Good Intentions 3: Personal Demons (38 page)

His common sense put a stop to any further such thoughts. He knew the rumors. Lorelei had taken out Baal and Harrow, and somehow got an angel to help her do it. Whatever attractive qualities she offered, that was a game-changer. “What do you want?”

“I want you to arrange a meeting for me. I must speak with
her
. As soon as possible.”

Once again, Lorelei’s words brought him to a halt. He didn’t need to ask who she meant. “Is that all?”

“I seek information. I offer useful information in return. She will likely reap great benefit from the exchange. However, my time is short, as is her window of opportunity.”

“Of course it is,” said Nicolai. He frowned, looking back through the window at his current mortal mark still waiting in the bar. The guy was right on the edge. Conversely, Lorelei’s offer couldn’t possibly be exclusive. If he didn’t bite—or, more importantly, if he didn’t give his boss the chance to make that decision—she’d take her business somewhere else. Nicolai would get nothing. The boss might be pissed, too.

Lorelei wouldn’t stick her neck out like this without something serious to offer.

“I’ll set it up,” he decided.

* * *

She didn’t know Seattle had an orchard, but some of her friends remembered it instantly.

The trees grew on a steep hillside nestled within the park. At any other time of year, Carkeek Park surely would have been busy. Even now, on a wet and chilly Sunday afternoon, she found people here and there. Fortunately, most came for the view of Puget Sound. No one had any interest in the small orchard while the trees were bare of both leaves and fruit.

“Not the arrangements I would have expected,” Lorelei murmured. She strode through the orchard in tall boots, black jeans and a long, dark coat, grateful to see no sign of ambush but also wondering what could be the catch. There had to be one.

“I came out here a few times on field trips,” said Drew. Like Lorelei, he kept a wary eye on the trees. “One of my middle school science teachers loved this place. She’d have us look at bugs or the trees or whatever and write stuff about ‘em. I think she wanted us to get in touch with nature more than learn any science.”

“Are those fond memories?” she asked.

“Yeah, I guess. Sort of.”

“Those memories include Drew’s first kiss, but it was disappointing,” said another woman’s voice. She stood in an open spot between trees, right where no one had been when they looked that way a heartbeat before. Her grey t-shirt, faded denim jacket and long, dark, frazzled hair implied she had no one to impress, yet her striking natural beauty rivaled Lorelei’s. Something about her presence filled the young man at the demon’s side with dread, yet the stranger maintained an easy smile.

She gestured to one of the trees. “It happened right over there. You were only fourteen, and you couldn’t decide if you had a real crush on her or not. You both played it off as a dare to keep anyone from making too much of it, which they did anyway, because they were snotty children. She got teased about it far more than you did. It’s the way of the world.” Her eyes narrowed. “Girls almost always suffer more than boys.”

His mouth struggled to form words. He wanted her, of course. He also wanted to run. Lorelei understood both reactions. She reached out to touch his hand, steadying him and reminding him he was not alone.

He didn’t need to know how much this woman frightened Lorelei, too. Not now, at least.

“I’ll give you this much,” said the stranger, stepping closer. “You didn’t tease her. The kiss left you disappointed, and resolved whatever interest you had. But you let it go at that, even if the other children would have been amused to hear the truth.” Her lips twisted into a cruel grin. Her head tilted. “The truth is, she felt exactly the same way about you, with exactly the same reaction to your kiss. How does that make you feel?”

“Like you’re tryin’ to freak me out just ‘cause you can,” said Drew. He kept his fear out of his voice.

“Aw. Lorelei, did you already tell him not to trust anything I say? ‘Demons lie?’ Where’s the fun in that?” She rolled her eyes, but her pouting didn’t seem all that sincere. “I’m sure she told you who I am?”

“Yeah,” he said, his voice steady despite his nerves. “You’re Lilith.”

“Then you know I’m more than a mere demon. I might have been your greatest grandmother, so to speak…except my first man didn’t care for how I kissed, either. His problems were more about insecurity than yours. And I suffered much more than a little teasing for it.” She casually held his gaze without breaking hers. “Most of the stories about me boil everything down to sex. Those stories were mostly written by men. You think they might have been projecting?”

“Drew,” said Lorelei. “Lilith and I should speak in private.”

He scowled, tearing his eyes away from the other woman. “We didn’t want you doing all this alone,” he objected quietly.

“If she intended harm, she would have acted by now.”

“That’s true,” said Lilith with a thoughtful nod. She glanced around. “You don’t even have your guardian angel here to protect you. Either of you.” She met Drew’s skeptical frown with a shrug. “I have to tell the truth sometime. If everything a demon says is a lie, we’d never get away with anything.”

“And you ain’t just a demon,” said Drew.

“Correct.” Lilith smiled. “You’re attentive. I like that.”

Lorelei ignored her casual commentary. “Drew, the rest of you must stick together while I am gone. They may yet need you, and you cannot follow where I must go regardless.”

“Like you’d walk away from me if things were the other way around?”

“Lorelei, didn’t you tell Nicolai time was of the essence?” asked Lilith.

“Drew, please. This was always the plan. You know what is at stake. We must take this risk. I cannot thank you enough, but you must go.”

Indecision and frustration showed plainly on his face. He backed off, but turn away quickly. Lorelei watched as he left, wondering if she’d ever see him again.

“When you first turned up, I hoped you’d brought me the mortal who slew Baal,” said Lilith once Drew was out of earshot. “Though that’s his best friend, I see. And he’s coming to feel much the same about you, even despite all your charms. Strange. All that friendship and loyalty with only a passing sexual desire for you, of all women. What kind of succubus have you become?”

“My own,” said Lorelei. “Thank you for coming. I expected a messenger or an invocation, not a personal visit.”

“Don’t be so humble. I’ll always make time for the proverbial whore of Babylon.”

Much like Drew, Lorelei found the woman’s words unsettling. She knew better than to take religious scriptures literally, let alone that particular farcical prophecy. Even so, one could never easily discount anything said by the great powers of Hell—this one in particular.

“Would you be surprised to hear I didn’t know you were still in this town?” asked Lilith. “It seems so reckless after what you did. Betraying your master, destroying your creator, leaving an entire realm in perpetual chaos. They all want your head. You know that, don’t you? We’ve had meetings. Belial makes grandiose claims, but your head is the only one that can wear that crown now. Obviously Baal’s minions haven’t figured it out yet, or they’d stop fighting. The thing simply won’t fit them. It’s been tainted.”

“I considered that possibility,” said Lorelei. “Somehow I don’t mind their wasted efforts.”

“You held that crown in your own hands and did not claim it for yourself. Why?”

“That is not the information I offer in trade.”

“Yet it’s the information I want,” came Lilith’s flat reply.

Lorelei hesitated. She knew this would be a hard bargain. “What did Milton write? ‘
Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven?
’ Better still to walk the Earth and be free of both.”

“Every demon is slave to another,” said Lilith. “No demon is free, save those who wear crowns.”

“And once a crown is claimed, what then? You are no longer a slave, but you are a target for every other demon thirsting for their own freedom, or your power, or both. How far can one stray from the Pit, and for how long? How much does that power change the wearer?”

“That depends on the crown, I suppose.” Lilith cracked a sly grin. “I keep mine concealed with magic. Still, no one gives me orders. I come and go as I please.”

“Until you must return.”

“Yes. I have a kingdom to rule. Minions to manage. Power to gather. Souls to collect. It’s
so
exhausting all the time,” she added with a smirk.

“It sounds dreadful to me,” said Lorelei. “That’s your answer. That’s why I left the crown behind.”

“And yet, your choices haven’t changed: reign or serve. I know which one I prefer. How’s this alleged third way working out for you?”

“Not well,” Lorelei conceded. “As you say, everyone is out for my head.”

“What a surprise,” said Lilith, still as casual as if meeting over Sunday brunch. “Now for the other obvious question: why shouldn’t I claim your pretty little head for myself? And the crown with it? I’m not all that engaged with the power struggles of the Pit, but it seems like leaving money on the table.”

“Claiming my head only wins you the crown. I’m here to offer you much more than that.”

“Oh?”

“All I need you to do is point me toward the nearest door.”

* * *

“Yeah, we just buzzed Drew in at the front door,” came Wade’s voice over the phone.

“I wish I could tell you how long this might take, assuming I am successful,” said Lorelei. She stood alone on the sidewalk, looking at her reflection in the office tower’s window. No one else saw the trepidation on her face. She managed to keep most of it out of her voice. “I can only ask you to wait for my call.”

“Aw, ‘hurry up and wait’ ain’t nothin’ new f’r me. Reckon everyone else should be fine. We know the score. It’s you we’re all worried ‘bout. You sure about this, Lorelei?”

She closed her eyes. Even without her enchantments, this stretch of downtown saw little foot traffic on Sundays. She didn’t need to put up a brave front here. “I see no other choice. We cannot wait for Rachel to return.”

He paused. “You okay?”

“How did you ever feel before going into combat, knowing all the things that might happen?”

Wade sighed. “Yeah. Ah hear that.”

In truth, Wade couldn’t know what she faced. He understood risks such as death or lifelong injury, or the sort of psychological trauma that came from facing the horrors of war. He couldn’t comprehend the risks of captivity, torment, and enslavement that would never end. If nothing else, death still offered him an inevitable escape from any such suffering. Nor could he know the fear of losing himself. Not the way Lorelei feared it now.

He didn’t need to hear that, either. He needed to hear her resolve. She needed it, too. “Thank you, Wade. For everything. Give the others my love.”

“Aw, that ain’t nearly the same from me. Ah can’t do it right. You’ll have t’ do that yourself when you get back an’ this shit’s another crazy story we can’t tell at parties.”

“Good luck, then.” She ended the call and looked back at her reflection once more.

Months ago, she could not have mustered these emotions. At best, she could fake it to fool an unsuspecting mortal. Despite all the fear and regret she saw, she liked the woman she’d become. She didn’t want to lose the capacity for these emotions. She didn’t want to lose herself.

She didn’t want to lose the other people who liked the new Lorelei, either. Or the ones who loved her most.

Lorelei tried to reach them again, dialing in the extra numbers for an international call one last time. As before, it didn’t go through. His disposable phone offered no voicemail. She wondered if Alex might find such a message when he replaced his old phone, but realized she had no idea what else she might say in a recording, anyway. Instead, she stepped back to her car where it was parked along the sidewalk, locked her phone, wallet, and keys inside, and headed around the office building’s corner to the alley nearby.

Loading docks and other practical entrances lined the alley. Not a soul occupied the space. Only a few steps along her way, Lorelei found the chained and locked entrance Lilith had described. Given her interest in Lorelei’s plan, Lilith even told her of a particularly convenient doorway. Other passages were not always so easy.

She tugged on the chains to test their strength, then yanked back hard in a single, violent pull. Links snapped and clattered to the concrete floor. Lorelei inhaled deeply and released a long, slow breath of flame up and down the door, covering it with soot and embers.

Though the metal door held firm as she stepped forward, the ashes gave way and allowed her to pass through. Most of her clothes burned, leaving behind only blackened tatters that held to the narrowest standards of modesty. Her skin heated to its natural crimson hue. Her horns, wings, and tail all came into view.

Darkness and intense heat led to a broad chamber with a vaulted ceiling, tall pillars, and obsidian walls. Chandeliers of bone lit the room. Most of the chamber lay bare aside from the great throne on its dais at one end. Baal hosted no feasts or leisure in his throne room. Any audience brought here was left to stand—or, more often, kneel.