The Vengeance Demons Series: Books 0-3 (The Vengeance Demons Series Boxset)

by Louisa Lo

  Grandma’s eyes narrowed.

  I blushed. And hated myself for it. So Grandma didn’t mean leaving hyper arousal out of the equation because it wasn’t a fair fight. She meant she knew what I was thinking when I thought about Pete, because she could read my mind and…

  My grandmother was able to read my lustful thoughts for this boy. Ick. I repeat, ick.

  “This man here is a freelancer.” Grandma kept a straight face, as if she had no idea Pete and I had met before or what was going on in my mind just now. Yeah, right. “We’ve done business in the past.”

  Grandma Aequitas, honorary and lifetime member of the Council, had done business with a shady mercenary before?

  Her eyes sparkled. “I’ve got to keep my ear to the ground somehow. His name is—”

  “Pete,” I supplied.

  “It’s Gregory, as a matter of fact.” Grandma coughed. “He’s a—”

  “Bastard,” Gregory offered with a smile. I could feel his eyes on me, as if trying to see if he’d shocked a reaction out of me.

  And surprised I was. That would explain the odd combination of his obviously highborn power signature and lowly occupation. The vengeance society was still very traditional in a lot of ways. Lots of doors would be closed to someone like him, which I bet contributed to his present career choice.

  Gregory was still looking at me. Being a pariah all my life myself, I knew the last thing he wanted was pity. I shrugged. “Hello, bastard. Meet freak of nature.”

  He threw back his head and laughed. “I like her, Lady Aequitas.”

  Grandma huffed. “Just do what you’re paid to do. You rascal.”

  “Which is?” I asked.

  “A safe passage to the bootlegged plane. Gregory is…friendly with the planeswalker demons.”

  “You mean he beat the crap out of one of them, found out which plane Esme is on, and got the portal code out of him?”

  “Please.” Gregory rolled his eyes. “I only resort to violence after diplomacy fails.”

  “And did it fail?”

  “Of course.”

  “So what’s the deal? Can we get going now? I’m ready.” I eyed Grandma’s elegant dress suit. “But I’ll wait for Gran to change.”

  Gregory shook his head. “I can only carry one of you. This being an illegal space, it has a narrow entrance on purpose. Two is a tight squeeze. Three is impossible.”

  “You should be the one to go.” Grandma covered my hand with hers. “Your bond with Esme is stronger than mine, and that will guide you to her. I’ll try to track down both Dan and Enid’s associates before they get away. Maybe they’ll know something of use. Now, Gregory, I need a moment with my granddaughter.”

  Gregory bowed—again, more mockery than true manners—and retreated downstairs. Grandma waited until he closed the door of the drawing room behind him.

  “You’re not going to warn me about him, are you? ’Cause that’s going to be embarrassing for the both of us.” I didn’t know if I could take an impromptu talk about bad boys and consequences.

  “No.”

  Awkward silence again.

  “Oh, okay.”

  “I just want to tell you that Serafina is staying to help me. And though she doesn’t know it yet, I intend to give her a token of my appreciation when this is all over.”

  I groaned. “What are you going to do, appoint her Student of the Year? That would isolate her even more, not less.”

  Grandma seemed a bit offended. “It might be hard for you to imagine, but I was young once, too. I did no such thing to Miss Advocatus.”

  “Then what?”

  “I failed her this semester.”

  “What! After all the help she’s given us, this is how you repay her?” I jumped.

  “Megan, that girl was returned to us barely a year ago. Her parents should never have pushed her to go to university this soon, and without the Advocatus name, it wouldn’t have happened. It’s time she does things at her own pace. You can’t succeed if you aren’t allowed to fail first.”

  Alright, I allowed, that was kinda wise.

  “Here, let me give you back the pendant.” As Grandma put the necklace back on my neck, I thought about the years that could’ve been. I heard a small sigh next to my ear. But when I turned back to see her face, there was only fierce pride on it, not wistfulness. “There, all good.”

  “Thank you.” I didn’t know what else to say, but she seemed to understand.

  “I do. But hurry now, I can feel Esme waking up. She’s terrified. I don’t need a scrying stone to know that.”

  ***

  “When you said carry, you meant it literally?”

  “As I said, it’s going to be a tight squeeze.”

  We were in Grandma’s drawing room, standing by a large potted plant with a five-foot-tall trunk and a manicured ball of leaves and flowers at the top. Gregory waved his hand over the thick trunk, and it doubled in width, stretching out to reveal a break in the fabric of reality.

  He crouched low on the floor, offering me his back. “You coming or not?”

  “I am not piggy-riding on your back.” It wasn’t so much as a yuck thing as an I-don’t-want-to-be-caught-sniffing-his-shirt thing. A girl had to preserve her dignity.

  “Correct as you may be about my lifestyle, this isn’t about me trying to cop a feel.” Gregory let out an exasperated sound. “Even with the right code, the entrance has an erosive, magic-robbing barrier I have to plow through. The closer you are to me, the more likely my protection is going to hold.”

  “Fine.”

  I’d already said goodbye to Grandma in the hallway. All my gear was checked and double-checked. I had to get to Esme. So onto his back I climbed, resisting the urge to pull on his midnight blue wings for support.

  Even through his suit, I could still feel the heat of his body and the hardness of his muscles as I squeezed my legs against his middle. Everywhere my body pressed against his was toned and well-defined. If he’d gotten that body through faery dust steroids, then he hadn’t skimped. But I had a feeling he’d worked out the old-fashioned way, as a mental image of him fighting a planeswalker demon came to mind.

  When he placed his hands on the back of my ankles and pulled me higher onto his back, I couldn’t help but draw in a breath of surprise. He might have a gentleman’s genes, but his hands were large and callused. A workingman’s hands. The feel of them on me, the closeness of him and his scent, a mix of sweet sandalwood and bitter oak bark, was wreaking havoc on my already frayed nerves. Add a little disgust at my own reaction into the mix, and it made me want to kick something.

  Save the shame for later. Esme needs you right now.

  Before I could collect myself, Gregory put his left leg into the trunk of the potted plant, then his right. My skin tingled when I entered the threshold, then the pins and needles ballooned into an intense burning sensation, engulfing every inch of my flesh. I cried out in pain.

  “Hang on, we’re almost through.” Gregory tightened his hold on me when I started sliding off him. “Come on, tough girl, just a few seconds more.”

  Then the heat was gone, and cool air hit me like a splash of water. Instead of being refreshing, the effect was like rubbing salt on a fresh wound.

  Gregory gently laid me on the floor. “Hey, you alright?”

  “It…hurts…”

  “It’ll pass in a moment.”

  And it did. The pain came fast, but also left fast. I braced my body on my elbows, blinked, and found myself facing a box full of miniature figures. Warriors with badass swords and scantily clad women with as much boobs as menace.

  “Looks like we’ve come to the right place,” Gregory said dryly.

  I struggled to my feet, brushing off a smear of paint on my shoulder from a still-wet figure left drying on the floor. “I think you’re right.”

  Our landing spot on this plane was supposed to be the backroom of a games and hobby shop just a little off campus. Judging from the impressive collection o
f comic books, board games, and trading cards, we were on the right track.

  “And this is where I leave you.” Gregory gave me another one of those mocking bows. “I’d say it’s because you need to go on this journey on your own, blah, blah, blah. But the truth is, here is as far as I’m willing to go. This is the tipping point in what is called acceptable risk in my business.”

  “But…” I hated the faint note of pleading in my voice, but I couldn’t help it. I was scared. On my own in a strange plane. “Sure, you taught me how to get back. But what about that erosive barrier? How am I supposed to get through that on my way out?”

  “There’s no barrier in leaving, just going in. Think about it, would they place bouncers at a club’s exit?”

  “Fine!” I bit out, heading towards the door.

  “Alright. This one is on the house,” Gregory said as I passed him. “Male.”

  “What?”

  “Your glamour.” He shook his long brown hair, as if he couldn’t believe he was saying what he was saying. “Set it to male for the next minute.”

  “Why?”

  “This plane is occasionally patrolled by succubus. They don’t come out much, but any ripple of excitement would be like blood to a shark.”

  “Oh.” I was in a nerd store. A girl in a form-fitting outfit. Talk about not attracting any attention to myself. I transformed myself into a dude who would look right at home in a place like this.

  So that was the last mental image I’d left with Gregory. A baseball hat on my head, baggy Spiderman tee, my curves turned into man boobs, and a hairy bum sticking out from a pair of unwashed jeans.

  I prayed that he’d feel at least a fraction of an attraction towards me. A fraction would be enough to totally gross him out.

  Ha.

  I made my way out of the games and hobby shop, past a D&D session in full swing, and not a single soul batted an eye.

  Not that these cardboard humans had actual souls. But still.

  Midway to the campus boundary, I hid in an alley between two school buildings and changed my appearance from Mr. Comic Book Guy to that of Enid. It took a lot more magic to imitate a real person than a fictitious one, especially in the presence of those I sought to fool, as the essence and energy signature had to be bang on. I relied on a little trickery charm called the Lookalike. I’d perfected it in grade school, pretending to be a teacher and scaring the crap out of my bullies.

  It’d gotten even more fun after they’d figured out the ruse. Once, a tormentor of mine kicked a real teacher, thinking she was me. Oops.

  As I passed by a convenience store catering to resident students, I stopped and took in my new reflection in its glass windows. I now looked a hundred percent like Enid, from her tight hair bun to her classic navy Chanel suit.

  Now that I was on campus, where should I go from here?

  I closed my eyes and muttered the most powerful weapon I had, handed directly to me from Enid herself during our final confrontation.

  The name of Esme’s captors.

  There was great power in knowing a name. It was a fair trade, considering she’d been busy killing me at the time.

  “High Monks of Greys, High Monks of Greys,” I said repeatedly, allowing the name to seep into my very being and letting it guide me.

  Hart House. Second floor.

  Hart House. Figured. There were plenty of elegant rooms there that would be perfect for a secret society to conduct business in. I went to the building, ran upstairs, and tried to check out the East Common Room, an alcove space with candle wall sconces and refined coffered ceilings. I opened its double doors.

  And walked into a wedding.

  Lucky for me, all eyes were on the incoming bride, and I slipped out without causing a stir. I should be glad it wasn’t a chapel. No, thank you. Just in case there was a chance that I’d burst into flame like in one of those bedtime stories every demon child had heard since infancy.

  The Debates Room.

  The bootleg version of the school was a true to reality copy. With the human summer holidays in full swing, there weren’t a lot of students milling around in the hallway. Good, less potential for attracting excitement.

  There were voices on the other side of the Debates Room, and I recognized them as belonging to those I was looking for.

  I opened the door to yet another majestic room with coffered ceiling. Seriously, after this ordeal, I would stare at exposed concrete walls and IKEA furniture for a year.

  Three figures at the center of the room turned abruptly upon my arrival, their hoods not drawn up like they’d been at our last meeting. I noted the fine cashmere their robes were made of, the platinum collar links. The Off-Blacks were right. These were not the simple-living kind of monks.

  Beside the three in attendance was Dan Pillar, his clothing no less expensive than that of his supernatural masters.

  “Greetings, Damarion, Taurean, and Kameron.” The names just came out of my mouth. Sometimes the Lookalike charm offered bonus points if the pretender had a personal connection to the person he or she was pretending to be. Guess nothing bonded like a would-be murder. My would-be murder. The shock on the monks’ faces almost made Enid’s attack, which made the knowledge of their names possible, worthwhile. Almost.

  I ignored Dan like any egoistic species-intolerant bigot would.

  “What do you want, Enid?” Damarion demanded. Underneath the anger, there was a trace of fear in his voice. This was the same guy with the talon-like hands I’d mistaken as fake props the last time. I was happy to see some self-doubt in him. He’d seemed just too indomitable in my nightmares since the Shadow World encounter.

  I just hoped he wouldn’t try to fling me again.

  “I’ve got the harp,” I said with the cold triumph of a cobra, a tone the real Enid would employ. Inside, I felt like there was a squadron of army ants biting through my stomach lining, but I couldn’t allow it to show. I kept my heart rate as normal as I could, my shoulders relaxed.

  “No,” Taurean breathed.

  Sensing all was not well, Dan took a step back without trying to look like he was on retreat.

  “That’s right.” I covered the quivering of my lip by twisting it into a sneer. “That stupid Megan girl thinks she’s working with me. She trusts me. So the harp is currently in my possession, and your witless kidnapping scheme won’t lure her out. Now, to keep my unsuspecting little pet happy for our big plan, you have to let Esme Aequitas go.”

  “Are you making a claim for leadership? Is that why you’re here? I thought we agreed we’re all equals in the serving of our master,” Kameron said bitterly. This harp thing must be very important. The three monks looked like they’d want nothing more than to fry me on the spot, but nobody made a move. I started to think that I might just make it out of here alive.

  I decided to plow my way through the questions. Luck was on my side; I could feel it. “Don’t be a fool. There’s a hierarchy in every plane and every level of society. Hand me the girl. The sooner we do that, the sooner we can bring back Absolute Evil.”

  I realized something was wrong a second after the words left my mouth, because the High Monks went deadly silent. Then they weren’t so defeated-looking anymore. They straightened and started crowding me, surrounding me at every angle. Even Dan, who, like me, wasn’t exactly clear on what my mistake might have been, leaned closer.

  “Say it again,” Damarion asked, real quiet-like. He flexed his long fingers. I did mention he was the guy with the talon-like hands, right?

  “What do you mean?” I tried to sound as arrogant and authoritative as possible. “You heard me the first time.”

  “Say it again.” Damarion gave me an awful smile, and my heart sank. “The sooner we hand you the girl, the what?”

  “The sooner we can bring back Absolute Evil,” I couldn’t help but answer. They’d already heard it once, after all. Er, Lady Luck, are you still there?

  “Absolute Evil? Are you certain? The first sacred duty of th
e Greys is to bring back Absolute Good, not Absolute Evil. Enid and I might have many professional differences, but even she wouldn’t get that wrong. So I guess I should say, ‘Hello, Megan.’”

  Dan’s lips curved. “Ah, we meet again. Was the last time not enough?”

  Dammit! How could it be that not only the Off-Blacks, but the rest of the supernatural world, had gotten it wrong when it came to this blasted secret society?

  The Greys thought they were on the side of the good guys. Heck, they thought they were the good guys. From the fanatic gleam in the eyes of the men in a tight formation around me, I could see that they genuinely believed in their own goodness, even while they were doing nasty things. That was inherently more dangerous than aspiring to be badasses while cuddling and playing dress-up with kittens.

  What was my Plan B again?

  Chapter Sixteen

  “I DON’T HAVE THE HARP. You know that, right?” I’d reverted back to my own appearance, as there was no point in keeping up the pretense anymore.

  I was tied to a disgusting wall covered with glowing slime in some basement dungeon. How clichéd was that? Oh right, I was in the company of a group of crazy, elitist vengeance demons.

  “I never thought you did,” Damarion nodded when Dan finished the final touches on my knots. “You’re going to be part two of my double bait.”

  I cursed inwardly. I’d never considered that, and neither had Grandma. We’d totally played into their hand.

  “Soon my master will reenter this world and burn away all its wickedness. No more impure scum. No more morally ambiguous Cosmic Balance.” Damarion stroked his knuckles in fanatic excitement.

  “C’mon, this ain’t a bad world to live in. The system is in place for a reason.”

  “You’re loyal to the Council, after all they’ve put you through?”

  “‘Loyal’ is a strong word. It’s a matter of relativity. The Council might be old-school and nepotistic, but I’d take them over crazy idealists any time.”