The man had remained silent and relatively cooperative while Tess stitched up his leg, even if he did watch her every move as if he expected her to trade the suture needle for a bayonet at any moment. Of course, he wasn't the only one with suspicions. Rule made sure two of the club's Lupine security staff stayed in the room with them and on alert while he allowed Tess to fuss over the graze the man's bullet had left in his side. Fortunately, his own accelerated healing had meant he didn't need any stitches. By morning, all that would be left of his wound would be a red mark. In a week, even that would be gone.
The human didn't look so lucky. He didn't complain, though, just grunted when Tess warned him to keep the bandage dry and try not to scratch, as if he'd heard it all before. Rule wouldn't have been surprised if he had.
The only time he'd given them trouble had been when Tess tried to leave to go check on Abby.
"I want to see my sister.”
"You saw us settle her into bed upstairs," the witch had said. "Trust me when I tell you she hasn't moved, Mr. Worrywart. If I had to guess, I'd say she's probably still unconscious.”
"My name is Noah. I want to see her now." His hard expression discouraged argument. Rule bet it probably worked on the soldiers under Noah's command, but Tess wasn't a soldier. She was a witch, and she was mated to a Felix. Intimidating her practically required an act of God. "And then I want to know what you've done to her.”
Tess narrowed her eyes and planted her hands on her hips. "The only thing any of us has done to your sister is make sure she stayed alive despite every attempt she's made in the last twenty-four hours to change that situation.”
Noah's eyes glittered. "My sister is not suicidal.”
"No, but I have at times wondered how smart she can be. She's certainly not one for looking before she leaps; otherwise she never would have landed in this mess.”
"And what mess is that?" he asked, his voice managing to be smooth and menacing at the same time.
Tess looked suitably unimpressed. "Sorry, Rule will have to explain. I have a severe testosterone allergy. The atmosphere in this room is getting toxic. I'll have someone come down and let you know when Abby's awake.”
Tess shut the door behind her with a speaking click, and silence descended over the remaining occupants of the room. Abby's brother eyed Rule up and down with the assessing gaze of a warrior. It was a look the demon recognized and respected.
"Is this the part where you kill me and dispose of my body where no one will ever find it?" The man sounded more curious than worried. "I should warn you that Abby's not just resourceful; she's vengeful.”
Rule snorted. "Somehow, the news fails to surprise me. But I have no intention of harming you, any more than I have of harming your sister.”
Noah's expression remained flat and distant, but his hands flexed open and closed with a restless anger. "You have a funny way of not harming her, because what I saw in the park definitely didn't look pleasant to me.”
"That was Seth's doing, not mine. In case it skipped your attention, I was among those trying to rescue Abby.”
"So you could keep her prisoner? I'll remind her to thank you.”
Rule sighed. "Apparently she had time to give you her side of the story.”
"Is there a side that doesn't involve a felony?”
"This was never meant to be a kidnapping. Your sister was never meant to be a prisoner. We are merely trying to protect her.”
"Interesting. And Delilah was merely trying to give Samson a makeover.”
"I see you two must be very close. You have a lot in common," Rule muttered.
"It's the dimples.”
"What did your sister tell you?”
"So you can prepare a tidy counter-story?”
"I was hoping to get an idea of how much she understands, but I suppose the point is moot. Whatever Abby understands, whatever she believes, is beside the point. She is in danger.”
"I figured that when she asked me to come rescue her.”
Rule struggled to keep his patience. The ability to make him lose it was a talent shared by these humans. "I am not the danger, and neither is anyone in this building. Your sister is possessed.”
Noah blinked. "She's what?”
"Possessed," Rule repeated. "That is why she did not respond to you in the park when you called her to your side. She could not hear you. The spirit inside her was in control, not Abby.”
"You're serious?”
"Did she act like herself?”
Noah frowned. "Not after that guy showed up. Or maybe before that. I got distracted when the werewolf tried to rip my throat out.”
"If Samantha had tried to rip your throat out, you would not be talking to me right now. But the reason why the spirit inside your sister took over at that point is because it recognized Seth and knew that fiend meant your sister harm. Its panic caused it to seize control of your sister's body and mind.”
"But where did this 'spirit' come from? Was that a particularly haunted city park?”
"Louamides came to your sister yesterday. She did not tell you?" Noah just raised an eyebrow and Rule sighed. As concisely as possible he outlined the events of yesterday. Then while he was at it, he explained the reason he was in Manhattan to begin with.
Unlike Abby, her brother did not give in to hysteria. In fact, his expression barely flickered.
Noah was silent for a long moment before blowing out a deep breath. "Well, shit," he said, his tone mild. "I wish she'd told me ahead of time. If I'd known I was dealing with a fiend, I'd have brought iron and silver ammo, instead of silver and copper.”
It was Rule's turn to blink, nonplussed. "If you had known it was a fiend? You know about fiends?”
"Sure.”
"You know the difference between fiends and demons?”
Noah shrugged. "One's evil; one's not.”
Rule shook his head. "I think you are the first human I have ever met who I didn't have to explain it all to. You may be the first being in all of the Above I did not have to explain it all to." He frowned. "How is it that your sister knew nothing about my kind?”
"She never joined the army." Noah's mouth quirked. "Abby and I are tight, but there are certain things I don't tell her. I can't tell her about my job. She and our parents know I'm in the army, but I haven't been able to tell them anything about my assignments since I made Special Forces. I'm in the Spook Squad.”
Rule shook his head. "I am not familiar with—”
"Not many people are. We're a division of the Special Forces set up about five years ago, when command first began to get suspicious that not everything that showed up in an episode of The X-Files could be fiction. The alien thing's been pretty thoroughly debunked, but they hit pay dirt with the supernatural stuff. Since not all you folks are law-abiding citizens, my team has been around to keep you in line." He made a face. "At least, that's how it was. Since the Unveiling, we've been scrambling to retrain and redeploy. Now we're taking on Other team members and focusing on expanding our mission to handle all national security matters with supernatural or paranormal aspects.”
"I had no idea the humans could be so... sensible.”
"Yeah, well, we'll surprise you from time to time." Noah shifted his weight against the edge of the desk he'd been leaning on and frowned again. "But you still haven't explained why my sister is possessed by a fiend. Other than the obvious reason why fiends usually possess people. They like to use us as disguises. But why hasn't anyone done an exorcism?”
Rule told him about Uzkiel and the solus spell.
Noah swore. "Well, that sucks some serious monkey nuts. What the hell are you going to do now? Because I sincerely hope it doesn't involve leaving my sister as the target of a fiendish hit squad.”
"I have no intention of allowing Abby to come to any harm. This is why she is staying here where the Silverback Clan can see to her protection twenty-four hours a day.”
"No wonder she's so pissed.”
"I have little cho
ice.”
Noah said, "I think we need to be a little proactive here. Have you seriously considered exorcising Abby and hiding Louamides in another host? Someone a little more able to defend themselves than my baby sister?”
"The fiend appears to be stuck," Rule explained about Tess's failed exorcism. "Besides, no human would stand a chance against Uzkiel and his minions. As I explained to your sister, it's not just a matter of keeping her in custody to keep her safe. As high a priority as they may be for us, it's equally important that we keep Louamides safe as well. An Other would be unlikely to volunteer, for they have little more liking for those from Below than the humans. I cannot imagine they would line up for the privilege of being possessed.”
"Then what about me?”
"You?" Rule did a double take. He had not doubted the strength of Noah Baker's affection for his sister but had not expected the suggestion.
"Why not? This Louamides obviously didn't bring a body of his own, so he'll need one, and there's a heck of a lot more of me to hide in," Noah said with a crooked grin. "Also, unlike Abby, if I get myself into a sticky situation, I have the training and the equipment to handle it. No matter how many tricks I've taught my sister, she's still about a hundred and twenty pounds of soft.”
Rule didn't need anyone pointing that out. Especially not Abby's older brother. Her extremely protective older brother. Rule shook his head slowly. "It is not that I do not trust your ability to handle yourself, or to handle Louamides," he began.
"You just don't trust me in general?”
"It is Uzkiel I do not trust. I do not trust him not to go after Abby anyway. He knows Louamides was in her today. Even if we performed an exorcism, it would not surprise me if Uzkiel tried to capture Abby and make her reveal Louamides' new location. Or use her as bait to force me to do so.”
That sent Noah's eyebrows winging toward his hairline. "Why should Uzkiel think Abby would serve as a lever over you? You've only known her for a day. It's not like she's special to you.”
"Of course not." Rule ignored the niggling voice inside of him that suggested he shouldn't speak so hastily. "But Uzkiel knows I am on the Watch. It knows my duty is to protect others from its kind. Your sister would be no exception.”
"Wouldn't it be better to put the fiend into me? That way, even if they found Abby—and trust me, I'm not about to let that happen—they wouldn't have anything to gain from her.”
"That would not stop Uzkiel from torturing her just for the pleasure of hearing her scream.”
The look that passed over Noah's face had Rule's complete sympathy. "So she's damned either way.”
"In a manner of speaking." Rule sighed. "I did not want to alarm your sister or to give her a false sense of confidence, but right now the fact that Louamides is within her is at least a small advantage over not having it. The strength it provides might become critical if the unforeseen were to occur.”
Noah studied Rule's face for a long moment, though the demon wasn't certain what he was looking for.
After a moment, the human shrugged. "In that case, as far as I can tell, we only have one choice," he said.
"Which is?”
"If Uzkiel needs to be returned Below, then we're going to have to find him and bring him there.”
Rule's eyes narrowed. "What exactly do you mean by 'we'?"
"Just what it sounds like, kemosabe." Noah smiled, but the firming of his jaw belied the sunny expression. "There's no way in hell or on earth I'm leaving my sister in the middle of this mess. From here on out, I'm on the team.”
Just what he needed, Rule thought, another human to worry about. "This is not a military exercise," he warned. "Uzkiel is no rogue vampire to be staked and be done with.”
"I never said it was.”
"It is a more dangerous monster than any you have ever encountered. I cannot allow you to put yourself in harm's way and I do not have time to protect you as well as your sister.”
Noah's eyes narrowed. "I don't recall asking for protection. I may be human, but I'm no lightweight. I have eighteen years of military training and experience, five of which have been on the Spook Squad dealing with all sorts of bad eggs who could have physically pounded me into the dust if they'd wanted. We're not trained to go hand-to-hand with an Other; we're trained to outthink him, and from everything I've heard about fiends, they may be clever, but they're not real smart, if you know what I mean.”
"Uzkiel is not stupid. It will not be taken in by primitive tricks." Rule crossed his arms over his chest and had the sinking feeling that if Noah possessed half his sister's stubbornness, this fight could end badly. "This is one of the most powerful and most corrupt fiends I have ever encountered. It is immortal by human standards. It cannot be killed with bullets or holy water, and it will not shrink before symbols of human faith.”
Noah snorted. "I wasn't planning on attacking it with a palm frond and a string of rosary beads. And trust me, anything can be killed with bullets if you put enough of them in the right places. Fiends die when you behead them, don't they?”
"Their corporeal manifestations can be destroyed that way, yes. But the immaterial entity must be trapped in a proper vessel and destroyed magically.”
"Fine. I'll do the shooting; you do the chanting.”
Rule scowled. "You are going to need something bigger than a handgun if you intend to injure Uzkiel seriously enough to destroy its physical body.”
A slow grin spread across the man's face. "Trust me. I have bigger.”
That expression made Rule stop for a moment. A thought occurred to him. "I do not think you ever told me your specialty on your team.”
The grin widened. "Nope, I didn't.”
"Well?”
"Demolitions," Noah answered with great good cheer. "I blow things up for a living.”
Rule grunted just as the latch on the library door clicked open. "Funny. Your sister seems to do it as a hobby."
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Abby paused outside the door of Rafael De Santos's office on the second floor of the club and took a deep breath. The taste of crow was becoming a familiar one to her, but she couldn't say she was learning to like it any better for all that. Since the incident in the park yesterday, she had apologized to Samantha, made her peace with Tess, and even managed to smuggle a note to Missy expressing her regret at getting the Luna in trouble with her mate. All of that had been easy compared to the lion Abby was about to beard.
She rapped briefly on the door and decided the muffled grunt she heard in response would do as well as a command to enter. Her hand closed around the cool metal of the knob and she paused to say a quick prayer for courage—and patience—before she turned it and entered the dimly lit room.
Rafael De Santos had apparently given over to Rule the space in which he normally conducted his business as head of the Council of Others. Instead of the Felix, the demon sat behind the massive walnut desk poring over sheets and sheets of yellowed and brittle paper with a kind of intensity that failed to surprise her in the least. She imagined he focused that kind of intensity on everything he did.
In fact, she couldn't seem to stop herself from imagining him focusing it on making love...
"Oh, for Pete's sake. That fiend's dirty mind must be rubbing off on me.”
"I beg your pardon?”
Abby jerked her gaze up off the floor to meet Rule's across the width of the room. The cold, controlled expression he wore made him look nothing like she remembered from yesterday afternoon, right before she had passed out, or whatever she was supposed to call it when Lou took over her body. Then Rule had looked positively feral.
"Um, hi," she began. He simply stared impassively. "I was just, um, wondering if... you had a minute. To talk to me.”
"About?”
"Yesterday.”
He dropped his attention back to the papers spread before him. "I do not believe that is something we need to, or should, discuss.”
Abby sighed. Not a single one of them was g
oing to make this easy for her, were they? "I don't agree. I think we absolutely need to discuss it. The whole thing demonstrated pretty clearly to me that this situation is even more complicated than I thought it was and that it's not going to end nearly as quickly or as easily as I was hoping.”
"Indeed.”
He didn't say, "I told you so," but Abby could practically see the phrase floating between them, as if a pixie in a crop duster had broken into the club and written it in the air in plumy exhaust.
"That being the case, I thought..." She rubbed her damp palms against the legs of her jeans. "I wanted to tell you…I'm sorry. For some of the things I said to you yesterday. Not the stuff about wanting to leave, or about finding this whole thing insane, 'cause those are both true. But I attacked you personally, and that wasn't fair. So…I'm sorry.”
"Apology accepted.”
Abby stood there a moment in silence while Rule continued to pore over his research materials, or whatever it was he seemed so engrossed in. She could almost hear the crickets chirping.
"That's it?”
"What is it?" He shuffled some papers aside, pulled out new ones. Never looked up.
"That's all I get? That cool little 'apology accepted' and we both go on our merry ways?”
Finally he looked up, but his expression said he wasn't at all happy about it. "You do not want me to accept your apology?”
"Of course I want you to accept my apology! You should accept my apology! You should—" Abby cut herself off and pressed a hand to her forehead.
"I beg your pardon?”
"Don't beg my anything. I think it's time we all decided no more begging." She closed the office door behind her and crossed over to the desk, sinking into one of the chairs opposite Rule's position of elegant authority. "My olive branch may be kind of wilted, but I swear, I came to make peace.”
The Others 03: The Demon You Know Page 13