Violet Tendencies (3 page)

“Oh please,” Giguhl scoffed. “No female of mine is allowed to act like a common tramp in public.”

I cringed at his Cro-Magnon tone. Looked like the shine had worn off their sparkly new love.

Valva’s tears dried up fast. She advanced on Giguhl, her golden hands clenched into fists and her blue-feathered tail twitching. She poked a finger into Giguhl’s chest. “You listen here, buddy. I am no one’s property. I’ll shake my ass for whoever I want wherever I want.”

“Okay, everyone needs to relax,” Adam said, approaching the pair. The demons ignored him.

“Is that right?” Giguhl growled, getting into Valva’s face.

“I’m sick and tired of your clinging! I need some space.”

Adam tried to get between the demons. “Valva, you don’t mean that.” The demons moved closer, edging Adam out of their space completely. He looked at me. “A little help here?”

I held up my hands and shook my head. Refereeing a demon lovers’ spat was so not my area. “Just let them work it out.”

Adam pressed his lips together and looked to the sky for patience.

Giguhl crossed his arms across his massive chest. His eyes narrowed. “You want space? Why don’t you just go back to Irkalla then?”

“Maybe I will,” she said, poking him again. “At least I’m appreciated there.”

“Valva,” I said, finally moving in. Now that the talk had turned to her leaving, it was time for me to step in. “We appreciate you.”

“No, you don’t.” She turned on me. “You’re bossy and you have split ends.” She pointed at Adam. “You know what I’m talking about. Tell her!”

Adam lifted his hands and backed away, as if retreating from a ticking time bomb. “I’ve never noticed any split ends.”

“Please, you know she’s a bitch. Ordering us about like we’re her slaves.” She ran a hand over her peacock-blue hair. “Besides, she’s totally jealous of me.”

“Hey!” I said, ignoring the ridiculous accusation. “Need I remind you that you and Giguhl are my minions? It’s kind of my job to tell you what to do.”

Valva laughed. “Giguhl’s your minion. Maisie’s my master. Or she was, at least.”

I put my hands on my hips. This chick’s attitude was grating on my last damned nerve. I also didn’t appreciate her use of the past tense in relation to my sister. “Right. Maisie. Remember her? She’s the one who’s possibly being tortured while you waste all our time with your fucking temper tantrum.”

“Oh please. You’re all so fucking whiny. The only reason I chose to be her minion was to get out of going back to Irkalla.”

My mouth fell open. “What do you mean you ‘chose’ her?”

“That’s right, bitches. It was my choice. I just let you think it was destiny or whatever because it was easier.” She snorted. “Boy, was that a mistake. I thought staying here would be an adventure. But I’d rather be damned to the pit of despair than deal with your lame asses for one more second.”

Giguhl’s posture went stony. “What about me?” His voice was quiet, but fire lurked in the subtext.

She shrugged. “I thought you’d be a fun lay.” Valva waggled her pinkie at Giguhl. “What a joke.”

My chest clenched for Giguhl. “You bitch.”

“Pot. Kettle. Black,” she enunciated slowly. “I’m so out of here.”

Light burst through the area, momentarily blinding me. Brimstone smoke filled my nose. I blinked rapidly and finally saw wisps of black smoke snaking through the air where Valva used to stand.

My jaw gaping, I looked around at the guys. “What the hell?”

Adam’s eyes were saucer huge. “How did she just do that?”

Giguhl didn’t answer. He just glared at the spot where she’d stood moments before. A muscle worked in his jaw.

I approached slowly, unsure how any show of comfort might be received. “G?” I whispered. “Are you okay?”

As if he’d forgotten our presence altogether, his head snapped up. His eyes had a wild look I’d only seen in the fighting ring. I held up my hands. “Hey, it’s just me.”

He shook himself, like a dog after a particularly objectionable bath. “Hey.” He sounded disoriented, as if waking from a long nap. “What’s up?”

I glanced from the corner of my eye at Adam. He just shrugged.

“Are you going to be okay?” I asked.

“What? Valva?” He waved a claw through the air. “Sure. No big deal.”

I frowned at him. “Are you sure? She was kind of harsh.”

“Sabina, I’m fine. She obviously wasn’t the demon I thought she was. I’m better off without her.”

“Okay,” I said slowly. “Well, if you need to talk or whatever, I’m here.” I said this clumsily, totally out of my depth when it came to offering emotional support to the brokenhearted.

“Yep, thanks.” With that, he turned and walked over to a boulder perched on the hill. He lifted the huge thing like a mortal might have lifted a heavy crate. Raising it over his head, his muscles strained for a moment. Then he launched the rock like a shot put.

The boulder flew so far, my eyes lost sight of it in the inky night sky. Several seconds later, a muted crash rose from deep in the canyon below. A dog’s bark echoed through the night, followed by a single pinpoint of light igniting in a distant window.

“Whoops,” Giguhl said.

The corner of my mouth twitched. “Feel better?”

He sucked in a lungful of air that expanded his chest. On the exhale, he roared so loud I had to check and see if my ear was bleeding. When the primal scream finally cut off, Giguhl smiled. “Now I feel better.”

Adam removed his hands from his ears. “Um, maybe this isn’t the best time to ask this question, but does anyone know how in the hell Valva managed to flash out of here like that?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I was kind of hoping you’d know.” I turned to Giguhl. “I thought only the mage who controlled the demon could send them back to Irkalla.”

Adam nodded. “Right.”

“It’s because she’s not a normal demon.” Bitterness dripped from Giguhl’s voice.

I frowned, trying to decide if he was serious or if it was the heartbreak talking. “What do you mean?”

He shrugged. “That rule only applies to your average
Shedim
demon.”

Adam seemed to be following Giguhl’s cryptic remarks better than me. His eyes widened. “Wait, she’s a
Lilitu
?”

Giguhl nodded solemnly. “Yep.”

“Wait,” I said. “Can someone fill me in please?”

Giguhl offered the explanation. “There’s two types of demons. Those that existed before time—the
Shedim
. No one really knows where we came from, but we know we’ve existed before Lilith fled the Garden of Eden and shacked up with Asmodeus.”

I nodded. I’d never heard the word
Shedim
, but I knew enough of the origin stories to follow along. “Okay.”

“The
Lilitu
are the demons who are direct descendants of Lilith and Asmodeus,” Adam said.

“A bigger bunch of snooty demons you’ll never meet,” Giguhl added. “They think because they’re royalty and shit that they’re special, even though the
Shedim
have been around eons longer.”

I processed all this. “So what you’re saying is that the
Lilitu
can move between the realms and the
Shedim
can’t—without magical aid that is.”

“Exactly,” Giguhl said. “They usually don’t come here, though. They’re so privileged in Irkalla, they don’t usually bother with mortal concerns.”

I raised a hand. “Does it bother anyone else that Valva is Lilith’s daughter and we didn’t know it?”

“I knew it,” Giguhl said. “I just didn’t think it mattered.”

I raised my hands in frustration. “Of course it matters.” Some people believed I was some sort of chosen one, prophesied by Lilith to unite all the dark races. So the fact Valva might have been sent by the dark goddess to spy on me or whatever was information I could have used.

“Actually,” Adam jumped in, “it may not. Lilith and Asmodeus have been popping out demons for millennia. Right, Giguhl?”

The demon nodded. “I’d guess they have about one hundred billion kids, give or take.”

“And think about it,” Adam said. “Lenny summoned Valva to fight Giguhl. Damara orchestrated all that by herself as far as we know.”

He was right. Damara had been working for the Caste of Nod, who wanted me dead. She’d tried to get me killed, but when that didn’t work, she blackmailed Lenny to have one of his demons kill Giguhl.

“It’s not out of the realm of possibility that Lilith orchestrated it,” I said.

“I don’t know,” Adam said. “It’s kind of a stretch. Besides, she might have been a bitch, but she wasn’t exactly a mastermind.” He cringed and shot Giguhl an apologetic look. “Sorry, G.”

Giguhl waved a claw. “Don’t worry about it. Her lack of depth was one of the things I liked best about her.” His shoulders slumped.

Time to change the subject before he demanded ice cream and a chick flick marathon. “Okay, now that we’ve figured that minor mystery out, we’ve got a bigger issue.”

“Right,” Adam said. “The Dominae.”

I took a deep breath and thought about our options. My instinct was to go underground for a few days until the heat died down, but frankly I was tired of the Dominae having the upper hand. If we wanted to succeed, we’d need to do something unexpected. Something bold.

“Before we move on to that,” Giguhl said, “I have something to say.”

Adam and I both looked up from our musings.

“If I hadn’t forced her on you guys, none of this would have happened. I’m sorry my selfishness put us in this position.”

I frowned. I so wasn’t used to Giguhl going all sincere on me. “It’s not your fault. She had us all fooled.” I patted him on the arm. “But it’s in the past now. We need to get our heads back in the game and figure out what our next move is now that the Dominae know we’re here.”

Giguhl shot me a grateful look. “Thanks, Sabina. You’re a good friend.”

My cheeks heated at his praise. “Don’t get used to it,” I said. “I’ll be bossing you around again in no time.”

“If I can add a wrinkle to things,” Adam said. “We also need to figure out where we’re spending the day.” He nodded toward the horizon. The dark edges of night were already easing into the muted pinks of dawn.

“You two figure that out while I focus on this Dominae issue,” I said. Two sets of raised eyebrows greeted my command. “Please.”

I looked out over the city, which spread out below us like a blanket of lights. Somewhere to the west of us, the Dominae compound crouched on a cliff overlooking the Pacific. I knew from memory that the security in the compound was impenetrable. Used to be, I could walk right in with the passwords. But now, the place might as well have been Fort Knox. Too bad Lavinia rarely left the compound, or we could have just planned an ambush.

I became still. Lavinia never left the compound, but the other Dominae did. Tanith and Persephone handled most of the night-to-night business.

“Hey,” I called. “What day is it?”

“Let’s see…” Adam looked up as he mentally counted days. “Monday? No, wait, it’s Tuesday by now.”

A smile spread across my lips. “Perfect.”

The males frowned at me for a moment before resuming their discussion about the best place to crash. I took a moment to weigh the insanity of my new plan with the possible outcomes. Once I was sure it was our best option, I held up a hand. “Hey guys,” I said, interrupting their debate over where we’d spend the day after the sun came up. “Anyone in the mood for a little kidnapping and extortion?”

Raised in Texas, Jaye Wells grew up reading everything she could get her hands on. Her penchant for daydreaming was often noted by frustrated teachers. Later, she embarked on a series of random career paths before taking a job as a magazine editor. Jaye eventually realized that while she loved writing, she found reporting facts boring. So she left all that behind to indulge her overactive imagination and make stuff up for a living. Besides writing, she enjoys travel, art, history, and researching weird and arcane subjects. She lives in Texas with her saintly husband and devilish son. Find out more about Jaye Wells at
www.jayewells.com.

Jaye Wells. Photo © by On Location Portraiture.

 

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