“Not surprised. So how much of that was planned and how much was seat of the pants?”
“At a rough guess, about thirty seventy. Merce showing up was about forty percent of that seventy.”
Roberts’ response was enough to burn Erin’s ears.
“Can, ah, someone help me here?”
Grumbling the entire way, Roberts went to Matt and hauled him up. They staggered toward the door leading into the house.
“Erin?” Matt stopped Roberts in the doorway. “You okay?”
She couldn’t meet his gaze. “I’m fine.”
“I’m sorry about what I said.”
There was no way she could respond to that.
“Don’t linger out here,” he said as Roberts urged him into the house. “I don’t know how long it will take Asmodeus to drag Amaya back here. Don’t be alone when they come in.”
She nodded.
The men went into the house and Erin remained where she was, looking out into the night. She couldn’t think, couldn’t comprehend what had just happened. This was what always happened when Hawkins was around. Things moved so fast and were so crazy she was left behind gasping for breath.
In the remains of the circle, the ghoul stirred. It lifted its head, looked around, sighed and then curled up in a ball. Moments later, it was snoring.
That right there was everything wrong with Hawkins’ world. What normal person had to watch a ghoul sleep?
She couldn’t handle this. She was up and walking out of the garage, but not into the house. Outside, past Roberts’ Prado, to the street and turning toward her car.
A dark shape stirred in the gutter. Erin reached for her Glock, and remembered it was on the floor of the garage only when her hand closed over the empty holster.
“Erin.”
Erin rushed to Mercy’s side. The vampire tried to pull herself up, but her arms shook and gave out. She hit the bitumen hard. Erin reached for her but the small woman jerked out of the way.
“Don’t touch my blood,” she hissed. “Toxic.”
Shrugging out of her jacket, Erin threw it around Mercy’s shoulders. Suitably covered, Mercy allowed Erin to help her up. The vampire’s clothes were torn and her skin was grazed and broken. The dark eyes flashed between normal and silver. A shiver rocked Erin’s shoulders. She remembered what those silver eyes meant.
“Are the demons around? Are you going to go crazy on me?” Erin’s heart pounded frantically.
“Yes.” Mercy bit her bottom lip, her fangs stark in the night.
Erin took a fortifying breath. “Right now?”
Mercy snapped a feral grin. “Not right now.”
Body relaxing a little, Erin put her arm around Mercy. “Let’s get you back to Matt.”
Slowly, they made their way back to the house. Mercy’s main problem seemed to be a giant rent in her left calf muscle which made walking unaided impossible. Once they reached the light of the house, Erin saw some of the smaller wounds no longer existed.
Inside, Matt was on his stomach while Roberts wrung his hands over a vastly inadequate first aid kit.
Mercy drew Erin straight to them and she sat down beside Matt, looking his wounds over curiously. Eventually, she sighed.
“You do the worst things to yourself when I’m not around.”
“I try,” he said, voice soft.
“Want me to take care of it?”
Roberts looked up sharply. “I thought you weren’t going to do that anymore.”
“I’m not. Mercy, you’re not up to it. Why are you here? I told you to go home.”
Mercy shrugged. “And if I had, you would be much worse.”
“You’d be dead, actually,” Roberts said blandly.
“Whatever. But Merce, you can’t be here. Not now. You know what they do to you.”
She pouted. “But they hurt you.”
“Baby, they hurt you more. You have to go home. I can’t risk you.”
“Okay,” she said meekly. “I’ll go home.”
“Roberts can take you.”
Mercy and Roberts both protested. Matt stalled them with a weary sigh.
“Roberts, I need her to get home and you can fit the bike in the back of your car. Mercy, give him the blood fridge key and he’ll give you two bags when you get home.”
Grumbling, Roberts and Mercy agreed and slouched out of the house, equally bummed at being sent away. While Matt seemed to pass out, Erin went out with them and watched while Mercy lifted the big motorbike into the back of the 4WD. It fit, just.
“Erin?” Roberts came to her side. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Roberts didn’t look convinced. “Really?” he asked gently.
“I don’t belong here,” she said while Mercy clambered into the Prado. “I should never have come in the first place. I’m sorry for following you.”
“No one belongs here,” he said, tone dry. “But we’re here anyway. Shit happens and this is where you end up.”
Shaking her head, Erin said, “But demons and ghouls? How do you deal with all this?”
“Hard liquor, mostly. But you learn to trust Matt. Most of the time, he and Mercy get us out of the serious shit without too much blood loss.”
“Most of the time?”
“I added that on legal advice.”
Erin smiled to show him she was grateful for his attempt at cheering her, not that it had worked.
“Here’s another tip. When he says he doesn’t need a hospital, it means he really does. Get him to one ASAP, okay?”
“I’ll do my best, but…”
Roberts nodded his understanding, then got in the car. A moment later, he and Mercy were driving away, leaving Erin alone with a grievously injured man, a sleeping ghoul and two raging demons.
She should have listened to her doctor.
She went back to the garage and collected her dropped gun. The ghoul mumbled something and rolled over. Erin backed away, trying not to wake it.
“All alone, my lady?”
The warm caress of Asmodeus’ voice stopped her dead.
Fighting the sudden weakness in her legs, Erin managed to say, “Just the way I like it.”
He stepped out of the darkness beside the house. From one hand dangled the limp form of Amaya. Asmodeus let her drop and drew his great wings about himself, pulling in the deeper parts of the shadows.
Roberts and Mercy had left just in time.
“You do not belong in this world.” His deep blue eyes did not once leave her face. “You did not chose this. Not like the others. They had their chance to walk away but they chose not to.”
Erin forced her gaze off him and to Amaya. The demon lay motionless, her wings skewed, limbs twisted at odd angles. Matt hadn’t specified Asmodeus bring her back alive.
“I did not lie before. I can give you what you want.”
“And what exactly do you think I want?”
Asmodeus moved closer. Warmth radiated off him. “What you want,” he said, his voice low and intimate, “is for the pain to end.”
Erin shook her head.
“It is,” he whispered. “What you do not know, is how you want it to end.”
“Why are you doing this?” Her voice was shaky.
He smiled. “You want something I can give you.”
“Not anymore.”
“You are willing to let him die without doing every little thing you could to help him? Without trying even the most extreme measures?”
The words stabbed in deep but Erin should have expected that from a demon.
“What’s the point in discussing this? I can’t command you and Hawkins doesn’t think you can do anything to help my husband.”
The smile became a grin. “You cannot command me, no. But you can negotiate.”
Erin’s blood froze. “But Hawkins won’t…”
“Unless he commands me not to, he cannot stop me.” Asmodeus leaned close and whispered in her ear. “How about we keep our business to ours
elves?”
“What… what would you want in return?”
“Well, that is where the negotiation comes in.”
“I won’t break any laws.”
Asmodeus circled her, studying her, face pensive. His regard was like a soft touch, a hint of other things that happened in the dark and warmth. A shiver went down her spine and it was hard to tell if it was one of delight or disgust.
“The laws of your world or mine?”
“Both.”
“That does reduce the scope of our negotiations,” he mused. “This thing you want is not simple.”
Erin turned to keep him in sight. “I might give up my soul but I won’t give up my morals.”
“If I had a dollar for each time I heard that line. I thought you might at least be original.” He leaned in close. “And I am not interested in your soul.”
“You’d be better off if he was.”
Erin’s heart jumped. She spun and saw Kermit leaning against the wall not three feet away. From somewhere in his outfit, he’d pulled a cigarette and a lighter. He lit up and took a long suck on it before looking at them.
“Asmodeus, you still pinch too hard.”
“Afzal.” Asmodeus nodded once in greeting. “I had not heard you had moved to Australia.”
Blowing smoke rings, the ghoul shrugged. “Wasn’t my idea. Still, thought being here, keeping a low profile, might keep me safe from having to house your kind again. Especially you. I’m going to be walking odd for weeks.”
Asmodeus laughed a laugh that was not at all amused. “Now, if you do not mind, the lady and I have some business to complete.”
“Here’s the thing,” the ghoul continued as if Asmodeus hadn’t spoken. “I’ve got myself a nice home here now, good supply of food, I don’t get bothered by priests or sorcerers or bloody demons. But the saddest part is this one little fact. The reason I have a quiet life is mainly because of that man—” Kermit waved his cigarette in the general direction of Matt. “—lying in there. He’s a pain in the freaking arse, true enough, but he’s also protection for those of us who don’t cause trouble. He takes care of the big nasties before they can settle down here and disrupt the peace. Do you see where I’m going with this?”
Asmodeus shifted his wings, the sound of soft feathers brushing together a hint of music in the night. “You need him.”
“Not quite. I take advantage of him. But, thing is. He’s human. He’s touchy about things like mortality and his friends. The lady there is his friend. You screw with her and he’s not going to be happy.”
“My problem, not yours.”
Kermit dropped the cigarette, stubbed it out with his bare foot. “That’s where you’re wrong. Well, you’re right. It would be all your fault, but I can guarantee you this. Hawkins will make it my problem as well. I’ve seen him angry. Not a lot stands in his way and survives. In short, I can’t let you ‘deal’ with the wench.”
“Afzal.” There was disappointment in the Demon Lord’s voice. “Cannot let me? You know there is nothing you can do against me.”
“Once upon a time, maybe.” Kermit held up a hand. “Let me get ready first.”
The ghoul straightened to his full seven feet, cracked his neck, shook out his legs, stretched his arms and then ran into the house.
“Hawkins. Asmodeus is back,” he yodelled. “And he’s got the succubus with him.”
“Curse the little weasel,” Asmodeus hissed a moment before Matt called out, “Get in here, Asmodeus.”
Scowling, wings rustling like sandpaper on rock, the Demon Lord stalked past Erin, picked up the limp female and dragged her into the house.
Erin sucked in a long, relieved breath. How close had she come to doing something stupid? How close had she come to maybe helping William?
Erin went back inside. Matt was sitting up, but his face was scarily pale. Kermit was crumpled in a corner, looking like nothing more than a ragged pile of bones loosely covered in old, smelly leather, but for the big eyes. Amaya was on the floor, as carelessly tossed there as she had been dropped outside. Asmodeus stood behind her, legs spread, arms crossed, looking stormy.
“Are you able to bind her so she won’t escape when she wakes up?” Matt asked Asmodeus.
If she wakes up. Erin couldn’t see any signs of life in the fallen demon, though she didn’t really know what to look for.
“I can,” Asmodeus said. Gone was the suave, accommodating creature of previous. He didn’t like having his business interrupted, it seemed.
“Then do so.”
Air thick with tension, Asmodeus waited a full ten seconds before complying. He knelt, rolled Amaya over and, taking a strand of hair from his head, wrapped it around her wrists.
“I am her Lord and father,” he said, answering the unspoken question. “More than the physical hair will hold her.”
“How do I free her?”
Asmodeus’ face very briefly showed his surprise. “Cut the hair. You will be able to do so.”
Matt nodded, but said, “I meant from the other person who has summoned and bound her.”
“A bonding can only be broken by a second summoner of greater power. Or the original summoner must command the demon free of his or her control.”
“And a demon can have two summoners at once?”
“No. Only one person may summon a demon at a time. Should someone try to summon me presently, I will not answer their call. Unless they happen to be stronger than you. Then their summons will break yours and you will have no control of me anymore.”
“But Amaya…” Matt trailed off as he sagged forward.
Erin rushed over and caught him before he hit the floor. He was clammy and shaky, eyes unfocused.
“You’re going into shock,” Erin whispered. “I have to get you out of here.”
“Not yet,” he said. “Just give me a moment.”
Asmodeus flexed his wings. “Your strength is waning.”
“Watch him,” Kermit said from his corner, clearly meaning the Demon Lord. “He’ll test Matt’s strength. Try to break free.”
“Damn you, Afzal,” Asmodeus spat.
Before Erin could think the situation through, Asmodeus’ wings slammed out to their full width. The very tip of one caught Erin across her body. She fell backwards, away from Matt.
Matt gurgled a scream and Asmodeus laughed.
“You are strong, Night Caller, but undisciplined. You threw too much power into the circle. There is very little left to keep me bound.”
Asmodeus pulled his wings in tight, lowered his head and stared at Matt intently. Matt tried to glare back, but he could barely breathe. Sweat glazed his face and his hands were clenched so hard his knuckles were white.
Even as Matt faded, Asmodeus glowed. A blue light grew from his body, intensifying around his head and hands.
Erin knew the moment Matt lost. She almost heard the breaking of the bonds between him and the demon. Something wild and primitive roared through the room.
“This was not what I thought would happen,” Asmodeus said into the deathly silence that followed. “I did not think you would have the temerity to actually summon me. You were only supposed to find Amaymon’s summoner for me, Night Caller. Had you concentrated on that, all of this trouble—” He gestured to Matt’s weakened state. “—could have been avoided. Now I suppose I will have to find another way to discover Geraldine’s murderer.”
The Demon Lord spun around to leave. His eyes narrowed as he saw Erin standing in the doorway. She’d crawled around him during his speech, her mind fixated on one thought only.
“Move,” Asmodeus said. “Or I will leave through you.”
“No.” Erin planted her feet. “Let’s deal.”
Chapter 34
Between Erin speaking and me waking up, a lot of shit had obviously gone down.
The first thing I noticed was the demon, the girly one. Amaya, Lila, Princess of Lies, whatever the hell you wanted to call her. She was lying parallel to me, cur
led up on her side, looking about as miserable as a wet Persian cat. Her sapphire eyes stared at me but I wasn’t sure she saw me.
The second thing I noticed was that my back didn’t hurt so much anymore. There was a faint itchiness about it but no deep, muscle tearing, brain splitting pain. Fuck it, I still ached like I’d gone up against half a dozen vampires with a toothpick, but I wasn’t in much true pain. Of course, with burns, that’s not great news. Either my nerves were shrivelled and dying, or…
I pushed myself up on my arms. It was a shaky effort, but I got there. The demon’s gaze followed me so I guess she was with it after all. I sat up and very gingerly reached over my shoulder to touch my back.
“He healed you,” Amaya said softly.
My fingers found smooth skin. I looked at my arms. No wounds from the exploded door. Pokes at my face revealed similar results there. Curious, I stretched out my left leg and prodded my knee through my seen-much-better-days pants. Damn. Still wonky.
“She only asked that he heal the most immediate threats to your health. He could probably mend your knee, if you bound and commanded him. Or paid him enough.”
There was no one else in the room. Just us two.
Paid him enough.
Let’s deal.
Fuck!
I was on my feet and running before too many more thoughts clunked together in my head. The garage was a mess. Broken cat carriers, the smudged remains of the circle, cooled shards of metal, Kermit poking at dead imps.
“Where?” I demanded, not even sure of what I was asking.
Kermit, thankfully, seemed to know. He pointed.
She sat in the middle of the dark road, cross-legged like she’d simply reached an arbitrary spot and crumpled down.
At least Asmodeus didn’t have her.
I approached her slowly, my legs weak from more than physical exhaustion. She didn’t move, didn’t acknowledge me, just looked at her hands resting in her lap.
I sat down beside her. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Not the response I had been expecting.
“You didn’t have to—”
“I did have to. I don’t think you understand how badly you were hurt. Your whole back was raw. Even if there hadn’t been any nerve damage, it was the sort of burn that wasn’t going to heal very well.”
Night Call (Book 2): Demon Dei Page 30