The Price of Exorcism

by Dakota Brown

  It seemed like most had sent representatives, other than the Sidhe, Ezra and the horsemen. I wondered why Ezra had come in person if he could have sent someone in his place.

  I wanted to talk directly to Azrael. Also, I'm here at someone else's request.

  I didn't reply, squeezing his hand in acknowledgement, while trying to ignore the glares Nicki and Daed were shooting my way. Fuck them, anyway.

  The rest of the afternoon dragged, and I was seriously grateful when Azrael called a halt for the evening.

  I was torn between wanting to disappear so I could avoid my old friends, who were obviously no longer friendly at all, and not wanting to miss whatever was going to happen this evening. Also, I needed food.

  Ezra held out his hand for me.

  "An awful lot of touching, demon," I said quietly as I accepted.

  He winked at me as he tucked my arm through his.

  I almost expected him to head toward Azrael but instead he led me through the doors and out into the lobby area of the hotel. He didn't spare a glance at Brennan, Nicki, or Daed, but they were staring daggers at us.

  "Let's get something to eat. Azrael knows I need to talk to him. He won't leave without finding us. We have to sit through this tomorrow, then we can leave tomorrow evening."

  I sighed. "Did we learn anything today?" Mayhem trotted along behind me in his fluffy form. No one at the meeting had remarked on him.

  "Yes. Mostly what I expected. The incidents we're seeing are not isolated. I doubt we'll learn anything else useful, however. Especially with your friends here."

  "Not my friends," I protested.

  "They were, once."

  "I don't know Brennan."

  "I understand that," Ezra assured me.

  He led me into the restaurant and pulled out a chair for me at one of the tables. It had enough room for a few more people and I thought he hoped the horsemen would join us. The restaurant was as fancy as the hotel, but I doubted it would hold up to dinner last night. Still, it should be tasty, and my stomach growled. Maybe sex instead of a large lunch hadn't been the best idea. I banished that thought. It had been a great idea and now I could eat a big dinner.

  A waitress came up to us and handed us menus. I watched as others from our meeting came into the room. Azrael headed our way, but before he could get there, Nicki pulled out the chair next to me.

  I groaned quietly. Daed sat next to her and Brennan sat at the other end, leaving the seat next to Ezra open. I thought that was wise on Brennan's part. Before I could decide if I was going to give up on dinner and leave, Cáit sat across from me, next to Ezra. Mayhem placed himself between me and Nicki.

  She grinned at me and acted like it was the most normal thing in the world that she'd abandoned the other three horsemen and joined us instead. I suspected Azrael had sent her over.

  "Hey, look, they have pizza!" Nicki declared and called the waitress over.

  Fuck. There was no way the pizza here was any good. At least not by my standards.

  Before I could object, Nicki ordered for the entire table, including pitchers of drinks. I had really been eyeing one of the steaks, and I also wanted nothing to do with anything she had going on.

  "So, I'm Nicki," she said to Cáit. "This is Daed and this is Bennana O'Neal. Me and Daed go way back with Price."

  War glanced over at me and I gave her a strained smile.

  "Cáit," she offered after a moment.

  "Did Price tell you how she's a giant hypocrite?" Nicki gave us an innocent simile, tone light as if she were relating the weather. "Or had she not gotten to that yet?"

  "I haven't taken up demon summoning as a hobby," I grumbled.

  "Just fucking them?" Daed this time.

  I raised my eyebrows.

  "You do realize I still object to summoning demons, right? I've been spending the last several weeks sending their asses back to hell, not working for them." I crossed my arms and leaned back in my chair.

  "I don't know, Price, you're the one sporting a demon mark, not us," Nicki sneered at me.

  Ezra glanced at me and I shook my head. Nothing he would have to say would help. They were just being assholes.

  I shrugged. "I'm still not working for them."

  "You sure? You look awful cozy with Prince Ezra there," Daed said.

  "He's good in bed, mate, not my master." That answered the question about if they knew who Ezra was or not.

  Cáit snorted her water, and Ezra patted her on the back when she choked. "Are you all right?" he asked her.

  "Yes, thanks." Cáit laughed. "Sorry."

  Brennan was staying out of the conversation, but he watched us all curiously. I wanted to know more about him, but I also wanted to kill his ass. Or, rather, I wanted someone else to kill his ass. Maybe I could send him to hell. He wasn't a demon I didn't think, but maybe it was something I could do.

  I started pondering ideas about how I could accomplish that while Nicki and Daed went on about how awful I was.

  "Where is Tif?" I interrupted Nicki's tirade.

  "Dead," she replied. "Killed because you couldn't be arsed to stick around."

  "Oh, it's my fault you got into demon summoning and got our friend killed? Both Darius and I told you to leave well enough alone. More than once."

  "Yes, Darius. How is he, anyway? Are you fucking him still, too?"

  "Dude's a priest now and that ship sailed a long time ago," I replied. "So, what happened? Tif gets killed. How'd you explain that away?" I'd let that knowledge sink in later. She had been good people, just too easily caught up in Nicki and Daed's bullshit. I'd tried to get her to leave when I had, but she'd refused.

  Daed and Nicki traded uneasy looks before shrugging. "We handled it."

  "Right."

  Anything else I wanted to say was interrupted by the arrival of the pizza. If I hadn't been a pizza snob, I supposed it might have looked okay, but this was not proper pizza, and I mourned the steak I wasn't eating.

  I took a drink of the pop they had served us and sighed. It was going to be a long night if Nicki didn't get bored soon.

  Fortunately, Cáit had just the thing. "So, do you happen to know this building's history?"

  Nicki shook her head. "No. Why?"

  War smiled and launched into a detailed synopsis of the hotel's past.

  Is she some sort of historian or something?

  I believe she's an archeologist, Ezra replied.

  Sweet. She may have just saved us all from me murdering my old friends.

  Ezra chuckled, took a bite of his pizza and winced. He glanced at me and my empty plate and shook his head. I'll order room service later.

  Cáit was a skilled lecturer, and she went on for nearly forty-five minutes about the hotel and the surrounding buildings, not allowing Nicki or Daed to get a word in. I focused on her, making encouraging sounds, as did Ezra.

  Finally, the other two got up and left. Brennan lasted for a few more minutes, but when it was clear Cáit wasn't done, he left, too.

  Once they were out of the room, her three companions joined us. Famine set to devouring the remaining slices of inadequate pizza.

  "That was brilliant." I laughed.

  She grinned. "It's a skill, I suppose."

  "Well, it really was interesting, so thank you, but you may have saved Ezra having to cover up some murders," I said.

  She nodded. "Yes, we had not expected Lott to send a representative. Especially as we suspect he's involved with a great deal of this."

  "Prince Ezra," Azrael said. "Do you think Lott has the power base to be the driving force behind this upheaval?"

  Ezra shook his head. "No. I'm certain he's someone else's pawn. A powerful one, but he's not working on his own. If nothing else, he's not smart enough to orchestrate events this widespread."

  "What do you think they're trying to accomplish?" War asked.

  "An apocalypse," Azrael supplied.

  "That seems extreme," I said, shivering at the idea.

  "Y
es, but there are many who feel that would be beneficial on several different levels," Azrael answered, his eyes going vacant for a moment before he focused on me. "They are short sighted."

  Goosebumps covered my skin, and I rubbed my hands together. I really would be happy if Death never focused on me like that again.

  "Is this related to the last few months?" War asked Azrael.

  The angel of death nodded, but neither elaborated. Shit, if they were already dealing with some of this, too…were we going to be able to stop it?

  Azrael returned his attention to me. "Chris Price, I suspect you and your men will have a large part to play in the near future. Prepare yourself."

  "How, mate?"

  He smiled and shrugged. "I have no idea."

  Ezra kicked me under the table before I could mouth off.

  Azrael turned his attention to Ezra, and I sighed in relief.

  "He's intense, but he's pretty nice," Cáit said to me.

  I shook my head. "Yeah, he likes you, though. You're one of the horsemen."

  She shrugged. "He likes you, too. I have to ask, though, how'd you end up with Prince Ezra?" She lowered her voice as if it we were able to have a secret conversation while surrounded by the guys.

  "Uh, well, I kind of died. Think you heard about that. Sabian, my incubus, got Ezra to save me. Apparently, he actually likes me, so I guess I'll let him stick around for a while."

  "Azrael told me Ezra doesn't really like anyone, so good job for charming him."

  I snorted. "I think I just sassed him into submission."

  Both Azrael and Ezra glanced at me before going back to their hushed conversation. The other two horsemen were focused on the remains of the pizza and keeping a watch out.

  "And you? Ezra mentioned that the others had found you?" I was inferring that from their earlier conversation, anyway.

  "Yeah. I guess I'm a descendent of the original War's bloodlines. She was killed and the others have been searching for me since." Her pale skin reddened in a blush.

  "So, how's that treating you?"

  Her blush deepened. Seems I wasn't the only one sleeping with interesting people. I wondered if she was with all of them, or just Azrael.

  "Ah, good." She took a drink, glanced at the other two and looked back at me, seemingly embarrassed.

  I grinned at her. "Hey, I got an incubus, a vampire, a half angel, and a demon prince. No judgement."

  Her eyebrows rose and she glanced at Ezra. He was carefully ignoring me right then. Still not happy about sharing then. Tough.

  We fell into companionable chatter for a bit before Ezra touched my arm. "Ready?"

  I glanced at War, but her attention had returned to her men.

  "Sure."

  "We're leaving now," Azrael said as we all stood. "Chris Price, I suspect we'll be seeing you again very soon."

  I widened my eyes and cleared my throat. "Um."

  Death hesitated as if realizing what he'd said before chuckling. "Not like that. Hopefully."

  "You're not very reassuring, mate." Ezra's fingers tightened on my arm possessively.

  "I do not see your death in the near future, but the future is always in motion. I meant in my capacity as one of the horsemen, not as the angel of death."

  "That's a bit better." That didn't stop me from stepping into Ezra's warmth. He put his arm around me.

  "It was nice to chat with you all," I said and let Ezra lead me away, Mayhem following behind us.

  "We're leaving tonight," Ezra stated once we were on the elevator.

  "Won't they miss us tomorrow?"

  "Not my concern."

  "Right."

  He pulled me against his chest, and I leaned into his embrace.

  "If they're truly trying to start an apocalypse, then we don't have any time left. We need to get Sabian so he can't be used as leverage."

  "And then what?"

  "I don't know," Ezra replied grimly.

  Chapter 12

  Price

  The elevator dinged and let us out on our floor. Mayhem trotted off the elevator first and Ezra stepped in front of me. I could literally feel him gather his power around himself, as if expecting to be attacked again.

  Fortunately, nothing bothered us in the hallway. We went into our room, and after a quick sweep, Ezra returned to my side.

  "Is it normal for someone with a demon mark to be able to sense things from the demon that marked them?"

  Ezra stepped closer and I tilted my head back so I could meet his gaze. I slid my arms around his waist and pressed up against him. He cupped my cheeks with his hands, running a thumb along my temple.

  "No. I gave you the ability to call on my powers so you could protect yourself, but it shouldn't let you sense anything from me."

  Standing this close to him, my body burned with desire. His did, too, and it was surprising him.

  "Yeah, think you did something more than you intended, because it's getting easier."

  He smiled, and I let myself get lost in his dark eyes, imagining I was standing amongst the universe they always seemed to contain.

  Ezra pressed his lips to mine, and we kissed, his initial tenderness changing to ferocity as we lingered together. I curled my fingers into his shirt and held him tightly, needing his strength to reassure me. I couldn't believe I was really doing this.

  "It'll be okay." He wrapped me in a hug.

  "It works better when I can't tell you're as worried as I am."

  Ezra held me. "I'm worried about a lot of things, my dear exorcist. I'm not worried about rescuing Sabian and getting you safely in and out of hell. If nothing else, the sheer force of your attitude will keep you safe."

  I blinked a few times, taking his words in, before I burst out laughing. "Is that why you like me?"

  "It certainly adds to your charm." He kissed my head and pressed his cheek against me.

  "War said you didn't like anyone."

  "Not quite accurate, but true enough. I do mostly see the negative side of humanity, and demons as a whole are unpleasant. I've done what's required of me and worked to be in a position where the things I'm now expected to do are less unpleasant." Ezra tightened his arms around me. "Still, you are an unexpected prize, and I don't mean that in a possessive way."

  I let him hold me like that for a few minutes, just absorbing his warmth and listening to his heartbeat.

  "So, I'm good in bed, hmm?" Ezra murmured while he held me.

  "Uh, yeah, mate."

  He chuckled. "I won't lie, I enjoyed hearing you say that to everyone at the table."

  "Wasn't sure what else to say. Wasn't going to lie about sleeping with you. Hell, I've done shadier things for an orgasm. Although, it also wasn't rare that I'd have to get myself off in the process. So, that's a nice change."

  Ezra shook his head. "You're something else, Chris."

  "Yeah, well, remember that."

  "I promise, it will be impossible to forget. Okay, are you ready to go?"

  "What about my stuff?"

  "Ahh, good point. The way to get your holy water and that handy knife of yours past the gates is to send them directly to my home. You should be able to do it yourself, but I'll help, to make sure you get your belongings to the right location."

  "Handy."

  He kissed me one more time before releasing me from his warm embrace. "Yes. I know you've seen me doing it. It should be exactly the same for you, especially since you'll be drawing on my power."

  "You know, giving me access to your power might not have been the best idea."

  "Why?"

  "I might just use it."

  "That's why I gave it to you."

  "True, but what if I take it all and leave you with nothing?"

  Ezra tilted his head as if considering my words before answering. "Unlikely. I think you'd do yourself harm before it got to that point."

  "Could you stop me from using your power?"

  Ezra frowned and his eyebrows raised. "I'm not sure."


  "Point I'm trying to make is, probably shouldn't make sharing your power a habit. I'm unlikely to abuse that, but someone else might."

  "Trust me, Chris, it is unlikely I'll ever be in a position to be willing to share with anyone else."

  "You sure about that?"

  He nodded. "I'm not sure if it is the same for you, but it's extremely," he hesitated as if searching for the right word, "intimate, I guess you could say. I like touching you. I still do not like touching others."

  "Well, just in case some time in the distant future you do find someone else, keep that in mind. I think you've left yourself more vulnerable to me than either of us realize."

  Ezra's expression turned pensive before he sighed. "It's done now. No going back at this point. You have a good point, though, and I shouldn't have done it. My only thought was how to keep you safe until you can build up your own powers to more appropriate levels."

  "I appreciate that, Ezra. Thank you."

  He nodded. "Let's get your things sent and we'll go meet the gatekeeper and get our incubus back."

  I smiled at him. Hopefully, he knew how much I appreciated those words. We went into my bedroom and I caught a stray hint of lust from Ezra as he eyed my bed, but I also felt him remind himself of our mission. Shit, that was weird.

  "I'll teach you how to keep stray thoughts out. It's entirely possible you'll pick them up from Sabian now, too."

  "Why am I getting your thoughts?"

  "I don't know. We should keep that to ourselves, however."

  "Yeah, I figured that out already." Well, Darius was right, I was in deep. Oh well. If that's what it took to get Sabian and to stop the apocalypse, then I guess I was all in. Something else occurred to me. "Mate, the horsemen, aren't they supposed to want the apocalypse?"

  "No. They're simply instruments of a biblical one. If they can prevent it, they will."

  "If we can't, will we have to fight against them?"

  Ezra clenched his jaw. "Let's not find out."

  I shook my head. "Not something I ever thought I'd have to deal with."