by Misty Evans
I was more confused now than I had been when I entered his room. I crossed the floor and laid a hand on his shoulder. Awkward, but necessary. “Damon, talk to me. Tell me what’s going on with you and Lucifer. If you’ve made a suck-ass deal, I’ll get you out of it. I know his girlfriend, remember? I have leverage. I can threaten her. I’ll…I’ll…find a way to sic Maria on her if Lucifer doesn’t want to negotiate.”
He stiffened under my hand. “You have no leverage with Satan. None of us do. A deal with him is iron clad.”
“What deal? What did you promise him?”
Facing me once more, he touched my face, running a finger down my cheek. “The time has come for us to pick a side. Who will you fight for, Kali? The angels or the demons?”
“I fight for humans. So do you.”
His hand dropped to his side. “Not any more, I’m afraid.”
“Damon.” I took a step back, my voice low and concerned. “What have you done?”
He smiled a joyless smile. “Made a deal with the devil. A deal neither of us can break.”
Chapter Thirty-eight
Shit rolls downhill. I seemed to be at the bottom.
Whatever Damon had promised Lucifer, it was my fault. He’d done it to protect me.
I drove through the streets of Chicago, my mind a salad spinner of ideas. Damon never showed emotion outside of annoyance and irritation. He never cursed. Aside from his deal with the devil, there was something else causing him to act so weird. A sure bet Valentina had her hand in it, whatever it was.
Therein lay the problem. I didn’t know what had happened to Damon after I left Castle Fierce Warrior. I didn’t know what deal he’d negotiated with Lucifer on my behalf. Without answers to those questions, I couldn’t form a solid plan of attack against either.
The quiet time in the car calmed my nerves. It did little to calm my mind. I kept hearing Damon’s protection spell whisper angel in my ear. I drove past Sweet Investigations and considered asking Sophie if it were true. Pointless, that. She’d already told me I was a demon.
When my mind started playing the same soundtrack in my head for the third time, I turned on the radio. Muse was singing about an uprising. I sang along.
The music was interrupted by a news story. I wondered who was listening at four-thirty in the morning besides me.
Officials report gangs on the South Side clashed around two this morning. Rioting broke out in South Deering and a group of Polish-Americans from Archer Heights descended on Morgan Park and set fire to cars, homes and the property of several Irish-Americans. Officers responding to the attacks and riots were driven back. SWAT Teams and the National Guard have been called in. Sixteen people are reported dead. Forty-nine injured. No arrests reported yet. Officials have no comment and eye-witness accounts give little insight into the motives behind these senseless attacks.
Lovely. Sounded like another Horseman had arrived.
War.
The South Side is a big place, and within its borders are a lot of ethnic and economic diversity. The cliques of different ethnic groups are no different here than any other big city. Conflict between groups is nothing unusual. During my drive, I hadn’t seen the rioting because I’d headed north.
I needed to refocus on the Horsemen. Instead, I found myself wandering farther north. Toward the Master vamp’s house.
Damon had said Lucifer would arrive at sunrise for our discussion. That gave me two hours. It was a long shot, but I had the inclination that Dru knew what had happened between Lucifer and Damon. Even if he didn’t know the specifics, he might know enough to give me clout in that meeting. Better yet, he was an ally I could count on. Damon trusted Dru and so did I. He had his faults like the rest of us. He also would willingly throw his hat in the ring with me for no other reason than me asking him to.
I might not have leverage with Lucifer, but I did with Dru. He wanted something from me that no one else could give him…the ability to turn the Undead Nation into a preternatural super power. How many times over the last few months had he insisted that together we were unstoppable? He was right and that’s what scared me. I didn’t want to be unstoppable.
And without Damon to rein in my demon on the off chance she got so high on Dru’s plan she cut loose? Armageddon would be child’s play.
My arrival at the House was unannounced, throwing the servants into a tizzy. A queen garnered respect and there were protocols to follow even if the staff secretly hated me. They showed obsequiousness and proper reverence and I tried to do the same to them.
The minute I stepped through the entrance, the calm I’d found in the car evaporated. Vampire magic suffocated me and I was suddenly angry and upset all over again. Not at the vamps, just in general. The world was ending, humans were getting hurt and killed by the dozens, my boss was ‘going away’ and Lucifer was about to show up on my doorstep. He was apparently my only hope to fend off the Horsemen and Armageddon.
Throw in Maria’s return and Parker’s simple existence and I was a ball of fury.
I needed to hit something. Too bad I hadn’t gone rounds with Cole earlier like I’d planned.
I was escorted to Dru’s office and my presence announced. He rose from his desk and came forward to kiss my cheek. His normal lust magic sizzled over my skin. “You’re upset. Trouble with the Chaos demon?”
He wished. “What do you know about Damon’s deal with Lucifer?”
His aura went from lust to a cautiousness. “Perhaps we should sit down. May I offer you a drink?”
I grabbed his wrist before he could walk away. “Tell me.”
His gaze dropped to the hand restraining him. Breaking free would have been easy, but he held still. “I know nothing that can help you dissolve their contract.”
“But you know there is a contract between them.”
He sighed. “There is.”
I knew it. “What does the contract involve?”
“That I don’t know.”
“Damon thought I couldn’t get out of Vatican City and none of you could offer assistance, so he called on Lucifer.”
“I didn’t realize Damon knew Lucifer until the deal was already done.”
Neither did I. “I didn’t need help, but he could have sent the other vitiums in to create a distraction or something. Why go to such an extreme?”
“You were in greater danger than you realized.”
“How so?”
Finally, he broke away from my hold, running a hand through his hair and down the back of his neck. “I don’t know the details. All I know is that Damon believed the European Bridge Council caught wind of what you were doing and they were prepared to stop you if you made it out of Vatican City alive.”
I paced over to the couch. “That bitch.”
“Who?” Dru asked, coming up behind me.
“Valentina. She and Marco are not loyal to the Bridge cause. The opposite in fact. They’re using the Bridge as a cover to train supernaturals and send them out to manipulate humans. I beat every one of their elite warriors to a pulp and I threatened her when I discovered she was messing with Damon’s head. She had her hooks in him, if you can believe it.”
“Love is a messy thing. It can turn even an archdemon into a ninny.”
“Val was looking to take me out of the picture so she could have her way with him and bring him back into the demon fold. She warned the pope I was coming.”
Dru went to his built-in liquor cabinet and poured us each a shot of bourbon. “The vampire you brought to his knees in the dome that night pledged his allegiance to our House several hours later.”
I accepted the bourbon, downed it. “Smart male. But he’s in Italy. He won’t do us much good there.”
“On the contrary.” Dru edged closer, his eyes warm and comforting. “He’s here at the House. For a certain exchange of information, I granted him sanctuary. I believe you’ll find him a wealth of knowledge about Valentina and Marco’s plans for European domination. He’s waiting for you in
the conference room.”
The first bit of good news I’d had all day. Hell, all week.
The bourbon burned. The vamp blood in my veins burned as well. I was suddenly hot and Dru was entirely too close. “That won’t help me with Damon’s fucked-up contract with Lucifer.”
He sipped his liquor, eyeing me over the rim of crystal glass. “Damon knew what he was doing. You do him a disservice by not honoring his choice.”
Males and their honor. “I don’t believe his choice was made willingly. He told me he’s no longer on the side of humans. That’s not Damon. He would never break his oath to the Bridge and humankind in order to save me.”
I sounded like Arman defending Ranulf. The thought bothered me.
Dru brushed hair from my shoulder, touched the faint silver scar on my neck left behind from his teeth. The blood under my skin rushed to the surface. “How do you know? Perhaps Damon was tired of fighting his baser nature. Perhaps he was ready to embrace being a demon again.”
Dru was baiting me. “That was your theory about Ranulf too.”
He shrugged, his eyes dancing with mockery. “I’m a one-trick pony.”
“No you’re not. You want an excuse to give into your baser side, so that’s what you see in others.”
His thumb rubbed the pulse at the base of my throat. “And what do you want, Kali? The world is about to end and here you are worrying about an archdemon who can’t be saved. Isn’t there anything else you’d rather do?”
His blood gave the siren call to mine. My body was already burning with need. The need to scream, to cry, to fight. Now it fought against his magic and his Master vamp entreaty. “Tell me what you know about the contract and I’ll make it worth your while.”
Shocked, he retreated ever so slightly. “You would sleep with me to save Damon?”
“Not sleep with you. I’ll help you with your quest to exult the vampire nation over other supernaturals.”
A second passed and then he chuckled. “If we survive Armageddon.”
“We’ll survive.”
He studied me a moment. “How can you be so sure?”
“You’re going to help me manipulate Lucifer.”
“Is that so?”
I was desperate. Time to go all in and appeal to Dru’s baser nature. “The only way to predict the future is to hold the power to control it. You and I hold the power. We are, in fact, the two most powerful creatures on earth at this moment—outside of Lucifer and the Horsemen. But our capacity for absolute power lies in our solidarity. We work together and we might just be unstoppable.”
Ever the politician, he couldn’t resist the sound of that. Exactly what I was counting on. “Power corrupts. Isn’t that what you’re always preaching?”
“Power corrupts, evil corrupts. What do you care? It’s the end of the world, Dru, and you’re looking for a reason to let the monster inside come out to play.” I stepped closer, flashing my demon at him. All war is based on deception. “Be evil, Master vampire. With me.”
My challenge sent his magic on a rampage. He dropped his glass, letting it shatter on the floor as he grabbed me and pulled me to him. The move crushed my breasts against his chest; our hips ground together.
He lowered his lips mere centimeters from mine. “Don’t offer what you’re unwilling to go through with, my queen.”
“Oh, I’m willing, Master.” Bluffing was a forte of mine. “Damon is leaving the Bridge Council and has elected me to take his place.”
Letting that bit of news sink in, I dropped my glass to join Dru’s on the floor and raised my wrist to his lips. “I offer my demon blood to make you stronger, faster, better, and I swear to you and the Undead Nation on that same blood that I will elevate vampires to a status becoming their magic when I take over the North American Bridge Council. You and I will be partners, Dru, and we will run the Council and the Undead Nation our way.”
His eyes snapped with the conquest. “If, and only if, I tell you what I know about the contract between Lucifer and Damon.”
“You already told me what you know. This deal hinges on you agreeing to help me get Damon out of the contract.”
I waited for his answer, his aura flooding me with lust and desire. His magic as well. If I got out of there in one piece, it would be no small miracle.
But I could, and would, handle him. It wasn’t my finest hour, lying to him, but I’d do whatever it took to save Damon. I owed my boss that much.
Act first, apologize later. I’d keep my word as best I could with Dru, but I’d never be able to give him everything he wanted.
His desire overcame his misgivings about sincerity. He kissed me, long and deep, sealing our deal.
I held still, waited for it to end, and yet, somewhere along the line, something snapped inside me.
His tongue teased mine into playing. He drew back, plunged again. My legs went weak, my arms went around his neck. He cupped my ass cheeks and lifted, encouraging my legs to go around his hips.
My demon laughed. I ran my hands over his shoulders, ringed his neck so I could feel the solid thickness there. The lack of a pulse.
I tightened my hold. Or rather, my demon tightened it.
Tightened it, in fact, until I was choking him.
He broke my grip, a new surge of power emanating from him. “Like it rough, do you?”
I didn’t like it at all. But my demon did. She jumped him, taking him down with a howl. He fought her, but she was strong. Flashes of Parker cowering under me filled my mind and made my demon grow wilder.
The fight I’d been itching for happened. I beat on Dru. He beat back.
Mostly, I suspected, in an effort to keep me from killing him.
I fought my inner demon as well. It did no good.
“Vampire,” Dru finally yelled at me as I circled him with a piece of glass from his now broken coffee table. “I command you as your Master to stop.”
My body arched and froze. The vamp blood inside me sat up, clicked its shoes and saluted.
That’s what brought me back to reality. Combined with the virtue wrestling inside me with my demon, the two managed to throw her back into her prison cell.
Dru saw me change. He took a few cautious steps forward, gingerly took the glass shard from my hand. We were both bleeding and the smell of his blood was like the finest wine calling to me. I licked my lips as my legs folded under me and I sat down heavily on the glass-strewn floor.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered.
He sat next to me, put an arm around me. “No apologies. That’s the best row I’ve had in ages.”
His touch sent a wave of lust crashing over me, and I jerked away, horrified at how close I’d come to losing control. I might have killed him.
Hell, I’d tried to kill him.
Needing some space, I splayed my hands on his chest and tried to shove him back a couple of feet. I hit an unyielding mass—he stayed put, and angry, I shoved again, harder.
I went flying. I slid through the blood and glass, my back smacking hard against the far wall when I finally came to a stop.
Vampire strength or demon?
Did it matter anymore?
“Kali.” He rose and came toward me, one hand extended. He was breathing hard and so was I. “I’m the one who should be sorry.”
He’d crossed the line. The line he’d wanted to cross all along. But now, he knew what could happen if I crossed that line as well. My monster was nothing to fuck with.
Ignoring his bleeding hand, I scrambled to my feet. “I have to go.”
I flew out the door of his office, his entreaties to stop falling on deaf ears.
What is wrong with me?
I was a demon, goddammit. I didn’t get caught up in emotions. Didn’t let others get to me. Not their feelings or their magic. I had to get myself under control.
I’d just hit the front steps of the house when my phone buzzed.
With shaking hands, I answered. “Damon?”
“Lucifer is h
ere.” His voice was flat and unemotional. Almost normal.
I knew it was a sham. “I’m on my way. Don’t say anything until I get there.”
I jumped in my car, revved the motor. Wiped my bloodied hands on some napkins in the glove compartment. As I started to pull away, the passenger door opened and Dru hopped in. “You’re not leaving without me, are you, partner?”
Giving him a dirty look, I pointed a finger at the door handle. “Get out. I’m on my way to a meeting with Lucifer. You’re not invited.”
“Tough.” He smiled. “I’m going anyway.”
I could see from the set of his jaw and the determination in his eyes, arguing was futile. “Fine. Put on your seatbelt.”
He did as told. I flipped on the radio and cranked up Iron Maiden.
We’re off to see the devil, my mind sang. The wonderful god of hell.
All I needed were my magical red shoes.
Chapter Thirty-nine
Lucifer was magnificent.
No matter how angry I was at him, no matter how much I feared for Damon’s life, there was no ignoring the fact Lucifer was like nothing I’d ever seen.
The fallen angel stood at the window of Damon’s office, arms crossed over his chest as he stared out at the lake. In my mind’s eye, I glimpsed his hidden wings spreading around us.
His eyes saw something beyond the gray waters and cloudy sky over Lake Michigan. That stare was unfathomable and I suspected I didn’t want to know what he was thinking. “Michael has begun the countdown to Armageddon.”
Like that was news?
Damon sat at his desk, normal as could be. He toyed with a pen, his face a mask of concern. Nothing in his aura suggested he was concerned for himself or for me. He was one-hundred percent focused on the current situation and how the Bridge would protect humanity.
Interesting, since he’d informed me he was no longer on the side of humans.
Kirill and Yasmin were absent. Dru and I were silent. I needed to ask questions, to work out a strategy. Each time I opened my mouth to say something, my voice refused to work. The fallen angel mesmerized me.
He mesmerized my demon as well. She alternated between hiding and throwing herself at the prison bars wanting to bow at his feet. Seduce him even.