, Kewasa,” Abel said with more authority than I’d ever heard him use. It came with a rush of power, and I was pretty sure he was hoping it would control me, but it rushed right on past.
“We are not going to let him use her,” I said, narrowing my eyes at him as I took a step forward.
“We will not interfere.”
“Maybe you won’t, you coward, but I sure as hell will.” I lunged for Caelius with my daggers, and he scrambled to jump backward several feet. I could feel a new wave of power flood out of him, and seconds later, the orgy participants began to scream.
Then, just as suddenly, I felt a presence down below, headed this way. While the power from Caelius cloyed, this new power felt cleansing. It felt familiar, and it drew me toward it.
I ran to the railing and peered down, following my inner compass until it landed on a woman with deep auburn hair pulled back in a thick French braid. She wore a cape over her shoulders along with a long-sleeved black shirt and jeans.
That was her. That was Elinor Lancaster. The power was coming from her.
Two men stood behind her. The taller one had unruly brown hair and an intense expression. He was wearing jeans and a short-sleeved shirt, which did nothing to hide the sword strapped to his back. He had a power of his own, and it felt more complicated than my cousin’s. The second man had darker hair and was dressed in leather pants and what looked like a long-sleeved black sports shirt under a black leather vest. He was the only one of the three without any discernable power, but he also carried a sword.
How had they gotten past the bouncers?
Was this the harem Caelius had spoken of?
It seemed sexist that the two guys had swords and she didn’t—until her gaze landed on me for a split second. She reached behind her, shoving the cape to the side, and revealed the hilt of a sword at her hip. Then she drew it from the scabbard and pointed it toward me as though in challenge.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Did she think I was her enemy?
“We have to go,” Abel said, grabbing my arm.
I wheeled around to face him, holding Ivy under his chin. “I say when we go.”
Pride filled his eyes. “Rupert and Davis said you’ve done well. This is better than I had anticipated.”
“Well, goody for you,” I said, keeping my blade tip against his skin. “I’m not leaving.”
“This is not your fight, Kewasa,” he said, his voice softening.
“Elinor’s here to face the Great One, isn’t she?”
“Most likely,” he said. “But it’s not your—”
“That’s bullshit. The Great One has been trying to lure me into something all day. It wants me here, whether you like it or not.”
Anger filled his eyes. “You will not face the Great One. Leave it to the curse keepers.” Abel turned to Caelius. “What does the Great One want with Kewasa?”
“I didn’t even know she was Kewasa, let alone that the Great One wants her. The Great One does as it pleases. I only supply the hosts.”
My hand burned like I’d grabbed the handle of a hot pot. Abel turned in alarm. He started to say something, but then froze. “It’s here.” He pushed my arm down and pinned it to my side, hauling me back to his chest. Leaning into my ear, he whispered, “I know you don’t trust me, Piper, and I understand why, but I’m begging you to trust me on this—you’re not ready to face the Great One.”
“So you’re suggesting I just run away like a coward?” If the Great One was as strong as Abel believed, then Elinor likely needed my help.
“No, I’m suggesting you retreat and prepare yourself for the next time you encounter it.”
I shook my head. “No. I’m staying to help Elinor.”
His arm tightened around my waist. “Don’t make me force the issue, Waboose.”
I twisted my wrist and held Ivy’s tip to his side. I knew it wouldn’t kill him—I was counting on it—but I was hoping it could hurt him. “Don’t force me to make you let me go.”
I could sense other demons advancing toward us, but there was a heavy presence with them. It felt like walking death. Abel must have felt it too, because he pushed out a wave of energy so strong Caelius fell to his knees, screaming in agony.
And just like before, my body was drawn to Abel’s power. But even though it was highly sexually charged, it wasn’t a submissive pull. It was as though we balanced each other. While I felt slimy for my body’s reaction to Caelius’s power, Abel’s made me feel stronger. Empowered.
“Waboose,” he said in an apologetic tone. “You know that I have one objective for you.”
“How can I forget?”
His arm around me tightened. “The only thing that matters to me is that you survive long enough to kill me. Has the crescent moon appeared on your hand?”
“No.”
“That is what I thought.”
I felt a sharp jab on my thigh and looked down to see what he had done.
Abel knew his power couldn’t control me, but he’d brought something that could—a hypodermic needle.
My arms and legs turned to mush as the sedative raced through my body. My daggers clanged to the floor, and I would have joined them if Abel didn’t have such a tight grip on my waist.
“What have you done, Abel?” I whispered, or I thought I did. Everything was turning fuzzy.
“I’m saving you, Waboose.”
Chapter 19
When I came to, I was lying on a sofa and an anxious Abel was watching over me. Confused, I sat upright and realized we were in the living room of a very nice house before the pounding in my head made me regret my sudden movement. “Where are we?”
“You’re safe,” he said as his anxiety bled away.
I narrowed my eyes. “Why do you look so freaked out?”
“You’ve been unconscious for over an hour. I was told you’d only be out for twenty minutes.”
The events that had led up to me blacking out came back in fuzzy detail. I swung my legs over the side of the sofa and stood. The room swayed, but I refused to sit back down. “You drugged me!”
He released a frustrated growl. “I told you I’d do whatever it took to protect you.”
“For your own purpose,” I spat out in disgust. “Don’t pretend to be noble.”
His face reddened. “I told you at the den that was my motive.”
I sat back down, my head feeling like it weighed a thousand pounds. “The den?”
“You walked into a literal demon den. You’re lucky you were still alive by the time I reached you!” he shouted, then turned and left the room.
Had I pissed him off enough to make him leave his own house, or wherever we were? No, he was made of sterner stuff than that. Abel did everything for a reason.
I closed my eyes and waited for the pain to pass. After several seconds, I opened them again and looked around. I was in a two-story high living room with a massive river stone fireplace standing in the center of the room. There were no walls around it. The living room opened to a dining room on the other side. The opposite wall, behind me, was comprised of nearly floor-to-ceiling glass that opened up the room to an expansive view of the shadowed Blue Ridge Mountains. The furniture was contemporary and pricey. This had to be Abel’s mountain house.
He came back a few seconds later with a glass of wate
r and a bottle of pills.
I shot an accusatory finger toward him. “If you think I’m taking anything you give me after what you just did!”
Releasing a heavy sigh, he took a long gulp of the water and then set both the glass and the bottle down on the coffee table in front of me.
“Was that your way of trying to convince me that it’s safe to drink? Need I remind you that the reason I was drugged in the first place was because you can’t die without me and St. Michael?”
He blinked. “What?”
“I already know you can’t die, Abel.”
He shook his head. “Not that. St. Michael. Did you make a deal with him while I was gone?”
I stared at him in disbelief. “St. Michael’s real?”
His relief was palpable.
I filed that piece of information away for later. “What happened to Elinor and the two men with her?”
“I don’t know.”
“You didn’t stay and help them?”
“No. I got you the hell out of there.”
“I’ve been trying to find her, Abel! I need to talk to her!” My shouting sent a fresh wave of pain through my head.
He sat on the coffee table and looked into my face as his own anger faded. “Why?”
“Because she knows things. She’s my cousin. We share a unique experience.”
His face softened. “You’ve done just fine on your own, Waboose.”
“I haven’t been on my own, no thanks to you. My actual friends have helped me, but Elinor shares something with me they don’t. Maybe she feels the same burden and guilt that comes with this role. It would be nice to talk to someone who understands. Sometimes it’s lonely.” I instantly regretted admitting any of that, but I was tired, and my head still hurt.
I couldn’t have this conversation with Abel. Not right now. He was the least sensitive, least understanding person I knew. I got to my feet. “Take me home.”
He grabbed my hand and gently tugged me down.
Tears welled in my eyes, which just pissed me off more. I didn’t have time for tears. Especially when I was with Kieran Abel. “It’s late. Where’s my phone? I’ll just call an Uber.” Then I looked down at my boots and panic shot through me. “Where are my daggers?”
“They’re safe.”
I held out my hand. “I need them. Give them to me now.”
“They’re with my weapons. You know how much I need you to have them, which means I’ll keep them safe.”
He was right. He’d been desperate for me to find them.
But I was still unbelievably pissed at him for drugging me and dragging me out of the den. I couldn’t believe I’d gotten so close to finding Elinor only for Abel to ruin everything. “What if the demons killed her?”
“She’s fine, and so are her men.”
“You’re just telling me that to placate me.”
“I’m telling you because it’s the truth. I had Rupert watch the warehouse after we left. The curse keepers and Professor Preston left about twenty minutes later.”
“Professor Preston?”
He gave me a blank look. “Her lover.”
“So one of those guys is the other curse keeper and the other is her boyfriend?”
“Who are we to judge?” he asked.
“I wasn’t judging. More power to her, especially since Caelius called them her harem.”
He rolled his eyes. “Caelius relates everything to sex.”
“Did they kill Caelius? Or find the Great One?”
“Doubtful for both, but I’ll know soon enough.”
“I still want to go home.” But it wasn’t exactly true. If Hudson was still out, I had no one to go home to other than a ghost. Elinor had two men by her side, and I was mostly alone. Sure, Jack had been a huge help the past two days, but before that he’d been MIA for two weeks, and while Huddy raised my spirits whenever he was home, he preferred a don’t ask, don’t tell policy when it came to my supernatural endeavors. Rhys, who had helped me with that part of my life, currently hated me.
Abel was quiet for a moment, then said, “I had a reason for wanting to see you tonight. I have a surprise for you.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What is it?”
He stood and walked around the coffee table. “You must be hungry. Come eat first.”
I started to protest that I didn’t have time for games, but my growling stomach insisted it was on board with this plan.
He led me around the massive fireplace into a large dining room that comfortably held a rectangular twelve-person table. Two plates, covered by metal domes, sat at the far end of the table, along with wine glasses and several lit candles.
Abel pulled out the chair on the side of the table and held it for me.
“If I didn’t know better, Kieran Abel, I’d think this was a date,” I said as I sat.
He pushed in my chair, then moved to the head of the table. “No, it’s a reward for your hard work these past two weeks.”
“You haven’t even seen what I’ve been doing.”
He grabbed a bottle of wine from the bucket beside his chair and wiped it off with a napkin as he sat down. “I’ve gotten daily reports.”
Daily? That seemed like overkill, but then, he’d had me followed before he’d revealed himself to me. No doubt he still had someone keeping an eye on me. “You were on the other side of the world.”
He glanced up at me with raised eyebrows. “You could feel that? I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but you can text and email people when they’re on the other side of the world.” He shot me a grin. “Sometimes you can even make phone calls.”
“Smart-ass. Why did the connection between us suddenly stop yesterday?”
He had a moment of hesitation, then said, “This.”
He held up his right hand, brandishing a gold ring with a black stone.
“A ring? You’re telling me that ring severed our connection? Did you realize that would happen when you put it on?”
A sheepish look stole over his face, and I understood.
“I see. You got the ring on purpose. To sever our connection.” I toyed with my fork, and tried to be all casual as I said, “How did you even know about this ring?”
He grabbed a corkscrew and started to open the bottle. “I’d heard of it before but never had need of it, and since it belonged to a very powerful family…well, all the more reason to leave it be. But after our connection…”
He’d gone all the way to Europe in an attempt to shed our connection. It shouldn’t have bothered me. I should have been relieved. But the thought left me feeling oddly hollow.
He hesitated, as if to choose his words carefully. “I found it distracting and decided to take the risk. But tracking the ring down took longer than I expected.”
“And how does it work?”
“The inherent properties of the stone are amplified by protective spells.”
“Spells,” I said. “As in witches?”
He popped out the cork, then poured some wine in my glass. “Is it so hard to believe?”
I shook my head slowly. Not after the day I’d had.
He stopped filling my glass and started to fill his own.
“So if our connection was severed, then how did you know where I was or that I was in trouble?”
“I had you followed, and when I learned you were at the warehouse, I went there myself to fetch you.”
My hackles rose. “Fetch me?”
He set the wine bottle in the bucket. “An unfortunate choice of wording, Waboose.” He picked up his glass and held it up. “To forging a partnership.”
I wrapped my hand around my glass but didn’t raise it as I held his dark gaze. “Is that what this is? A partnership to kill you?”
A slow grin lifted his lips and his eyes twinkled. “That’s the ultimate goal, but there are other perks I’ll enjoy along the way.”
“I’m not sleeping with you.” Even as I said the words, my body screamed in protest.
; He looked even more amused. “I don’t recall making the request.”
If it had been anyone else, I would have been horrified and humiliated, but this was Abel. I’d felt his lust and need through our connection. Multiple times. He wanted me as much as I wanted him.
“Nevertheless,” I said, lifting my glass only slightly, “I need to know what I’m agreeing to before I’ll toast.”
“I think we’ve established I have my useful moments,” he said, still holding up his glass. “I’ve decided to take a more active role in your demon-hunting activities.”
My mouth parted in shock, but I quickly recovered. “You’re going to help me kill demons?”
“Kill them? No. Only make sure you’re protected while you fight them.”
“Like tonight,” I said dryly.
He moved his glass closer to mine. “Will you accept my help or not?”
I reached over and pushed his arm down. “We have a few kinks to work out first.” But the contact—and the unfortunate timing of the word kink—sent a rush of desire through my blood.
His eyes became hooded, and I could feel his desire too, but his eyes twinkled with mischief. “Seeing as I found you chatting with the lord of sex magic, in the midst of an orgy, perhaps you do have some kinks.”
I jerked my hand away, bumping into my glass and almost knocking it over.
“Do I make you nervous, Waboose?” he asked in a husky voice.
“Yes,” I said, glancing up and holding his gaze. “There are too many unknowns with you. Too many secrets. Too many dangers.”
“You like the dangers.” It wasn’t a challenge—more like he was simply pointing out the truth, but he said it in a sexy voice that made parts of me ache.
I started to protest, but cut myself off and sighed instead. If I were honest with myself, I had to admit there was probably some truth to what he said. I wasn’t attracted to the danger, but it was an inherent part of my job description, and I wasn’t ashamed to admit I liked helping people—homeowners and ghosts alike. I liked feeling useful.
“You say you want to help me, yet you won’t kill demons. How do you plan on helping?” I pointed a finger at him. “And if you’re thinking about trying to drug me again if I don’t follow your orders, you better think twice. If I agree to let you take a more active role, there will be rules.”