The thing about being a demon meant that he was immortal. They'd never kill him, not really. Even if they banished him away, he could find a way to come back. He always could. That was the beauty of being him.
And he was through with playing around. World domination started that very moment. The Outsiders first. Before the end of the day, one of them was going to wish she'd never been born.
* * * *
Zane couldn't believe he'd been sucked into the old broad's story. At least he had her will so he wasn't going to be executed in his sleep for not delivering on a contract. But damn, why had he been so dumb?
It was the same crap that had plagued him when he'd been a kid. He'd always been just different enough that he'd thought he had to be special, that fate had some sort of plan for him. Of course, that had all turned out to be total bullshit.
The internal ramblings of a pathetic foster kid looking for some reason he existed on the planet. Fate didn't have anything to do with his life. Whatever he'd done—whatever he didn't do—that was all on him. He could make safes and he could break them. If he also happened to be able to control people just using his voice—well, all sorts of weird shit went on out there. His just happened to be a useful tool in his personal belt. The rest of his life sucked. Why shouldn't one thing be easy?
But she'd said he was an Outsider. He took a swig of his beer and looked around the bar. Every night he came to this place and stared at the women. Not one of them interested him. It was like he no sex drive whatsoever.
But maybe that's because you have a soul mate.
"Shit," he muttered aloud and then looked to make sure no one had heard him. Everyone else was involved in his or her own life. It was only Zane left alone, always, by himself. Until he'd robbed the old lady, gotten caught, and heard a story he couldn't forget.
He drummed his fingers on the counter. Soul mate sounded great. Fight with a demon? Not so much. Yeah… he was pretty certain he wouldn't be seeking out anyone to go off to war with. Not when there were jobs lining up for him to do. This was his life, not fantasy and unknown people.
* * * *
Alexa paced the living room of her home. Something was wrong, terribly wrong. She just knew it. Her arms erupted in goosebumps and she tried to rub them away but they wouldn't disappear.
Something has gone terribly wrong.
A pounding on her front door made her jump and it was seconds before she could stop shaking long enough to go to the front door and look outside. Where was Sebastian when she needed him? She rubbed at her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Gabriel and his girlfriend, Loraine, stood outside with two people she didn't recognize. They were both dark-haired. None of the people on her front porch looked particularly happy and as she stared, Gabriel pounded on the door again.
With a deep breath to try to calm her nerves, she approached the door and, feeling really shaky, pulled it open.
"Lexi." Gabriel nodded at her. "You remember Loraine, right?"
Alexa tried to nod. Her whole body hurt. "We met briefly, yes."
"And this is Kal and Isabelle."
She took a step back. "Kal?"
Alexa had once helped Gabriel and Sebastian kidnap Kal. They'd been trying to save him from the cult he'd gotten involved in. Nothing had gone correctly that day and it had been the cause of Gabriel's defection and eventual joining of the cult they had promised Sebastian they would help defeat. Gabriel had brought Kal here?
"Get that look off your face, Alexa. Kal is a better person than either of us. If he's not going to take his anger about that day out on me, he's certainly not going to make you pay for it."
Alexa swallowed. That was good. Or at least she hoped it was. Her head hurt. "Did you get my message? Is that why you came?"
Gabriel shook his head. "I didn't get any message. What did you need?"
Just then a black and white border collie ran past her feet. She darted backward. Loraine sighed loudly as she turned to Gabriel. "Now he decides to show up."
Gabriel shrugged as he watched the dog turn down her hallway. "Futon does what Futon does."
"How profound of you, Gabriel." Loraine rolled her eyes.
"Sebastian doesn't like animals in the house. You know that." She realized she sounded like an idiot but if Gabriel hadn't come because he'd gotten her e-mail then she had no idea what was going on.
Gabriel shrugged. "Yeah, well, Sebastian doesn't much care for me in the house but I'm coming in, too. And no one tells Futon what he does or doesn't do."
Gabriel brushed past her, Loraine by his side. Alexa couldn't help but marvel at the way they moved together like some kind of unit. Their steps were in tune with one another. If Gabriel looked to the right, Loraine's gaze traveled that way too. They hadn't been together for very long. How had they gotten so in sync with each other so fast? It usually took couples a lifetime to achieve what they had.
She put her hands on her hips. Alexa needed to get control of this situation. "What are you doing here if you didn't get my e-mail?"
"We're here to take back what Sebastian, as you call him, took from us." Kal answered for Gabriel, brushing past him with Isabelle by his side. They followed the dog down the hall.
She shouted. This was her house, strangers didn't get to simply waltz in and take what they wanted. "Where do you think you're going?"
Gabriel finally spoke. "We're here to get the rest of the stuff we didn't get the first time. It belongs to us. Sebastian stole it, we're taking it back."
"You mean the last time your cult robbed the place and nearly killed Sebastian?"
"Try the last time we came to retrieve our books and Sebastian tortured and nearly killed Kal—again. Then nearly killed me—and you sided with him over me. That time, you mean?"
Alexa never knew what Gabriel talked about. It was like he'd made up these wild, fanciful stories in his head where somehow the cult he belonged to were the good guys, while she and Sebastian had become evil. Where had the guy she'd grown up with gone? Who was this crazy lunatic staring at her like he wanted to wring her neck?
Alexa scratched her head. "Gabriel, something is wrong. None of this makes sense." Kal came back out of the library carrying books. She pointed at him. "You can't just take those."
"Who's going to stop me?"
Alexa didn't like the way he sounded when he said that. Gabriel had said Kal didn't want to hurt her but the way he spoke now, she wasn't so sure. "Sebastian will stop you when he gets here. He should be here any minute. He just went to see some friends."
Something about what she said made Kal's face light up. "Go ahead, call him on his cell phone. Tell me what he says."
Gabriel sighed loudly. "Kal, that's not helpful."
"Why should we be helpful with her, Gabe? She's the enemy."
"She's not the enemy, she's just constantly confused."
Isabelle, who had been silent up until that point, pointedly glared at Alexa. "Same difference at the moment."
Alexa decided to take Kal's advice. She pulled out her cell phone. Sebastian would want to know about this. He would have to leave his friends and come home so he could help her get rid of these people.
Her hands shook as she dialed and she hoped none of the others in the room noticed. The phone rang and Alexa waited anxiously for Sebastian to pick up on the other end. Instead, she got his voice mail.
"Sebastian, it's Alexa. Please come home or call." That should be enough. He always called right back and whatever had upset him so much on the plane wouldn't stop him from helping her now. They were a team, even if the other parts of their relationship didn't work out. Nothing could ever separate them; their past brought them together and would keep them that way.
"No answer?" Kal looked too amused not to know what was going on.
"What did you do to him?" If she shouted, she didn't care.
"I didn't do anything to him. Wish I had."
"Kal." This time it was Isabelle who spoke. She whirled on Alexa. "I apologize i
f I was rude before. I have a hard time understanding why you do what you do. But I need to remind myself that we all have our own path and yours is your own to handle. I would suggest you try to grow up. Life is about to get much harder. On all of us."
Loraine walked out the library, carrying books. The dog was right on her heels. "This is the last of them."
Gabriel nodded. "Great." He walked forward and placed his hands on the books. "Library." He spoke aloud and the books vanished into thin air.
Alexa gasped, covering up her mouth with her hands. "You did that so easily."
"I'm much stronger now as you would be if you would get out of here." He held out his hand. "Come with me, Alexa. We're your family. Whatever has happened to you, we can fix it, together."
She stared at Gabriel's hand. Part of her wanted to take it more than anything in the world. This was Gabe. He had protected her when they'd been children and been her best friend through all of life's trials and tribulations. They'd even been adopted together by Sebastian's parents. What had changed? Why couldn't she reach out and go with him?
"I won't leave Sebastian. I don't abandon the people I love." She spit the words out to him wondering how so much venom had gotten laced into her voice. When had that happened? Even as a child alone with no parents she'd not had this much hatred.
Gabriel nodded. He didn't even look surprised. "Okay. Let's go, guys."
Alexa blocked the door. Suddenly, as angry as she felt, her soul called out in terror that he was going to leave. "Gabriel, I'm afraid that I'll never see you again."
Did he understand what that admission cost her? Did he know that it had been ripped from her most soft, hidden core?
"I worry about that, too. But I can't make you do the right thing. I can't force you to open your eyes and see things as they really are."
"I don't even understand what that means."
Gabriel took her by the shoulders. "Sebastian's a demon, Alexa. You know it. I know it. Everyone here knows it. Stop pretending that you don't."
"You're crazy." Demons? What kind of nonsense had Gabriel bought into?
"I'm not." He moved her to the side. "And I'm leaving. Again."
With those words sounding in the darkness like a proclamation she couldn't understand, Gabriel and his crew walked out the front door. She stood watching him go into the darkness, feeling like her feet were frozen in place. Movement seemed impossible. A demon? Who believed in such things?
Finally, with a shiver from a cold wind caressing her skin, she closed the front door. Sebastian would call back; he would find a way to get the books they had taken. Her best friend and lover would know what to do.
Alexa.
Sebastian's voice filled the room. She jumped and looked around. He wasn't anywhere. As she grabbed her head, she wondered if she'd stepped off the deep end into crazy.
I'm here, Alexa. I'm here with you. They've killed me.
"What?" She whirled through the room hoping to find him anywhere.
I can't leave you. I won't leave until we've beaten them together.
"Who did this to you?" Tears filled her eyes. Sebastian was dead. How could this even be happening? "How did this happen? Where is your body?"
Her questions seemed nonsensical, even to her but the grief that threatened to overwhelm her made rational thinking fly right out the window.
Leonardo killed me.
"Who?" Out of all the cult members she had encountered, this wasn't a name she knew.
He's their leader. He killed me. I will be back for you, Alexa. Wait for me. It's hard to stay but I won't leave you alone. I never will.
Alexa melted into a puddle of tears on the floor. She hit the ground hard, banging her rear end into the wood floor without thought for how hard she smashed it.
Sebastian was dead. Killed by the cult he'd tried so hard to destroy. Had she not helped him enough? Had she somehow helped to lead to his demise by doubting him? Oh god, how could this happen?
She wiped at her face. She knew how it happened. The cult. Gabriel's cult and their leader, Leonardo. He was responsible. Hell, they were all responsible and someone would pay.
One way or another, Alexa would see to it.
* * * *
Leonardo took a swig of his Abita beer and stared out at the nighttime. New Orleans was always on and the French Quarter never quieted down. It was perfect for his mood—hot, distempered, and unsure of himself. No one would notice him here. Except that Marina wouldn't leave him alone.
She chatted endlessly and at a volume loud enough to be heard over the crowds forming outside of Patty George's bar.
"I'm trying to snap you out of your mood."
He looked down at her as she swayed to the Cajun sounds coming from the large speakers in the courtyard. Why couldn't they have been paired up by Fate? Sure, they might have annoyed each other to no end but they would have found a way to make it work.
"I know. And I wish you would stop."
She grabbed his arm. "Want to tell me about it? What happened to you when we got zapped by the bad mojo magic?"
"No, I don't really want to discuss it. Ever." He took another sip, letting the amber liquid slip over his tongue. "Do you want to tell me?"
"I went to Drew." Her face lit up and he realized she'd been waiting for him to ask. "He's always loved me. He's coming to help."
Leonardo smiled. He couldn't help himself. That would be wonderful. Marina and Drew should be together. They should be happy. Plus, it would bring them one step closer to finishing their prophecy and defeating the demon, if that was even possible anymore since Samuel killed the thing's human body.
"I'm thrilled for you." He smiled. "I went to Alexa. She had sex with the demon while I watched."
Marina gasped, dropping her beer. It shattered all over the floor but no one noticed over the loud music. Her pale face had gotten two shades whiter and her eyes were huge. "She had sex with the demon and you saw it?"
"Yeah, I know, saying it aloud makes it sound really unbelievable. But it happened."
His soul mate fucked the demon. And it had clearly not been the first time. Leonardo wasn't certain he would ever be able to get the image of the two of them rolling around on the sheets out of his mind. He took a long gulp of his beer. Maybe he should order another one before everyone got there. He looked down at his watch. There were still hours until they all were meeting. Hell, he could get nice and drunk if he wanted to.
"Oh, Leonardo. I'm not sure what to say."
He shook his head. "Me either."
"How could that have happened?"
"Because it seems to be my destiny to lead all of us through this tale of intrigue, magic, and Fate without ever getting any of the benefits myself."
There he'd said it aloud and if it made him seem childish, so be it. Nothing about his role in their destiny was fair. Not at all. Everyone else found the one and that was it. They were made for each other. Leonardo's soul mate hadn't bothered to wait for him. Why should she? When there was a demon to fuck?
"You should go over there and get her." Marina's gaze held him, a heated anger in her dark eyes.
"I don't even want to look at her." Maybe he would never have to again.
Chapter Sixteen
The hotel room had the distinct smell of mold and she really didn't care. Wherever Marina had brought them worked for her. Eden couldn't seem to stop touching Samuel's face. Not that he minded. In fact, the more she did it, the more heated his gaze became. She'd been so relieved when he'd shed his false one. Something inside of her had finally been able to take a deep breath at being able to see her soul mate in his true form, even if he was burned and scarred.
But this? His features fixed and beautiful? This was more than she ever hoped for. Samuel made a growling noise as he grabbed her hand and kissed her palm, hard.
Warmth pooled inside of her. "I have to tell you that this new element between us, this heat, I crave it but it also makes me nervous."
She swallow
ed, having admitted her anxiety. There had been no point in not telling Samuel exactly what she felt. He could get in her head any time he wanted and see for himself if he so chose.
He grabbed her face in his hands. "Eden, I've loved you my whole life, I can wait if you want until you're not nervous anymore."
She shook her head. He was so kind to her. "I don't want that. I just wanted you to know how I'm feeling."
"I was worried that since you saw me before my face was fixed that it might have spoiled anything between us."
"Actually." She planted a kiss on his chin. "I preferred you that way to the fake face. I can't help it. I guess burned or not, I like you being you."
"Really?" She could feel his pulse beating hard under her fingertips. "You're not just saying that?"
"Do I lie?" Staring into his gray eyes, she knew she could lose herself there forever, if she wanted to.
"No." His breath felt warm against her cheek as he caressed her skin with his mouth. "But it's more than I could ever imagine having."
"Then you haven't been giving yourself enough credit or me. We're made for one another. I'm always going to want to look at you."
She kissed him then. Her nerves fleeing with the excitement that the heat from Samuel's body created inside of her. For years, she'd thought she was alone, unaware that Samuel was out there in the universe loving her from afar, thinking she was just what he needed.
He made the cold places inside of her warm up.
"I never imagined doing this with you in a cheap motel room."
She shrugged. "Samuel, we could do this in a cave. I wouldn't mind."
"I would." He picked her up in his arms like she weighed nothing when she knew that wasn't true. "Put me down before you hurt yourself."
"Stop it. You're light as a feather."
Samuel laid her down on the bed in their hotel room. Against her ribcage, Eden's heart beat hard. His gray eyes met hers and before she could draw a breath at the intensity she found in them, he kissed her. His mouth was warm and the slight stubble that had grown on his newly fixed face scratched at her chin. She loved the sensation and rubbed her face against his to get more of it.