I shifted awkwardly. I could see one of the streetlights in question outside the window, just off to my right, its damaged head drooping low. No, that wasn’t normal. The elements of chaos are slippery, difficult to rein in, always demanding freedom.
“Every demon worth his name knows something happened here, Muse, and you’re right in the middle of it.” He closed the distance between us with a single stride and swept a fallen lock of hair from across my eye. “You can’t come back here. I can’t lose you again.”
I fell into his eyes again, my body possessed by the hunger he roused in me. A shiver of power danced across my skin, and the fine hairs on my arms stood on end. He might look human, but that was where the similarity ended. The demon inside his male exterior burned with primal needs. It devoured, it stole, it consumed. He was all greed and desire, always hungry. And I knew his real name. Mammon, Prince of Greed.
It was the human in me that resisted him, always had been. Perhaps that’s why he’d saved me. To my knowledge, I was the only demon, half or otherwise, brave or stupid enough to walk away from him. Most cowered at his feet.
I found myself moving away again. As if in a slow waltz, we drifted about my apartment only to be irrevocably drawn back together again.
“You’re going out?” I squeaked, clearing my throat and cursing my female urges. Goddamn him. How was I meant to think clearly with this much power in the room? I planted both hands on the cool kitchen countertop, admiring the little red dress folded there, with its short ruffled lace hem. If he thought I was wearing that, he could go straight back to hell. Unless I could wear it with boots, of course.
“I was hoping you’d join me. A little human party I’ve thrown together.”
I turned my head, smiling. “I don’t think that’s wise. Do you? I’ve got a killer after me, not to mention all manner of demons who would like to take me down a peg or two, and you want me to party the night away?”
He raised an eyebrow and shrugged a shoulder, before retrieving the bottle of wine and beginning to search my cupboards, I assumed, for wine glasses.
“Nobody would dare threaten you in my presence.” He found the glasses and planted them in front of me. He tore the foil off the wine, paused as if briefly considering searching for a corkscrew before he decided not to bother and instead placed the palm of his hand over the cork, summoning it from the bottle with a satisfying pop.
I watched the red wine pool in the glasses as he poured. With a twist of the wrist, he straightened the bottle, and placing it on the side, he slipped the stem of a glass between his fingers and presented the drink to me.
“What do you want from me, Akil?” I smiled my thanks and took the glass. I’d asked him the same question many times over the years and had never received a satisfying answer. In my last few years by his side, I’d stopped asking altogether, but by then I’d stopped thinking for myself too.
“All I want is for you to be safe.”
“But why?” I tasted the wine, finding it satisfyingly warm.
He picked up his glass and tapped a finger on the dress. “Will you come?” His smile twitched as he saw me hesitate. “How long has it been since you really enjoyed yourself, Muse?” He leaned forward. “I mean all of you.” The delicious purr of his dulcet tones stole my breath.
What harm could it do? A human party, he had said. Nothing to worry about.
Leaving my wine on the countertop, I scooped up the dress, and casting him a playful smirk, I disappeared into my bedroom to change.
A party might do me some good, I thought. A chance to unwind, to forget my would-be assassin and the abrupt end to my normal life. Perhaps I could treat it like a farewell of sorts. One last hurrah before I stepped back into the world of demons and their devious machinations.
After dressing in the little red number, I checked my reflection, reaching behind me in an attempt to zip up the dress. I couldn’t do much about my pale complexion or the hounded look in my eyes, but with a little splash of lipstick, I might resemble a woman in control.
Akil’s reflection behind mine snatched a gasp from me. Before I could protest, I felt the press of him against my back. The aura of power that he wore wrapped its warmth around me as he trailed his fingers down the curve of my neck. I tilted my head to the side, my gaze locked on his, daring him to proceed.
He slid a hand around my waist. His palm pressed against my hip as he pulled me back against him. My own power unfurled, tentative ethereal tendrils reaching outward, entwining around him, through him.
He growled low in his throat and broke our stare by bowing his head. I couldn’t help leaning back against him while his lips trailed painfully delicate kisses down my neck. He slid the dress from my shoulder and nipped at my flushed skin, sending tremors rippling through me. The demon in me purred, slipping into my skin and spilling the heat of otherworldly energy across my flesh.
I heard him suck in air through his teeth, breathing in energy and felt his body quiver. I watched his reflection as he dragged his stare back up to meet mine. To know that he wanted me, a being born of magic and chaos, an ageless and powerful Prince of Hell, was all the excuse I needed.
He saw my acceptance, or felt it and turned me suddenly in his arms, pinning me back against the mirror. I laughed or growled or purred again. Either way, I was lost. He clasped my head in his hands. The sudden urgency made it difficult for me to breathe. I expected him to kiss me, for his mouth to hungrily devour mine. I knew where it would roam from there, the trail of wanton destruction it would leave across my body. I groaned for it, but he kissed me so gently, lips so frustratingly soft.
I snarled. His teasing just about drove me insane, and I lunged at him, tasting him, teasing him. Arms around his neck, I pulled him down to me, and this time he didn’t hesitate. When he drove me back against the mirror, the glass cracked. Hitching a leg around his thigh, I locked him against me, sinking my hands through his hair as his biting kisses skipped lower.
The phone in the kitchen rang.
He snarled something that didn’t sound human before finding my mouth again. My body baked in the heat rippling between us. Power spiraled around us like an entirely new force of nature. I knew what it meant to be lost in Akil, to forget the fragility of my human flesh and succumb to the overwhelming power he commanded.
The phone continued to ring, its shrill alarm sounding all the more persistent for being ignored.
Akil planted a hand against the wall beside me and met my stare. His dark eyes simmered with energy. An inferno raged within. He dragged every breath through clenched teeth, as though struggling to contain the energy broiling the air. I have to admit, it felt good to have him like that, knowing I could pull him back in. He might not be human, but the vessel he had chosen was, and I could give him one hell of a ride.
The phone cut off, and my recorded voice jabbered on about not being home, please leave a message.
I leaned into him and licked at his lips, teasing my tongue ever so gently between them.
“This is a message for Charlotte Henderson. Charlotte, I’m Detective Mark Bergin. We need you to come down to the station. We have a witness who’s given us a description of a man we believe to have been at your premises shortly before the explosion and… well… we would prefer it if we spoke to you in person. You need to call me back. This man is potentially very dangerous.”
I heard the detective’s voice chattering away in the other room as he left his message. I’d have ignored it, but the mention of a man I could only assume was Stefan instantly doused my desire. Akil must have sensed my distraction. With a resigned sigh, he leaned against me, his cheek resting against mine. The power we had summoned between us began to fizzle away, crackling and spitting its displeasure as it retreated. I felt its departure keenly and ached to have it back, but the moment was gone.
When he pulled back, the swirl of power I’d seen in his eyes had vanished, and his smile was a little despondent.
“Tonight,” he promised
. “After the party. We’re going to finish this.”
He said it like a threat, and my insides fluttered, a sliver of desire peeling the last little groan from me before Akil released me.
Chapter 6
Streetlights flickered on as Akil’s limo inched forward through the rush hour traffic. The car was so well insulated that, while I could see the city bustling by us outside, I couldn’t hear a thing. Throngs of people flowed back and forth over the sidewalks in their rush to get home. They had no idea one of the most powerful demons ever to have existed sat a few yards from them, behind the limo’s black privacy glass.
Akil relaxed in the seat opposite me, leaning an arm on the wrap-around shelf. His gaze slid across the anonymous people outside. Lost in thought, we had barely spoken a word since leaving my apartment. I felt the tug of desire every time I let my gaze linger just a little too long. Occasionally, he’d flick his dark eyes to me, and I’d see that hunger slumbering there. He didn’t need to speak to make me squirm in the leather seats. It took every ounce of my human stubbornness to stop myself from pouncing on him. My imagination worked overtime to supply me with the sort of images that brought a rush of color to my cheeks.
“Would you like me to accompany you?” He leaned forward to reach for the door.
The unimaginative blocky structure housing the police department loomed outside as the driver pulled the car to a halt against the curb. I peered through the soundproof glass at the entrance, reaching for the door handle. My fingers brushed his. A spark of energy bolted between us, providing enough of a shock for me to snatch my hand back.
He held my gaze. Words were superfluous against the wolfish grin on his lips. He opened the door, stepped out, and held it open for me.
It felt good to step from the car back into the bustle of city life. I breathed deeply, tasting the metallic residue of the city air on my lips. The clamor from the traffic grounded me firmly back in reality.
Akil looked at me as though waiting for an answer. It took me a while to remember what he’d asked.
I glanced up the steps at the police department doors. “No, I’ll be fine. Will you wait?”
“Of course.” He closed the car door and shrugged off his coat, before sliding the expensive garment around my shoulders. He hesitated, bunching the jacket together below my chin and looking down at me. His smile faltered, and the briefest glimmer of concern tightened his expression before he retreated to lean against the car. Despite the chill in the air, he wore only a shirt. The cold wouldn’t bother him. Such human afflictions rarely did, and yet something clearly concerned him.
I climbed the steps and entered the building, feeling somewhat over-dressed in my red cocktail dress and knee-high boots. In the cramped waiting area, plastic chairs lined one wall. A water-cooler butted up against the reception desk. I registered my arrival with the uniformed officer at the desk and asked for Detective Bergin.
I didn’t have long to wait. Detective Bergin introduced himself with a handshake firm enough to bruise. A big man at six foot plus, he towered over me. A barrel chest and booming voice declared him alpha, whether he knew it or not. He was the kind of guy people instinctively move out of the way for.
“Have a seat.” In an interview room, he gestured at the metal chairs before pulling one out from beneath the table and lowering his muscular bulk into it. The chair creaked.
The room was little more than a concrete box. A fluorescent light spilled a sickly glow on its four mauve walls. I couldn’t be sure whether it was the room or the man, but a slither of unease had worked its way beneath my skin.
“Thank you for coming.” His voice boomed far too loud for the small space we shared. He gestured again for me to sit, thrusting out a large calloused hand as though it was not a request but an order.
I planted a hand on my hip and stayed on my feet. “That’s okay. You said someone saw something at my workshop?” I didn’t want to stay any longer than necessary. I had a hot date, literally, and my distaste for the detective was growing by the second. His very presence left an odd taste in my mouth, like the gritty aftertaste of spoiled fruit.
“Yes.” He snatched at a thin file from the table and flicked open the cover. “Do you know this man?” He pinched an 8-by-10 color photo between his thick fingers and held it up for me.
It was Stefan. “No.”
The same distinctive red coat, but the image had been enlarged. The quality suffered because of it. In the photo, Stefan held something at his side, a sword perhaps, a very different one from the katana he’d brought to my workshop. With no identifying date or time stamps and a blurry background, I couldn’t be sure when or where the image had been taken.
“We have a witness placing this man outside your workshop minutes before the explosion. Apparently, he got into a red car. Do you know anything about that?”
“No.”
Bergin’s cracked lips peeled back over coffee-stained teeth in a mockery of a smile. “You don’t remember watching him leave prior to your workshop going up in smoke?”
I glanced at the door and back at Bergin. “Are you asking or telling me?”
He blinked slowly, leaning back in his chair and chomping his lips together as he deliberately raked a filthy gaze over me. “This man, he’s wanted for murder, numerous assaults, wilful destruction of public property, and more parking offences than you can shake a stick at, and yet he continues to elude us—not to mention destroying your place of work. So I was wondering if you might remember seeing him and whether you’d be kind enough to tell us where we can find him.”
“I don’t know that man. I’ve never seen him before in my life.” Why was he so insistent? Wasn’t I meant to be the victim here? I certainly did not like how he looked at me or how he implied I was lying. Despite the fact that he was right.
Bergin refused to look away as I deliberately pinned my stare on his. He might think he could bully me. In fact from the sordid gaze, I could tell he wasn’t thinking much beyond what lay beneath my dress. He had no idea what he was dealing with.
“Are you done?” My fingers twitched at my sides. I could spill a little power into my touch if I needed to. He’d wake with one hell of a headache.
He snorted a laugh. “You half-bloods are all the same.”
I looked away, plastering a grin on my lips. Apparently there was more going on here than a simple Q and A. Now that he’d revealed he knew me, we could cut to the chase.
He stood, the chair legs scraping across the floor, and steepled his fingers on the table before him. He bowed his head but kept his eyes on me, like a wolf hunched, ready to attack. “You think Akil can protect you?”
I summoned a little heat, pooling it in the palms of my hands. If he noticed any change in me, he didn’t show it.
“He’s not here now.” Bergin’s voice began to slur and grind his words, no doubt something to do with the elongated teeth cluttering his mouth.
Demon. I had no idea what sort, but knew I was about to find out.
The exit door stood at about the same distance away from me as Bergin. If I made a dash for it, the table between us would slow him down.
He straightened, muscles cracking as he shook off his human guise. The bulk of him shimmered indistinctly. My limited human eyesight blurred the full depth of his transformation, but I saw his form expand as though he’d gained a few more pounds in a few seconds. His flesh peppered with scales. His mouth and nose stretched outward, elongating into a snout. His curved fangs drooled saliva. A forked tongue flicked.
He hunched over, arms pinned to his sides as his body stretched. Scales latticed the length of him until nothing of the detective remained. The huge serpent reared up, mounting the table in one fluid ripple of its smooth body.
“I shall be rewarded…” Its hideous voice clawed through my thoughts.
I thrust a bolt of energy down my right arm and cast my hand out, lashing a whip-like tendril of heat across its scaled form, then sprinted for the door. I managed
perhaps two strides, before it slithered in front of me, blocking my path. Serpentine eyes blazed green. A black tongue flicked, tasting the air, forcing me back.
“You should be dead,” It quite literally hissed, spittle streaming from its fangs, but I heard the words clearly inside my mind. “…your throat cut the day you were born. That is our way. You are a monstrosity!”
“Look who’s talking,” I snarled.
I dipped my chin, looking up at the demon through hooded eyes. Thrusting both arms down at my sides, I summoned power, drawing it into me while the darkest part of me spilled into fragile flesh.
The serpent-demon rose higher, jaws opening into a glistening grin. It lunged forward as I threw everything I had at it. A furious blast of energy funneled through me, slamming into the beast with enough force for it to ripple backward, shaking its whiskered head with a wrenching scream. I backed up again, the power planting itself inside every limb, pooling in muscle, bolstering my fragile flesh. It rushed through me, a burning elixir spilling through my veins, bringing me to life. And this time it had a target.
I lashed out, casting a lance of power toward the layered scales of the thing’s chest. The blanching white heat passed through it, tearing a hole. The demon lifted its head and let out a keening cry that drilled into my skull.
I staggered. Its cry shattered my momentary enjoyment like shards of glass thrust into my skull. I had no choice but to cover my ears. It was no use. The cry resounded within me.
Hunched low, I willed it to stop. My power rattled about me, seeking a target but finding only chaos. I couldn’t focus, couldn’t hear, could barely breathe, and then it was gone. Like the snap of a light switch chasing away the plummeting darkness, it was over, and when I opened my eyes, I saw why.
Akil, or rather his true form, Mammon, stood before the serpent-demon. He had thrust an ethereal broadsword made entirely of an undulating electric blue light through the serpent-demon’s scaled body. The bloodied, intangible tip of the sword protruded from its skull. I stumbled, falling to my knees, as always, finding Akil’s true nature difficult for my human eyes to focus on. The suffocating weight of his considerable power filled the room. The overwhelming pressure of it crushed the air from my lungs. I forced myself to look at him, refusing to let weakness steal my consciousness.
Demons & Djinn: Nine Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy Novels Featuring Demons, Djinn, and other Bad Boys of the Underworld Page 147