Read Demon Lord 4: White Jade Reaper Online

Authors: Morgan Blayde

Tags: #Vampires, #Fantasy

Demon Lord 4: White Jade Reaper (4 page)

BOOK: Demon Lord 4: White Jade Reaper
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We crossed to the sidewalk, about to go in, when I felt eyes on my back.  The small hairs at the nape of my neck bristled—a sure sign of danger.  I used the glass of the door as I opened it to see what was behind me without betraying obvious interest.  There, my car!  The black paint was lifting itself off the body in a formless wave.  But there was still paint on the vehicle.  The reared darkness gathered itself in and took on human form, that of an adolescent young man. 

Grace went inside, never noticing my distraction.  The living shadow on my hood turned his head to follow her movements.  Apparently, she was his concern, not me.  He glided down the hood without moving his legs in an actual walk, and made a small hop from bumper to ground.  He headed for the sidewalk, coming closer.  Before he noticed me noticing him, I went in, letting the door swing shut on possible trouble. 

I caught up to Grace.  A happy hostess appeared, a bemused expression on her face as she noticed Grace’s antennae.  The hostess kept a fixed smile on her face as she ushered us to a table for four.  I sat so I could see the front door, an old habit.  The waitress left us with menus, going off to get our drink orders.  I scanned my menu, deciding on the steak and shrimp skewers, using peripheral vision to track the young man who now appeared to be wearing black denim jeans, a black tee, boots, and a black leather jacket.  I had the feeling that the clothes were as much a part of the shadow man as any other part of him.

I warmed my tattoos, flushing the ink with the raw magic.  Activating them fully would require an offering of pain.  This was just prepping them for instant response if needed, the equivalent of having a hair-trigger on my various powers.

The shadow man could be connected to Grace’s other heritage.  Her flame sword possessed such a dark core.  I was beginning to think her father was neither a shadow mage nor shadow fey, but something far more terrifying.  “Grace, do you have any enemies that are shadow men?”

She looked up from her menu.  “That’s not possible.”

The shadow man stopped behind her chair, staring at the back of her head with a great deal of intensity.  His monochromatic eyes had a polished hematite look.  His pasty skin looked like it had never seen the sun.  He was tall, slim, with an I-know-everything smirk on his face that invited death—or at least a sound thrashing. Someone should rip off his arm and put it up his ass.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

She dropped her menu to the tabletop.  “Yeah, they’d never hurt me.  My father would literally eat them alive, absorbing them into himself.  You remember, I told you he was a real tyrant?” 

“You mean he’s Lord of the Boogie Men?” 
How had I not known that?

“Yeah, so why are you asking?” 

I pointed past her shoulder.  “You may want to turn around.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FOUR

 

“Uninvited guests are like dead strippers, easy

to handle provided there’s a vat of acid nearby.”

 

                                  —Cain Deathwalker

 

 

Grace turned in her chair and looked behind her.  Her voice spiked with surprise.  “Onyx?  You’re back.”

The all-in-black youth smiled at her.  “Hi, Grace.  Mind if I join you?”

She shrugged.  “I suppose not.”

“Yes,” I said.  “You’re intruding.”

He shifted his smile to me while pulling out a chair.  “I’m good at that.”

Grace stared at me with pleading eyes, “It’s all right.  He’s a friend, of sorts.”

I lifted an eyebrow. 
Of sorts?

Grace elaborated.  “He has my father’s permission to court me, but not my mom’s.”

“Really?” 
That’s interesting.  I wonder if Cassie will pay me to get rid of the pest.
 
I should wait and see before doing the job for free.  Hmmm, I wonder how one goes about killing a shadow anyway?  I should google it.

Onyx sat down and plucked the menu out of Grace’s hands.  “They got good food here?”

“You eat human food?” Grace asked.

“I intend to learn,” Onyx said.  “I intend to win you over and be by your side, in your world or mine.  I can be flexible.”

Grace plucked back her menu.  “That remains to be seen.”

Onyx grinned.  “Especially in bed.”

“You have way too much confidence for your own good,”

Grace said.  “Better not let Fenn hear you talking like that.”

The waitress returned, putting my beer in front of me and Grace’s soda by her silverware setting.  The waitress turned to Onyx.  “Can I get you something to drink as well?”

He pointed at Grace’s glass.  “One of those.  And whatever else Grace is having.”

“Malibu Chicken and fries,” Grace said.

The waitress nodded, writing down the order.

“Put that on a separate ticket,” I said.  “And I’ll have the steak and shrimp.”

Grace shot me a glance that took in my sixty dollar designer sweats.  “Separate tickets?”  Her eyes said:
Oh, c’mon, really?

The waitress hurried off, leaving us to resolve our issues. 

I smiled at Grace.  “If you want to pick up his check, feel free, but you should be aware that—as a semi-corporeal entity—he can literally eat half this building and everything in their walk-in freezer, and still manage dessert.”

She stared at Onyx.  “Oh, I see your point.  That could get quite expensive.”

He scowled faintly, at the edge of irritation as well as his seat.  “I am a prince, you know?  I have no need to freeload.  I have resources.”  He held a fist out over the table.  His hand opened and six glittery stones jostled onto the table top.  “See?”

I didn’t need to activate my
Dragon Sight
tattoo for a magical evaluation.  My inner dragon stirred awake, inflamed with greed.  His race-memory knowledge of treasure flowed to me.  I said, “Black diamonds, one carat, natural color.  $1,700 a piece.”

Grace looked at me.  “They’re real?”

I nodded.  “Most black diamonds are actually white diamonds that have been irradiated to turn midnight-green, a color that only looks black, but really isn’t.  These are true black diamonds with color coming from graphite inclusions.”

My hand started forward, itching to feel the textures, to snatch up the stones.  I remembered the ruby I’d reflexively eaten months ago.  It had come out all right in the end, so to speak, but the event had made me wary against casually handling jewels.  I

pulled my hand back.

My inner dragon growled at me. 
Hey, I was going to eat that
.

I know.  Behave.

Onyx swept up the stones, absorbing all but one back into his hand.  That one he placed in front of Grace.  “Buy me dinner and you can keep that.”

She snatched it off the table with blinding speed.  “Sure, just out of the goodness of my heart.”

I felt a change of heart coming on:
If shadow men can manufacture black diamonds at will, I’m going to have to develop a tolerance for them. 
I shot Onyx a steely glance.  “So, how big can you make those things anyway?”

“No more than a pound or two while in human form, but if I debase myself first…”

I smiled.  “Prince Onyx, allow me to buy you a drink.”

“Sure.  And while you’re at it, who exactly are you, and what are you to Grace?”

“Friend of the family?” I said.  “Cassie and I have a little history between us.”

Grace picked up her drink and took a sip.  “He helped me out that time the ninjas kidnapped Tukka.”

Onyx nodded, a bit of tension bleeding out of his posture.  He grinned at Grace.  “I’m glad, that’s all.  You do have an unfortunate weakness for older men.”

“Do tell?” I said.

“Don’t,” Grace said.

Onyx leaned toward me a little, dropping his voice to a conspiratorial stage whisper, “That Shaun guy, he’s old enough to be her father.  She all but drools over him.  Sure, the guy knows how to wag a sword, but he’s not a good match for her.  Not nearly as good as me.”

Grace glowered.  “Even if you say so yourself.” 

He looked back at her, his face surprised.  “I
have to
say it.  No one else knows just how wonderful I am.”

Give the little shit a bit of power and he thinks he’s god.  He should have been born human.

Taking a drink, Grace sputtered, choking, coughing.

Onyx flowed to his feet, at her side in an instant.  “Grace, are you all right?  Grace?”

She recovered, blinking tears from her eyes.  “Damn, don’t say things like that when I’m swallowing.”

“I’m sorry, I should remember how vulnerable you solids are.”  His right hand pressed between her shoulder blades.  “I will be more careful with you.”

“Just sit down already.  I’m embarrassed enough as it is.”  She coughed a little bit and took a careful sip to ease her abused throat.

“Speaking of Tukka,” I said, “where did the mutt get off to anyway?”

She frowned at the word
mutt
, but didn’t make an issue of the term.  “He heads the fu dog pack on Earth, so he can’t always hang out with me, playing canine-clown.  You know, he can use good English when he wants to.”

Onyx took his seat again.  “So, that thing where he calls himself by name—all the time—is on purpose?”

Grace grinned.  “He thinks it’s funny.  I wonder what he’d say if I started doing it too?”

I took a pull on my beer and put it down.  “I’d probably have to kill you both.”

A heavy silence fell across the table.  Onyx looked at me and his hand reshaped itself into a short sword.  Grace had gone all goggle-eyed. 

Did I say that out loud?
  I smiled and lied, “C’mon!  I’m joking, of course.”

Onyx’s sword became a hand just in time. 

Our waitress approached with a tray and our orders.  All smiles, she distributed the plates to the proper settings.  I got my steak and shrimp skewers and the others got their glorified chicken.  A companionable silence set in, disturbed only by the brandishing of silverware and groans of pleasure from Grace as she savored each bite.  She all but rolled her eyes in ecstasy as she progressed.  Onyx just touched the food on his place and it seemed to evaporate, absorbed directly into his pseudo-substance.  

He watched Grace, puzzled.  “I’ve never understood this reaction you solids have to food.”

She looked at him with withering pity.  “I know.  And all I can do is pity your lack of taste buds.  It’s sad really, how limited you lower life forms can be.”  The teasing smile on her face was anything but sad.

We finished our dinners and were lingering over dessert and drinks when Cassie came in with a young man at her side.  He looked feral, as if being among humans disturbed him.  His amber-eyed glance was wary, taking in the room.  He moved with the sleek grace of someone who didn’t always run on just two feet.  He sniffed the air gently as he approached out table.

I did, too, confirming that he was a shape-shifter.  I smelled coyote and human mixed together.  His glance slid over me, a moment of uncertainty in his eyes.  The kid had probably never smelled a dragon before, or in my case, a half-dragon.  His stare went to Onyx, burning with recognition.  He stopped by Grace, squeezing her shoulder in greeting, staring daggers at the shadow man.  “Onyx, you’re back.”

“Fenn!” Grace sounded happy, “grab a seat.”

She pointed to the empty one on the opposite side of the table.  Probably hoping to keep them well apart.  She should have known that if violence broke out, a shifter and shadow man were not going to be hindered by a little thing like a table.

I looked straight at Grace.  “If trouble breaks out, I’m not paying damages.  They’re on you.”

Cassie was also staring at Onyx.  “I thought you were still off Earth.”

Showing absolutely no fear or reservation toward Cassie, he grinned.  “I had to return to the love of my life.”  His adoring glance flickered to Grace, then chilled, returning to Cassie.  “When we’re married, can I call you Mom?”

Grace’s face reddened.  She stared down at a piece of cheesecake drizzled with cherries and red syrup.

Fenn’s eyes brightened from amber to yellow.  I could smell the rage simmering just below his skin.  He chose to answer the question, “When you’re dead, you won’t be calling her anything,

ever again.”

Onyx cocked an eyebrow as if to say:
You want to go right now?

I was enjoying the testosterone-heavy atmosphere, wondering if these idiots were really going to go at each other with humans around to see.  That’s usually a big no-no.

Grace jumped in with a question.  “Where’s Madison?”

Cassie pulled over a couple extra chairs and sat down close to Fenn in case she needed to grab his ear or something.  She said, “Maddy’s parking the car.  She drove us here.  I’ll be driving her car back to Van Helsing’s.  He invited me to hang out a week or two and teach a few classes.  I took him up on it.”  Cassie switched her cool stare to me.  “How long is this job of yours going to take?”

I shrugged.  “A few days probably.  And while we’re in Santa Fe, Grace can hit the Injun market and pick up some silver and turquoise.”

Fenn stared at me.   “That sounds cool.  My father’s Native America.  Well, one of their legends anyway.  Maybe I’ll come along and reconnect with my roots.”

Grace said, “You’re Kachina, of the star people.  Your father’s an Indian legend, but not a true Indian.”

“Coyote,” Cassie said.

“A dog?” Onyx said.

“A mutt by any other name,” I muttered.

Fenn shot us both flaming yellow stares.  He was keeping his temper reined—barely.  He looked to Grace.  “What?  You don’t want me to go with you?”

“It’s a business trip.  I’ll be working most of the time.”

I nodded.  “Yeah, I’m a real slave-driving son of a bitch.  Don’t even put me on your Christmas card list.”

Grace said, “Fenn, if I let you go, Onyx will want to come, too.  I’ll spend all my time playing referee.  That is
not
going to happen.”

Onyx shrugged.  “Just tell him were engaged, and let the beast go off and drown his sorrows in death or something.”

Cassie peered at Onyx, her eyes flaming as bright as Fenn’s. 

“You are not engaged to my daughter.  I didn’t hide her on Earth to keep her out of shadow man hands, just to have you swoop in and call dibs.  And the way you say “beast” makes me think you’ve forgotten that Grace and I are beasts as well.  Are you not concerned that marrying a kitsune might be beneath your station as a shadow man prince?”

I nodded sagely.  “Good point.”

“You stay out of this,” Cassie said.

I looked into her shimmering eyes and let my gaze drift down to her tits.  Her knee already touched mine.  I sent out a low flow of raw magic into her skin while keeping it nonaggressive.  The very low amount of power would just make her skin tingle. 

Cassie’s expression warmed a moment, but then chilled as she remembered where she was and the business at hand.  She spoke to me in a low tone.  “Stop that.”

I reined in my raw magic and moved my knee away from Cassie’s.

She moved her knee back into contact, whispering.  “No magic.”

The waitress was back, a look of anxiety on her face.  She stood behind Fenn, her gaze sweeping across us all.  She said, “Excuse me, but is everything all right here?  If there’s some kind of problem…”

Fenn stood.  “We should probably take this outside.”

Onyx grinned.  “Suits me.”

Grace stood up, glaring at her admirers.  “You guys stop this right now, or else!”

Fenn and Onyx stared at her; so did I.  Curious, I asked, “Or what?”

BOOK: Demon Lord 4: White Jade Reaper
9.32Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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