Ask the Oracle (18 page)

Jerking away, he turned and was shocked to find a woman standing behind him. Even

more surprising, was the fact that he knew her. With her
café au late
skin, milk-chocolate eyes,

and long sheet of honey-brown hair, Opal Vasquez was as gorgeous as usual. She could have

been a model with her stunning features, miniscule waist and nearly six-foot height.

Unfortunately for the modelling world, being an Oracle was a much more lucrative career

choice. While her power level placed her as a mid-level Oracle, she had a great publicist who

kept her name in constant circulation. It didn’t matter whether it was for her skill as an

Oracle, or what married Hollywood actor she was having an affair with—if her name was in

print, she considered herself a success and, therefore, was constantly trying to stake her claim

over the top spot in the rank of Oracles. She was the Paris Hilton of the Oracle world. While

those tactics might mean something to the society circles, those who were looking for an

Oracle of value knew to look elsewhere. Sadly, Opal still hadn’t learned that notoriety wasn’t

the same as quality.

“Opal? What are you doing here?” Gray’s words slurred together and a wave of

lethargy washed over him, nearly driving him to his knees. The object around his neck grew

heavier, as he struggled against unconsciousness. Using more effort than should have been

necessary, Gray lifted his head and met Opal’s gaze, startled by the malicious gleam he saw

shining in her eyes.

“Grayson Muir,” she purred. “Fancy running into you here. My goodness! You’re not

looking so hot. Feeling a bit tired? Kind of sluggish? Hmm—I wonder why that would be.”

Sneering, she lifted her hand to his neck and traced the curving line of the metal wrapped

around his throat. It had to be a piece of speciality jewellery, to drain him so quickly. Some

kind of spelled necklace or collar. Remembering the click of a lock snapping into place

moments earlier, Gray glared at Opal accusingly.

“What have you done, Opal?” With his strength waning fast, his voice was barely more

than a whisper.

A wide grin appeared on the woman’s face. “Not much. Just taking back something that

was supposed to be mine.” Tapping the edge of the collar, she scowled at Gray. “You know,

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you should really stay out of things that don’t involve you or your
precious
humans. This

whole situation could have been avoided if you’d just stuck to your highbrow principles and

refused to work for the Demons. You’ve got no one to blame but yourself.”

Gray’s body felt heavy, like it was slowly filling with cement, and he was gradually

losing feeling in his limbs. His legs gave out, sending him careening to the floor in a messy

pile. Not knowing what she had shot him up with had Gray on the verge of panic.

“I—Oracle—can’t h-hurt—” Gray gasped, no longer able to make his voice cooperate.

Opal bent over his prone form, running a deceptively gentle hand through his hair,

brushing it back from his face. “Silly, Gray. I’m not going to hurt you—at least, not yet.”

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At some point, Gray must have finally passed out because when he opened his eyes, he

was no longer in Dreo’s suite. Instead of the heavy oak beams that crossed Dreo’s bedroom

ceiling, every inch of his new location was covered, floor to ceiling, in dark river stone. His

body shook with tremors, the floor he was lying on was so cold. Gray felt like he was laying

a slab of ice. Taking in his surroundings, or lack thereof, it was safe to assume he was in a

basement or some other type of underground storage area.

Testing his limbs, he found that although he was a bit stiff, he had regained most of his

normal range of motion. His head, on the other hand, was pounding, and his mouth felt like

he had swallowed a mouthful of wood chips. Unfortunately, a quick check of his neck

showed that he was still wearing his new accessory and the effects of it had given him the

worst case of dry mouth he’d ever experienced. He now had one more reason to hate her

guts. And to think, he’d always tried to be nice to her and give her the benefit of the doubt,

even when everyone else thought she was just a hack.

What a bitch
!

As Gray dragged himself to his feet, a wave of dizziness threatened to send him right

back down. Thankfully, after closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths, his equilibrium

returned. Pacing around the room, he began trying to coax blood flow back into his

extremities while looking for any possible means of escape. He had nearly completed a full

circuit, without finding as much as a door or window, when a low moan sounded from the

far corner of the room. Shocked to his core, Gray gave a shout and practically jumped out of

his skin. With a hand on his chest, he took deep breaths in a desperate attempt to calm his

racing heart.

After a few minutes, the pounding in his chest eased back to a more comfortable

rhythm. Squinting into the darkness, Gray tried to make out the shape or any features of the

room’s other inhabitant. Not for the first time, he regretted being born human. If he had been

a Shifter, seeing in the dark would be a breeze. As it was, all he could see was a large blob

that might, or might not, be another detainee.

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Blowing out a frustrated breath, Gray resigned himself to the knowledge that he was

going to have to get closer. He needed to know if he was dealing with a friend or foe. Shoring

himself up, he brought up an image of Dreo in his mind. He needed his focus to be on living,

not on the possibility that whatever was on the other side of the room might kill him in the

next twenty seconds.

Not wanting to give himself too much time to think about things and chicken out, Gray

put a hand on the cold stone wall and slowly made his way towards the dark shape huddled

in the corner. Tiptoeing across the room, he tried to make as little noise as possible. He didn’t

know what he was sharing a room with, but he was positive that he didn’t want to startle it.

The closer he got, the more man-shaped the blob appeared. Another moan sounded, this one

more pained than the last. This close to the source, Gray was able to pick up on a familiar

tone behind the pitiful sound.

No longer afraid, Gray squatted down next to the prone form and pulled back the

scratchy wool blanket that had been thrown haphazardly over the figure. With the covering

removed, Gray bit back a gasp as Balen’s beaten body was put on display before him. The

other man didn’t appear to be conscious, which, from the looks of his injuries, was a good

thing. Someone had thoroughly worked him over, leaving behind a broken, bleeding mass of

cuts and bruises. A glint of metal at his neck showed that he, too, was a proud new owner of

a necklace from Hell.

Looking down at what was left of the man, Gray was torn between wanting to help and

wanting to punch him in his already beaten face for getting them both into their current

situation. Luckily for Balen, his conscience chose that moment to kick in. Hunching over the

downed man, Gray didn’t know where to touch him without causing further damage. If he

could wipe away some of the blood, he might get a better idea of what kind of damage the

Demon had sustained so Gray could start to treat his wounds. One look at Balen’s blanket

and Gray knew there was no way in hell he could use it. The scratchy, coarse material would

be better used as a torture device than a means to keep warm.

With nothing else at his disposal, Gray grabbed the hem of his shirt and ripped off a

long section from the midriff. He had found a small bowl of water during his earlier search,

so he began the slow, delicate process of cleaning out and bandaging wounds. With the

amount of damage he uncovered, Gray feared he may run out of clothing before he had

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treated the worst of them. With the extent of his injuries, Gray was surprised the other man

had survived his ordeal. He was fairly certain that if Balen hadn’t been a Demon, he

wouldn’t have.

He was cleaning out a particularly deep gash when Balen cried out. His back arched

impossible high before his whole body jerked upright. Panting for breath, Balen looked

around the room, eyes wide with equal parts confusion and fear. Gray wanted to reassure

him but didn’t know how his attempt at comfort would be received. The other man had

conspired to murder the Lord of the Underworld, after all. Gray should be running in the

other direction, not wanting to kiss his boo boos and make him feel better. Regardless, Gray

knew he needed to get Balen to calm down. He needed the other man operating at an even

keel if they had any hope of escape.

“Balen…” Gray approached the man slowly, not wanting to startle him in his already

hyper vigilant state. “What happened to you?”

The tawny-haired Demon startled, as if he was seeing Gray for the first time. “Opal,” he

rasped, his voice scratchy and raw, his sapphire eyes rimmed in red. “After what you had

Seen
, I knew she hadn’t told me the truth—knew we had made a mistake. When I told her

that we needed to turn ourselves in, she lost it. She screamed at me—said that there was no

way she was going to let the bastard son of a dead Demon ruin her plans. She said that it was

finally time to take back what was hers and no one was going to get in her way. I heard a

noise behind me, but when I turned to see what it was, someone hit me on the back of the

head, then everything went dark. The next thing I know, I’m lying on a cold stone floor,

looking up at you.”

“Angry, huh? Do you have any idea what Opal was talking about?”

Balen shook his head. “Not a clue. This whole time, I thought she was in this to help me

get justice for my mother. Even when she killed Lucifer, I told myself she had done what she

thought was right for me. I was a fool.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. Grief makes us do crazy things.” Gray rose to his feet

and was beginning to turn away when Balen’s words clicked in his mind. “Wait! Did you say

Opal killed Lord Lucifer?”

“Yes,” Balen murmured, his words heavy with regret. “I never wanted Lucifer dead. He

was my father, after all. I just needed people to see him for the kind of man he truly was. I

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wanted him to see the damage his actions had caused my mother—his mate.” Balen sighed,

wearily running fingers through his already heavily tousled hair.

“When I told Opal that I wouldn’t kill Lucifer, she became enraged. She started on

about not letting Lucifer get away with what he’d done—that he needed to be punished for

what he had taken.” Balen looked up and flashed Gray a sheepish smile. “To be honest, I

thought she was angry on my behalf. I was flattered that she would care so much about what

had happened to my mother and me. Now that I know the truth, I feel like an idiot.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, how did you even meet Opal? Oracles and Demons don’t

tend to run in the same circles, if you know what I mean.”

Confusion darkened Balen’s face. “I’ve known Opal since she was a child. With her

father’s position at court, she was around the palace quite a bit when she was growing up.”

“Her father is a Demon?” Gray couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

Balen gave a slow nod. “As was her mother. Opal is a pureblood Demon—didn’t you

know?”

Gray shook his head, unable to put his confusion to words. In all the years he’d known

Opal, she’d never once mentioned her Demon ancestry. In reality, she had actually been one

of the biggest detractors when it came to Demon issues, further encouraging the stereotype

of the evil, soul-stealing Demons. While he could understand her not being comfortable

broadcasting the information for the whole world to hear, he also couldn’t understand her

willingness to go to such lengths to disparage her own people. Gray had no idea who his

parents were or where they came from, but he couldn’t imagine knowingly belittling his own

people.

“Are you sure?”

Balen smirked. “Without a doubt. Her father, Vlasik, was Lord Lucifer’s personal

advisor for virtually one-hundred and fifty years. His passing earlier this year was a great

loss to our people.”

Opal was a Demon? What the hell?

He was so busy trying to wrap his mind around Balen’s news, Gray nearly missed the

true importance of his words. “Wait a minute! Did you say Opal’s father was your father’s

advisor?”

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Brows pulled together, Balen scowled. “I don’t really feel comfortable with that

classification.”