In an explosion of black, Valefar was gone. Dad grabbed Lukas’s wrist and took my hand, and shadowed us out.
…
The wait was killing me. Lukas and I had been forced to sit in the waiting room while Dad talked to Mom’s doctor. Twice I’d tried sneaking into her room only to be blocked by the nurse on duty with a stern shake of her head and a finger extended toward the waiting room. When Dad finally came around the corner and sat down across from Lukas, I was ready to scream. For the first time in my life, he looked exhausted.
I jumped from my seat, doing all I could not to shake him violently when he didn’t launch into an explanation right away. “What did the doctor say?”
Dad ran a hand across his face. “She’s okay. Banged up but alive. The doctor says she’s very lucky.”
All I wanted now was to see her. I needed to see she was okay for myself. With my own eyes. “Can I go in?”
“They want her to rest for awhile. Let’s go back to the office, and we’ll come back first thing in the morning.”
I stared, sure I’d heard him wrong. “You mean, like, leave her here alone?”
“She won’t be alone. I have eyes on her.”
My dad, the demon mafia king. Somehow it didn’t make me feel better. Gressil had done this. He could come back at any time to finish the job. He’d pretty much said he would if we didn’t deliver the prison. I needed to be there to protect her.
Dad saw it in my eyes. He shook his head and pointed toward the door. “Shadow home. I won’t be far behind you.”
The finality in his voice didn’t leave room for argument. A retort about bad puppies bubbled up to the surface, but died almost immediately. My charm was a trait Mom appreciated, but Dad? Not so much. I nodded and let Lukas lead me to the elevator.
“She’s going to be okay,” he said as the doors closed. His hand in mine, so warm and comforting, eased some of my worry. He was right. Mom was a tough cookie. And the doctors had confirmed she’d be fine. But I was still shaken.
“She could have been killed.” My voice wobbled a little as the weight of it all came crashing down. “This thing is serious. How are we going to recapture Gress—” Lukas’s hand flew to my cover my mouth. Heart pounding, I took a breath and removed it, nodding a silent thanks. “—the demon? My mom, Lukas. He took down my mom. That’s not easy to do…”
Lukas pulled me to him, and I tilted my head so it was leaning against his shoulder. He smelled of mint soap with just the smallest hint of sulfur. I’d noticed it after Dad saved him, and realized it was getting stronger as each day passed. As he became a demon. “We’ll do it. The Darkers are known for pulling off the impossible.” He stepped away from me and took a sweeping bow. “I’m living proof.”
“Well, if you wanna be technical, you’re dead proof, but yeah. I get ya.” Then I remembered how he’d shown up in the field right before we were summoned to the Shadow Realm. “Wait a sec. Where did you come from? In the field earlier?”
The elevator came to a jerky stop, and the doors slid open. I knew for a fact there weren’t any cameras down here, and how hard could it be to find a shadow in a parking garage? Shadowing out from here seemed like the best bet.
“I’m changing, Jessie,” he said. He stepped out into the garage and stuffed both hands into his pockets with a shrug. “While it’s not exactly the life I would have chosen for myself, it has its perks, one of which is the tools to do my job effectively.”
I tugged my jacket tighter. The lot was mostly empty, and each squeak of my sneakers against the concrete echoed like a bullhorn. “I don’t get it. What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means I can move like a Shadow demon.” One second he was standing beside me, the next he was by the pickup a few spots away. “I’m limited at the moment, since the change isn’t complete. It seems I can only do it once every few hours. Damien says the limitations will fade in time, and I’ll be able to move just like you and him.”
A jolt of excitement lashed through me. This meant we’d be the same. Granted, not exactly, but we’d both be able to shadow. A host of possibilities came to mind, most of them Mom wouldn’t approve of. “Wow. So how does it—I mean, are you okay with it?”
He shrugged and stepped away from the car. He’d learned his lesson the hard way a few weeks ago. We’d been at the movies and he leaned on a Mustang, only to have the alarm go crazy. “It was a bit disconcerting at first, but after today, I’m thankful for it.” He cupped the side of my face. “I won’t allow myself to think of what would have happened if I hadn’t come to the clearing.”
The way I saw it, it wouldn’t have mattered one way or another. None of us were a match for Gressil. I was alive because he thought he’d killed Mom. Mom was alive because, well, she was lucky. Still, I didn’t punch a hole in his theory. I might have, had he not been looking at me in that way again. I swallowed, suddenly very warm, and said, “How did you know to come in the first place, though?”
He came forward and ran the tip of his index finger down the side of my face. A completely innocuous gesture under different circumstances, but in that moment? It lit my insides up like the Fourth of July. “I sensed your panic.”
“Sensed, huh?” My heart was 2.2 seconds from bursting out my chest.
“I can pick up on your fear.”
I took a deep breath. “Oh?” It was all I could manage. Yeah, I was worried about Mom, but the chemistry bubbling between us in that garage was undeniable. There was something happening here that couldn’t—wouldn’t—be ignored.
He let his finger linger at the tip of my chin for a moment before sliding beneath it and tilting my head back and slightly to the left. “I can sense other feelings you have as well,” he whispered against my skin. A second later, his lips brushed my neck, butterfly caresses up and down the sides.
Hell in a hailstorm…
The fact that we were in the parking lot of the hospital made no difference to me. I leaned into him, a soft sigh drifting from my lips as warmth rippled through my entire body. “But you were”—he came to my ear and nipped the edge, and I gasped—“so far. How did you feel me from across town?”
He wound his hand around to the back of my neck, touch like lava, then dipped it beneath the collar of my shirt. “Damien’s guess is that it’s stronger coming from you because of how close we are.” He backed away a few inches so that he could look me in the eye. “My desire to keep you safe is more than just a job to me, Jessie. It’s integral to my being.”
If I wasn’t already hotter than hell for him, that would have done it. The sparks were there between us, but in that instant, a deeper connection rose above it all. It blotted out the raging hormones and combustible lust. I pushed forward and kissed him with a devouring, passionate need for a higher closeness.
Lukas responded, even more enthusiastic, crushing me close. His fingers wound themselves through my hair, around the long strands. He growled. A dark, enthralling sound that sent prickles across my skin, making the hairs on the back of my neck spring to attention. “Jessie…” he murmured against my lips.
“We need to”—I let my head fall back as he moved to kiss the hollow of my throat. My brain was jumbled. Alternating between the desire to continue this and get him back to his place so I could sneak back here to be with Mom—“go.”
He whispered a word that sounded vaguely like no and continued to plant increasingly fierce kisses at the base of my neck, drifting lower and lower with each pass.
A warm tingle gathered in my belly, drifting south. It was exciting, and a little bit scary; I didn’t try to pull away. I should have—we were so exposed here—but I’d never felt anything like this before. It was addicting. Sinful…
Lukas’s gripped my hips, kneading the denim with his fingers. “Come back to my apartment. Let me—”
My scalp began to tingle. There was a sudden static feeling to the air. I tilted my head, just slightly to the left, and what I saw effectively doused my teenaged libido
in metaphorical ice water.
“Down!” I yanked Lukas to the ground as a writhing ball of blue and white soared overhead.
“Here piggy, piggy,” Gressil said in a singsong voice. His laughter echoed off the walls, remnants of wispy purple smoke clinging to the edges of his form.
He came at us slowly, but steadily, walking down the middle of the aisle. Behind him, a car pulled up and when the demon didn’t move, honked its horn. He turned to face the driver. With a snap of his fingers, the car sparked and fizzed, and a moment later, burst into flames.
“We have unfinished business,” the demon said, facing us again.
Despite my best efforts to tamp down the sheer terror clawing its way up my spine, my hands shook as Lukas helped me to my feet. “Well, that’s a new form of abstinence enforcement,” I said, hoping the joke would cover it up.
Lukas stepped in front of me, herding us toward the shadows. There weren’t many. Two years ago, after a mugging in the mall parking garage, the mayor ordered brighter lighting in all underground parking garages. Our only chance was to try to slip between the cars before Gressil got to us.
“Klaire Darker still lives.” The demon laughed as we backed away. He was still coming down the middle, fifteen feet or so away. “It seems the Darker family has even more secrets than I thought.”
“Ya caught me,” I said, voice wavering just a bit. I wasn’t stupid. If this demon could floor Mom with her exceptional skill, what the heck would it do to me? I wasn’t rocking any paste-Jessie-to-the-wall fantasy scenarios, and even though I was tougher than the average human, I was likely to go splat. Instinct told me to grab Lukas and make a mad dash for the shadows, but I’d seen the demon in action in the park. We’d never make it. I needed time to come up with a plan. I needed to stall. “I was making out with my boyfriend. If that’s what passes for newsworthy in the Shadow Realm, you guys need to get a life.”
Gressil growled, losing his grin. Six feet now. Ten, tops. “Give me the prison, servant of Pride.”
“We don’t have it,” Lukas said, still trying to block me from the demon’s wrath.
This time I let him, inching back a bit until I felt the cooling presence of shadow wash over me. A small spot in between two cars. Bingo. This was all I needed. With a deep breath, I snatched Lukas’s wrist and yanked hard, pulling him close and blending into the darkness.
I closed my eyes, preparing to shadow us out of there, but Gressil laughed. Opening my eyes, I cringed against the creepy sound I’d probably never forget.
“Foolish little ants.” He threw up his hands, and the entire garage lit up like Town Square at Christmastime. Every inch of darkness disappeared.
With the small patch of shadow chased away by the new light, we were suddenly visible again, our only escape gone.
“Crap!” I ducked another blast by knocking Lukas to the ground and bending across the hood of the car.
“I will not ask you again. Where is the prison?” Gressil yelled.
“Gressil,” a voice boomed behind us. I twisted, shocked to see Valefar standing in the middle of the aisle, wearing a glare that could level the city. For the first time ever, I was happy to see him. He took exactly two steps forward and stopped. “Leave her.”
The brutality of the demand took my breath away. For an instant—granted, an insane and unrealistic instant—Valefar’s reaction seemed almost protective in a way that might indicate I was more than his property. That he was genuinely concerned about my well-being.
Gressil laughed. Not something I would have done with Val glaring daggers of death, but then again, I didn’t have Gressil’s power or clout. “I may be banned from my home, but I still hear the whispers. You are not permitted to interfere with the task your Regent has been given.” He laughed again. “Capture me? Truly?”
Valefar tossed an offhanded wave in our direction. “I’m not here to interfere. Squash her like a bug if you wish—but make it quick. You and I have unfinished business to deal with.”
And there went my stupid theory that I was something more to him than a possession.
The other demon’s expression darkened. “What Lucifer did to his brothers was against the rules.”
Valefar clucked his tongue. “He wouldn’t have been able to do it if it contradicted the rules.”
“The House of Pride twists things to suit them. Your days are numbered.”
“All our days are numbered if you let Asmodeus out,” Valefar returned sharply. “Your Master and his brothers have no regard for the rules.”
“The rules”—Gressil growled as his body was engulfed in purple smoke. The light above our heads dissipated, and as the smoke drifted away, an echoey voice finished with—“are about to change.”
Chapter Sixteen
At the other end of the garage, a car alarm went off. I ignored it and focused on Val. “What are you doing here?”
He turned to me and scrunched up his nose, clutching his chest in an attempt to convey insult. To me, it looked like he was trying out for Hamlet. “I came to check on Klaire Darker, of course. It seems the Darker matriarch is going to be fine. I’m sure this finds you in an improved mood?”
I wasn’t interested in Val’s chatter at the moment, but since he was here, I had a few questions. “Why was my dad so pissed I was at that freaky meeting? Oh, and by the way, why was I at that freaky meeting?”
Valefar grinned at Lukas, who’d been silent until now, and with a wink, said, “Would you care to take a swing at this?” When Lukas did nothing but glare, the demon sighed. “Very well. But I suggest moving the conversation someplace a little less conspicuous.”
With a snap of his fingers, we were back in our office. Lukas and I were on the couch, while Valefar sat behind Mom’s desk with his feet kicked up. Huh. I bet even the cocky demon would run for the hills if Mom got a load of that. She threatened to soak my sneakers, then toss them in the freezer last time she caught me with my feet up.
He picked up one of Mom’s pens and rolled it between his fingers. “The Shadow Realm is like a pyramid. Each layer has a Master and Regent and Minions. A Regent is like a second-in-command.”
“Okay,” I said cautiously. Lukas was purposefully averting his eyes, and that bugged me.
“I”—Valefar dropped the pen and picked up Mom’s Bon Jovi bobblehead—“am the direct Regent to Lucifer, Son of Pride, and you are now mine.” He winked at Lukas. “My Regent, I mean.”
Now we were getting somewhere. “That explains the House of Pride crack he made.”
The demon chuckled and tweaked poor Mr. Jovi in the head. “Our dear friend is a bit bitter. Loyalty can be a bitch sometimes. Besides, our houses, Pride and Lust, have never gotten on very well.”
I resisted the urge to smack him upside the head and settled for rolling my eyes. That was about the most I’d get away with. “You chose me to be your Regent? Either you’re stupid or Dad’s right—you’ve got a trick up your sleeve.”
“Don’t sell yourself short, Peaches. You’ve got potential. I know it when I see it.”
Oh. Yeah. That was totally a burn on some super secret. I could tell by the way he waggled his eyebrows. Val and subtle didn’t exactly go hand in hand. He snapped his fingers, and with a rush of cool air, the three of us were outside. Not just outside, sitting, but on the edge of a rooftop. I stretched my neck and peered over the edge.
A really tall rooftop.
Focus, Jessie. I needed some answers.
Lukas beat me to it. “Something tells me Lucifer’s threat isn’t idle, and I doubt he’s going to give us much time.”
I nodded. “Normally I’d say the job was cake, but—”
“Gressil is unlike anything your agency has encountered,” Valefar confirmed. “He’s the Regent of Asmodeus, Son of Lust, and very powerful.”
“Wait a sec. Why can you say his name?”
Valefar rolled his eyes. “The fool would never willingly show himself to me. Feel free to get your fill of spitting his name
while in my presence. I assure you it’s safe.”
“Getting back to the facts… Why were Lucifer’s brothers banished?” Lukas asked. We watched as Valefar snapped his fingers again, and a spread of food from sandwiches to roast chicken appeared on a red and white checkered blanket. The guy definitely had a thing for food…
“Lucifer banished them so he could take control of the Shadow Realm.” Valefar popped a grape into his mouth. When he was done, he snatched up a turkey leg and went to town.
Lukas, braver than me, picked up an apple and took a bite. “Why did Lucifer take over the Shadow Realm?”
Valefar shook his head, and in the blink of an eye, the rooftop was gone and we were sitting on a ski lift trudging across a frighteningly high gorge. “Lucifer was the best demon for the job. He and his brothers didn’t agree. Everyone wanted to play king.”
I snorted in an attempt to suppress a shiver as the wind kicked up, blowing gusts of snow into my face. Don’t look down. “’Cause that’s not Pride talking.”
Valefar’s lips twisted into a sly grin. “Maybe just a little, but it is true. The others had no regard for the rules.” He fixed a heavy gaze on me. “We talked about the rules, didn’t we, Jessie?”
I rolled my eyes. “So the others were breaking the rules? Sure Lucifer didn’t use that as an excuse to go all Napoleon?”
“Some things are necessary to ensure order. The Shadow Realm is a place of unimaginable power. If things are not kept in check, we all suffer. Lucifer did what he needed to ensure everyone’s survival—including the humans. You should be grateful.”
I couldn’t help myself. “Grateful? Is that the same kind of grateful I should be about you tricking me into being your Regent?”
Valefar’s expression grew dark. “You were given a place of great honor. You’d do well to respect that. And me.”
“Maybe we should focus on what we’re going to do about Gressil,” Lukas said, eyeing Valefar with disdain. It wasn’t clear if he hated him because of his newfound loyalty to Dad, or if, like me, he found the demon annoying and totally pretentious. “How powerful is he?”