by Dakota Brown
"Oh, okay. So, your turn. Talk."
"I believe I mentioned that I'm dragging you to a meeting of sorts to discuss the recent events. Some of us are concerned the events are all connected and wish to compare notes. This was the easiest and safest way for us to all meet. You'll meet some interesting folks over the next couple of days. Then I have to get final permission to bring you to hell with me, and we'll retrieve Sabian."
"You need permission? I came all this way, and I might not get to go?"
"Yes, from the gatekeeper. If I didn't think they'd let you in, I wouldn't have brought you," he replied a little hotly. "The only way to get a soul into hell that is still attached to a body is through one of the portals. You will need a gate key." He held up his arm, showing me an ornate bracelet I certainly hadn't noticed before. It looked like it might be made of similar material to the crystal Sabian had sent me. That was still in my jacket pocket.
"How do you do that?"
"It's a glamour."
"Is that how you hide your horns, too?"
Ezra's eyebrows rose before he smiled. "Yes, basically."
My fingers twitched of their own accord. I knew he'd let me investigate. I also knew I wouldn't get away with just a quick check, so I kept my hands to myself.
"So, hell. What can you tell me?"
"Well, parts of it are extremely unpleasant, and parts of it are quite decent. It's populated by demons and some other creatures, and it's split into territories. I'll show you around my territory first, so you can get an idea of what we're heading into, and then we'll go retrieve Sabian. If all goes well, it won't take very long."
"How likely is it to be easy?"
Ezra smiled. "I wouldn't hold my breath."
"Great."
He shrugged. "You want him back. I want him back. This is the only thing I could come up with. Your exorcist powers will work in hell. If you banish a demon there, they will simply be sent back to whatever place they consider home, as I said."
"So, if we're in their home, it won't be useful, but if we're not, then it'll buy us some time?"
Ezra nodded.
"What else?"
"You should have access to your magical abilities, as well."
"Yeah, except I don't really know any other magic besides some small spells and stuff."
"I suspect you'll want to work on that."
"Yeah, Mal thinks so, too. It took me a while to recover from that fight, though. You trashed my aura pretty hard."
"I'm sorry for that," Ezra replied, voice softening.
I shrugged. It was done and had been necessary. "Okay, so we're stuck here for a couple of days while we chat with these friends of yours. Why did you bring me again?"
"Associates. Only a handful of them would I consider anything close to a friend. Demons, especially princes, do not exactly have friends. I brought you in case you noticed something I don't, and because I didn't want to come alone."
"Right. When do these meetings start?" I wasn't sure what to think about me being Ezra's idea of good company for supernatural meetings.
"Tomorrow."
"Great. So, what are we doing tonight?"
"Dinner?" He tilted his head, questioningly. "A night on the town?"
"Sure."
"Then you'll need to change."
"I what?" I was wearing my jacket out of habit, though I needed to figure something else out if we were going outside. There was no way I wanted to wear the leather in this damp heat, no matter how many times it had saved my ass. I also had on a tank top and my normal ripped, acid washed jeans.
"While I'm not trying to impress you," he said and grinned. "I would like to treat you to a very nice meal. I know just the place, but they have a dress code."
I wrinkled my lips.
"It's worth it, Chris."
"All right, fine, but I didn't bring anything nice. I'm not even sure I have anything nice."
"That isn't an issue."
"Can't wear dressy clothes if I don't have any."
"Yes. We can either go shopping, or you can trust me to summon something for you."
"You want to go shopping?" I arched an eyebrow and smiled at him, seeing how far his good will was going to extend. I seriously doubted he actually liked shopping. I didn't, either, but I wasn't sure if he knew that or not.
He hesitated before replying, "It's not something I do often," he allowed, looking a little worried.
I chuckled. "Naw, I hate shopping." I thought back to a few weeks ago when he'd been in possession of me. There was a white space he had somehow brought me to where we could talk face to face, as it were. Though apparently it was all in my head. He'd once dressed me in this rather fancy, black evening dress.
I grinned. "You've got better taste then I do. You can pick."
Looking a little relieved, Ezra nodded. "Heels?"
"Only if you want to freaking carry me."
He nodded and stood, eyes unfocusing for a moment before he held out his hand and a long black dress appeared.
"A bit more practical than the other one." He handed it over. "Also, since you really shouldn't go unarmed." He summoned something else.
I took it. "Mmm, sexy." It was a thigh sheath for my knife.
He grinned and shrugged then handed over a pair of flats that went with the dress.
"So, where did these come from?"
"You want to know?"
"I guess as long as no one is going to miss them."
"No."
"Thanks, mate." I headed back to my room to change.
Ezra did have good taste. The fabric slithered against my skin in a most enjoyable fashion. The dress left my arms bare, hugged my frame, and gathered on my chest, showing a bit of cleavage. The skirt was full enough to hide the knife I'd strapped to my thigh. It wasn't completely accessible, but it was better than nothing. I slipped the shoes on, not sure if I felt ridiculous, or sexy, but I guess this was what I was wearing tonight.
When I came out of the bedroom, Ezra had changed, as well. He was back in his normal suit and looked very sharp.
"One other problem," I said as I enjoyed looking at him.
"Yes?"
I held up my wallet. "I don't have any way to carry this without my jacket."
"I'll carry it for you, if you like. Or I can find you a purse."
I considered, then shrugged and handed my wallet over. He put it in his pocket then offered me his arm.
"That's an awful lot of touching for someone who doesn't like to be touched." I let him take my arm.
"I told you, I like touching you." The seduction was back in his voice, but it didn't completely destroy my brain like it had before. That was a relief.
And so, on a demon's arm, I headed out on the town.
This was certainly a first.
The heat was still high, and sweat beaded on my skin, but I was reasonably comfortable in the light dress. Ezra probably wasn't even hot. Mayhem trotted along behind us, seeming unconcerned.
We walked for a few blocks, and I took in the sights. High end shops, little cafés, the press of people. Now that I wasn't off kilter from running into an old friend, I could settle in to enjoy the sights.
"Hopefully Malak's cooking skills haven't completely ruined you for restaurants," Ezra said as he led me to an unassuming glass fronted establishment.
"No. Though he does have me spoiled," I admitted as I let him usher me inside.
The food smell worked its way into my nose and my stomach grumbled. I was looking forward to dinner.
The door chimed and Mayhem growled. I turned to see Nicki and Daed walk through the door, arm in arm and dressed far fancier than even Ezra and I were. What the fuck?
Both of them had aged far more than the ten or so years since I'd seen them warranted, and I suspected their practices had hit them hard. Assuming they'd kept up with the occult, which, since they were here, I had to guess was the case. Daed was a flaming redhead, and that hadn't changed, but the sunken eyes and dark shadows
under his eyes were new to me.
"You're keeping strange company these days," Nicki said, eyeing Ezra.
Something told me she knew exactly who he was, and that did not fill me with any sort of warm fuzzies. We'd parted on bad terms and I'd honestly hoped not to see her again. I didn't wish her or Daed ill, just wasn't interested in renewing the friendship.
"Not really," I replied, just in case they didn't know Ezra was a demon. "What are you doing here, mate?" I eyed both of them.
Ezra stepped up behind me, touching the small of my back, his warm fingers burning into my skin, not unpleasantly.
"Getting dinner. Isn't that why you're here?"
"Right, well, enjoy." I tried to disengage, hoping they would leave us alone, but no such luck.
"So, how's things, Price? And aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?" Daed chided.
"Ezra, Daedalus," I gestured between the two of them.
"Nice dress, think that's the fanciest I've ever seen you," he sneered.
"Yeah, well, every now and again I clean up." I crossed my arms across my chest before I could stop myself from showing that sign of discomfort.
"Daed, I don't like the clientele in here." Nicki tugged on his arm. "Let's go somewhere else."
She glared at Ezra, then shifted that glare to me. Daed nodded and they turned on their heels and left.
"What the fuck," I muttered once they had left. Glancing at Ezra led me to believe he had the same thought. "Can you read any minds or just mine?"
"Their thoughts are guarded in a way that makes me think someone did it deliberately. They certainly know more than your knowledge of them suggests."
"Great."
"Let's worry about it later, Chris," he said. He gently touched my arm and led me toward the hostess, who was surprisingly patiently waiting out our drama.
She led us to a table in the back. Quiet music played, and the acoustics were well planned, so conversations didn't carry. Still, I doubted we'd be talking business here.
The hostess seated us, handed us menus, and told us our waitress would be with us shortly.
I perused the menu, noticed that nothing had prices, and was glad that Ezra was paying. "What should I get?"
"If you like steak, they're known for it."
"Okay." With that advice, I'd get the filet.
"Do you drink wine?"
"Yeah, on occasion."
"Preferences?"
"I don't drink wine that often."
He nodded. The waitress came, introduced herself as Holly, and Ezra took care of that part of the order.
I got the filet then Holly left to go put in our orders.
"So…" I said to try and fill the silence, then realized I had no idea what to talk about. Guilt tugged at me. We should be rescuing Sabian, not sitting here enjoying a fancy meal. Yet, this was the price for Ezra's help, or so he said.
Ezra smiled. "What got you into pizza?"
I arched an eyebrow before smiling. "It was my parents' dream. Live in the desert and make the best pizza in town. So they did it. I just picked up where they left off when they were killed."
"Still, seems like you enjoy it."
I grinned. "It was better after I redecorated."
The demon chuckled. "The new additions to the décor are a bit horrifying."
Laughing, I shook my head. "I had very little to do with that."
"I know." He smiled.
We were interrupted by the arrival of our wine, which was presented to us in some sort of wine ritual that I tried hard to appreciate. The wine itself was fantastic, and I let Ezra keep me talking about the pizza shop. I got as far as lamenting that I was going to miss quote war night and laughing about Mal's apparent disdain for the eighties when the food arrived. He'd even distracted me from my guilt to some degree.
This was an event that did stop conversation. The steak melted in my mouth and I groaned in delight.
"Yeah, okay, this is delicious," I admitted after a few decadent mouthfuls.
"I told you it would be worth dressing up."
"Yeah, for this I'll put on a dress."
Ezra smiled, pleased.
The meal passed in companionable silence, and then we let ourselves be talked into dessert. I had to try the chocolate cake, and it was just as good as the steak had been.
"Well, I won't tell Mal," I said once we had finished our dinner, and were polishing off the last bit of our wine. "But I think that was better than anything he's cooked so far. Of course, I haven't set him loose on expensive steaks yet, so we'll have to see."
"He has a lot of talents," Ezra allowed.
I could tell he was trying to be charitable toward the vampire for me, which was a nice effort. He would have to try harder though, if he wanted in on our little group.
"Yeah. You should see him with a sword. He's teaching Aaron." I might have had to wipe away a bit of drool at the memory.
Ezra smiled. "I can imagine."
Probably because he could read my mind, but still…
"Shall we?" He held out his hand.
I let him take my hand and lead me back outside. I missed my desert, but I resolved to enjoy myself while I was here.
We wandered, not really talking about anything specific, just people watching and killing time. We got a fair bit of looks ourselves as we walked, and I was enjoying the swish of the fabric against my legs.
In some ways I could get used to this.
Chapter 8
Price
I was surprisingly relaxed by the time we wandered back to the hotel.
"Would you care for a drink before we return to our suite?"
"Sure, why not." I wasn't tired enough to go to sleep, and I wasn't sure I was ready to face a suite with just Ezra and Mayhem for company.
"I believe some of the others are here. Perhaps you can meet some of them early."
"That might be good, since I don't know anyone." I tensed, the relaxed feeling gone as the purpose of this delay in New York came back to me.
Ezra touched my hand where it rested on his arm. "It will be okay, Chris. This won't take long, and then we'll get Sabian back."
I took a breath and nodded. "I wish we could do this in reverse order. Get Sabian, then play nice with all the others."
"So do I."
Glancing at Ezra, I could see the sincerity in his eyes. I wasn't sure if it was because it bothered him that another demon had something of his, or if he truly was worried about Sabian, but either way, we both wanted the incubus returned to us.
Together, we walked into the restaurant and bar area of the hotel, Mayhem on my heels. It was just as fancy as the rest of the place, nearly feeling like a classy night club instead of a hotel establishment. Ezra skirted around the restaurant area and headed for the bar.
"Ahh, Prince Ezra," a voice called, commanding our attention.
Ezra stopped and we both looked toward the voice. Four people sat at a square table, drinks before them. Looked like they were all whisky drinkers. The man who had spoken to us had unnaturally pale skin, as if he'd never seen the sun, and black hair. I could barely meet his eyes. Where Ezra's seemed to contain the universe, his seemed to devour everything they looked upon. He was average height, and average build and not unattractive, just unnerving.
"Hello," Ezra dipped his head in a slight bow to the one who had spoken. "And what are you going by these days, old friend," Ezra asked.
I studied the four seated at the table. The woman–a blazing redhead–seemed to alternate between wide-eyed amazement and some sort of knowledge that grounded her in the moment and reassured her. She had pale skin and a dash of freckles across her nose, as if she spent as much time outside as the strangely pale man did not. One of her other companions was Asian, with dusky colored skin, average height, and rather plump, with a cheerful, amused smile on his face. The last was a tall, thin black man with skin darker than Aaron's and a contemplative but not unfriendly expression on his face.
"Azrael is
fine for the time and present company," he replied. "You know Famine who is going by Jin at present, and Plague who you can call Sefu. This is War. Her name is Cáit." He gestured to the woman, a pleased smile on his face.
The four horsemen? No shit. I shivered, feeling way over my head. Of course, if the others there were War, Famine, and Plague, that was Death. Holy crap. Fear sent tendrils of ice down my spine.
"You found your War then, Congratulations," Ezra replied.
"Yes, thank you. And who is your companion?"
I wasn't sure if I wanted Ezra to introduce me or not. I'd never expected to meet the horsemen. Not even Death, really. I'd always assumed I'd rate a minion to drag me off to whatever hell I'd earned when my time was up. Mayhem pressed up against my leg as if to offer support. Shit, I hadn't even really known they actually existed.
"This is Chris Price. Exorcist," Ezra answered, saying the last bit with a great deal of irony, acknowledging the absurdity of a demon prince running around with an exorcist.
Azrael studied me, eyes narrowing. I simply could not fathom shaking hands with the literal angel of death, so, hoping I wasn't being rude, I kept my hands at my side. Were they all angels? Or just Death?
"Howdy, mate," I greeted them, not sure what else to say.
He inclined his head politely before turning his attention back to Ezra.
"Where did you manage to find a mage with the old blood?"
"Exorcist," I corrected before cursing myself. Being a smart ass to Ezra was one thing, but Death? Also, what the hell was he talking about? Old blood?
"New Mexico," Ezra replied.
Azrael raised his eyebrows. "Even more curious that she allowed you to bind her."
Ezra blanched when I turned to look at him. That was not an expression I'd ever thought to see on a powerful demon prince's face.
"Say what?" I practically growled at him. That was not anything I liked the sound of.
"You didn't know?" Azrael turned his attention back to me.
I crossed my arms, and wished I had access to my holy water. I could stab him with my knife if I really needed or wanted to.