Night of the Demon: Paranormal Romance (Devon Slaughter Book 2) (8 page)

INKA STROKED Zadie’s hair. “Promise not to get too excited.
When I tell you.” She smoothed Zadie’s fine blonde eyebrows. Her touch was
hypnotic but Zadie couldn’t relax. She was taut with anticipation. Surely, the
good news had to do with Devon.

She closed her eyes and willed her body to loosen, knowing
it was what Inka wanted. 

Inka sighed, as she massaged Zadie’s temples. “It’s no use.
You’re as tense as a demon in Rome,” she giggled, girlishly. She had a
personality for every mood. Zadie didn’t know which of Inka’s personalities she
liked best. Each one was laced with danger. 

“Devon has been here,” Inka said.

Zadie’s breath caught. “
Here
?”

“Not here. Not in this bed, silly. Not likely he’d hang out
in the sanitarium.
Darling
, guess what?” She didn’t wait for a reply.
“You’ll
never
guess.”

Zadie sat up to look into Inka’s eyes. “He’s in
town
.”

“Devon Slaughter owns a building in this
very
city.”

Zadie’s mind spun. “You mean, I’ve been so close to him all
this time … and—and not
known
?”

Inka’s dark brows furrowed. “Well, not exactly. He’s gone.”

“What?” Zadie stared, waiting for the good news.

“Without a trace it would appear,” Inka said.

Zadie’s heart fluttered. “But—I don’t understand. Where is
he?” She thought Inka must know. Inka knew everything.
Why is Inka leading
me on? Torturing me?

“Zadie, Devon has been here,” Inka’s tone was becoming
impatient. “Devon has left his mark. Can’t you see? It’s good news.”

But uncertainty licked at Zadie’s mind.

She could never forget the horror of angel wings beating the
dark sky, the poisonous venom of the net around her, pulling her down through
the cold water, down and down into the mouth of the realm.

And Zadie had seen the red sky in Prague, the night the
angels took flight and slayed a thousand demons.

She slumped on the bed. Grief made her weak. She needed to
feed. She was ravenous with sorrow. She hugged her knees and rocked.

“Now, now,” Inka was annoyed. “None of that. You’re acting
like a human. Like a baby. You should see yourself. It’s
quite
ugly.”

For once, Zadie was beyond Inka’s wrath. She curled on her
side and moaned. “The angels got him … they
killed
him.” 

“You don’t know that,” Inka said.

“I
do
know,” she cried. “I know it in my heart. Devon
is dead.” She mashed her face into the pillow. Her shoulders heaved. It was her
fault. If Inka hadn’t turned Devon, for
her
, he would still be alive.

In the next instant, pain seared her scalp. Inka yanked her
off the bed by her hair. Zadie screamed, a sound that wasn’t foreign in the
sanitarium.

Inka dragged her across the floor. A rusty nail on the floor
cut into Zadie’s back.

They scuffled.

Zadie landed a kick to Inka’s knee, before Inka wrenched her
to her feet. “
Stop
it.” Red veins stained the whites of Inka’s eyes. She
struck a blow so hard Zadie’s teeth rattled.

Zadie’s own hand shot out. The feel of Inka’s hot flesh
beneath her palm gratified her … for an instant. Then, she gasped and scuttled
into the corner. She covered her head with her arms. “Forgive me,” she
whispered.

An ominous quiet hovered.

Inka moved behind her. Zadie felt her heat.

But when Inka spoke, she was gentle and maternal. “Zadie …
oh, Zadie. I only slapped you because you were hysterical. Never rush to your
own conclusions in my presence. And
never
lose control like that. I
can’t abide it. Now, turn around, and look at me.”

Gazing into Inka’s eyes was like gazing into a lake of
darkness.

“I feel your pain, Zadie,” she said. “Our sorrows are one
and the same. But so is our glory. We have given Devon the same glory,
something you should never regret, no matter the circumstances. I wouldn’t have
turned Devon without his consent. Except, oh, darling. I
had
to.” She
took Zadie’s hand and led her to the bed. “Sit down, and listen to what I have
to tell you.”

Zadie sat with her hands in her lap, calmed by Inka’s power
that washed over her like sunlight.

“Your beloved Devon was dying. From the bite of a
tiny
mosquito. He was weakened by your lovemaking. He couldn’t fight the fever.”

A tear leaked from Zadie’s eye.

“Don’t
cry
,” Inka sounded on the verge of snapping
again. “Such a display of human weakness is beneath you. Understand?”

Zadie nodded. 

“It’s this
crazy
house. You’re not feeding properly.”

Shame filled Zadie, until Inka said, “I should have come to
you sooner. You needed me and I wasn’t there.”

Yes, oh yes. Don’t be angry.

“I wouldn’t break a promise to you, Little One. I stole into
Devon’s hospital room, and I waited. At the exact moment of his death, I kissed
him, and made him immortal … before the angels could descend. This I did for
you, my dearest one.” She offered Zadie her hand to kiss.

Zadie trembled as her lips grazed Inka’s knuckles. 

“I do not feel in my heart that Devon is dead, Zadie. And I
know these things better than you. Of course, you are beautiful and powerful,
in my image, but you are still a fledgling. Don’t fight me.” 

“No,” Zadie said. “I don’t want to fight you. I love you so
much.”

“More than Devon?”

Fear coiled in Zadie’s gut. “
Always
.” She slid off
the bed. Kneeling at Inka’s feet, she held Inka’s hand and smothered her palm
with kisses. To distract Inka from the lie.   

HENRY’S BLUE eyes were bloodshot. He was over two hours
late, and sat at the black granite bar in my apartment. It was nearing
midnight.

“Nice place,” he said. “I mean, wow, Ruby,” he spun on the
stool to take in the high ceilings, brick walls, the twelve hundred square foot
space made larger by the fact that it was empty, save for the piano and the
record player, and the unpacked boxes. 

“My furniture is coming on Monday,” I said.

“You must have got a sweet price for the old pile.” There
was something in his tone I couldn’t comprehend.

He got edgy with me sometimes. But that was to be expected.
I irritated people. What mattered to me was that he was in my apartment. He
hadn’t dumped me yet.

I poured a shot for him from the bottle he’d brought on our
first date. I added ice to my soda. I’d taken a Valium when he was on his way
up. Warmth spread through my limbs.

He ignored his drink. “No wonder you never want to come to
my place,” he said.

“
Oh
… but I do. Want to come to your place.”

He was studying me. His eyes moved over my face. “Do you?”
he said.

“Of course,” I lied.

He laughed and downed his whisky. “No you don’t,” he said.
“Why would you? It’s a dump.”

“I’m sure it’s not,” I murmured. My cheeks burned. He
misunderstood my reluctance and I didn’t know how to explain. I didn’t like to
leave home. I needed to be around my own things arranged a certain way. “I—um,”
my mouth had gone dry. I licked my lips.

“It’s okay,” he said. There was a coldness in his tone that
contradicted his words. “It’s a bit of a drive though. For me. Especially now
that you’re all the way downtown.” 

I filled his shot glass and added a dab more whisky to my
soda.

“It would make things easier,” he said. “If I could spend
the night.”

His words hung in the air.

I felt cornered.

As much as our kisses had made me long for more, as much as
my body responded to being touched, I knew it was only that—a yearning to be
touched, and not specifically by Henry.

Shouldn’t I be on fire for him? If he was going to be my
first?

Or was I being too romantic?

It occurred to me I wasn’t a virgin because guys didn’t want
me. I was a virgin because
I
wanted a certain guy. A perfect match—a
figment of my imagination. I wanted a Heathcliff.

I thought about running into the  bedroom to make a quick
call to Dr. Sinclair. But I would be directed to her answering service. I would
only get to talk to her if I reported an emergency.

And I wasn’t crazy. Despite the evidence. Not yet, anyway.

I took a big gulp of my drink and tried to remember Dr.
Sinclair’s advice for making better decisions.

Identify your goal
.

Oh, God. I was doomed.

“I—I think it would be nice …” I said. “If you spent the
night.”

“Nice is good,” Dr. Sinclair’s words echoed in my mind. I
prayed they were true. 

I NEEDED to lose Jep for a while, so I could get on the
computer in the library and see what there was to see. I was free to use the
computer, but only under his supervision, which wouldn't work. I wanted to try
to figure out the symbolic language the angels used.

In the course of my assimilation classes, I'd found no law
that specifically forbade demons to speak the tongue of angels, and yet, demons
did not. I figured they were illiterate, in that regard. Celestial speech was
the language of church and state, which meant demons were left out of two of
the most important facets of a meaningful life.

Could I be given any kind of fair opportunity in the New
Army under such conditions?

“I need to go for a run,” I told Jep.

He didn't like running. He was all about body building.
“Really?” he said.

“Yeah, really.” I actually did like to run. And I knew he
wasn't going to let me out of his sight, so I figured I'd wear him down a
little. At the very least, he wouldn't be so chatty after lights out.

We put on our athletic uniforms—lightweight, moisture
wicking versions of our regular uniforms and black tennis shoes. I thought Jep
looked funny without his combat boots. But maybe he just appeared shorter.

We went to the gym, which was nothing like the gyms I'd
known in the human world. On first sight, it appeared to be a spa with nature
art on the walls, an abundance of decorous plants and big windows to let in the
(artificial) light.

We stood in front of a touch screen on the wall. “We'll do
the paved track,” Jep said.

“Let's do something different. Shake it up.”

Jep snorted. “The other tracks take too long. And you've got
to study. Don't think I don't notice the way you fart around in class.”

“Let's do this one,” I pressed my finger on an icon of a
mountain, wondering if it would light up. But the screen only responded to
Jep's prints. 

“That one's a
bitch
,” Jep said.

“Come on, man. Live a little.”

“You'll be sorry,” he grumbled.

The pod opened and we stepped inside. “Sierra Switchback,
level five,” the computer announced. “Is this correct?”

Jep confirmed and we were off and running, uphill, dodging
virtual pine trees and boulders.

The temperature lowered, as we gained altitude; sharp and
icy. Behind me, Jep panted. “Screw you, Slaughter,” he shouted at the first
switchback. And then I heard him laugh.

Our footsteps fell into a rhythm. I was faster, initially.
But he stayed steady behind me. On the last incline, when the air turned thin,
he pulled ahead.

Later, as I was toweling off, I heard him singing
Queen
in the shower. “We will … we will …
rock
you.”

Damn. If I didn't watch it, I'd end up liking the guy.

INKA TOOK Zadie to a club in China Town, to the V.I.P. room,
where they fed on the headlining rock band and their groupies.

“
That
, my darling, is how it’s done,” Inka said.
“Don’t waste your time on the dregs of humanity. They will only make you weak.
Like them.” 

It was three a.m. and they walked arm and arm through the
streets. Everyone turned to stare. Limos slowed as they passed, in order for
the important people inside to gawk and wonder. Inka and Zadie were more
glamorous, more breathtaking than any movie star.

They’d ransacked Nordstrom’s and Zadie wore rose pink
leather. A luxurious faux fur draped around her neck; gray with a white stripe,
like she’d seen angels wear in the realm. Inka had changed into a black pin-striped
suit and red spiked heels. Zadie liked dangly earrings. Loops of darkly lush
rubies hung from her ears. Diamonds twinkled on Inka’s fingers. 

All doors opened for them. Their new home was a set of high
roller suites at the Avalon Casino.  

And yet, one persistent thought haunted Zadie: Where is
Devon’s building?

She couldn’t appear too eager when it came to Devon. Though
demons could hear human thoughts, and often compel humans to do their will,
there were few who could use those same abilities on other demons. Still, Inka
had a special connection to Zadie, as her sire. She would intuit Zadie’s
feelings, and thus, her thoughts, if her hackles were raised.

“Where are we going now?” Zadie said, unable to heed the
inner voice that warned her to keep quiet. 

Inka was in a good mood, however. Her laugh rang out, deep
and throaty. “It is time to get down to business, my darling. First things
first,” she stopped and scanned the street. “What do you think? Shall we take
the pretty little Porsche, or the ridiculous Escalade?”

Patience
, Zadie’s inner voice said. She shrugged.
“The Porsche?”

Inka considered. She gestured to a well-dressed couple
coming down the sidewalk toward them. “Let’s see where they’re going.”  

The man pointed a remote at the Escalade. The SUV beeped
twice and he opened the passenger door for the woman. Inka raised an eyebrow at
Zadie. “Go,” she said. “Compel them to give us their car.”

Zadie didn’t find compelling people difficult. Usually. But
she always got nervous when Inka watched. She summoned her glamour and
approached. The man smiled at her. “Well, hello there,” he said.

The woman frowned. She sidled closer to the man.

It was tricky to compel two people at once, at least for
Zadie. Not for Inka. Inka could affect whole crowds, when her powers were at
their highest.

Zadie decided to focus on the woman. She bore her gaze into
the woman’s pale eyes, and reached out to stroke her cheek. “Aren’t you
lovely,” she said. The woman’s pulse leaped into her veins.

Seized by a sudden desire to be kissed, the woman tilted up
her face, and Zadie obliged her. The man watched, his heart pounding.  

“Thank you, doll,” Zadie put her finger on the woman’s lips.
She turned to the man. His eyes were glossy, as he handed over the keys, and his
wallet.

“Well done,” Inka sounded surprised. “That was a nice touch,
at the end. Getting his wallet.”

They watched the couple totter away.

“Very impressive, Little One. The apple doesn’t fall far
from the tree.”

Inka drove, while Zadie gazed out the window. The lights of
city slid by in a blur. She hoped they were going to Devon’s building, at last.
She yearned to inhale his scent, to touch the things he had touched.

As they drove, Zadie’s buzz dwindled. She grew anxious, when
they headed toward the desert. She felt like they were going the wrong way, in
the opposite direction of Devon’s building.

“There’s something else I must tell you,” Inka said. Her
tone was grave.

They were nearing the sanitarium. The fountain glowed purple
and red.

“There are rumors Devon was hanging out with a human girl,”
Inka said. “When he was here. Not many human girls, mind you. Just one. The
same one.”

“What are you saying?” Zadie’s heart thudded. Nausea reared
its ugly head. Young demons needed vast amounts of human energy to sustain
them. It would be years, centuries, before she was as strong as Inka.

Inka tapped the steering wheel. The diamonds on her fingers
glinted. “Devon must have been a wreck, Zadie. There are reasons we don’t turn
people against their will. They don’t understand their power and fight against
it. The girl must have reminded Devon of someone important in his past. Perhaps
she reminded him of you?” Inka glanced at her.

Bile rose in Zadie’s throat. She swallowed. “Is the girl
still alive?”

“That’s what we’re going to find out,” Inka said.

They followed an empty highway. The desert stretched out on
either side, like a dark sea. Dawn glowed red on the horizon.

Inka turned off and they bumped over a dirt road. Zadie
clenched her jaw. Up ahead, lights bloomed. A red neon sign announced Poncho
Villa’s Saloon.

The town was straight out of an old western, complete with
wooden storefronts and planked sidewalks. Clouds of dust peeled from the wheels
of the Escalade.

Despite herself, Zadie was intrigued.

Inka parked in front of the saloon. Their heels made a
clatter on the wooden stairs, as they went up. They pushed through double
swinging doors, and Zadie expected to be greeted by the local sheriff, maybe
even a double barreled shotgun.

There was a blackjack table in the back. The lone player (a
grizzled man with a dented hat) glanced their way. The dealer shot the
bartender a look, and Zadie caught his drift:
Look out. Demons on the scene
.

The bartender was a lanky man whose eyes grazed Zadie,
before settling on Inka. “Look what the cat dragged in,” he said.

He had a knife scar down the side of his face. Zadie thought
there was something different about him. He wasn’t your regular human. As they
sidled up to the bar, she realized she couldn’t hear his heartbeat.

Her eyes slid over him, looking for what protected him. She
followed a chain around his neck to a light blue stone exposed by the wide V of
his shirt. Zadie recognize the stone. It was angelite—a protective crystal that
warded off evil spirits and attracted angels.

Good luck with that, she thought. Unfortunately, this man’s
charm appeared to be working. 

“Hello, my old friend,” Inka said, and Zadie watched as she
leaned across the bar to kiss the man’s scarred cheek.

Even when an amulet was properly endowed with magic, a charm
could only ward off spirits the wearer recognized as evil. How irritating that
this asshole was embracing Inka, while at the same time, warding off Zadie.
Like she was the evil one.

Zadie glared at him.
How rude can you be?

“Zadie, I’d like you to meet my friend, Bram,” Inka said, as
if just remembering Zadie was there. “Bram, Zadie is my favorite progeny.” 

Bram didn’t offer his hand, which caused Zadie’s lip to
curl. All she needed was an invitation, and she’d be all over his ass in a
heartbeat. 

“Bram is a procurer,” Inka said. “One of the best. Whatever
you require, he will find it for you. If he can’t, no one can.”

Ugh, Zadie thought.
Spare me
.

“So?” Inka’s voice lilted. “Did you find anything?”

Bram reached in his back pocket and handed Inka a folded
slip of paper. In return, she pushed a hundred dollar bill across the bar.

Inka read the note. Her eyes widened. “
Interesting
,”
she said. “Quite ironic. Fate works in mysterious ways.”