Curse of Shadows and Light (11 page)

When I return to the table, Jade and Kieron are sitting across from two men. I give them a quick glance as I move past Jade to sit on the other side of Kieron.

“
Lucky, this is Vincent and Demetri,” Jade says, pointing to each of them. “They are our attachés to the otherworlds, specifically Thiberoux.”

“
Hi, nice to meet you,” I mumble, and immediately glance away. Now I know why Jade is happy to have these boys ‘back in the mix’. For some reason I’d pictured an attaché as some ugly old stuffy guy. Not like these two.

The one sitting directly across from me, Demetri, is fair with shiny golden hair. Vincent is darker, more intense. His eyes are a deep chocolate, and he has a light stubble on his strong jawline. Both are solidly built and achingly beautiful.

“
We heard about you… what happened in Thiberoux and your troubles with the Light-angels,” Demetri says. His skin is so smooth it almost looks like he’s been dipped in wax.

I shrug. “Yeah, so?”

“
So we knew you were coming here, and we need to talk with you.” Vincent leans toward me, and my eyes linger on his face a moment. There is something about his voice I instantly like. I want to hear it again.

“
What do you want to talk about?” I ask, looking directly at him. But it’s Demetri who answers.

“
We want to talk about your experience with the Light-angels. What you know. What their plan is. What advantages they might have. Anything you can tell us would help.”

I glance at Kieron, then back to Demetri. “How do you even know who I am, let alone my experience with Light-angels? In fact, how’d you know I’d be here at this Bar tonight?”

Vincent smirks and takes a sip of his drink. “We have our ways.” He leans back, and I can’t help but admire the shape of his body under his snug t-shirt. Muscular, but not too big. Just right. He narrows his eyes and focuses on me, and I feel an unexpected tingle in my stomach.

“
That’s not a good enough answer,” I say evenly. “I don’t care if I seem paranoid. I have every right to be, especially knowing there are plenty of demons out there who would like to see me dead.”

“
Which is exactly why we are here,” Vincent replies. “We’d prefer to not have that happen.”

I take a sip of my drink. “Why do you care? Wouldn’t I be a lot less trouble to you if I was out of the picture?”

Vincent and Demetri exchange looks. “It’s our job to make sure you are safe,” Demetri answers. “You and your human personality can be of great use to us. You’ve had more intimate contact with Light-angels than any demon we know of.”

“
Besides,” Vincent adds. “So far the only demons who really want you dead are those from tribes we consider to be our hostile enemies. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” He gives another little smirk.

“
What do you want from me?” I really hope I can trust these guys. As much as any demon can be trusted, that is. But it’s not like I have a ton of options right now.

“
We need to talk about what happened in Thiberoux,” Vincent says, “and what that means for you. And for us.” But despite his annoying sexiness, I’m not in the mood to talk about any of that right now. Too many bad memories.

I shrug and focus on the tabletop. “We were kicked out of Thiberoux. Banned. Barred. Banished. 86’d.
Personae non gratae
. Return under penalty of a most painful death. That’s all you need to know.”

Kieron frowns, and from his other side Jade gives a tinkling laugh. “Sweetheart, you think you’re the only two demons to have ever been expelled from there? Hell, more than half my VIP clientele is on the death upon re-entry list.”

I glance up and see Vincent staring at me, and I shift uncomfortably in my seat. At that exact moment Kieron puts his hand on my leg and I jump, spilling some of my drink on my lap.

“
Crap,” I mutter and quickly stand up. “I’ll be right back, just going to clean this off real quick.” I hurry away before anyone can say anything.

At the bar I see Ruby is busy talking to a few vamps, so I take a napkin and start to dab at my pants. She gives me a nod and comes over.

“
Hey, I accidentally knocked over my drink.” I give her a sheepish smile and wonder why I feel guilty asking for more.

She presses her red lips together and pours a small glass for me. “This is the last of it tonight. You need to be careful not to overdo it in your condition. I know you are responding favorably, and that you’ve been without proper nutrition for far too long. But you still must imbibe in moderation. Too much too soon can have negative effects.”

“
What is it that you’re giving me… why is it so good?” I ask, as I take a few more sips.

“
It is pure Source Energy, with some essential oils.” She smiles. “You’re in a unique position and condition. I’ve never made a batch like yours before, but I know it’s exactly what you guys need right now.”

“
You guys?”

She eyes my stomach knowingly.

Oh!

I’m feeling so strong and healthy now, I almost forgot that I’ve been dizzy and nauseated for several nights… and I also forgot the reason
why
.

“
How am I taking the Energy pure? I’m a demion. I’ve always needed mine diluted with alcohol.”

“
Your needs have changed, and so has your body. Drinking your usual potion now would do more harm than good.”

I shrug. I have to admit, this stuff tastes great and makes me feel
far
better than any adulterated Energy I’ve had. So I’m not exactly going to argue with her.

“
Thanks, Ruby.” I turn around and come face to face—or more like face to chest—with Vincent. I catch my breath and tilt my head back to look up at him.

“
Is everything okay with you?” he asks.

I step backwards and nearly trip on a chair. His hand shoots out to steady me, and my pulse quickens at his touch.

“
I’m fine,” I say casually, pulling away from him. But his energy is so strong, it feels like a magnetic force field trying to suck me back in. “I was just on my way back to the table.”

“
I thought perhaps we’d scared you off, and you—”

“
I don’t scare that easy.”

He cocks an eyebrow and grins. “That’s good.”

I glance over at the table to see if Kieron is watching, but he seems to be having an intense conversation with Jade. I stare at them until Vincent puts his hand on my arm again, drawing my attention back to him.

“
What do you want from me?” I ask, almost in a whisper. His closeness is unnerving and feels inappropriate. If Kieron were to look up, this could get very uncomfortable.

“
I need to know what you know. What happened to you.”

I pull myself free and take a few steps away from him.

“
What kind of demon are you?” I ask him suspiciously.

“
Why do you ask?”

I shake my head. It’s stupid…
insane
. I’m just drunk on Energy and probably hormonal because of this mystical pregnancy. And it doesn’t help that I can smell, taste, and feel Bones like
all the time.
But something about this guy reminds me of him. A lot.

“
I—I just need to know.”

Vincent leans against the bar and runs his gaze quickly up and down my body, almost as if he can’t stop himself from blatantly checking me out, and he doesn’t care that I see him do it. “Right now I’m technically a demion, sort of like you. But when I’m in Thiberoux, I serve as a Guardian.”

“
You’re a
Hellhound
.”

He nods. “Yes. When not on duty there I occasionally work as liaison between the Guards in Thiberoux and our counterparts in the human realm.”

That’s it. If this guy is a Hellhound like Bones was, I must be picking up some sort of Hound pheromones or something.

I frown. “But you’re not a demon now?”

He shakes his head and looks down at me through lowered lashes. “Just a mere mortal, like you. Albeit one with exceptionally devastating good-looks and a strangely long life span.”

I roll my eyes at him. “What are your powers?”

He tilts his head, almost as if amused by my questions. “Actually, we don’t have active demonic powers in this realm. Only passive, magical ones granted by a demon witch. Keeps us off the radar so we can move about unnoticed by any other Light or Dark Angels.”

I nod. “I know how that works. It’s like Liora. As herself and in her world, she doesn’t register as anything but a normal human girl.”

“
Because it’s
your
dark powers that leave the trace.”

“
I guess.” I shrug. “So what can you do? What is this magically-gifted power you have?”

“
I’m a teleporter. Demetri is a concealer.”

“
And when you’re in Thiberoux you’re a Hellhound?”

He nods.

“
Why don’t I know you then? Or do I? I mean, you seem sort of familiar to me.”

His face lights up for a flash before becoming dark again. “I do? Well, perhaps our paths have crossed before. Thiberoux is a large realm and as far as I know, you mostly stayed within Dryndara, correct?”

I nod. “Yeah, usually… stupid land treaties and all. Well, there was that thing with the Hlbafa when the Legionare came—” I break off and look away. I still can’t allow myself to think about what actually went down there. It hurts too much.

Vincent steps closer again, but this time I don’t move away. His energy is comforting. “I know what happened... I understand your pain.”

I look at him, my eyes filled with tears.
No one
can understand my pain, certainly not this guy. “Did you know Bones?”

Vincent nods. “Yes. I knew him for a very, very long time. I was quite shocked and saddened by his death. He will be greatly missed.” He hands me a cocktail napkin, and I dab my eye as he discretely turns away. I see Kieron staring curiously in our direction, so I give him a small wave and turn back to Vincent.

“
The Legionare killed my very best friend in the whole world. No—he was more than that. He was my
everything
. As close to a true mate as my broken soul will ever know. And they killed him, for no reason. Just to hurt me. And I didn’t even do anything wrong, not on purpose anyway. I wasn’t even really
there
. They just killed him. And now, there are some creatures that want to kill the Legionare. Please explain to me why I shouldn’t let them. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?”

Vincent sighs and tightens his jaw. “Because, Lucky, if that happens… if the Light-angels succeed in breaking into Thiberoux, there will be a great battle, one that will change everything forever. And if they win, if the Light-angels manage to wipe out the Legionare and destroy the core powers of Dark-angels, it won’t only be demons who die. It will wipe out their bloodline entirely.”

“
You mean—”

“
If the Legionare and Core Powers are defeated, then you and almost everyone you know will die, too.”

Chapter 11. Lucky

We make our way back to the table where the others are waiting.

“
Okay, explain everything,” I tell Vincent.

He glances at Demetri and Jade, then back to me and Kieron. “One of the reasons our job is so important is because there is a precious balance that must be maintained. Light and Dark Angels both have very important places with the humans. Each depends on the others to some degree, and if one goes, the other two suffer. Demons play just as fundamental a role in the success of humanity as the so called ‘angels’ do.”