by Kish Knight
Within the hour, the tabloids would be buzzing about where exactly were they, and whether or not they were back together.
Brielle remained where she was after the picture. “Why are you here, Tarim?” She didn’t mean for her tone to come out as sharp as it did. It wasn’t his fault that he wasn’t as exciting as a powerful Angel with an important mission.
Finished uploading his picture, Tarim smiled. It was a fake smile, she knew.
“Why am I here?” he asked, fake hurt on his face. “I’m trying to bring back our spark.”
Her head shook before she even realized. “How about we don’t….” ‘Never,’ she thought. At this point, irritation at Tarim snapped along the edges of her skin, so much so that she could barely contain it.
‘Touch him.’ The accented voice came along with the usual flutter that told her one of her ‘guests’ was present. It was the demon, and though her gut told her he was up to no good, she complied.
Walking over to Tarim, she laid her hand on his forearm. In surprise, Tarim smiled back and gripped her waist quickly. He was never one to miss an opportunity.
‘Say the words. Itsat muk fe tin.’
Mumbling, Brielle repeated after the demon, unsure of what she was doing. But as the last word left her lips, Tarim collapsed heavily to the ground, apparently frozen.
“Shit!”
Dropping to her knees immediately, Brielle knelt beside him, checking his pulse. Whatever she’d expected, it wasn’t this.
Luckily, Tarim still had a pulse, and for all intents and purposes, seemed to be alive. He was just ….. frozen.
The flutter came again, followed by the smug voice. ‘That is how you deal with a pest.’
With a sigh, Brielle realized that he was right. Of course, she was completely responsible for this, but at the moment, she would take it.
Since Tarim was out of the way at the moment, she would use the time to her advantage. She could deal with fixing him later.
It wasn’t difficult at all to drag his stiff body into the closet and shut the folding doors. Hopefully, housekeeping wouldn’t discover him in there before she could restore him back to normal.
Her earlier wave of sickness seemed to be returning, however, and Brielle was going to use her time to nap before going out to look for Katse.
Taking off her heels, she slipped into bed and relaxed. Before she slept, though, there was one thing she needed to do.
Grabbing her cell, she searched for the translation of Libri Arma Venefici. She might as well know the meaning of the book that she was about to proposition Katse with.
It wasn’t long before she found it.
Libri Arma Venefici.
Book of Magical Weaponry.
Her stomach sank.
CHAPTER 6
‘Just figures,’ she thought sourly. She should have known that a club like this would have been down a dark back alley, instead of glossy nightclubs that she was accustomed to.
The dark, dank nightclub smelled, mostly like piss, second only to the overwhelming stink of spilled liquor. Just walking in there, Brielle felt self-conscious, not only for that fact that she wasn’t as rough as the crowd there. There was also the matter that most of the club’s patrons were demons. That had a lot to do with it.
It figured that the address on the demon’s card would be a run-down rattrap. ‘Is anything in this town that’s not?’
“Why are we here?” Roe whispered shakily at her side. Long fingernails bit into Brielle’s arm, hand clutching her tightly.
“I need to speak to a guy here.”
“Who?” her friend shot back incredulously. “Who the hell do you know in here?” The toe of her heels caught Brielle’s ankle for the fifth time, and Brielle forced herself not to snap ‘back the hell up.’ There wasn’t an inch of space between them as they made their way through the crowd, but the place was not that packed. Her friend was just scared, so scared that she had every intention of maiming Brielle before the night was over.
“Calm down. We’ll be in and out in a few.” Hoping that her friend would relax enough to give her some space, Brielle headed for the bar. Making her way to the counter, which thankfully was clean, they found two empty stools and sat.
“I’ll buy you a drink-,” she offered hesitantly, but swallowed the rest of her words as Roe gave her the eye.
“Just hurry up and find who you’re looking for,” her friend snapped.
Turning her attention to the rest of the room, she quickly found who she needed. The guy, clearly a demon by the mottled grayish-red energy wafting off of him, sat alone at a table dead-center of the room. He seemed to be a mid-level minion, judging from the size of his energy signature; some had more, some had less.
Leaving her friend at the bar, she walked over and joined the demon at the table.
Without raising his head, he mumbled, “Fuck off.”
“Excuse me?” Brielle let a smile cross her lips. “Don’t think you know who you’re talking to.”
“Yeah, and I still said to fuck off. I don’t need no more ladies tonight. Try again tomorrow.” The last words were said with a sneer that set Brielle’s teeth on edge.
“Oh yeah, smartass?” Leaning forward over the table until her face was close to his, she snapped her fingers inches away from his cheek. Focusing as hard as she could on the air, drawing the faint fumes from the drink in front of him, she gained enough energy for combustion. A quick flame erupted at her fingertips, and she twiggled them for extra effect. She hadn’t actually been certain it would work, but was extremely grateful that it had. “How about an EverWitch? Have you had enough of those for the night? Or are you so stupid you have no clue what an EverWitch is?”
By the way his head jerked up, clearly he knew.
Without warning, the demon gripped her wrist in an iron grip. Unease flooded her stomach as she struggled to break his grip and found that she couldn’t. It took everything in her to keep a calm face, but she did.
“Let me go,” she said easily, keeping her voice down so that they wouldn’t draw a lot of attention. Hopefully, demons manhandling women was a common occurrence in this place.
He didn’t free her, instead leaned forward to hiss, “Which side are you on? Us or them? What’s your affiliation?” His tone made it clear that saying ‘none’ or ‘them’ were both wrong answers.
Wisely, she said nothing.
Fire began to lick at the edges of his eyes. “It better be us, ‘cause if it’s not, you know what happens to EverWitches caught on the wrong side.”
About to state her request, Brielle paused. This was new. “What are you talking about? What happens if you’re caught on the wrong side?”
His grip on her wrist tightened. “Oh, they didn’t tell you? You get your head sliced off and used to make a new lock on the door to Purgatory.”
The fuck?
She sure as shit hadn’t heard that before. “No,” she said in a voice as smooth as silk, “they didn’t tell me all of that. But now, you really need to let me go. I need a meeting with Katse. Like ASAP. You can set that up, right?”
He frowned, but she noticed that his grip on her loosened. “Maybe. But why would I?”
“Because you would be the one bringing an unaffiliated EverWitch in, and Katse is waiting for me to decide. I can tell him that you persuaded me to pick this side. And-,” she motioned to the corners of the ceiling, “I’m sure that there are cameras all over this joint, so you don’t want to try any funny stuff with me.”
Glaring at her, he stood. Sliding his drink across the table to her, he muttered, “Drink up. I’ll be right back.”
Brielle smiled, proud of herself. ‘What the hell,’ she thought, and took a long swallow of his drink. She would need it for the meeting with Katse.
****
“This is a pleasure,” the demon seemed unruffled as he greeted her from an enormous hot tub in the floor. Katse held a drink in one hand, and gazed at her as if he didn’t have a care in the
world. Two women, presumably human, lounged in the tub next to him, also drinking. All three were naked from what Brielle could see.
Mentally, Brielle forced herself to keep her gaze above the water’s surface. Though she had seen the option for his other, more horrific form, his human form was perfect. The demon was stunningly handsome, all smooth skin and taut muscles. Wet hair clung to his scalp, emphasizing a chiseled bone structure.
She smiled. “Guess so.”
Katse raised his brows. “Well, what? You wanted a meeting. Speak.”
“Oh.” Brielle was thrown off by the abruptness of his conversation. To cover her surprise, she tossed out a glib comeback. “I’m surprised that you’re not inviting me to join your little party in the tub.”
The demon took another sip from his drink. “The water is set at 500 degrees. Doubt that you want to jump in here.” Inclining his head at his two female companions, he added, “My power keeps them safe in here. If they try to leave without me, they’ll die. Still want to join?”
The shock of his blunt statement straightened her up. Clearly, this wasn’t the guy to beat around the bush with. So, she came right out with it.
“I have something that you want.”
“Oh? You’re joining our side?”
Remembering what the miserable demon had said about being caught on the wrong side, she nodded quickly. “I’m seriously considering it. BUT-,” she added quickly, “before I do join, I need your help.”
His brows only rose, but he said nothing.
“My nephew is ten. He needs a kidney donated to him and I am, or was, the only blood match. But now since I have these powers, my blood doesn’t match. I need my blood to be human again so that I can save my nephew’s life.” Here, she tried her very best to keep her tone steady so as not to say the wrong thing. “I know that the grimoire Enya stole can help me with a spell, but only a demon, such as yourself, can unlock it.”
Katse shrugged, but then locked eyes with her over his wineglass. “As you mentioned, the damned Angel Enya stole the grimoire and the bitch died before we could get it back. What do you want me to do about it?”
Keeping her tone steady, Brielle gave a small smile. “What if I told you that I know where Enya hid the grimoire? I have the Libri Arma Venefici.”
If she was expecting a big reaction from him, then she was mistaken. The demon only looked at her with intense eyes. Carefully raising his glass once more, he drained it. Then, still keeping his eyes on Brielle, he handed the glass to a servant who had appeared in time to receive it.
Then he spoke, his words blasting her with intense heat. “Are you trying to bargain with me, witch?”
Brielle felt the sweat roll down her forehead, under her shirt, and down her skin. This turn of events was different. “Um, I guess. I need your help in exchange for something that I have.”
Suddenly his eyes blazed, fire licking at the edges terrifyingly. Then, he was gone from the tub, leaving the two women, shrieking in agony as the water burned their flesh. Brielle gasped as hot air encircled her legs, and then traveled up her body, coiling its way around her as it went. She suspected that this was Katse, and she froze in place, afraid to move. A slight tremble wracked her as she tried to blank out the sounds of the screams. She wanted to help the women, but even as the wisp of air slithered away, she suspected that Katse was still there hovering in front of her.
His voice came at her in a shout. “There are negotiators that train for decades to bargain with demons, but you’ve decided to come to me on your own?”
Brielle flinched at the power in the words, but stood fast. And then Katse suddenly appeared back in the water, back sitting between the women, and a flash of red energy appeared to cover the women for a second. Then the screams stopped, flesh no longer burned, all damage having been corrected by the red energy, and the comfortable hot tub scene resumed.
Locking eyes with her once more, he lifted his hand and someone quickly placed a fresh drink into it. “But perhaps, all disrespect aside, that’s good for me.”
Now, Brielle grew the slightest bit worried. Shock filled her at how quickly and callously the demon could inflict hurt without batting an eye.
“So,” he continued, as if he hadn’t just burned the hell out of his women, “I assume that you want to exchange the grimoire for a spell to make your body human?”
“Correct,” was all she said.
“And you need this done in time for an operation to save a child’s life?”
“Correct.”
“Bargain agreed to.” Katse sat forward in the tub, eyes going completely black. “Bring me the grimoire by tomorrow noon, here, and by tomorrow evening, you shall have your spell in effect. This will return your body to human for 24 hours in order to do the operation.”
Brielle held her breath, hoping that there wasn’t more to the bargain. But there wasn’t. “Good.”
“The matter of which side you will pick to serve, what is your decision?”
“I need more time,” she stated flatly, praying that the demon did not have ESP as well. She had no intention of picking any side. Once her body returned from human, she was fleeing far away, and using some of Enya’s power to go underground. She would at least be protected while she was in the hospital, recuperating from the kidney transfer operation. Then, she would disappear.
The fiery gaze was back. Flinching inwardly, Brielle held the demon’s gaze without wavering. She was relieved when he simply said, “Tomorrow at noon. Don’t be late, or the consequences won’t be in your favor.”
By his menacing tone alone, Brielle knew that could mean her death.
CHAPTER 7
Picking her way back through the dingy hallways of the club wasn’t pleasant. By this time, it was approaching the early hours of the morning, and the patrons had at least tripled. Even before she arrived onto the packed dancefloor, the scent of stale body odor, beer, and evil assaulted her nostrils.
Brielle spied her best friend still sitting at the bar, doing her best to fend off the advances of a hulking leather-clad guy. She pushed her way through the crowd. Poor lighting in the club coupled with a few ill-placed strobes made shadows where none should be, and several times, Brielle nearly used her newfound flame-throwing skill on a human, mistaking them for demon.
‘Well, shit,’ she thought, ‘the joint is run by demons.’ But even thinking it didn’t ease her jumpiness. Her gut told her that the chances of her making it out of the club after striking her bargain were slim. Plus, the odd feeling that she was being watched clung to her. Perhaps she just didn’t trust the sly demon any more than he did her. She would feel a lot better once they were out of there.
Finally making it to the bar, she slid between her best friend and the guy. Her friend’s expression spoke volumes, mostly about how much pain she was ready to inflict.
“Sorry, she’s with me,” she told the guy, not even sure if he was human. With the dead-eyed look, she just couldn’t tell.
To her friend, she mouthed two urgent words. “Let’s go.”
Her friend didn’t linger. “About damn time,” she said loud enough for those around them to hear.
Getting out of the club proved to be a challenge since people were streaming in drunkenly, and the doorman didn’t seem to care about letting anyone out. Finally, they were able to push their way out through the door.
“What were you doing in there for so long?”
Brielle glanced at her friend for a second, knowing that she would sound like a complete loony tune if she even attempted to explain. Her friend would never understand any of this; believing in supernatural things wasn’t even a thing in their society. “We need to get to the car quickly,” she said on a sigh.
Outside, the club, she started walking briskly, knowing that they needed to get to the car before Katse or his goons could catch up with her. That is, she intended to, until two huge guys stepped directly into her path, blocking her way.
“Excuse me,” she muttered
, trying to go around, but finding nowhere to go. The guys took up too much space.
Familiar red irises stared back at her. The brows and lashes framing the eyes were stark white, high contrast to the cedar-colored skin. Though she had seen a lot of unimaginable creatures in the last day, this pair was like none she’d ever seen. Energy glittered all around them, sparks of it trapped in the crevices of their clothing.
Both stood tall, towering a full head over the women, and wore sleeveless armor which left their huge, muscled arms bare.
The most startling thing about them was the fact that they held an air of stuffy authority, one that told Brielle to bow before them. She didn’t, but the urge was overwhelming.