Demons Are a Girl’s Best Friend (10 page)

“I bet the depression level there is sky-high,” Maggie muttered, looking down at Declan’s unconscious body. A soft groan sounded. “Oh good, he’s coming around.”

He moved his body as if every bit of bone and muscle hurt. “What did you do to me?” He sat up and rubbed his hand over his face.

“You did it to yourself. That’s why all visitors are given a medallion when they enter the compound. If they show any threatening manner toward one of the Guard, they’re put down fast. You’re lucky that I did some quick work to lighten it for you. Otherwise, you would have been out for a week.” She wiped her fingers on a napkin and watched him slowly rise to his feet. “Next time I won’t interfere, and you’ll feel the full effect.”

Declan stared at Anna. “If I deny you this chance, I’m acting like our father. I can’t do that.” He looked past her to Maggie. “You will look after her?”

“You can visit her any time you want, Declan. Just don’t lose your temper.” She smiled.

Anna’s face lit up. She hugged him hard and then ran off.

“You’re like the parent watching his kid go off for the first day of school,” Maggie said, coming over and draping her arm around his shoulders. “She’ll do fine. She’ll make new friends, and it’s actually a good thing. Anna’s our first demon.”

“Now! It’s now!” Meech ran in and grabbed Maggie’s hand, pulling hard on it and throwing her off balance

“No.” She resisted.

“What’s going on?” Declan asked.

“Meech and his mate named me the vow mother for their baby.” Her heels slid along the floor.

“Come,” Meech invited, keeping a tight grip on Maggie’s hand.

“This won’t be messy, will it?”

***

Maggie prided herself on having a cast-iron stomach. She’d been in battles where blood and gore was just a part of it.

But now she watched a panicky Meech try to comfort Reesa, who called him every name in the book along with some Maggie had never heard before. She tucked them into her memory for future reference.

She noticed Declan, who skulked off in a corner because she refused to allow him to leave the birthing room. His skin was the color of pea soup.

“Come on, I’m sure you’ve seen worse,” Maggie hissed at him.

“I have, but this is different.” He bared his teeth at her. “I could say the same to you. You’re female. You should be used to this.”

She shook her head. “Not childbirth.” She straightened up. Battling a nest of smelly chupacabras was much easier than watching a woman giving birth. At least she had control then.

“You will never touch me again!” Reesa stated between clenched teeth.

“I love my passion flower,” Meech crooned. “Don’t worry, this will soon be over.”

“How would you know, you insolent thing that belongs in a bog?” Reesa’s scream was piercing enough to shatter the windows.

“The child is coming,” the healer joyfully announced.

“Do not leave me here,” Maggie ordered Declan as he started to edge his way out of the room. She threw out a hand. The door disappeared, and he ran into a blank wall.

She enjoyed watching the Guards’ children play in the large playground, and she had wondered at times what it would be like to be a mother. But come on, she was a 700-year-old witch. Could she still have a biological clock ticking?

Maggie knew the mechanics of childbirth and had sometimes assisted over the long years, but she had never witnessed the birth of anyone from Meech and Reesa’s race. She just hadn’t expected the baby-size blue egg that Reesa eventually laid. She watched the midwife gently crack the surface and lift out a tiny mewling baby, quickly wrapping it in a blanket.

“I am beginning to think that my way is so much better,” Elle announced. “Have sex, eat my mate, lay eggs, and leave them to hatch on their own.”

“You’re a regular softie, Elle,” Maggie said.

“You have a girl,” the midwife announced to the parents.

Maggie took one look at the miniscule wizened face and fell instantly in love with the tiny being.

“Hey, sweetheart, I’m your vow mother,” she cooed, allowing the youngling to wrap her fingers around her forefinger. “I’m the one who’s going to make sure you grow up to be whatever you wish to be. I’ll keep you safe when your parents aren’t here, and I’ll teach you to stand up to bullies.”

***

Declan realized he was seeing a whole new side of the witch. Instead of looking as if she’d happily break a few bones, she looked softer and more desirable than ever.

A few hours before, they’d heard word that the world could be destroyed, and now Maggie was smiling and cooing at a baby he thought looked like a tiny walnut with arms and legs.

What would she be like with my child? Would she still be out fighting enemies or turn into a witch of leisure?

“Don’t worry, little one. I’ll take you to the training room when you’re big enough,” he overheard Maggie say in a soft voice.

Definitely fighting.

Maggie waved the door back into existence, and they left the new parents.

“Now we’ll be seeing baby photos all the time.”

Declan stopped outside and looked in the direction of the Seers’ Pavilion. “I need to say good-bye.”

“Perhaps you should leave her alone for now. They’ll let you know when you can see her again. They’ll be helping her settle in.” She pointed him in the opposite direction. “I guess when you came today you didn’t expect all this to happen.”

“Not even close.” He took a deep breath. “I want to blame you for Anna’s wish to be trained as a Seer, but deep down, I know that it’s the best thing for her. As much as it galls me to say so, the Guard can protect her better than I can right now.”

She cocked her head to one side. “Because of your father? So I guess he’s not the Ward Cleaver type?”

“Not even close.”

“And he’s still alive?”

A smile touched his lips. “More than 1,000 years old and going very strong.” He touched her arm. “I want to help with what you’re going to do. I deserve to be involved if this god of destruction, whoever and whatever he is, could be targeting demons.”

“I’d have to check with my superiors about that, but considering the crazy way this seems to be starting up, I doubt there will be any problems.”

He was relieved she didn’t give him an outright no. He wasn’t the warrior his father was, but he did have fighting skills that could prove useful.

That it gave him a chance to spend more time with Maggie was just a bonus.

Declan drove back to the club, occasionally looking at the empty passenger seat. He missed his sister already.

“You left your blood with the Guard? What kind of brother are you, Declan?” The dark voice entered the car a millisecond before an equally dark presence drifted onto the seat. “Anna’s a hot number. You could have made a fortune with her, and we both know your father wouldn’t have minded if you accomplished what he couldn’t. Of course, he would have insisted on a cut of the profits.”

“Wreaker.” There was no inflection in his voice to indicate he hated the uninvited visitor to the very marrow of his bones. “Who let you out?”

“The boss decided I needed a vacation. Lighten up, cuz. Aren’t you happy to see me? It’s been a long time.”

The demon had a sinister beauty that appealed to women who enjoyed walking on the wild side. The trouble was that Wreaker always bled them dry of all emotion and vitality until they were nothing more than empty husks when he left their beds. Iron-gray hair hung loosely to his shoulders, obscuring the tattoos proclaiming his power that writhed around his neck.

Declan saw cruelty in the demon’s black eyes and in the lines of his mouth, but he knew humans only saw the creature’s unearthly beauty. While they were related by blood, even Declan didn’t know Wreaker’s true name. A demon’s true name held power. Anyone with that information could summon them to do their bidding. Wreaker didn’t trust anyone. Didn’t matter to Declan, because he sure as Hades didn’t trust his cousin either.

“And now it seems there’s some serious shit going on around here. You sure you’re up for it? I mean, if you’re pussy enough to dump your sister on the Guard, who says you’ve got the cojones
to go up against stone-cold killers? The Mayans think they invented sacrificial rituals while forgetting it was
moi
who taught them everything I know.”

Wreaker was higher up the demon food chain than Declan and had let it be known he wasn’t happy when Declan was given Damnation Alley. Declan knew his cousin had wanted to use the club as his own private hunting ground. He wished he could ban him from the club, but Wreaker had the credentials to freely come and go through the portal in the club’s basement.

All Declan was allowed to do was make sure the undesirables were closely monitored in order to avoid any trouble—unless it was allowed by their rulers. He wasn’t about to lose his club because a killer demon caught the eye of the Hellion Guard.

“And that’s a new thing?” He flicked his fingers, extinguishing the cigar Wreaker had just lit up. “If you want to smoke, go elsewhere.”

“What does the Guard know about the Destroyer returning to inflict havoc on the mortal world?”

Declan’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel. “I see intel is still on top of things.”

“The Guard isn’t as impenetrable as they think they are. Plus, word about the Mayans has been floating around for the past few months. Good times back then.” Wreaker smiled. “The women were incredible. I could have my way with them and then hand them over to the priests for the sacrifices. Bummer when they insisted on virgins. I was considered a god back then.”

“I’m sure you were,” Declan muttered. “And once again, why are you here?”

“You seem to be in the know where the Guard is concerned. You could tell us what they’re up to.”

“Because you intend to interfere with the Guard’s intent?”

“Hades no!” Wreaker laughed, lighting his cigar again. “Because it looks like the Mayan fuckers think they can destroy us, too. They first tried back in the year 3500 BC and haven’t given up since. I can’t believe they’ve been in hiding all this time when blood is like food to them. We’ll step in if the Guard fails, but why should we lose anyone when the all-high-and-mighty are ready to do their thing?”

He stroked the glove-leather seat the way he’d stroke a woman. “Nice car, dude. I need to look into getting me one of these. It’s like sex on wheels. I don’t suppose you’d let me test-drive it, would you? No, I guess not.”

He shrugged at Declan’s glare. “You need to be careful, Declan. And I’m speaking not just as your cousin but as a friend, too.”

“We were never friends.” And Declan had the knife scar to prove it.

One of Wreaker’s tattoos flared a bright-red light and coiled its way down his neck.

“We could have been if you hadn’t been such an asshole about your sister. Oh, I know Victorio had plans for Anna, but no reason why she and I couldn’t have stepped out first.”

Declan breathed deeply through his nose in an attempt to keep his anger under control. He idly noticed his car’s temperature gauge starting to creep upward. It took a moment before it returned to normal.

“I only wanted to date her, Dec, not fuck her,” Wreaker drawled. “You know. Dinner, maybe some dancing afterward. Or we could take in a movie.”

“You’d never settle for dinner and dancing,” Declan said tightly. “And you hate movie theaters unless you can find a quiet spot with your latest victim.”

“We’ll never know, will we?” Wreaker blew out a smoke circle. “Look, I’m just the messenger. Keep an eye on that Guard bitch you’ve been sniffing after. She’s pretty hot looking, so I can’t see it as a tough gig.

“Who knows? If you speak all pretty, she just might let you into her pants. I bet she’s one hot lay.” He grinned at Declan’s ominous features. “I’ll be around when you’ve got some info for me.”

Wreaker was gone as quickly as he appeared, leaving only a haze of cigar smoke behind.

“And one day I’ll turn you into a living torch,” Declan muttered.

He made the forty-five-minute drive to the club in half the time. His employees took one look at his face and made sure to stay out of his way.

And no one dared ask him why Anna hadn’t come back with him.

“So this is the teenager who’s the intended sacrifice?” Maggie studied the photograph lying in front of her of a teenage girl and boy doing some serious PDA. “She looks more like a
Gossip Girl
wannabe. All she needs is the little dog. I gather that’s the boyfriend with her, since they’re sucking face.”

She frowned as the soft sound of drums and chanting in a strange language floated through her head. She momentarily closed her eyes against the darkness that surrounded her. When she opened them again, it was gone.

“Courtney Parker,” Mal announced from the end of the large conference table. “Fifteen years old, a high school freshman, and flunking most of her subjects. She’s been suspended from school more than she’s attended it. Although with what’s going on now, it might be better she doesn’t go, unless we slap some heavy-duty protections on her. Boyfriend’s name is Mick Frasier. He dropped out of school last year, and they’ve been going together for the last six months.”

All members of Maggie’s team were assembled for the meeting, accompanied by Declan and Anna, garbed in her orange Seer apprentice robe and hood, seated alongside Ravenna.

“She is the one Ravenna and I Saw,” Anna agreed.

“And she needs a home,” Ravenna said. “Courtney is in Houston’s foster system.”

“She dresses pretty well for a foster kid.” Maggie eyed the clothing. “Even the ratty jeans she wore in the vision had a designer label.”

“Courtney has a job in an upscale clothing boutique. Since she’s underage, she’s paid under the table,” Mal said. “No reason we can’t set up a file showing Maggie’s related to Courtney, so she can be named the girl’s guardian.” He shuffled through papers on the table, pausing to sign a few and hand them to the waiting messenger ferret.

“Uh, no,” Maggie protested, sitting up straight. “I’m so not the mom type. I can’t even be trusted to baby-sit a toddling ferret. I didn’t know he wasn’t supposed to have licorice.”

“You’re our baby’s vow mother. You will be a wonderful guardian for the child,” Meech said warmly. “You just need to tap into your inner female.”

“Just because we have ovaries and you don’t doesn’t mean we automatically know what to do with a teenager,” she argued.

“The only other female on this team is Tita, and no way can she be used.”

“I resent that. I could be an excellent mother.” The vampire examined her long red nails.

“I don’t want to even think about what you’d teach the kid, Tita. At least Maggie’d teach her something useful, like how to properly handle a weapon.” Mal raised an eyebrow. “We don’t want to draw attention to this girl. She can’t be brought to the compound, so we’ll set up a safe house for you near her school. We’ll make sure all the wards are up and running before you move in.

“I already worked up a cover story that you’re a distant relative and seeking guardianship. Once we’ve got the paperwork looking authentic, you’ll go in and take charge of her. Reports on her so far aren’t too good. The kid’s a regular hellion. Sounds like you’ll get along just fine.” He eyed Maggie thoughtfully.

Maggie thought of her fleeting moment of wanting to be a mother. She didn’t expect it would mean a child who was already housebroken or one with behavioral problems.

“What about the rest of us?” Frebus asked. “It’s not fair that Maggie has all the worries if the girl’s in that much danger.”

“We’ll figure that out. Probably have to use some illusion spells, since you don’t exactly fit in among the humans.”

Frebus scratched his furry arm. “Just as long as you don’t turn me into a dog. The last time I went undercover, I came back with fleas.”

“What can I do?” Declan asked.

Mal paused. “I let you in here because your sister was instrumental in helping us find Courtney. That doesn’t mean I’ll put you to work.”

“I’m not going to just sit by and do nothing,” he said tersely.

“You could pretend to be Maggie’s lover,” Tita suggested, with a sultry smile that said she wouldn’t mind having him for hers.

Maggie opened her mouth to argue that point when Mal spoke up.

“That might work.” He puffed on his less than aromatic cigar. “What else do we know about this god of destruction?”

“He is to the south,” Ravenna spoke up. “I see ancient temples, blood-stained stone altars, and people who were nothing more than slaves.”

Maggie thought of the dreams that had begun haunting her sleep. They were nothing like the two she apparently had shared with Declan—not only had he been noticeably absent, but there had been a sense of fear, and she awoke very hazy on the details.

“South means Mexico or South America. How ancient? Incan or Mayan?” Maggie asked. “Aztec?”

“Mayan,” Anna said without hesitation. She looked at Declan. “The Mayans were an offshoot of the demon race. According to our history, they were destroyed sometime in the tenth century because they wanted to annihilate all demons who didn’t share their beliefs.”

“And they’ve taken all this time to move up to everyone else? Talk about goals,” Maggie said. “I only head south when there are chupacabras to kill or when I want a good margarita. I don’t know all that much about the ancient cultures.” She looked around expectantly at her team members.

“I once did the tourist thing and checked out some of the Incan and Mayan temples,” Meech said. “About three hundred years ago, there were rumors that Mayan priests had reappeared in the temples and carried off women from the villages for blood sacrifices. When my team and I showed up, we found fresh bloodstains and a lot of human hearts that looked chewed on. No sign of anyone living in the temples, but the smell of dark magick hung over the place like a deadly disease.”

“It’s a terrible place,” Frebus rumbled. “Too full of death and anguish. I didn’t like it there.”

Maggie looked at Mal. “Why weren’t these places cleansed? It’s not like we don’t have enough sorcerers to sanitize the altars.”

“They did go down there and performed cleansing spells. The death and violence were so intense there that they returned exhausted and could only sleep for days.” Meech said. “Daily sacrifices had gone on until you wondered how there was anyone left in the villages. Let alone virgins.”

“It couldn’t have been any worse than some of the death houses we’ve raided over the years.” Mal tapped a few keys on his netbook. “Ravenna, what else have you and Anna learned since that first connection? Any more visions?”

The Seer nodded her head, the silken fabric of her robe rustling in the sudden respectful silence.

“Anna and I have learned much since our first connection,” she replied in her musical voice. “Seeing into the ether has not been easy. We suspect that those involved are blocking their activities, but with emotions running so high, some information filters out. One thing that has come through is the knowledge that a ritual will occur on the night of the blood moon.”

“Makes sense.” Maggie said, doodling impatiently on her notepad. Elle, residing discreetly between her shoulder blades, echoed her restlessness and began to fidget.

Declan glanced over and smiled at her artwork, a stick figure witch in a black pointy hat riding a jet-propelled broom. “That’s your idea of taking notes?” he whispered.

“I don’t need to. Mal sends out a transcription of everything said. He knows we all have a short attention span.” She looked toward her boss. “Are we done here? What else do we need to know? Nasty god wants to take over the world, lots of blood—ah, now Tita perks up.” She grinned at her vampire team member. “You little rascal, you.”

“You said the magick word,” Tita teased.

Mal glared at her. “Why? You gotta a manicure appointment or something that you consider more important, Maggie?”

“I need to find a ruffled apron and pearls for mommy patrol.” She ignored Frebus’s and Meech’s snickers as the team rose to leave.

“Apron and pearls only. I’ve always been partial to naughty schoolgirl myself, but I could go for that,” Declan murmured, the corners of his beautifully sculpted lips tipping upward.

Maggie “accidentally” ground her heel on Declan’s toes as she stood up. She smiled. “Sorry.”

“You two stay.” Mal gestured Maggie and Declan toward him. He waited for them to take the chairs on either side of him before he zeroed in on Declan. “I’ll be honest with you. I didn’t want a demon in on this operation. I don’t like your race. I don’t trust your race. And I don’t care who knows it. I’ve fought your kind for the last thousand years. It’s only because of your sister that I’m allowing you in on these meetings.”

“Gee, Mal, don’t hold back. Just tell Declan how you really feel.” Maggie grimaced.

Declan was unfazed by the gnome’s diatribe. “I’ve never pretended to be anything other than I am,” he replied. “I won’t apologize if I make you uncomfortable. And I will also say that without trust, there’s no reason for me to be here. I honestly don’t know what I can bring to the party, if you want to put it that way.”

Mal narrowed his eyes at him. “Terrific. We have a lover, not a fighter.”

“Depends on the circumstances.” Declan’s smoldering expression was just as threatening. “If this is the kind of attitude Anna can expect here, I’ll be taking her back with me.”

“Okay, boys, enough with the pissing contest,” Maggie interjected. “You’re both da man. Mal, if you insist on giving Declan a bad time, we’re gone. If you have something to say, just say it.” She was unfazed by her superior’s glacial stare.

The gnome pulled in a deep breath and exhaled. “I didn’t want to tell the whole team, but this shit is really bad.”

Maggie stilled. “Bad as in—?”

“As in what happened at Stonehenge in 1788. Word then was that a Destroyer like the one down south came through from another plane. Massacre so big it took us days to get rid of the bodies. Blood soaked the ground until it was nothing more than red mud.

“Just like in the ancient Mayan temples, there was so much dark magick smothering the place that our sorcerers almost died cleansing it. My best warriors were down for weeks. Some of them never recovered and were babbling idiots for the rest of their lives.”

Maggie shifted uneasily in her chair. Even Elle paid attention, moving across Maggie’s skin from her spine to her shoulder and up her neck.

“I do not like this,” Elle whispered in Maggie’s ear.

“The idea of becoming a babbling idiot doesn’t sound all that great to me, either. Why didn’t you say all this in front of the team?” she asked.

A computer flash drive materialized in front of Mal. He handed it over to Maggie. “Everything you need to know about the Mayans but were afraid to ask. The trouble is that there’s next to no intel on the Destroyer.”

“The same one we’re going to prevent from being returned to this plane?” She palmed the drive and tucked it in her jeans pocket.

“Let’s hope you succeed, because if this asshole is as bad as the last one, we’re well and truly fucked.” He waved them away as he shuffled off the chair and left the conference room.

Maggie and Declan were quiet as they left the administration building.

He looked around the compound, taking in the flurry of activity everywhere he gazed. “It’s amazing how much power this place generates and that you can keep it so well protected. How do you make sure visitors don’t go where they shouldn’t?”

“How quickly you forget.” She inclined her head toward his visitor medallion. “They’re keyed to where you’re allowed to go. If you try to enter the wrong building, you’ll get a jolt that will make the last time feel like a love tap. We don’t allow that many visitors in here or provide guided tours, so you should be honored you’ve been here more than once.”

“Do I get a prize if I’m here a certain number of times?”

“Just the chance to live.”

Declan grasped her arm and turned her to face him. “Why do you deny it, Maggie?”

“Deny what?” She wasn’t about to state the obvious, even if he was.

“Our attraction to each other.” His eyes glowed silver.

She felt her breath hitch in her chest. “Not so. We’re the Hatfields and the McCoys. Capulets and Montagues.”

“They were lovers.” He moved closer, until she could sense the heat and scent of his skin.

She deliberately didn’t look at his face. “Yeah, and look how that turned out. Witches tend to stay among themselves. We don’t branch out because it never ends well.”

“What about your friend Jazz who’s with a vampire? Stasi with a wizard, and Blair with a Were?” he pointed out.

This time she looked up to meet his eyes. She felt the immediate pull but mentally dug in her heels to resist. He smelled so good and looked so good… although she wished he’d let go of the black wardrobe.

“I see you’ve done your homework. Fine, there are times opposites do attract, but there were special circumstances. Jazz and Nick have been together off and on for centuries. Stasi deserved someone special, and Trev was meant for her—even if Cupid started it as a joke. Except the joke backfired on him. As for Blair and Jake, well, he’d been visiting her in dog form for so long it was natural they’d take that next step. That’s not us,” she maintained.

Maggie, who could read the signs long before she was attacked, who knew how to avoid traps, didn’t see it coming until she was in Declan’s arms and his mouth was on hers.

Wow, even better than in my dreams. How can someone taste this good?

She wrapped her tongue around his, feeling his heat surround her while the world spun. Declan muttered strange words in the language of demons as he pressed light kisses around her eyes and back down to her mouth. She could feel her blood begin to boil.

For one insane moment, Maggie thought about dragging him back to her quarters. The idea of the two of them in bed was incredibly tempting. Declan naked on her sheets would truly seem like a dream come true.

“If you keep this up, I will have to spin a web to hide your activities,” Elle hissed in her ear. “Just remember to make his death swift when you are finished with him. I like him.”

Maggie blinked rapidly and stepped back. Mortification sent red up her throat while she looked around. She was stunned to see everyone walking around acting as if they hadn’t seen her lose her mind for a few brief moments. She felt off balance and, for a second, thought about taking Declan down.