Demon Rogue (The Half-Demon Rogue Book 1)

by Erikson, D. N.

  “Kalos Aeon,” she said, her sonorous voice flitting across the static-y connection, “It is a pleasure.”

  I explained the situation.

  “That will be expensive,” she said. “But for you, Kalos, I can make an exception.”

  “So it’s free, then?”

  “I wouldn’t go that far,” Delphine answered with a curt laugh. “The toll will be hefty for what you require.”

  “Tomorrow at nine o’clock,” I said. “Don’t be late.”

  “I never am.”

  That was what I was counting on.

  When I hung up, a more familiar number flashed across the screen.

  Nadia needed my help at the Trusted Steed Inn.

  She didn’t have to ask twice. I floored it out of the desert, the starry night winking at me as I drove on the lonesome road.

  20

  I knocked twice on the motel room door. The faded cobalt curtain moved slightly. I heard the deadbolt unlatch, then two other locks for good measure.

  “You’re alone, right?” Nadia said, her green eyes scanning the lot nervously. Other than a rusted out van, my heap of junk was the only vehicle present. “You weren’t followed?”

  “No,” I said. I tapped the .45 in my waistband to show that I could protect her if shit hit the fan. No reason to announce it was empty. She didn’t move out of the doorway. “We gonna do this out here, or you want to let me in?”

  She offered me a strange look, like she was reconsidering my involvement. Then, with a long sigh, she shrugged and opened her hands.

  “Welcome to my new home.”

  “Cozy,” I said, looking at the sagging twin bed up against the wall and the chipped sink. A single fluorescent bulb hung from the ceiling. This place wasn’t going to get high reviews on Yelp. But I had a feeling people who knew how to use the internet didn’t frequent fleabags of this variety.

  I took the one chair in the corner with the faded upholstery and pulled it up.

  “Sit,” I said, gesturing at the bed. “Tell me what’s on your mind.”

  “I don’t get you, Kal,” Nadia said, her long black hair sweeping over her shoulders as she shook her head. “You’re a dick, but then you come running…”

  “It’d take a lot of whiskey and a lot of time I don’t have to explain.” I adjusted my pants so that the nose of the .45 wasn’t digging into my side. When I moved, I noticed how feeble my grip was. The bloodlust had taken its toll on me, and the antidote, while powerful, wasn’t a cure-all. My strength was ebbing at the very moment I needed it to be most powerful.

  And for some reason, I couldn’t stop coming when this woman called.

  “Did you find out anything about my mother’s necklace?” Nadia refused to take my suggestion to sit, instead choosing to pace about the tight room like a caged animal.

  “It’s on the list,” I said. “Been a hell of a couple days.”

  “You know, Kal,” she said, a sudden fire bursting through her tone, “if you wanted to talk to me, you could’ve just done it yourself. Instead of having your friend come out.”

  “I don’t understand,” I said, feeling like I had walked into a trap. With hundreds of years with Isabella under my belt, I should’ve known better than to trust a woman. But after living this long, predicting them was about as easy as divining the future from the stars.

  Some things in this universe were just inscrutable. Or maybe I was just an idiot.

  Never rule out the possibility of personal error.

  “Gunnar, is it?” She stomped over to the tattered dresser and yanked the top drawer open with enough force to bring the whole place down. “He brought you this.”

  A leather book hit me in the face before I could react. It tumbled to the floor with a dusty thud. I reached for it, but then my phone started buzzing like it was having a seizure. Distracted, and torn between three simultaneous stimuli, I went Pavlovian and took the device out.

  Gunnar: where are you? The dog found something in the journal.

  Gunnar: Kal, you need to see this. World in danger.

  Gunnar: The dog thinks the girl was wearing one of these amulets. Talk to her.

  Gunnar: If you do not answer, I am finding the girl and giving her the book.

  Gunnar: I am finding the girl. Perhaps you will respond to her texts quicker.

  I slumped back in the chair, holding my head. The bunker had delayed the text messages, throwing a monkey wrench into the technological system. And so, here I was, about to open another can of worms that I just didn’t have the time or energy for.

  “…Goddamnit.”

  “Some response,” Nadia said. “What the hell is going on?”

  “A question I’ve been asking a lot lately,” I said.

  “This book, it has drawings and ancient text of my mother’s necklace.”

  “The Journal of Annihilation,” I whispered, eying the leather journal like it was a grenade.

  “What’d you say?”

  “Nothing,” I said. Time to think fast. So I came up with the best idea that I had. “I can find out more about the necklace.”

  “By reading the book?”

  “Not quite,” I said, reaching for my phone. The way I saw it, Gunnar owed me for springing this new problem on me. That was kind of faulty logic, but the bloodlust was still fresh, and I was slightly delirious from exhaustion.

  He answered, and I explained that I needed a divinator. Immediately.

  “That is a tall favor,” Gunnar said. “But I believe I know a woman.”

  “Good,” I said, and then cupped my hands over the receiver. “I’ll be over in an hour.”

  “The police are lurking, Kal,” Gunnar said with utmost sincerity. “It is unwise.”

  “That’s my trademark.”

  I finished the call and smiled at Nadia.

  “You want answers?”

  There was some hesitant on her face, but she said, “Yes.”

  “Then let’s go.”

  I picked up the Journal of Annihilation. All things considered, I should’ve probably read it. But I was never a bookworm. More the take action now type.

  We headed out to the car.

  Or where the car was supposed to be.

  In its stead was a hulking mass of smoldering metal.

  “Must’ve left the engine running,” I said with a cheer I didn’t feel. My eyes turned to the busted up van. “What’s one more crime?”

  It took a little effort to tug Nadia away, but we got in the van okay.

  After a couple minutes of hotwiring, we were in business.

  “Buckle up,” I said.

  “Who are you?”

  “I’ll tell you when I know,” I said, and mashed the accelerator to the ground.

  21

  I understood what had happened, but I kept my lips sealed during the ride over to Lux. Athena, when she had reassembled the Cutlass the day before, had cast some sort of time-delay destruction spell. Basically, if the car was still in or around Inonda, the sedan would self-immolate.

  It was beginning to be difficult to discern where the next attack would come from. My money was on her for killing Charon, but a gut instinct screamed that plenty of dark horse candidates remained.

  I needed to go back to the beginning. To the werewolves bred with light essence. That was where this whole clusterfuck started. I’d overlooked it to this point because I’d been too busy not dying, but that was a strange undertaking that represented a seismic shift in Sol Council policy.

  It could also explain why Athena, if she was indeed the kingpin, had displayed her own change of heart. Times were changing.

  I ditched the van around the corner to Lux. Somewhat shiftily, I scanned the landscape. No cops out here, but it could just be the patrol was on break.

  “They want
you for a crime?” Nadia said.

  It was a joke, but it didn’t feel that way. “Murder.”

  “Maybe I shouldn’t be hanging out with you.”

  “That would be wise,” I said. “But answers have their price.”

  The trip to the blues club was uneventful. I held the door open, and Nadia gave me a little curtsy. I think it was sarcastic, but given the circumstances, I would take any nice gestures I could get.

  Gunnar had cleared out Lux for us, which was more than I could have expected, given the short notice. Some part of me was warm and fuzzy about it. Nadia eyed the smoky interior with some trepidation.

  “Is this really the place?” she said, significant doubt in her voice. “It’s just a blues bar.”

  “Don’t let Gunnar hear you say that.”

  “He seemed pretty relaxed.”

  I tried to give her an easy smile, but that was difficult. What I managed was a kind of grimace, which was hardly reassuring. I would have to work on that later. Right now, I had bigger problems.

  “It’s the place,” I said. “What do you think?”

  “It’s kind of dark,” she said, in a voice that melted my insides. Looking around, she had a point. I’d been here enough times that, really, I was used to it. But for a newcomer—particularly one not familiar with the occult—Gunnar’s place had quite the strange ambiance. Blue light filtered out at strange angles.

  Even to a mortal, the blues lounge gave off an otherworldly vibe. Stone countertops on the bar, with medieval chains hanging from the ceiling. A skull sitting next to the liquor and tobacco lining the shelves. Feudal age touches, melding with a classy ‘50s juke joint aesthetic.

  I don’t know how, but it worked.

  “I knew that guy, once,” I said, nodding toward the skull. But it was true. I knew who it belonged to. One reason I’d remained friends with Gunnar so damn long was because he was a scary motherfucker. “A long time ago.”

  “Funny, Kal.” But the color had blanched from Nadia’s caramel cheeks, almost matching the skull’s color. No words passed through her perfect lips. This was a time where, I guess, a normal man could reassure her, put a hand around her bare shoulder and whisper everything will be all right.

  But let’s be serious.

  Magical powers or no, I couldn’t promise that. With the forces swirling around Inonda the past couple days, I couldn’t even guarantee my own safety.

  And I might be a lot of things, but I’m not a man who makes promises his ass can’t keep.

  I took the necklace out. The large ruby glittered in the soft candlelight. Gunnar was even considerate enough to leave the lights on for us. I’d have to thank him next time I saw him.

  If there was a next time.

  “Just stick close to me,” I said. Like that would make everything okay. One thing I’ve gotten good at over the centuries is bullshitting. Her shoulders relaxed, and her grip around my hand got a little looser. That was a good sign.

  Hell, she had every reason to be nervous. I was, too. Rule number one of being a magical lone wolf: avoid unnecessary friendships. Favors, especially. Goddamn, do you not want to owe some magical bastard a favor.

  I was racking up quite the tally, these past couple days. Who knows what this divinator would want to divine the providence of this precious artifact. It’d be a regrettable tab to settle, though. Thousand-year-old wisdom, right there. And you can take that to the bank.

  I ducked beneath the counter and pointed at the wall.

  “You ready,” I said. “You look a little...”

  “What?”

  “Scared.”

  This got the right reaction. Her nostrils flared, and she said with girlish annoyance, “Am not.”

  Better pissed than scared. I grinned and nodded at the liquor bottle. “I can do the honors, or…you know, it’s your rodeo.”

  This made her back off a little bit. “I—he’s your friend.”

  If only she knew who me and my “friends” really were. That truth came out, this beautiful girl from South Texas wouldn’t be within a hundred miles of any of us. But she’d asked, and part of me couldn’t resist.

  “Might be helpful to know what you really want, before we go down there.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean? I told you. Any information about it.”

  “You must’ve read the journal,” I said, my tone going serious. “That confirms your magical theories, doesn’t it?”

  We could go further down that road when the time came. For now, I just needed her not to bullshit me.

  There was a long pause. “Your point?”

  “Tell me what you really want.”

  “I need to know who killed her,” she said in a fierce whisper. “That’s what I want.”

  How do you tell anyone you won’t help them find their mother’s killer? Maybe I could build up a little karma that would help me tomorrow. Then again, Zen and all that noise only goes so far.

  I shook free of her grip and vaulted the stone counter. The smooth move cost me a more than a little pain, but I shrugged it off.

  I gripped the bottle of Tennessee whiskey and gave her a wink. “No turning back.”

  Then I pulled hard, and the entire shelf shifted on its axis. The counters quivered slightly, and I saw the second thoughts flash through Nadia’s emerald green eyes. Then the gears quit grinding, and a passageway revealed itself.

  I’ll admit to being slightly stunned. In all the years I’d lived in Inonda, this was the first I’d seen Gunnar’s secret tunnel.

  With an outstretched hand, I beckoned her to come closer. “You came this far.”

  Nadia stood, rigid, her high-heeled leather boots seemingly glued to the floor. “I—I…”

  I’m no good in these types of situations. Give me a party girl, or one with questionable morals, and I’m totally able to function. Hell, I thrive—and so do the women. Everyone understands what they’re getting out of the deal. A good time, and a few minutes of regret and self-loathing in the morning.

  But the ones you want to actually see the next day…

  Damn, man. You’d think I’d have it figured out after this long. All that it gets easier shit is just radio static.

  After a too long pause, I ducked back under the counter and came closer to her. Nadia’s breaths were clipped, like a game animal cornered in a situation with no way out. Magic can do that to someone who isn’t experienced. I’ve seen it enough to know.

  Hell, sometimes I’ve been that guy.

  Sometimes I’ve just known that guy.

  Her cheekbones, painted with just the right amount of blush, were scrunched up around her eyes. It wasn’t quite fear, but a genuine questioning of her life to this point.

  What the hell had led her to such a ridiculous juncture?

  It was a fair question.

  So, like the suave bastard I am, I said, “You coming or not?”

  In a voice far stronger than I anticipated, Nadia replied, “I need to know what happened.”

  Surprising even myself, I offered her my hand. “I’m right here.” The words didn’t taste right in my mouth. Most things don’t, when you’re trying them on for size. It wasn’t the right fit for me.

  But she said, “Thanks.”

  And we took exactly one fucking step forward before the whole damn building shook.

  I had just enough wherewithal to scream, “Get down,” and dive to the floor before Lux was torn off its foundation, spinning around us like a damn tornado in Kansas.

  22

  “You will give me what I seek, Kalos Aeon,” Isabella cried through the night, her voice coming from all angles as the blues lounge swirled above us. Bricks and studs loosened from the structure, banging against each other in the chaos. “You had the spear the entire time!”

  Perfect timing. Add
one disaster to another and—surprise—you got something verging on the apocalypse.

  If I didn’t put a stop to this quick, both Nadia and I would be toast. Hell, it was a miracle Isabella hadn’t dropped Lux back on our heads already.

  I was going to owe Gunnar a lot of favors for this incident.

  My thoughts briefly went to the divinator in the basement, but it’s hard to have pity for people I didn’t know. And let’s be honest: most magical creatures abuse their powers. So, in my mind, I wrote her off as a dick, and that made the loss easy to swallow.

  “Halt,” I screamed into the tempest, but the winds refused to abate. If Isabella was smart, she was far away from the storm’s eye. Stopping it at the source, then, would be impossible.

  We’d have to ride it out.

  I brought Nadia under the fold of my jacket—as if that would do something—and yelled, “It’ll be okay.”

  Her fingernails dug into my chest, hard enough to draw blood.

  I cursed Isabella and Marrack for being many steps ahead—given the attack by the Vanished, and the ambush in the forest, I should’ve realized they had eyes on me. How had they found where I was so quickly?

  I looked at the trusty .45 in my belt. Upon closer inspection, a faint aura trail, almost imperceptible, came from the gun’s stock. The tell-tale sign of a magical beacon.

  Thing might as well have had GPS.

  I chucked it into the storm, and it was sucked away.

  Focus, Kalos.

  A mortal was about to die because of my sloppiness. And while it wouldn’t be the first time, seeing those you actually liked expire was never good for the soul.

  Amidst the gusting wind and spinning debris, I shouted, “We need to get out of the storm’s eye.”

  Nadia nodded, her black hair billowing around her face. It would look elegant, like a movie, if we weren’t about to die.

  Isabella’s voice thundered over her magical intercom again. “You will tell me the spear’s location, or else the girl will perish in a hail of fire.”

  A little Old Testament for my tastes.

  And Isabella Kronos’ magical expertise was more wind-based. But I got the message.