Linda Welch - A conspiracy of Demons (31 page)

“I thought so.” I sighed. “How long will you be away?”

“
Perhaps a week
.”

I pushed loose wisps of hair away from my face. “I guess
recruiting and
organizing
an army will take a while.”

“It will not be an army in the traditional sense.” He rested back. “An army marching through the world might raise eyebrows.”

“I
think a
lot more than eyebrows.”

“The world is a big place - ”

I interrupted. “You’re fond of understatement this evening.”

A small smile lifted his serious expression. “What I mean is we must explore a vast area to locate a few . . . people. We will
use many small units
composed
of our most proficient warriors, but still, it will take time.”

“Months? Years?”

“I do not know, Tiff.”

At least he would not be in their army
. “And what if the Mothers aren’t found?”

“Then they are not found, and Gia told the truth.” His shoulders drew up in a shrug. “We do the best we are able, for the welfare of the people. We can do no less, even if it turns out to be a wild goose chase.
”

“She knows everything
, she admitted they have agents in the High House. I
s there a spy on the Council?”

“T
he councilors are those we freed from Cicero. I trust them. But confidential discussions are difficult in Bel-Athaer.”

W
ith th
e Gelpha’s heightened hearing,
someone
passing by, or pretending to, could hear what went on in the Council Chamber. “Then maybe they should
meet
in a lead-lined room.”

“My clever Tiff. I will suggest it.”

With my hand still captured in his, he stood and pulled me roughly into his arms. “I must go. Come with me? You are not safe here.”

Oh brother, here we go again.
I placed my palms flat on his chest. “She gave her message, she won’t be back. I’m as safe here as anyplace. And . . . .
” I hesitated before continuing.
“I don’t want to be
near
the High Lords or Council, or
any other Lord for that matter,
except you. Royal, did they really kill the Mothers by dropping them in acid?”

“
She told you that?
It was centuries ago,
and
we were
desperate.” He rested his forehead on mine. “We thought they would return if any part of them remained, even ashes.”

I tugged away from him slightly. “So you’ll emulate Phillip Vance, cut of
f
their heads and burn th
e bodies?” I didn’t disguise my disgust
.

“
We will not kill them.
A place is being prepared. A prison, yes, but one from which they shall not escape.”

“Good. But I still don’t want to go to Bel-Athaer.”

When he opened his mouth, I laid a finger on his lips. “I’ll be okay.
I won’t leave
the house
unless I have to,
and with this nifty security system you installed, who can hurt me here?”

“Hm. By the way, Sweetheart,
you said Gia was here when you came home? How did she get inside without tripping the alarm
?”

“Oh, that. . . .”

A spurt of domesticity had me wafting back and for
th through the house with dust cloth
and spray polish in hand. After
three days
away
, Royal had called to say
he’d
be home tonight
.

“Jesus, Mary and Joseph,” Jack exclaimed. “She’s having an episode.”

I coul
d get on faster if they were
no
t
constantly obstructing me
. A shade can’t
bar your movement
, not when you can walk through them, but I avoided that when I could.
Until now I had
no
t worried about w
alking through my roommates
, they
disliked it as much as I.
So why
were they in my face every time I turned around?

With hands fisted on my hips, I glared at Jack. “Out with it. What are you up to? I can’
t
look
around and not find you
here.”

“Nothing,” Mel shrilled. “We’re fascinated by your industry.”

Jack’s voice also sounded higher than normal, which made me suspicious. “It’s a rare sight indeed. Maybe you should mark it on the calendar.”

Mel parodied writing in air. “Cleaned house. Repeat next year.”

“Only a year?” from Jack. “The dust will have barely settled by then.”

I marched out of the living room. “You two are so effing funny.” Then I spun and sprayed Jack with furniture polish.

He shrieked and
blinked out
.

“Hey, come back,” I called. “That stuff has to be rubbed in and polished to a
deep shine
.”

I aimed at Mel.

“
Ha! Can’t fool me!” she said. But she blinked out when I pressed the button.

Royal
could
arrive
at any time
.
I
put the cloth and spray polish on the
hall
table
and dashed
for
the stairs, making Mac scuttle out
of
the way
as I tore through the hall.

The lights were off, but moonlight made Royal’s hair a mass of scintillating str
ands and sheened his high cheek
bones. “What are you doing up here?”

I peeked over the duvet. “Guess.”

He sat on the side of the bed and
slowly
pulled down the duvet to bare my naked breasts. “I would, but I find
coherent
thought
difficult at the moment.” With that, he leaned down and his lips fastened on one erect nipple.

I gasped.
“Thought I’d give you a good
welcome home
.”

He cupped my other breast and transferred his lips to it
,
and drew
the
nipple
in
his mouth
till it
hard
ened
to
a
knot
. The exquisite sensation made my back arch. His
mouth moved over my collarbone and
whispered up my neck to below
my ear. My eyes were closed to better
sink in sensation, but I heard the swish of silk as he stripped off his shirt
, then the rest of his clothes
.

He lifted the cover and slid in beside me. As his hands moved over
me
, it was like the first time, a leisurely exploration
. I reciprocated, caressing silken skin encasing muscle like steel, undulating against him
, pulling him to me by his taut
buttocks.

We made love until I didn’t know how long, how
many times, how many
way
s
, and exhaustion threatened to send me to sleep. I lay in a cozy nest of bedclothes and Royal.

He held my chin and kissed the tip of my nose. “I must be going.”

I
pushed hair off my face and
look
ed
at the bedside clock. “
Now?
What’s so all-fired imp
ortant you have to leave in the
middle of the night?”

“I should have been
back
at the High House hours ago.
You distracted me, you wicked woman.
”

I caught my lower lip between my teeth and batted my eyelashes. “
If I’d known you’re going back
tonight
I’d have been wickeder.
”

With my hand on his chest, I felt his chuckle all through his ribcage
.
“
I’m almost finished
. I could have
stayed there and
called, but I had to see you.”

“What’s the hurry?
You’ll be away . . . how long?”
I wound a long strand of copper-gold hair around my fingers.

“
Twenty-four hours
.”

“
A whole
day
til
l
I see you again, and you’re so
eager to
leave me
?
”

A tiny frown creased between his eyebrows. “That’s not fair, Tiff. You know how much depends on this mission.”

“
Hey, I was pulling your chain.” My brow crunched. “I hope this isn’t a
heap o
f effort for nothing.
You may not
find the Cousins.”

“We will not if we do not try.”

Touché.
I hated when Royal touchéd me.

He leaned over me. “Now, unhand me, temptress, so I can take a quick shower.”

I smirked. I
kind of
liked being called a temptress, and the wicked woman part was
sort
of sexy too.

I watched his
magnificent ass, how his
tight buttocks hitch
ed
up and down as he went in the bathroom and had just settled back in the messy bed when a piti
ful whine issued from downstairs
.

Mac was not in his bed. He didn’t stay in the bedroom when Royal joined me, he probably didn’t like the . . . um . . . noise. Don’t tell me he wanted to go outside?

The shower gushed in the bathroom and a little steam wisped through the partly open door. With a groan, I irritably slid from the bed, pulled on my robe and went downstairs.

Mac’s leash fastened him to the newel post. Despite his increasingly frustrated vocalization, I immediately crouched on the step.

“Mel? Jack?” I whispered.

Mel came
from
her room. “What. . . ?” She looked down the stairs. “Why is he tied up?”

“I didn’t do it,” I said softly. “Is anyone else in the house?”

P
retending to rub sleep
from
his eyes
, Jack came from his room.
“It’s the middle of the night!
” He joined Mel behind me. “You tied up the monster?”

“No I did not,”
I hissed. The hall light was on
– did I leave it on when I came upstairs? Did Royal
switch it
on and forget to turn it off? “Go look around, make sure
no one
’s here.”

Mac’s voice rose in a mini-howl.

“Shh, Mac. I’ll get you outta that in a minute.”

The ghostly duo reappeared on the step below me. “All clear,” Jack said.

“Are you sure?” I half rose. “You looked everywhere?”

“Nobody,” said Mel.

“Someone was here.”
I quickly went down the steps and eased the Martingale collar off Mac’s neck. I caught
his
head in my hands and looked
in
his eyes. “Poor baby. Are you okay?”

As I checked MacKlutzy over, my mind was an utter blank. I couldn’t begin to wonder why and how some unknown person came in my h
ouse, tied my dog to the stairs
and left.

Then I saw the piece of paper under the furniture polish canister.

My heart sped up, trying to pump oxygen into my lungs. I knew who it came from before I touched the note.
Who
else had the balls to
break
in
my house while I was
here?
I didn’t think anyone else could do it undetected.

I put my fingers on the smooth, thick, creamy vellum.
Only
the fingertips.
Clever Gia. She knew that like a mother who
wakes to hear her child cough
, a single anguished peep from Mac would rouse me.

I reluctantly
eased
the note
from beneath the canister
and unfolded it.

In Gia’s dramatic, italicized handwriting:
“For old time’s sake, keep your lover close to you tonight.”

Jack looked over my shoulder. “What have you got there?”

“Oh my goodness,” Mel intoned.

“What does she mean?” Jack asked.

“
No idea
.”

“You’ve been saying that a lot lately,” said Mel.

“Too many possibilities to analyze,” Jack offered. “Are you going to show Big Boy the note?”

I took the note to the living room. “Yeah, though. . . .”

Surely all the activity involved in
organizing
a fighting force and planning a foray made secrecy impossible. The spies were still in place, still reporting to the Mothers. They likely knew Royal was here this evening.

“Is Gia planning something Royal could prevent? Is that it? But it could be anything, anywhere.”

“Like I said, too many possibilities. You can’t prevent something you don’t kno
w will happen,” Jack offered. “What do you think
he’ll do if you tell him?
”

I sagged. “He’s
head
ing
back
to Bel-Athaer
anyway
.
”

“What if
a
bad thing happens here?”

I crushed the note in my fingers. “We don’t know something bad is going to happen. She’s always so frigging cryptic.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t tell him,” Mel suggested.

“I have to.”
But I didn’t want to. I wanted to
tear
the note to shreds and hide them, so Royal knew nothing about it.

I wanted to rip my hair out in frustration. “Hell! Damn! Shit!”

Jack’s chin
jerked
in to his neck and he tutted. “Language, Tiff!” Then he laughed. “Really. Is that the best you can come up with?”

“Believe me, I’m thinking worse. I just can’t say them aloud.” I ground my teeth together.

Mel slapped her hands over her ears. “Don’t
do
that. It’s worse than fingernails on a chalkboard.”

I thought back to the first time I met Gia, my anger when I discovered Royal hid so much from me, about Dark Cousins, about what he was doing for them. It didn’t matter that he had good reasons at the time, the fact he kept information from me hurt so much
that
I nearly left him. How could I be anything less than one—
hundred-percent honest with him
?

I reluctantly
held
up
the note
. “Here, I found this in the hall.”

With his hyped Gelpha senses, Royal didn’t have to
switch
on
the bedside lamp to read the note.

“She came
in and neither
Jack
n
or Mel heard or saw her.
” I didn’t think I could be
more creeped out.

“
She wants me to stay away from Bel-Athaer tonight.
”
He dropped the note on the bed and sat on the edge to get his feet
in
his jeans.

I snatched up the note and waved it at him. My heart pitter-pattered.
“
What makes you think this has anything to do with Bel-Athaer?
Suppose
assassins are still after us
and
we’ll be safe if we stay here?
”

I watched him ponder
his choices.
Remain to protect me, or return
to Bel-Athaer
on the off
chance danger threatened and he could prevent it.