by Nina Bangs
Any moment now, Edge expected Bourne to wink him out of existence, but the fucker just sat there staring at him.
“Go on. This is fascinating.”
Edge wondered what it would take to shatter Bourne’s deadly calm. Well, there was still time to find out, because he wasn’t done yet.
“After Pompeii, you started to rein me in. Only one kill at a time. Finally, I did some maturing. I accepted the limitations you imposed.” He looked away from Bourne. “But things haven’t been great with me and my profession for a long time. I coped by not feeling. Guess what? I’m feeling again. And I can’t stop it.”
“Anything else?” Bourne’s voice gave nothing away.
“Yeah. Why did you send me here to work?” He glanced at Sparkle. “And make Sparkle my boss? You had to know that would piss me off.”
Bourne turned from Edge without answering him. “How about you, Ganymede? Want to pile on?”
“You know how I feel. You’ve been putting the brakes on me for a long time.” Ganymede looked at Sparkle. “How about you, honeyfluff?”
“Honeyfluff?” Bourne sounded disbelieving. “A chaos bringer doesn’t call anyone ‘honeyfluff.’ It’s just…wrong.”
Sparkle shrugged. “I’m happy. I’m doing what I was meant to do. And you haven’t put any limits on me. Yet.”
“That’s because you haven’t stepped over any lines. Yet. Tonight might’ve done it, though.” Bourne stood. “Look, I need some air. Let’s walk on the beach for a while.”
It was too soon to relax, but so far Bourne didn’t seem really ticked. Although Edge didn’t trust him. He could be waiting till they got outside to cull his herd.
Bourne led them onto the beach. There was no moon tonight, and a chill wind had whipped up. The sound of the surf soothed Edge. For a moment, he allowed himself to think of Passion. What was she doing? And when would Bourne let them go so he could find her?
“Hey, Boss, we have a tail. They were hanging in the lobby when we were there. Two big dudes. Want me to find out what they’re after?” Ganymede showed some enthusiasm for the first time.
“They’re working for me.”
Edge turned to stare at the men trailing them. “Vampires?”
“Specialists. Those are Listeners. Very rare, and very expensive to hire.”
“What do they do?” Sparkle glanced back. “Holy stereotypes. Please tell me they’re not both wearing black dusters. After this is over, I absolutely must conduct a clothing intervention with them.”
Bourne looked pained as he rubbed the crease between his eyes. Edge didn’t blame him. Sparkle had that effect on people.
“The Listeners can monitor multiple minds at once. So back in the lobby, they were tuning in to everyone in the room. If anyone had been paying attention to our meeting, they would’ve alerted me.” Bourne stopped walking. “Okay, I’ve conquered the desire to disintegrate all of you and scatter your molecules throughout the universe. So we can continue talking.”
Edge wanted to make a sarcastic comment, but he didn’t. As much as he resented Bourne, he had to remember that they had a common enemy. Now wasn’t the time for personal grudges.
“Here’s what I got from your little moments of truth. You all hate me except for Sparkle, but she’s really disappointed with my security detail’s clothing choices. Did I miss anything?” Bourne’s expression gave nothing away. No anger, no hurt feelings. He could have been discussing getting together to watch a game. Cold son of a bitch.
“For the sake of fairness, I’ll share a few of my feelings. First, I’m not apologizing for anything. I’ve always done what I thought was best. Second, I’m paranoid, and I see enemies everywhere. Sometimes I’ve been wrong, but a few times being distrustful has saved my ass and yours. So understand where I’m coming from when I say I don’t trust anyone.” He speared each of them with a hard stare. When he reached Sparkle, his lips lifted in a faint smile. “All right, I don’t suspect you, Sparkle.”
Bourne’s gaze rested on Ganymede. “You’re probably the closest to me in power. I’ve felt your resentment when I limited your…activities. Yes, I’ll admit I’m glad you’re here with Sparkle. I figured she’d distract you from thoughts of the throne.”
Ganymede made a rude noise. “Who’d want the job? I’m into creating chaos, not ruling.”
Bourne shifted his attention to Edge. “I sent you to work under Sparkle to teach you some humility. Too much arrogance can be dangerous. To me.” His grin was rueful. “Didn’t work. It just pissed you off.”
Edge needed to hear it put into words. “So you thought Ganymede or I might be behind what’s happening?”
“It crossed my mind.” He held up his hand before Edge could say anything. “Take it as a compliment. If you weren’t so powerful, I wouldn’t have given it a second thought.”
“I hate walking on the beach.” Sparkle slipped off her stilettos and emptied the sand from them. “And I hate talking around a problem. Here’s what I see. Someone’s been trying to draw you to the castle by attacking each of us until you couldn’t ignore the situation any longer. So what do we do about it now that you’re here?”
Bourne laughed, and there was no underlying message in it. “You amaze me, Sparkle. Ganymede can topple mountains, and Edge can visit death on the deserving, but you…You could lead.”
Edge grinned, and everyone seemed to unwind a little. “She’s right. What’s the plan?”
“Whoever’s in charge of this couldn’t overthrow me because they didn’t know where I was. Now that I’m here, he or she will try to kill me and take over the top spot. This isn’t the first time this has happened. I’ve survived other attempts, and I intend to survive this.” He glanced back at the castle. “I’ve called in all the cosmic troublemakers I trust. The most powerful ones will stay in the castle. I’ve gotten rooms for the others in nearby hotels. They should be arriving tomorrow. I don’t know what forces the enemy has, but I guarantee they’re out there. We’ll get some rest and then we hunt.”
Edge nodded. He glanced at his watch. Hell, it was too late to bother Passion.
“Edge?” Bourne’s voice was close.
“What?” He looked up in time to see Ganymede and Sparkle walking away. Bourne stood next to him.
“Passion and Hope aren’t angels. We don’t know what they are, or who they answer to. Be careful, no matter how you feel about Passion.”
Edge’s first instinct was to protect her. “She’s not the enemy.”
“Think. The three attacks came right after they arrived.”
“Yeah, but Hope stopped both Ganymede and me.”
“The point wasn’t for you to die; the point was to make the situation so bad that I’d have to show myself. It worked. Whoever’s in control of this wants to be the next Big Boss. It doesn’t make sense to destroy his soon–to–be most valuable assets.”
Edge could only nod. He refused to suspect Passion. And yes, he was being stubborn. So what?
Bourne turned to walk away, but Edge had one more thing to ask.
“Was it worth creating me?”
“I didn’t create you.”
“You pointed the gun. You pulled the trigger. Same thing.”
“I gave you a purpose in life. There’s a balance in everything, even death. Most murders are committed by malevolent forces against the innocent. You destroy those malevolent forces. You balance death.”
It made sense in a weird sort of way. Edge followed Bourne back to the castle.
• • •
Passion was so tired she could sleep standing up. Once back in her room, she looked long and hard at her bed, the one without Edge in it. She wasn’t that tired. Hope hadn’t come back yet, and the phone’s red message light was on. Passion would bet the two were connected.
The message was short and not so sweet. Hope was spending the rest of the night with Kemp. Sometimes Passion didn’t get her roommate. Hope stood firm on some of Ted’s rules, but then when temptation becko
ned, she flung everything aside to chase it. Go figure.
Passion had almost decided to crash on Hope’s bed when she remembered. She had to tell someone about the conversation she’d heard between Bain and Murmur. And what was with Zane and Holgarth? Oh, and she couldn’t forget Zane’s mysterious visitor.
She looked down at the phone. Passion would dance naked with a demon—okay, so if the demon was Murmur it wouldn’t be too awful—before she’d wake Holgarth up. But someone had to know immediately about Bain and Murmur. She never considered calling anyone but Edge. Taking a deep breath, she picked up the receiver.
Edge took a while to answer. Asleep. He wouldn’t be thrilled to hear from her.
“What?” He sounded groggy.
“I have to talk to you.”
“Passion?” Suddenly, he sounded alert.
“I can’t talk on the phone.” Sure she could, but she didn’t want to. She wouldn’t even try to pretend she didn’t have an ulterior motive.
“No problem.”
He gave her his room number and hung up without asking why she couldn’t talk on the phone. She didn’t take anything with her because she didn’t want this to look too obvious. But she had no intention of coming back here to sleep alone with nothing but her frustrating dreams for company.
Edge opened his door before she could even knock. He’d pulled on his jeans but nothing else. His hair was mussed, and he was the sexiest thing she’d ever seen.
“Come in. Sit down.” He closed the door behind her.
She dropped into a chair and waited for him to take the chair across from her.
“What’s up?”
His gaze was clear and steady, but Passion wanted to believe she saw something hot and hungry in those amber eyes. Wishful thinking? She hoped not.
“I’m sorry I dragged you out of bed.” She wasn’t. “But I heard a few things tonight you need to know about.” Passion hoped he didn’t ask why she hadn’t gotten Bourne out of bed instead of him.
He didn’t.
“Let’s hear it.”
He leaned forward, and her gaze dropped as she admired the way his muscles flowed beneath smooth skin as he moved.
“Passion?”
She could hear the amusement in his voice. Passion glanced away so he wouldn’t notice her flush. And she knew it was there because she could feel the heat creeping up her neck and into her face. Think thoughts of icebergs and blizzards. Damn Ted for turning her into a blushing virgin. Hello, you are a virgin. Technically.
Feeling cool enough to continue, Passion looked back at him. “I was in the great hall waiting for Hope when Murmur and Bain walked past. They didn’t see me.” She quickly told him what she’d heard Murmur say. For whatever reason, she kept Bain’s comments to herself.
By the time she’d finished, he was already standing. “I’m going to have a talk with our music demon. Now.” His voice was flat—no rage, no emotion.
And that scared her more than if he’d ranted and threatened. “Maybe you should wait until the others are with you.”
“What others?” Edge looked insulted. “I’m Death. I don’t need any help.” He pulled the door open and strode into the hallway.
She ran after him. “This isn’t about needing help. It’s about thinking things through and coming up with a strategy.”
He didn’t even look at her. “Nothing to think through. He’s threatening us with his demons.”
“He didn’t exactly say that. It sounded as though someone tried to hire him, but he still hadn’t made up his mind.” She was having trouble keeping up with his long strides.
“What do you know about war, Passion? Nothing. And make no mistake, this is war. You never give the enemy time to prepare. A preemptive strike saves a bunch of headaches later.”
“Preemptive strike? Are you crazy?”
For a moment, his shoulders stiffened as though from a blow.
Edge finally glanced at her. “Relax. I’m not going in with guns blazing.”
Passion didn’t believe him. The realization made her stomach churn. Where was her trust? How could she think about a future with him when something that important was missing? Listen to yourself. You have no chance of a future with him. You never had one.
“But if you don’t trust me, then I guess you should go back to your room. Thanks for passing on the information. I’ll take it from here.”
Shocked at his icy tone, she stopped and stared as he walked away from her without a backward glance.
Only after he disappeared up the stairs leading to the tower did she move. Trying to push aside her hurt, she raced up the stairs after him. Thank heaven he didn’t take the quick way up to Murmur’s room and dematerialize. But maybe he was trying to save all his energy for the demon.
Passion had a bad feeling about this. She was gasping for breath by the time she reached the top of the stairs. As she hurried toward Murmur’s room, she could hear voices coming from his open door. Passion ran.
She stopped in the doorway. Relief washed over her. They weren’t trying to kill each other yet.
Edge stood a few feet into the room. From the looks of the door, he hadn’t knocked. He looked relaxed, but tension rolled off him.
Murmur stood beside his bed and was calmly pulling on his pants. “See, this is why Mom always told me to wear pajamas to bed.”
“You didn’t have a mother.” Edge spoke through clenched teeth.
“Right. Well, if I had, she would’ve said that. But sleeping nude feels so much more sensual, don’t you think?” Murmur’s gaze went past Edge to Passion. He smiled at her.
Edge didn’t turn to look at her. “You won’t have to worry about what to wear to bed if you don’t answer my question. Are you bringing your demons against us?”
Murmur finished fastening his pants before meeting Edge’s gaze. His eyes had changed, become the eyes of a cat with no white and a pupil that was nothing but a vertical slit of black. The rest of the eye was glowing red.
Passion sucked in her breath. If she’d forgotten at times to fear Murmur, to forget what he was, those eyes were a stark reminder.
“I don’t answer to you or yours.” His smile was a mere twist of his lips. “When I decide, you’ll be the first to know.” He reached behind him.
Was he reaching for a weapon? “No!” Without stopping to think, she flung herself past Edge to put herself between them. “Please, Murmur, don’t do anything stupid. We can talk—” Everything stilled.
“Passion. Get out of the way.” Edge’s curt order shattered the moment.
Instinctively, she stumbled to the side, just as power blasted past her. The force of it knocked her to her knees. She looked up in time to see Murmur’s shocked expression along with the gaping hole in his chest. Blood poured from the wound, running down his body to pool at his feet.
The demon’s gaze locked with Edge’s. “I’m disappointed in you. I’d heard you killed with style. This is just sloppy.” His voice died away as he collapsed onto the floor and lay still.
Passion shifted her stare to Edge. She didn’t try to hide her horror. “You killed him.” She struggled to her feet.
“I thought he had a weapon. You were in danger.” His voice was too quiet, too calm, too this–is–just-another-dead-body.
She choked back a sob as she forced herself to look at Murmur and what had fallen from his hand when he fell. “God, no. He was reaching for his freaking iPod. He must’ve been going to put it in his pocket. You know he always had music with him.”
Edge glanced away. “It was a mistake. But what’s done is done.”
“No, it isn’t.” She felt the familiar surge of power blaze through her as it rushed down her arms, along her fingers, and collected in her fingertips. Passion scrambled to her feet, obeying the need to reach for Murmur, to fill him with life. Evidently, the power didn’t play favorites, or else it didn’t realize he was a demon.
“Don’t do this, Passion.” Edge’s voice had softened. “Whos
e side do you think he’d fight for after this? How would you feel if he killed someone you knew?”
“That’s not fair. You don’t get to make me change my mind by laying a guilt trip on me.” She’d made her decision. “If you want to stop me, you’ll have to use force.”
Passion dared to look at Edge, at his narrowed eyes, at his lips pressed tightly together, at his implacable expression, and said what needed saying. “I understand something now. There has to be a balance. I balance you, Edge. You’re death, and I’m life.” And never the twain shall meet. She didn’t have time to think through the ramifications of what she’d just said, but she’d bet they wouldn’t make her happy.
In two staggering steps she fell to her knees again beside Murmur. She tried to ignore the wet sticky realness of his blood. Passion forced back nausea as she laid her hands over his torn chest. Her fingers glowed, heat searing each tip.
Then she closed her eyes and released her power, willed life back into him, and tried not to think about Edge standing behind her.
Silence filled the room. She was almost ready to believe it was too late for Murmur when she felt him move. Passion opened her eyes and gasped.
The wound had closed. But even though the terrible tear in his flesh was gone, he still shouldn’t be looking up at her. Not with so much of his blood smeared on the floor beneath where she knelt. Without thinking, she put her hand across her mouth to stop from crying out. When she dropped it, she knew she’d left his blood on her face. It didn’t matter.
“What did you do?” Murmur looked up at her wonderingly.
“She brought your ass back to life. Against my express wishes, I might add.”
Edge didn’t sound happy or sad. He sounded…empty. Passion kept her attention on Murmur.
“How do you feel?” She shuddered as she looked at all his beautiful long hair fanned out around his head and soaked in blood.
Murmur didn’t answer her question. “My ass thanks you for a second chance at life. You’re a special lady, and I owe you a special favor for what you did.”