The Price of Exorcism

by Dakota Brown

  "Yeah, I know. I had no doubt of that." Also, not the complete truth, but I could sense the honesty in her words. Now I just felt guilty about doubting her, but she had enough to deal with and I wasn't going to burden her with my thoughts.

  "I banished Ezra, too, if it makes you feel any better."

  It did actually and she grinned when she picked up on the thought.

  "It took me about a month to recover from that, then we tried to summon you. Got your message. Couldn't read it 'cause I didn't have Ezra anymore. Fortunately, he showed up and here we are."

  "Next time I need to send a message, I'll pick Latin or something," I offered.

  "Naw, I speak and read demonic now."

  "You do?" That made me pause before I joined her in the shower.

  "Yeah. Ezra dropped a whole library's worth of demon knowledge on me when I almost got myself killed again."

  "He did?" Wow, that explained a lot.

  "Yeah."

  "Wait, how'd you almost get yourself killed again?"

  "Uh, we got attacked in New York and I did something stupid when I shielded us. Guess Ezra is tired of saving my ass, so he fixed up his mark and gave me some knowledge and access to his power."

  I reached out and traced the area on her back where the mark was, though it wasn't visible at the moment.

  "You let him mark you?"

  "No. Asshole did that without my permission. Though, I suppose considering why he did it, I guess I won't complain. Seems to have backfired a bit on him, anyway."

  I laughed. "How?"

  "Seems like the control goes more in my favor than his. Not that he's really tried to control me or anything." She shrugged and I ran my hand over her water slick shoulders and down her sides, before pulling her back against my chest.

  "Do I even want to know what you did to end up with Lucifer's mark?" I traced around the edges of the sigil, not brave enough to purposefully touch it, at least not yet.

  "Price of getting you back, mate." She leaned back against me, tilting her head so she could meet my eyes. "Worth it."

  I took a breath, not having expected that. "Let's hope so," I finally said.

  She shrugged. "It's done. How are you feeling?"

  "Ezra restored most of my power after we got you cleaned up," I answered, still shocked that he had done that for me. "And you've restored me in other ways. I'm okay."

  "Asshole better have taken care of you," she muttered.

  "Are you mad at him?"

  Chris sighed. "Yes and no. Not so much that it makes a difference, anyway."

  "Is he going to let you keep me?"

  "Yes, Sabian. You are mine and I am yours and nothing is going to change that. Ezra has resigned himself to sharing my meager affections with you and Mal and Aaron, and I think Mal has resigned himself to sharing with Ezra. He's fine with the rest. Aaron never had a problem with Ezra to start with."

  "I feel like an entire lifetime's worth of strange things have happened while I was gone," I answered.

  "Me, too." She sagged against me, and I held her while we both absorbed the heat from the water.

  After we stood there for a while, supporting each other, I felt Ezra's attention brush across Chris.

  She grumbled under her breath but straightened. "Guess we should face the rest of the world."

  I captured her for one more quick kiss, before we stepped from the shower and dried off.

  "You can use magic to get cleaned off, at least here, you know," I offered.

  "Yeah, I know. Prefer the shower."

  She had changed in the month or so we'd been separated. Fundamentally, she was still the same exorcist who'd rescued me from that cursed pendant what seemed like ages ago. Yet she had more power, more confidence, and more weight on her mind than she had when we'd first met. I hadn't gotten the impression that Chris Price worried about much, but something had her worried now.

  "Someone's trying to start an apocalypse, mate. Kinda got me thinking, I guess," she said as she dressed.

  "Wow, yeah, really going to take some getting used to."

  Chris laughed. "How do you think I felt?"

  "Actually, you never really cared, or I would have done my best to not listen."

  "Okay, fair. I'm still working on not listening, so forgive me until I get it under control, please."

  "I don't mind, Chris. I'm just not used to you knowing what I'm thinking. Ezra, yes, though I've had limited dealings with him until recently, but not anyone else."

  "It's really fucking weird," she admitted. "Is what it is, I guess. Can all demons read minds or is it just you and Ezra?"

  "Most demons have some ability in that area, but not all of us. Succubae and incubi and crossroads demons are especially good at it. Aids us in what we do."

  "Right." I changed the subject. "Let's go see if Ezra has any food suitable for my poor mortal form. I'm starving."

  Oh…she didn't know…I buried that thought deep, too. I was not going to be the one to tell her that potential side effect of what Ezra had done to her. He could handle that revelation. She very likely wasn't as mortal as she thought she was now.

  She glanced at me when I hesitated.

  "Food, Sabian. You've been fed. I feel like I haven't eaten in a couple of days. Which is about right, actually."

  "Sorry." I hurried to her side. "So apocalypse." That comment was starting to sink in, too.

  "Yeah. That's about all I know."

  I'd never been inside Ezra's home before. It was relatively unadorned, but nice enough. The demons that lived here skirted around my vision. I could sense them, but they were frightened of Chris, and I didn't blame them one bit. It was better if they were afraid of her. If they got too comfortable, they might challenge her. I had no doubt that Chris would win, but no one needed her to get into a fight with Ezra's demons.

  The sound of paws thundering on the floor preceded Mayhem and three other hellhounds as they barreled down the corridor toward us.

  Chris held out her arms and Mayhem crashed into her, amazingly not throwing her to the ground.

  "Who's a good boy," she said as she hugged the hound.

  His rumbling purr filled the room.

  She pet the other three and then we headed down the hallway.

  I was amazed at how comfortable she was acting with all of this. Chris pushed open a beautifully polished wooden door and we walked into Ezra's study.

  The four horsemen were seated around his fireplace, along with a few other hellhounds.

  Ezra himself handed Chris a plate loaded with food and a mug when she walked in.

  "Okay, no longer mad." She went over to sit on the floor by the fireplace, leaning against Mayhem since the regular seating was a bit crowded.

  Ezra looked relieved.

  The dynamics had certainly shifted in the last few weeks, and he was obviously just as smitten with Chris as I was. That shocked me more than just about anything else that had changed. Ezra was not one to get involved with others.

  Chris was focused on eating and I expected to be ignored so I hung back, but Ezra shocked me again. He pointed toward a chair he'd pulled up. I sat, wondering if Ezra had realized exactly how uncharacteristic that was.

  He might have caught my thought because he glanced at me and shrugged.

  Ezra sat in his office chair after a quick glance at Chris, who was content with her hellhound backrest.

  Then Ezra surprised me even more and gave me a quick update about everything that had happened since I'd been captured by Lott. My head was nearly spinning with the events I'd missed, and from the expression on Chris' face, Ezra might not even know all of it.

  "Right, so we gotta let old Lucifer know his pal Mammon is behind all this. If he doesn't already know. And then we gotta figure out what Brennan's angle is in all this, and my old mates." Chris wrinkled her nose.

  "I would guess that this may be two-fold," Azrael said. "I can almost see the apocalypse angle as a distraction while Mammon makes his bid for hel
l. Perhaps it's even part of an agreement he has with another entity in exchange for support. He helps start an apocalypse, the other entity supports his bid for hell. Even if he were able to defeat Lucifer, he would need considerable support to maintain his position as the new ruler."

  "Great, so we're dealing with Mammon and someone else." Chris groaned.

  "It looks that way," Ezra agreed.

  "Okay, so what do we do now?"

  "Now, I get you and Sabian home, and you try to stay safe while I and a few others do some investigating."

  She snorted. "Safe, right."

  "Between you and Malak, you should be reasonably safe," Ezra said.

  I wasn't sure how I felt that Ezra didn't count me in Chris' protection. I wasn't much use in a fight. That didn't seem to bother Chris, however, or Mal, but I wasn't completely useless.

  "Aaron isn't useless, either," I pointed out. "He may not know much about fighting but if he learns to use his other abilities, he'll pack a punch against demons."

  "Mal's teaching him the sword. Seems to have taken to it pretty quick," Chris explained.

  "What abilities does this Aaron have?" Azrael asked me.

  Having the angel of death turn his attention on me was disconcerting, to say the least.

  "He's Nephilim," I supplied.

  The horsemen exchanged a look. "We should speak with him," War said. "We might be able to help him learn his abilities."

  "Great, well, we should head out soon then," Chris suggested before glancing at Ezra. "I think I need a tour first."

  Ezra shook his head. "Later. This is more urgent. Just promise you'll come back. At the very least, I want to show you my hellhounds."

  She scratched the one nearest her under the chin. "Deal. Okay, how are we getting back to Santa Fe?"

  "We will use the gateway in New York, but our spirit horses will save you the flight and it will be much quicker as we can return directly to your home," Azrael said.

  "How are we getting Sabian out?" Chris pointed at me. "I was under the impression using the gateway required permission and some sort of pass."

  "I will summon him once we are in New York," Ezra said, glancing at me.

  Though I hadn't expected him to ask my permission, I nodded my agreement.

  "Great. Let's go." Chris stood. "Um, where are my things?"

  "Just call them to you," Ezra suggested.

  "Right." She held out her hand and the strap of her duffle bag appeared in it. "Nothing contraband in here now, so I guess I can just carry it."

  "Or you can leave it here and summon it once you're home. Consider it good practice," Ezra offered.

  "Okay." She set the bag down and we all headed for the door. I would wait here and try to convince myself that I deserved to be in Chris' life.

  She stopped and turned to glance at me. "We're going to discuss that in a few, mate." She grabbed my shirt and pressed her lips to mine. I couldn't help but melt into her kiss.

  Chapter 17

  Price

  I stared at the nightstallion, who stood patiently next to War's red mare. Death's pale horse, the ribby gray, and Plague's black stood on the other side of her. The mare was nuzzling the stallion's flaming mane.

  War giggled. "I'll see if I can get you your own flames," she said to the mare.

  The horse nickered happily and came over to her rider.

  The nightstallion turned his attention to me and we eyed each other. "You sure he wants me to get back on? I mean, I'm a shit rider. A couple of lessons when I was younger doesn't make me ready for a horse like him."

  "The spirit horses, of which he is a demonic version, choose their riders," Azrael explained. "He wouldn't still be standing here if he'd simply offered you an assist earlier. You will ride with us again, Chris Price. You will need a mount. Accept him and let us get out of hell. I'm not particularly fond of this plane."

  I muttered under my breath but held out my hand to the stallion and tried not to flinch away when he snuffled my hand with his soft nose. His whiskers tickled my skin and I tried to ignore the dagger sharp teeth that made me think this horse's diet wasn't grass.

  "Thank you," I said to the stallion.

  He nodded then moved up next to me so I could get on.

  "Hope that magic works twice, buddy, or this is going to be awkward."

  He nickered.

  I wrapped my hands in his flaming mane and then I was on his back. I got the idea that I was going to have to learn to mount on my own, but he was willing to help me right now. The horsemen were on their mounts and Ezra stood with us.

  I waved to Sabian, who stood in the doorway, and Mayhem came and sat next to my mount. Moments later that gut churning disorientation from before returned and then we were crowded on the ledge outside the gateway. Ezra went through first and then the nightstallion followed. I'd expected to have to dismount, but we both fit easily on this side.

  The cold barrier wrapped around me, clinging to me, and releasing me on the other side, except now I was on my own two feet.

  "Where?"

  "He will meet you outside where there is more room."

  "Okay, great, that's totally not freaking me out." At least Mayhem was here.

  Ezra wrapped me in a hug, and I stayed there while the horsemen came through the gateway. Their mounts were also absent on this side, and there really wouldn't have been space for everyone, so I guessed it was just as well.

  We retraced our steps from the other night. It was afternoon, and while there were a few demon possessed bouncers around that I could sense but not yet see, there was no music, no patrons, and no Lucifer.

  "I'll fill him in once I see you home safely," Ezra said.

  "Okay. Should we summon Sabian now?"

  Ezra glanced at Death who nodded. We still stood in the private section and it was relatively safe.

  Ezra shut his eyes, gathered his power, and pulled. With an audible pop, Sabian appeared before us and I threw my arms around him.

  He returned the hug, seemingly surprised we'd followed through. Yeah, that demon had a few issues we needed to talk out. I wanted him to know a hundred percent that he was mine and he was needed.

  We didn't speak, just headed out through the main part of the club and back outside.

  The sunlight when we went out was quite bright after my time in hell and I noticed Ezra wearing sunglasses again. The heat and humidity slammed into me and I grumbled before I remembered the trick Ezra had taught me. Wrapping his power around me and thinking about being cooler and drier worked like a charm. That was neat, even if I was using demon magic to do it.

  Out on the curb, five motorcycles waited. Four sport bikes, and a shiny, black Harley. I eyed them. Surely not.

  Yeah, of course the horsemen headed toward the sport bikes. War swung her leg over the red one.

  "I will meet you in Santa Fe as soon as I'm able," Ezra said.

  "You will ride with me," Azrael replied. "My mount, unlike the others, is used to passengers."

  Ezra didn't visibly react for a moment, but I felt the threads of panic that wound through him at the idea of riding with Death.

  "Okay," he replied tightly.

  "What about Sabian?"

  "Ask your nightstallion very nicely to carry your incubus. He will likely assent. If not, I will return for Sabian shortly," Death instructed.

  "So, I'm talking to a motorcycle now?" I walked over to it, running my hands over the handlebars and then swinging my leg over the seat. It rumbled to life without any prompting from me.

  "Do you know how to ride?"

  "Yeah, mate, misspent youth and all." It had simply been years. I shut my eyes and sent my request for him to carry Sabian to Santa Fe. The creature agreed. Reluctantly. I held out my hand to Sabian and the incubus came to me and swung his leg over the back of my bike.

  "They'll revert to their horse forms here in a moment, once we're able to get out of sight," War said.

  I watched as Ezra got on behind Death and had to st
ifle a laugh. He gave me a dirty look and I suspected if he were the type, he would have flipped me off.

  Their bikes rumbled to life, and we pulled away from the curb. The nightstallion was still driving, maybe not trusting me yet. That was okay. We'd have time to work it out. Hopefully.

  Magic washed over us, and then we were on horses again. Sabian squeaked and wrapped his arms around me tightly.

  They launched themselves into the air, Mayhem at my side, and the world shifted around us.

  This time, I enjoyed the ride. Not being chased by a homicidal demon prince really helped the experience, not to mention having my incubus wrapped around me. We raced through the clouds for a short time, before dropping down below them. Descending rapidly, the spirit horses touched down outside my house.

  Sabian quickly dismounted, as did Ezra.

  I took a few extra moments, giving the stallion some more pats in thanks for carrying Sabian for me.

  He shook his head as if to say not to expect it all the time.

  "Thanks, buddy." I gave him one more solid pat before I slid to the ground.

  The spirit horses shifted to their motorcycle shapes, however that worked, and I headed toward the house. I had a moment to glance around the driveway and realize we had company before Mal threw open the door, grabbed me into a hug, and pulled me inside.

  I inhaled his incense and old books smell, melting into his arms.

  "Thank the gods you're okay," he said.

  "Yeah, it's been an adventure," I answered.

  Mal released me and Aaron repeated the bone crushing hug routine.

  "I'm glad to see you, too, Aaron," I said.

  I disentangled myself and turned toward our guests. Azrael had come in with Ezra and Sabian but the other three stood on the doorstep.

  "Uh, Mal, could you let them in?" I wondered what he'd done to the wards to keep the other three horsemen out.

  Mal stared at Death, skin gone pale with shock, eyes wide.

  "Mal, it's okay." I went over and put my hand on his arm. "This is Azrael. That's Cáit , Jin, and Sefu. I don't know what you did to the wards to keep them out, but you can let them in."

  The vampire took a deep breath, unfreezing himself. "Of course. My apologies."