Demons Are a Girl’s Best Friend (16 page)

“Some of the workers used to restore the club did not return through the portal. And someone used it without permission earlier today.”

“And I’m just being told this
now
?” Declan ran his hands through his hair, feeling aggravation heat up inside. “Why didn’t you call me on my cell when you found out?”

“I wanted to investigate the matter more thoroughly first, so I would have all the information you might require.” Snips took the chair by the desk. He tapped a few keys on the PDA. Two minutes later, a soft knock on the door preceded one of the waitresses bringing in a mug of ale. She smiled at Declan as she set it down before him.

“Thanks, Eva.” He noted the slight shift in her bone structure. For a brief moment, her true nature revealed itself to him. He saw scales the color of wet cement and slitted yellow eyes. A black forked tongue briefly appeared to wet her lips.

He was positive if he gave the right sign she’d be all over him and wouldn’t care if Snips stayed as an audience. He wouldn’t have been interested even if he hadn’t made love to Maggie earlier that day.

He was also aware of Snips’s avid attention.

“We must talk sometime,” he told the waitress.

She preened as she left the office with the slithering gait of her kind.

Declan pushed the flagon to one side and speared his assistant with a dark look. “Now tell me what’s going on with a worker not going back through the portal.”

“When I recruited laborers, I stressed that it was only a temporary job and they would be returning to their world as soon as the work was finished,” Snips stated in his precise voice. “Apparently, one of them was able to slip away after the final count was made.”

“Anyone we need to worry about?” He felt pain settle in behind his eye.

“A very minor demon. A drone.”

“But?” Declan knew there was a
but
in there. He could feel it all the way through his bones.

The imp licked his dry lips. “It also appears the portal has been used for some unauthorized travel between the worlds.”

“By who?”

“I don’t know yet.”

This really worried Declan. Either Snips was lying, or someone was very good at hiding his tracks. Declan always felt there was more involved in this portal deal than he knew. Something that Snips hadn’t told him. Now the imp stared at him slightly bug-eyed but not giving away whatever thoughts traveled through his devious mind.

“What else?” Declan tapped his fingers on the desk’s polished surface. “There has to be more than what you just told me.”

He was surprised to see Snips look uneasy. Declan hadn’t worked with the imp for long, but it had been long enough that he knew the creature was about as unflappable as they came.

“There are rumors.”

“Rumors about what?”

The imp’s mismatched eyes of peridot and sapphire remained focused on his boss’s face. “About you and the witch.”

His blood iced. “Why would anyone care?”

“You allowed your sister to live in the Hellion compound and be apprenticed to one of their Seers, even though we have competent Seers of our own.”

“Do you honestly think Victorio would have allowed her to apprentice to one of our Seers when he preferred to see her mated to a monster?” Declan’s voice simmered with fury. “He’s whipped her bloody more than once. It won’t be allowed again.”

He mentally cursed himself the moment the words left his mouth. He’d never said a word of what happened the night Anna got up the courage to tell their father she refused to mate with Gaston. That she wouldn’t turn into a victim the way his previous mates had.

Declan would never forget the night he found his half sister cowering in her rooms, her body torn and bloodied. No healer would touch her, so Declan had taken her to a sorceress who healed Anna while Declan called in enough favors to safely take her with him when he moved to Damnation Alley.

He hadn’t wanted to leave Anna at the Guard compound, but when he saw how happy she looked, he knew he had made the right choice. He knew she would be protected from their father there. That was what mattered.

“Victorio has requested that Anna be returned to him. The contract with Gaston was binding and must be fulfilled.” Snips didn’t react when a sconce on the wall shattered and the candle flowed down in a waxy river. The acrid scent of sulfur filled the room.

“Then he may as well bind himself to Gaston, because there’s no way he’ll get her now.” He felt the fire burning deep in his throat. “She’s now under the Hellion Guard’s protection.”
And they can provide her with much more than I
ever could.

Snips hopped off his chair. “As the humans say, you can’t buck the system.”

“I want that worker drone found and immediately sent back to where he belongs. Make sure he’s made to understand that he will not be welcome back here,” Declan said, determined to hold on to his authority.

He’d worked damned hard to get to where he was, and he knew going up against his father would create problems. He just hadn’t expected so much insanity to happen so quickly. Or that the portal below that had been routine for so long would suddenly be so problematic.

He pushed himself away from his desk and left the office.

It looked like he needed to remind his staff just who was in charge here.

He walked down a side hallway until he reached the end. A pressing of fingertips against the wall activated a hidden panel that silently slid to one side.

Declan descended the ancient stone steps until he reached the subbasement. Power swirled in the area like a suffocating cloud. A giant that looked like Anton’s twin stood nearby.

“Declan.” He inclined his head politely.

“Alexi.” Declan gazed at the large portal, blacks and grays churning in front of him. “Has anyone come through today?”

“No, sir. Not for two days.”

Declan picked up a small leather-bound notebook and perused the contents. Names, dates, and times of those who crossed the portal were meticulously listed. He didn’t doubt Alexi’s attention to detail. But he was starting to doubt that Snips was entirely to be trusted.

He wasn’t happy to see his cousin’s name on the log showing he’d gone back and forth through the portal a great deal. He leafed backward through the log.

“Is there anything wrong, sir?” Alexi stood back from the shimmer of fire circling Declan.

“No, nothing.” He offered up a reassuring smile. “You do an excellent job, Alexi. Thank you.” He left quickly.

All he had wanted was the club. Something he could call his own—and he’d done anything and everything to achieve that.

Now it looked like if he wasn’t careful, he could lose it all.

The surprising part was that the idea of losing the club wasn’t as frightening as the idea that if events catapulted out of control, he could lose Maggie.

Maggie hated reading intel reports.

They were always filled with dire predictions at worst and were boring at best. When you merged the two, you had a report that could scare the crap out of you and put you to sleep at the same time.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, the world could end if the Destroyer came back to this realm.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, it would take the Hellion teams to bring a balance to humankind.

“There are days when being me sucks,” she groaned, closing her laptop and leaving the table in search of more coffee.

“I need to go to the mall.” Courtney skidded into the kitchen, a riot of color in bright-pink leopard-print pajama pants and a pink tank top. “Now.”

“Did some catastrophe happen that no one told me about?” Maggie asked.

“Yes.” She held up a narrow tube.

“And that is?”

“I need to replace my mascara.” The teen waved the tube in front of Maggie. “So you need to take me to the mall.”

“We… uh… don’t have a mall. Just that lovely little shopping center in the center of town.”

“Houston does, unless…” the teen eyed her speculatively, “you want to do some tricycles and make some for me.” She made a face at her word choice. She had thought the spell would wear off by morning, but this was proof Maggie wasn’t about to undo the hex. Especially when it was hysterical to see what word would tumble out of Courtney’s mouth. “You really think this is funny, don’t you?” She glared at Maggie.

“Oh, definitely.” Her lips twitched. “So why don’t you tell me why you running out of mascara is a life-or-death situation.”

“I can’t live without blush and mascara. And it’s not like I can go to a drugstore for it, either,” she interrupted Maggie before she suggested just that. “If you want quality, you have to pay for it. Chloe at Peach Dreams taught me that.”

“Then I guess you’ll have to suffer through a mascara-less existence, because we’re not driving to Houston just for that.” She waited for the last of the coffee to spit into her cup and pulled it out from the coffeemaker. Ah, caffeine nirvana! Since Courtney had burst into her life, she’d discovered that tea just didn’t give her the energy she needed.

“Then I’ll drive myself if you give me the keys.”

“No driver’s license. No keys.”

Courtney’s expression turned sly and sent Maggie’s suspicion meter soaring. “Mick could take me.”

“Another no.”

The teen opened her mouth, fully prepared to offer up the argument of all arguments, when Maggie waved a hand in front of her. Magick shimmered around her.

“Now, I could have you forgetting why you feel the need to wear mascara or perhaps silence you for the rest of the day—or month,” she said conversationally. “But I’d rather give you a warning. No road trips today. I have work to do, and since you’re not going anywhere either, you don’t need to worry about your makeup.”

“You…” Courtney snapped her mouth closed before she made another verbal faux pas. She spun on her heel and left the kitchen.

Maggie collapsed against the counter. “Anyone who thinks they want to be a mom needs to have Courtney for a few hours.” The first chords of “All Star” barely sounded before she picked up her cell. “This had better be good.”

“More like bad,” Meech said without bothering with a greeting. “That rave you and the demon invaded?”

Maggie instantly waved a silence bubble around her. She didn’t think this was something Courtney should overhear.

“What about it?”

“Another rave went on last night, except this time a couple of kids ended up dead.”

She froze. “How were they killed?”

“All their life essence was sucked out of them. There was nothing left but the husks of their bodies,” he exhaled a deep breath. “They look a good fifty years older.”

Maggie’s mind raced with the news. “Declan sensed something like that the night we were at that club, but it was minor. A sip here and a sip there. Nothing of the magnitude you’re talking about.”

“It’s not easy to get a handle on these parties, because they’re always moving locations,” Meech said. “Mal’s having his usual temper tantrum. He wants this to go away before the humans realize what’s going on.”

“I thought Zouk was handling this.”

“He’s missing.”

Okay, not what she expected to hear.

“What about his team?”

“MIA, too.”

She groped for a chair and dropped down into it. “No. An entire team never goes missing.”

“This one did,” her second-in-command told her in a voice that revealed how badly this piece of news affected him. “Communication was lost not long after they went into the building.”

“How long ago?” She licked her lips, finding them as dry as her throat.

“Last night. Fuck, Maggie. Zouk’s one of the best.”

“Yeah.” She glanced upward. “I’m coming in.”

“You’re on bodyguard duty.”

“I’m still coming in.”

“Mal will take a strip off your hide. I wasn’t even supposed to call you.”

“He doesn’t need to know you called, and I’ve got a tough hide.”

“What will you do with the kid?”

“Find a baby-sitter.” She disconnected and dissolved the silence bubble at the same time.

***

Maggie already knew that sneaking on to the compound wasn’t possible. That she was transported to Mal’s office the second she set foot on the property was more than proof of that.

The calming atmosphere of the temple background dissipated under the gnome’s infamous temper.

“Tell me why you’re here.” He paced the never-ending space.

“We’re missing a team. No man, or creature, left behind and all that.” She sprawled in the chair by his desk that, as usual, overflowed with papers. She flicked her fingers to straighten the listing pile.

“What about the kid?” He lit up a cigar.

“She’s fine.” She hoped.

“She has no idea what’s going on?” He puffed away, sending noxious smoke curling through the columns and out into the darkness beyond. Elle glared at Mal as she sneezed loudly and made her way to a protected corner of Maggie’s neck.

Maggie wrinkled her nose, forcing herself not to sneeze. Next Yule she was going to buy the gnome a box of good cigars.

“All she wanted to do today was have me drive her to the mall so she could buy mascara. She’s your typical teenager.”

“Typical with a boyfriend who has a hinky past.”

“Hinky? You been watching those cop shows again, Mal? I sent in what I knew about him. What can you tell me about Mick Frasier?”

“Jack shit. A punk kid who should have a police record a mile long but doesn’t. Works as a mechanic and hooked up with the kid about six months ago.” He swore at the tower of papers and slapped his palm on them. They instantly shrunk to the height of one sheet. “Shoulda done this months ago. You didn’t need to come in because of Zouk.”

“Yes, I did. I’ve known Zouk for three hundred years, Mal. He’s had my back in the past. I can’t just let him disappear.” She thought of the rave she and Declan had attended. “What happened? Please tell me you didn’t send the team in there with the intention of clearing the place out. Human teenagers go there. Talk about major risk factors.”

His walnut visage wrinkled even more. “He said he had it all under control. Dispatch heard them go in. Zouk later was heard muttering he knew what was going on and they were coming back. Except they didn’t come back. By the time another team got out there, they couldn’t find anything except two bodies lying in the middle of what had been the dance floor.”

“Did you send any trackers out there to find out what happened to the team?”

He nodded. “Nothing. No indication any of our people had ever been in that building. No signs of where they went. Not even a hint there had been a portal in there to transport anyone out. So that means…” he lifted a brow.

She felt that sick sensation that meant the same thing Mal left unspoken. “Demon technology. They have a way of masking their portals that we haven’t been able to break yet.

“Do you think MacGyver was a demon?” Maggie asked, tongue tucked firmly in cheek. “He probably used a paperclip to mask a portal.”

“Cute. Real cute.” Declan walked in and grinned at Maggie.

“Yes, I am.” She preened as she tipped her head back to study the cloud-dappled ceiling filled with chubby-cheeked cherubs that she now swore bore Mal’s grumpy features. How scary was that? “We need to find out when and where the next rave will be.”

“
We
are on it.
You
are not.”

Maggie smiled at the disgruntled voice. “You have no idea about the next one, do you? Neither do the Seers.”

“We have the experts.” He looked at her. “So go back to your duties of looking after the potential sacrifice so she doesn’t end up under a ritual knife.”

“You have such a way with words, Mal.” She stood up. “What I’d really like to do is gather up my team so we can figure out where the next rave will be. Then we’d go in and take them out.” Her voice softened. “For Zouk.”

She pulled in a deep breath. “But instead, I’m going to go and make sure that Courtney doesn’t end up on that sacrificial altar.” She walked out of the office.

“You sounded very
Norma Rae
in there,” Elle told Maggie as she headed for her quarters. “Or whoever said, ‘Attica.’ For a moment, I thought you would whip out a wand and etch sigils in the air. I do love the magickal images you create.” The gem-encrusted spider crawled further up Maggie’s shoulder and settled down into position.

“Mal was never a team player.” Maggie reached her door and whispered the words to open the door.

“Maggie!” Sybil fluttered down the hall, trailing lavender along the way. The lovely elf hugged her friend tightly. “How is motherhood?”

Maggie dragged her into her suite. “Scary. I had no idea human teenagers were like that. Courtney can go through a whole mass of emotions in two minutes.”

Sybil settled in one of the chairs while Maggie chose a few more changes of clothing and personal items. She stuffed them haphazardly in a duffel bag she’d set on the bed.

“What a wonderful spell!” Sybil chuckled, after hearing about Courtney’s verbal mishaps. “Something like that could come in handy in so many ways.”

“It’s driving her crazy, too. Although not as much as what she’s going through with Rickie as her baby-sitter,” she confided with a giggle.

“Rickie? He’s the most hyper of all the messengers. How did Courtney take it?”

“Not well.” Maggie was positive she’d get an earful when she returned to the house. From both parties. “Right now, I’d rather wade into a nest of angry ice spiders than face them.”

***

“Why did you bring a rodent into the house?” Courtney almost shrieked, keeping a chair between herself and the ferret.

“She’s crazy.” Rickie downed half the liquid in his coffee mug. “The next time you want me to baby-sit, don’t ask.” The ferret settled his paws on his hips and glared at Maggie.

“One pound of Kopi Luwak,” she reminded him, naming the world’s most expensive coffee.

“You didn’t tell me she was so much trouble. I want five.”

“
Five
? Do you know how much a pound of that stuff costs?”

“Five or else,” he threatened just before he winked out of sight.

“I don’t need a baby-sitter. Especially that thing that just disappeared,” Courtney huffed.

“There was a reason.” Maggie rubbed her fingertips across her forehead. She feared the day would come when even the most powerful spell for headaches wouldn’t work.

“All he did was talk like a chipmunk on speed and drink coffee.” She was now on a roll. “And he ate all the cookies!” She searched through the cabinets and pulled out flour and sugar. “Where’s that cookbook? Oh, good, here it is. Do we have any chocolate chips?”

“Top shelf.” Maggie shot magickal energy to the mentioned shelf to provide the necessary chips. “So you can cook?”

“Baking’s a no-brainer, and Mrs. Whitney insisted the girls learn to cook. You’d think she was still back in the 1950s. Plus, all you do is read the instructions, put everything together, and throw it in the oven.” Pretty soon the teenager had the fixings in a bowl and was happily mixing away.

“Wow! Why didn’t you tell me you were making cookies!” Rickie popped back in. He scampered over to the coffeepot and refilled his mug. “I love cookies.”

This time, Courtney’s scream was only a bit below the implosion level.

“He’s box, isn’t he?”

“I’m no box.” He reared back.

“She can’t use any words pertaining to magick,” Maggie explained. “You get used to it. You already cleaned us out of cookies, and you’re getting a small fortune in coffee. Off with you, and I won’t tell Mal that you moonlight.”

The ferret disappeared with a muttered curse left behind.

“You live in a totally crazy world,” Courtney said, now spooning dollops of cookie dough onto a baking sheet.

“Yeah, well, it’s only going to get crazier,” she muttered, thinking of her conversation with Mal. She needed to talk to Declan. She had thought about calling him, but she wanted to wait until she sorted more of it out in her head. She sipped her coffee and watched the girl pile dirty utensils in the sink and rinse them off.

“Courtney, how do you find out about the raves in town?” she asked casually. She didn’t miss the way the girl stiffened at her question.

“People just know,” she said evasively.

“How? It’s not like flyers would be distributed among the teens. Texting?” she probed.

“Sometimes. Passing the information on at Starbucks or wherever we tend to be.” She spoke slowly, clearly not wanting to say too much. “It just happens.”

“How many raves have you been to, Courtney? How many times did you sneak out of the home and go to one?”

“Not as many times as you think I did.” She moved to the oven when the timer dinged and brought out a sweet-smelling batch of chocolate chip cookies.

“Did you always go to them with Mick? Is he the one who heard about them?” Maggie had a feeling she sucked at interrogation. Sybil could do it so subtly that her victims never realized just how much they revealed.

“Why are you so down on Mick? You haven’t even met him yet. You won’t let him come here so you can get to know him.”