by Jenny McKane
“I think your lips look perfect,” he said. Then he turned and faced the road as he drove.
“Do you know much about dream demons?” she asked Gideon. He shook his head.
“Not a lot,” he said. “They tend to keep to themselves, as they are abused by the higher castes of demons. They’re a bit reclusive, but with good reason. During my time in the realm, I probably saw less than a handful, but they are always sought after for intel and information. How did you end up with your very own?”
“Remember that last job I botched?” Sunny said with a sigh. “I was supposed to be going after a higher-level demon, and this higher-level demon happened to be trying to assassinate Plaxo. When I botched my own job, I inadvertently saved Plaxo. I had no idea, but he seemed to bind himself to me.”
“It probably sounds goofy to a human,” Gideon said. “That’s not a small thing. When a demon binds itself to anybody, it’s for life. And they may be small and looked down upon, but dream demons are pretty powerful in their own right. Get a couple of them together? You’ve got a nearly unstoppable army who moves between dreams and nightmares, altering their victim’s sanity easily.”
Plaxo hadn’t mentioned that part yet. Sunny wondered why. Come to think of it, Plaxo rarely talked about himself or his past.
“I didn't think he would stick around,” she said. “I haven’t been exactly very nice to him, but I’m warming up to him. And I think he’s warming up to you and the cat.”
That got a derisive snort out of Gideon.
“Great,” he said sarcastically. “Me and Noodle, chumming it up with the dream demon.”
They drove in silence for a while, until Gideon turned the car into a neighborhood dotted with townhomes and a few businesses. They drove to a nondescript-looking restaurant, and Gideon parked. As they made their way to the front door, Sunny found herself once again less than impressed with some sort of secret demon hideout looking rather mundane and human.
There was a burly bouncer at the front door and a very cliché velvet rope. Gideon whispered something into the doorman’s ear and even slipped him some money, and the doorman looked at Gideon and over at Sunny. Enough time passed that Sunny believed they were going to be turned away, and she would probably have to blame herself. Looking at the other women in the line, Sunny was feeling a little frumpy. Despite trying her best at looking chic and even a little hot, she noticed all the skin the other women were showing, and their fancy dresses. Sunny stuck out, as usual.
Whatever the doorman saw with the two of them, however, worked. He unclipped the rope, despite the groans and mumblings of the people in the line who still had to wait, and let them pass. Gideon took Sunny’s hand as they walked, and he pulled her through the entrance. She felt a shift of power of some sort, and her eyes darted to Gideon in question.
When they were far enough down the hall, she spoke.
“What did I just feel?” she asked him.
“It was a ward of sorts,” Gideon explained. “Only those with demon blood can pass through, unless you are a guest.”
It explained why Gideon had taken her hand and pulled her through.
“What is this place?”
The hallway opened into a large room that was arranged in a semicircle with two levels of tables and a dance floor in the center. Up against the back wall was a large stage and a small jazz band was currently playing. It wasn’t exactly what Sunny was expecting. She thought they were going to some booming rave club with the sprinkler system overhead spouting out blood or something like she had seen in a movie once. This was a little refined and subdued.
Gideon approached the hostess station and spoke with the woman. She nodded and made a few notes on her clipboard, before grabbing two menus and leading them to a table along the right side. It was a good table, Sunny thought, and as she sat, she realized they had a decent view of the stage. Along with that, they had a great view of the entire restaurant.
Gideon ordered them around of drinks and turned to her.
“To answer your question,” he said, “this is a supper club.”
“So why the ward and barrier? Seems like a lot of security for a fancy restaurant.”
Gideon shrugged.
“Maybe, but the demons who frequent this place don’t necessarily want to rub elbows with humans or angels,” he replied. “Sometimes the after-hours activities can be a little loquacious for human tastes.”
Sunny made a face.
“More fake boobs?” she asked with a laugh. She took the time while Gideon was reading the menu to look around the restaurant. She figured most of the people at the tables were demons, but she could definitely pick out the humans, which were predominantly female and big busted.
“Why are we here?” she whispered when Gideon set his menu down. They had already agreed that he would order for her. The humans that were allowed into this place were usually pets or lovers of the demon customers. It would behoove them, Gideon had said, to act upon that part.
“It seems like all of the humans are women,” she whispered after Gideon placed the order. “Wouldn’t we be looking for a place that preyed upon men?”
“Keep your eyes open,” he said. “We’re looking at the waitstaff tonight.”
Most likely, Sunny assumed, they were going to watch for succubi that Gideon may or may not know and could use for information.
The servers were all beautiful, statuesque women -- perfect candidates for succubi.
Soon, they had drinks and an appetizer and nothing to do but kill time with conversation while they kept their eyes open.
“Do you recognize anybody yet?” she asked. Sunny didn’t recognize anyone.
“A few,” he replied. “A couple have even slipped me their phone numbers, which I can use later.”
She didn't know why, but the comment made Sunny’s hackles rise. She swallowed hard, and from the sound of Gideon’s laughter, she obviously made some sort of distasteful face.
“For information, Sunshine,” Gideon chided her. He was teasing her.
She wasn’t sure why, but Sunny was relieved at that. The thought of Gideon taking any of these servers home seemed to piss her off. It was a strong reaction for Sunny, who rarely got territorial.
“And how does one get information from a succubus?” Sunny meant it as a rhetorical question, so when Gideon answered she had to bite the inside of her lip. She would not get jealous, she reminded herself. Gideon was a grown demon, and he could get information from other demons however he saw fit.
“You want sordid details?” Gideon asked her, the sly grin on his face catching her attention and keeping it there. His skin was golden and kissed by the sun, despite the fact that they lived in a place that rarely saw the sun itself. He had beautiful olive skin, and his honey-colored eyes were simply electric tonight. Some of his hair had escaped from its gel and fell perfectly over the bridge of his nose.
When Gideon winked at her and laughed, she knew she had been staring.
“I'm sorry,” she said, embarrassed.
Gideon reached across the table and pulled her hand towards him. He held it in both of his. The warmth was instant and consuming. It was like Sunny was drawn to him tonight in ways that were totally new to her.
“Don’t be embarrassed,” he said, as he leaned forward.
The tension was ratcheting up between them, but she swallowed hard. Feeling awkward and worried that she would do something embarrassing, Sunny used her old fallback from when she got really nervous. She made a joke.
“You’re not the boss of me,” she said with the defiant wrinkle of her nose. She thought that humor might throw Gideon off, but it didn't work. If anything, it seemed to draw him in further. He slid his hand so that it cupped her cheek, and he ran the pad of his thumb gently over the bridge of her nose.
“I love your freckles,” he said softly, almost to himself. For once, it seemed that Gideon was under as strong as spell as Sunny often found herself. His gaze was growing heated, and he wa
s inching forward by tiny increments. Just when she thought he might pull her forward for a kiss, his gaze flicked over her shoulder and he straightened quickly. Left in the awkward position that he had left her in, Sunny painfully sat up and schooled her features.
That was embarrassing.
“Sunny,” Gideon said quietly, his eyes still locked over her shoulder, “I see a really important contact that I need to speak to, but I cannot do that with you here. I need you to excuse yourself to the restroom for a moment so that I can speak to her. I promise it’s not what you think, but she will not approach with you here.”
Sunny was a little salty at the dismissal, but with clenched fists and a battered ego, she stood and did what Gideon had asked her. She rose as gracefully as she could manage in the three-inch heels she was wearing and looked around the floor for anything resembling a door that would lead to restrooms. It took her a moment, but she found it in the right corner, right next to the bar.
She felt like she had every set of eyes in the place on her as she walked towards the bar and to the doorway that would lead to the restrooms. She kept her eyes level and straight ahead of her, trying her best not to show just how nervous she was, but she was quaking in her proverbial boots. She felt the power and the rage and the sex radiating off of the creatures at all of the tables. The humans they had with them kept their eyes down, and all played the part of meek little play things. It made Sunny’s stomach sour.
Just as she walked passed the bar and rounded the corner for the hallway that would lead to the restrooms, Sunny felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She did her best to ignore it and proceeded. She pushed into the posh restroom that almost looked like a brothel with its overabundance of pink and chintz roses and shut the door behind her. She didn’t have to use the restroom, so she walked over to the wall of mirrors and checked her lipstick. Not two seconds later, a brunette that Sunny recognized as one of the waitresses pushed through the door and looked at Sunny. The woman didn't say anything and only kept her eyes on Sunny, and she locked the door behind her. She hadn't noticed there was a deadbolt on the door leading into the hallway, and the woman now had a grin on her face that Sunny felt was anything but friendly.
Well, hell, Sunny thought, the last place she’d ever want to have a fight was a restroom.
Chapter 19
It didn’t take long for Sunny to recognize the waitress. Sure, there were plenty of women in the club eyeing Gideon, but Sunny noticed that this one had shot particularly sharp daggers at her as they’d walked in.
She oozed sexual power and raw lust. Except, not at Sunny. It almost literally pulsated off her, pegging her immediately as a succubus. Sunny wasn’t sure how good this particular breed of demon was at fighting, but their very nature meant they were ten times hardier than Sunny was to begin with.
More than anything, Sunny wished that she could be like those badass chicks in the action movies. You know, the ones that had witty one-liners and the ability to toss a bitch on her face with no problem. It sounded fantastic to Sunny, and more than anything, she wished that was her. Except Sunny was a lot shorter than action stars, a little rounder in the middle than them, and with a lot less training—neither the fictional kind from the backstory or the literal stunt training.
No, all Sunny had in her defense was a penchant for sweating a lot when she got nervous and for getting a little teary when she was really, really angry. So, all in all, while the demon who was slowly moving toward her had speed, strength, stamina, and infinite lives—in theory—working for her, Sunny had nothing but the little obsidian blade from Michael that she’d tucked into the waistband of her pants. He’d been so kind as to enclose a thin leather sheath for the blade itself, so she wouldn’t go nicking herself willy-nilly, and Sunny had figured if an archangel hands you a gift, you don’t go ignoring it.
“Hello.” Sunny waved a little awkwardly at the woman as she cocked a hip out to one side and assessed Sunny. She probably didn’t see much worth acknowledging because she simply rolled her eyes and ran her tongue over her perfectly lined and glossed lower lip.
Sunny was weirdly intrigued by the move and promised herself that if she survived this little tangle, she’d march herself right home, apply a shit load of gloss and try it herself. If anything, it was at least distracting, and Sunny figured there’d be plenty of times she could use a distraction.
“Not much for conversation?” Sunny said, trying to sound as cool as the movie heroine, but the demon had other plans and backhanded her without warning. The impact was so forceful that she flew backwards and onto the sinks, cracking a mirror with the impact.
The breath had been knocked out of her, and she struggled to draw in a full gulp of air. Holy shit, they hit hard. Tears marred her vision as her eyes watered, and she tried to blink them away.
“What the hell are you doing?” Sunny managed to croak, as the demon advanced again. This time, she used her legs that were between them and launched the demon backwards. Only, she was a lot heavier than Sunny anticipated and instead of sending her into the wall like she’d done to Sunny, all she’d really managed to do was to push herself further up the mirror and sink so that now the faucet was riding her back in a most uncomfortable way.
The succubus only snarled and swiped at Sunny’s leg with claws fully extended.
“Shit. Shit. Shit!” Sunny swore, and then she moved her legs as best she could, but the demon still managed to get a good swipe in near her shin. “Dammit,” she cried out. “That hurt.”
“It’s not supposed to tickle,” the demon finally said. “You’re supposed to die, not talk!”
Again, she pressed forward, and with no other weapon available, Sunny pulled her knees in and pushed out as hard as she could. When her feet came in contact with the demon’s chest this time she got a good hit in and sent the woman off balance and on to her backside, clattering to regain her balance.
“I’ll rip your fucking throat out for that,” the brunette’s voice was much deeper and lower than before, and it caused a wave of panic. She needed help.
“Plaxo!” she cried out. She wasn’t sure what a dream demon could do against a succubus like this, but any ally right now would be a miracle.
“My cohort has your picture on the wall of our living room,” the succubus said, as she stood, gracefully flicking some hair out her face. She didn’t look at all like she’d just been rabbit kicked to the floor. “There’s a price on your head, and I intend to collect.”
That explained why she was alone. The other succubi simply hadn’t recognized her. How stupid were she and Gideon for waltzing right into a succubi supper club when the sex demons already knew about Sunny and had basically put a hit out on her? She guessed the reward was fairly high--demons, for the most part, loved a good, lucrative payday.
Sunny surged to her feet and tried to run for the door while the demon was regaining her feet, but she moved faster than Sunny could and blocked her exit with a serious case of hair grabbing and yanking. Sunny staggered as she lost her balance, and she felt the demon’s claws digging into her scalp--it hurt like a bitch, and she knew she felt blood trickling from her scalp now.
“Make it simple for me, dear,” the succubus was hissing now. “Die quietly and give up your head like a good little mortal. And don’t worry about your demon lover, I’ll take real, real good care of him. He looks like a tasty morsel.”
So, it was mention of Gideon that was going to have Sunny surging in power? Figured, she thought with a dry laugh. Figured she’d get all jealous about the thought of some worn-out lust demon putting the moves on Gideon after she’d just killed Sunny. She was getting pretty predictable lately, Sunny thought, as she fell to the floor this time and rolled to a stop just below the paper towel dispenser.
A sharp kick to her abdomen made Sunny choke on the air she was breathing, and she wheezed. It was a pitiful sound really, and even Sunny was ashamed of herself. She never knew getting the wind knocked out of her could hurt her
so much.
In the next moment, the succubus was on top of Sunny with her knee in Sunny’s stomach and a claw in her hair, yanking her head back. The other hand was raised with the claws fully extended, ready for the killing blow.
It was then that Plaxo appeared on the demon’s shoulder, and he put his own claws in the woman’s eyes, pulling for all his little body was worth.
“Now, Lady Hunter,” he said between clenched teeth. The succubus was screaming in rage, and probably pain, looking at the blood running down her cheeks from the sharp claws Plaxo had embedded into her eyeballs. Sunny got Plaxo’s message loud and clear, and with the little room she had to work with, she freed the knife from its hiding spot against her hip.
Sunny didn’t over think her next move--she simply slashed out across the thing’s neck and hoped the blade would do the trick.
And it did. As soon as the knife hit the succubus’s skin, the wound began to sizzle and a black, inky looking rash spread immediately, blacking out the creature’s skin tone, pigments, and even eye color until she was nothing but a shadow--the same color as the blade that had done her in.
She fell back onto the floor and writhed in agony as her body slowly dissolved into a thick, chunky ash. The scream turned into inhuman noises and gurgles until there was nothing but a pile of ash in the bathroom where the succubus had been. Moments later, the ashes lifted into the air of their own accord and simply vanished.
Sunny and Plaxo stared at each other from where they’d ended up and neither spoke for a long moment. Holy mother of all that is holy…. what the hell had just happened?
“That was,” Plaxo struggled to find the right word and tapped his little concrete-like chin. “Unexpected.”
“Have you never seen an obsidian dagger work?” she asked. Sunny surely hadn’t.