Angel of Chaos (Imp Book 6) (12 page)

At least that was going well. Hopefully all the trouble with the elves could wait until Harper gave birth. Not that I expected the shit storm to end when the baby was born.

“Do you remember Dregvant?” Dar’s eyes sparkled, which let me know he’d moved on to a particularly juicy piece of gossip. My brother loved to stir the pot and especially loved showing off how he knew everyone else’s business. “He’s been running around bragging that he has a breeding contract with an angel.”

My eyes about left my head. This cut a bit close to home given what Rafael and I had discussed. Not that I should be surprised it was coming up in conversation. Rumors of my and Gregory’s relationship were all over Hel, and the angels were certainly buzzing about it in Aaru too. It was just a matter of time before this sort of thing would be attempted. If it weren’t someone stretching the truth, that is. Demons lied, but that seemed to be way too creative for Dregvant.

“Who? When? Where?”

Dar’s grin was smug. He prided himself on knowing all the good stuff. “A minor angel named Eirnilius.”

I’d never heard of him. “Are you sure?”

Some of the angels had gotten together and decided to end the long infertility spell in heaven by capturing demons and parting them out for breeding purposes. That I could see. What I couldn’t see was one of them deciding to do the nasty and breed the more traditional way. Gregory aside, most angels agreed with the separations imposed by the treaty we’d both signed two–and–a–half–million years ago. Rumors, yeah. Some demon trying to make himself look important by lying, yeah. An actual breeding contract? No.

“He’s got some knowledge and baubles that I can’t see him getting any other way.” Dar grinned, slouching back into the sofa cushions.

“Eirnilius.” I finished off my beer and sat it with a clink on the coffee table. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything else about this angel, would you?”

If I could manage to get some dirt on the angels, then maybe I could leverage it for Harper’s protection. Or my protection for harboring her and the Nephilim. Or just rub their smug hypocritical faces in it. I’d been jumping through their four–nine–five hoops, trotting back and forth to their angel prison for the last two years. Time for some paybacks.

“Well, he’s from the first choir.”

My breath lodged in my throat, and my heart raced like a Formula One car. The first choir belonged to Gabriel. Pious, sanctimonious piece–of–shit Gabriel. What I wouldn’t give to hold this one over his head. If only I was sure it was true. Oh, by the fates, let it be true.

“How would they have met? Is this Eirnilus one of Gregory’s staff? Or a gate guardian? They’re the only angels I know of that would have enough contact with demons to negotiate this sort of thing.”

Dar lifted a shoulder and drained the rest of his beer. “I don’t know, although I was thinking the same. Bet you’d like to catch him, huh? An angel violating the treaty — it would definitely ruffle feathers on the Ruling Council.”

I recognized the tone in Dar’s voice and nodded, trying for an air of mild interest. “Well, yeah. But I’d need proof. Can’t exactly put my ass on the line with a bunch of rumors, now, can I?”

“I’ve got proof, but it will cost you.”

This was the Dar I knew and loved. “Cost me
what
, exactly?”

My brother waved his empty beer bottle at me. “I’ll get to that later. Do we have a deal?”

I sighed and gave him my vow, with the standard disclaimers, terms, and conditions.

“They’re to meet tomorrow at this address.”

I took the offered slip of skin parchment, noting the location with amusement. Gabriel was going to shit a brick if this was true. The thought filled me with unholy glee. But as much as I wanted to rub this in that smug bastard’s face, I didn’t want to have this whole thing backfire on me.

“So? An angel and a demon meet. This Eirnilius could always claim it was an accidental meeting, and that he was going to kill Dregvant, or report him or something. This isn’t worth much to me.”

“Dregvant claims to have a proposed breeding contract signed with Eirnilius’ sigil.”

Now
that
was something. Even if it turned out to not be true, it was worth my time to check into it and see what I could find.

“Did I mention how much I love you, Dar? You’re my most favorite brother ever?”

He squirmed and glared at me. Those were fighting words among demons, but Dar knew I was just being my usual, irritating self.

“Yeah, well you’re going to have to live without the services of my glorious self for a few months. I need a vacation. Like right now. That’s my payment for this information.”

“What about the elven kingdoms you’re overseeing? You’re my main demon in Hel, Dar. Can’t this wait?”

He snarled, and I saw weariness beneath the show of ferocity. “Damn it all, Mal. Get someone else to do your shit. Persilium, or one of Ahriman’s former household — they’re eager to prove themselves to you. We had a deal. You gave me your vow.”

He’d busted ass for me the last year, which more than made up for all the hot water he’d gotten me into with Haagenti. It was sort of his fault I was saddled with this stupid sword and Iblis title, but he’d been more loyal than any demon I’d ever known. And he really did need a vacation.

“Okay, okay. Don’t get your tail in a knot. Vacation it is. I have no idea where I’m going to put you, though. I’ve got a house full of humans right now. Do you mind sleeping in the baby nursery? Or maybe you can crash on the sofa?”

Dar wrinkled his nose. “You’re fucking kidding me, Mal. I don’t want to vacation at your house. You’ll be knee deep in some shit by breakfast tomorrow and dragging me into it with you. I’ll be in Chicago. If you need me, call Leethu. Or Radl. Or anyone but me.”

Chicago. I gave him a suspicious glance. “Why Chicago?”

He stared meaningfully at the empty bottle. I opened a full beer and passed it to him. “There are a couple of politicians I need to meet with, and a building on the west side that is in sorry need of redecorating.”

Corruption and blowing up a high rise. Standard stuff for Dar, but I had to be sure. “There’s also a big security conference going on.”

Dar snorted. “Yeah. Right. Not my thing at all. Your human is more likely to be crashing computers and embezzling funds than I am.” He gave me a sharp, perceptive look. “Ah, so the lovely Wyatt will be in Chicago. Hmm. I wonder if he’d like to play.”

My voice dropped several octaves. “Dar, if you lay one furry paw on him, if you even speak to him, I’ll rip you to shreds. Understood?”

Dar grinned. “Okay, okay. Don’t get
your
tail in a knot. He’s your toy. I’ll respect your ownership. Besides, I’ll have my hands full with my own activities. I’m not about to waste my time at some stupid security conference.”

Fair enough. I slugged him in the shoulder, just to emphasize my point. He slugged me back then picked up the television remote to surf the channels. Looking down at the slip of paper in my hand, I chuckled, thinking of Garbiel’s face if this whole wild tale was true. Either way, Dregvant wasn’t going to be the only demon at this meeting.

I walked Dar out to his rental car and watched him head down the road. By the time I’d made it back inside, Nyalla and Harper were already downstairs, pawing through the goodies on the table like it was Christmas morning and Santa had filled their stockings with candy.

“What does this one do?”

They were practically dancing with excitement over the magical toys. I held my breath as Nyalla snatched up the wand and waved it around like she was Harry Potter.

“No, don’t!” I grabbed it and put it reverently back on the table. “For fuck sake, you could have frozen me in this form. That wand doesn’t require an incantation, only blood.”

“Blood?” She squealed, her eyes wide. “So I slice up my thumb and freeze people in a block of ice?”

“No.” I moved the bag of black marbles further from Harper, trying to encourage her to play with one of the nets instead. They were safer. “Slice up your thumb, or bite a hang–nail, and I’ll be stuck in this form without access to my demon powers for a week. It only works on demons, although I’m hoping it may work on angels too.”

“And those?” Harper reached for the marbles, and I again moved them out of her reach.

“Throw them and they explode on impact.”

The woman’s eyes grew large. I got the feeling she’d found something she might like better than the kitchen knives stashed in her belt.

“It’s not really the explosion that damages us, although that hurts like fuck. The marbles release a spell that acts as a hallucinogenic. It’s disorienting, distracting, but, other than that, the results are unpredictable. I might see maggots crawling all over my body, or feel like I’ve been weighted down and can’t move.”

Nyalla pursed her lips, touching one of the marbles with a gentle finger. “Illusion?”

“Yeah, but it’s not strictly visual. We feel it, smell it — it affects all of our senses, even our perception of energy. Again, I’m not sure it will have the same effect, or even work, on angels.”

“Worth a shot.” Harper put her hands on her hips and eyed the items with satisfaction. “The net worked. From what I saw of you dragging that Hunter angel into the cellar, the collar–thingie works.”

“I hope so.” I put a hand on Nyalla’s shoulder and smiled down at her. “There will be times when I won’t be around, and I want you all to feel free to use these on any angels that show up at the house. Except my angel.”

I knew it was a bit of a sweeping statement to lump every visiting angel into the ‘threat’ category, but I’d rather these girls be safe than dead. The dude in the basement swore he wasn’t going to hurt Harper, but who’s to say another angel might not feel differently. For a second, I imagined Nyalla using the wand on Rafael while Harper stabbed him full of holes. Yeah, that would be a tough one to explain. It would suck if I ever had to fill out one of
those
reports.

–12–

D
regvant was easy to spot. Of all the men in the place, he was the only one wearing mismatched, garishly colored Ed Hardy shirt, pants, and jacket. Every inch of tanned flesh was covered with more bling than a trophy wife. It hurt my eyes to look at him. And if that didn’t clue me in that he was a demon, the fact that he was snorting a line of coke in the middle of a Chuck E Cheese did.

I made my way through the crowds of sugar and adrenaline–fueled children to the table where he sat, just a few chairs down from little Dallas, who was celebrating his fifth birthday.

“Go away, kid,” he muttered, not even looking up to see that the human appearance I wore was considerably older than the children squealing three feet away.

I waved a hand, more for drama than any need for magical gesture, and the cocaine vanished. That got his attention. The demon snarled, but his glare changed into shock when he met my eyes and realized who I was. Then he tried to bolt, knocking his chair backwards as he rose.

“Whoa there, buddy.” I clamped a hand on his shoulder, and he dropped to the floor on his ass. One of the benefits of my new mutated–demon state was that I had the nifty ability to restrict a demon’s energy usage as long as I was touching him. That silicon–like shit had always been Gregory’s way to subdue me, and I was happy to have this as a new skill, even if it only worked on demons.

“Freak.” He snarled.

I was a freak. The only Angel of Chaos in over two–million years. And my wings were threatening to erupt into their fifty–foot feathered glory any second. I struggled to keep control, not wanting to tip off the other being I planned to accost this afternoon.

“You’re in trouble.” I tried to interject a conspiratorial note into my voice. “Eirnilius was discovered, and he sold you out for a reduced sentence. The enforcers will be here any second.”

“Fuck!” Now he really was panicking, squirming on the floor as he searched for the nearest exits.

“They’ve surrounded the building,” I whispered. “I can gate you out of here to safety, but it will cost you.”

“How much? How much?”

I hid a smile at his squeaky tone. “A favor. Oh, and give me the breeding contract. If you get caught with that on you, you’re worse than dead. They’ll haul you up to Aaru and stick you in some prison to torture you with paperwork — two–hundred–page four–nine–five reports with impact analysis and everything. It goes on and on. The paperwork is never complete, or never done to their satisfaction. You’ll be there for all eternity filling it out and re–doing it endlessly.”

I shuddered for effect, and his eyes widened.

“Aaru? And … paperwork? Oh fuck, not that! You’ve got a deal.” Dregvant frantically dug the folded parchment from his waistband and thrust it at me.

I quickly checked its legitimacy, keeping one hand firmly on the demon. In a flash, we were gone, and just as quickly I’d returned — thankfully managing to reappear in the same spot and not suspended from the ceiling or sprawled across the salad bar. Just in time, too — Eirnilius was as easy to spot as Dregvant had been, although for different reasons.

Angels never really blended in well with the humans. Eirnilius looked like a living statue with poorly fitting clothing and shoulder–length blond curls. He smiled kindly at the children that knocked into him in their haste to redeem their game tickets. I felt a moment of guilt for what I was about to do. I wanted this sort of contact to occur between angels and demons. I was working with Rafi to try and bring about this change. But Dregvant was an absolute ass. If there were demons that should be fucking angels, he wouldn’t be anywhere near the top of my list. I was doing this Eirnilius guy a favor. Really.

And hey, he was an angel breaking the rules. No matter what punishment he got, it would be far more lenient than the death penalty dealt to us demons when
we
were caught. Yeah. That made me feel so much better about busting him. Almost made me feel better.

I shook my head to clear away the guilty thoughts. Now came the tricky part. Approaching the angel would be easy — I was pretty stealthy in my human form. It was apprehending him that would be touch and go. Angels were a slippery bunch.