Demon's Web (10 page)

Jasmine let go of the man’s hand and hugged Logan, surprised when he didn’t respond, only continued to glare at the male. Stepping back, Jasmine smiled, trying to ease Logan’s obviously hurt emotions.

“I’m so glad you came, Logan. I apologize for being late but Tyler is not one for punctuality. Tyler, this is Logan.” She said the latter name almost reverently and Logan had to look at her in astonishment at such softness. The look of adoration as she gazed upon him loosened him up slightly. He held his hand out to Tyler.

“Nice to meet you.” Logan wanted to ask a myriad of questions, such as who was he, how long have you known him, what is he to you, but nothing came out.

Tyler gripped his hand and shook it. “Likewise. I have heard nothing but talk of you, Logan. I half expected to see you walking on water when we arrived since all she talks about ie you.”

Jasmine slugged his arm. “Stop it,” she teased lightly then turned back to Logan. “Tyler is like my guardian and my brother all rolled into one. He has appointed himself my protector for the most part, and although I find him overbearing and annoying most days, he is one of my best friends. He has helped to keep me sane when everything else failed.” She plopped on the stool next to Logan, giving a quick glance at the beer bottles piled up before them. “I have made you wait a long time. I am so very sorry.”

Tyler scooped up the empty bottles and grinned like the Cheshire Cat. “I’ll buy the next couple of rounds. My apology for keeping you waiting so long.” Tyler moved to the bar and placed the empties on it, ordering a round of beers for the three of them. He told the bartender to take his time in getting them, wanting to give Logan and Jasmine a moment to talk with as much privacy as a small area such as they were in could afford.

Logan still said nothing, just watched as Tyler walked away. Jasmine laid her hand on his, catching his full attention. “I really am sorry we were late. I wanted you to meet Tyler. He has covered for me a couple of times in order to see you over the years. He is such a dear friend to me. I hope he will be the same for you, if you give him a chance.”

Logan softened at her touch and more so at her words. He didn’t want to admit he was jealous when he first saw them together, hand in hand. Then her next words bothered him.

“When I moved to New Orleans, Tyler got us a place just outside of the French Quarter.”

“You two
live
together?”

“Not like how you are making it sound, but yes. We share a place. It’s warded and I am safe there. I only moved here a few days ago. Tyler learned I was coming and refused to let me be alone. He is a trained soldier and has assigned himself as my warden. Tyler got us a cottage and used some spells so I couldn’t be easily found.”

“Protected from what? What has hunted you all this time? What does it want?”

“It wants me. It wants my blood.” She looked back at Tyler, who was starting to come over with the new round of beers, placing them on the table and taking a stool himself.

“Haven’t you told him anything about what you are, Jazzy?” Tyler asked, almost amused.

“I didn’t want to get him in trouble. And you know Nunohum, she would’ve had a fit if she thought I was telling everyone who and what I am.”

Logan sat patiently, unsure what to make of the dynamics between the two of them.

Jasmine sighed and turned her full attention on Logan. “My grandmother is Archanidou. You might know her as Spiderwoman. I know she has visited your family often.” She waited until that bit of news sank in before she continued.

Logan was taken aback. Spiderwoman had hundreds of children, but he never really gave much more thought about it than that, so to hear Jaz was related was indeed a surprise. After a few moments to absorb the information he voiced his bewilderment.

“So? What difference does that make?” Logan was unsure where this was going.

“None really, except knowing that I am descended from a god, just like you.”

“Tell him the rest, Jazzy.”

“I am, Ty, I am. Geez Louise, keep your lace panties on.” She scolded Tyler then continued to Logan, “My mother was one of those sent to help your mother remove the shattered remnants of the stone your mother was assigned to guard. The sliver my mother was commissioned to hide, she took to Faefardom and buried with her eggs. Somehow, the power of the gem infused my embryo. It’s in my blood. It courses through me. Something out there can feel it on occasion. If it finds me, it might try to take my blood to extract the powers the stone provides. Even such a small amount might be the key to tipping the scales of good and evil. And most likely, it will kill me in the process.”

Logan was stunned. Not sure what else to do, he lifted his bottle and drained the entire thing down his throat. The idea the gem his mother guarded was now infused inside of Jasmine took a bit of time to comprehend, as well as all the implications of what it meant if she was found.

“That’s why where you live is warded. To help hide its power flowing within you.”

“Yes. Tyler is from that realm, too. He has powers to help hide his own differences among the mundanes of this world. He warded the building he bought so he could be in his natural state when he chooses without fear of detection. Because of the shielding on the building, it hides what flows inside me as well, just as the realm hid me from anyone not within the world itself. You know how precautionary and defensive the fairies are about the land they live in.”

“Yeah. I have heard that. Which is why they don’t allow many, if any, visitors to their realm.”

“We are very solicitous of ours. And Jazzy is considered one of ours. So, I make sure she is safe-guarded.” Tyler leaned in as if making a point to Logan, who only smirked back. The male did not make him worried in the least. After all, Logan was the son of the demon judge and executioner, as well as a kick-ass werewolf. A fairy wasn’t about to scare him in the least.

Ignoring Tyler as well, Jasmine leaned closer to Logan. “Where are you staying?”

“Right now, in the Hotel Monteleone, but only until I find a more suitable apartment.”

Jasmine gave a quick glance over at Tyler before turning back to Logan. “Stay with us. The Creole Cottage is not huge, but there are four bedrooms, living room, and kitchen. And, if you don’t like being there, you can stay there until you find a place more suitable.”

Again Logan looked astonished. There were a number of revelations happening tonight and none of them he prepared for or expected. He looked over at Tyler and seemed slightly uncomfortable at the idea of sharing a place with them. However, it would mean he was much closer to Jasmine and that made it a very promising idea. No fear of being together, of her being caught in his mother’s garden, or of them really getting to know each other. Plus, Mel did tell him to guard her. What better way than to coexist in the same residence?

“That sounds like a pretty good plan,” Logan admitted.

“Great. Come on then. Let’s get you checked out of the hotel and moved into the cottage.” Jasmine slipped off the stool and slipped her arm into Logan’s as they began to walk out of the bar and down the street towards the Hotel Monteleone.

Tyler frowned. He wasn’t too keen on the idea of Logan living with them. He realized part of it was because of the uneasy truce between Demonkin and Fae he had heard about his entire life. Some inbred inhibitions took a bit of time to overcome. He had a feeling this was going to be one of them. Tyler followed the couple to the hotel, warily watching others who passed, and kept an eye out for any trouble they might encounter. As Jazzy stated, he was a soldier before he took the assignment to make sure she was secure in the world of the humans.

Tyler had been trained to fight and defend almost from the moment of his birth. He was considered one of the most proficient warriors of the Fae. When the opportunity to become a personal bodyguard to Jaz arose, he quickly applied for the honor. He wanted the chance to actually do something with his unique set of abilities besides simply honing them with the rare possibility of actually putting them to use.

Despite all of Jasmine’s talk about Logan, Tyler still hadn’t fully decided if he was friend or foe. He would have to be very wary and see how it all played out.

Chapter 9

Trinity was dragged from her cell to a solid white room and shoved inside. The room was stark and bare, with a chair and a fireplace with mantle. She looked around. No windows, no other doors but the one she was brought in from. A voice, hollow, rough and deep, almost mechanical, boomed throughout the room.

“Sit.”

Trinity ignored the voice and instead tried the door. It was locked and she heard the Rougarou growl just on the other side.

“Sit!”

This time, she did as the voice commanded.

“Close your eyes.”

Again, she hesitated.

“Do not make me keep asking you more than once.” The disembodied voice boomed around her. “Or do I need to make an example of Nathan again?”

“No! I’m sorry. I’ll do as you ask.” Quickly, Trinity shut her eyes and waited for the next order.

“Empty your mind. Feel what is around you. Sense the very air that is in the room. Tell me what you smell. What you sense might have been in there.”

Taking a deep breath, she emptied her mind and tried to use her senses as to what else might have been in that room. First she smelled food. A roasted turkey. Then she smelled something stronger. An almost unpleasant odor, like gym socks that had been stored in a locker for over a month with the corpse of a fish. The scent became stronger and she started to cough, then choke, finally opening her eyes as the expectorating became worse.

After coughing for several minutes, she finally settled down.

“What did you sense?” the voice asked.

“At first, turkey,” she responded, wishing she had a glass of water to help the dry roughness which now coated her tonsils. “Then what smelled hideous. Like old socks and decaying fish guts.”

“Good. There is water on the mantle.”

She looked over at the once empty mantle only to see a pitcher of water and a glass. She rushed over to pour herself a glass only to drain it quickly and repeat the process. She slowed down after her second glass, sipping sporadically on her third.

Coyote thought about what she sensed. She had a really good start in her training. The turkey was the most recent. The decaying fish smell would have been the meeting he had in that room seven months ago with the Dafitca Demons. Their body odor was offensive to his sensitive sense of smell and he always had to have the room deodorized and sanitized whenever they came to meet with him. However, going to see them on their own turf was worse. At least here it was confined to just the one room.

He gave Trinity a few moments to adjust after their first attempt. Now he was ready to get back to work.

“Return to your seat.” the voice boomed within the room, still mechanically disguised. Coyote would take every precaution to make sure she didn’t know who was keeping and ordering her. “Close your eyes. This time I want you to focus not on smells, but on power. Not in the room, but in the air, the world around you.”

“I’m not sure I can do that.”

“You will try and you will keep trying to reach out with your mind. In time you will succeed.”

“What am I looking for? How will I know if I found it?”

“You will know the answer to both when the time comes.”

Trinity sat back, setting the water on the floor by her chair. She wished she had an inkling of what was going on. She could only hope she would help him find whatever he was looking for and quickly so she could go home. Her family must be freaking out over her being gone. She would probably be punished severely for leaving the manor and being captured. On second thought, maybe going home would not be such a good idea. She shook that thought out of her head immediately. No. Home, even if she was grounded for a century, would be better than being held here. The only thing that made this whole thing even bearable was meeting Nathan.

The young man was so kind and sweet. He made her feel comfortable and, even though they had only had their fingertips touch through the bars of their prison, she felt close to him. Truth be told, she had a crush on him and could see them as very good friends, maybe even more if they both survived this. She would make sure they both survived. She had to.

Closing her eyes, she concentrated, searching for a residue of power, an energy in the cosmos which called to her. She let her mind go, swimming around as if floating on a cloud, drifting from one place to another. Strong smells of leather, of gold, of money and greed would touch upon her briefly before moving away to make room for something else. She tried to find her parents, or even her brother, but every time she forced herself to find them, she felt a deep throbbing in her temple and had to pull back. She came to the conclusion she was being prevented from contacting anyone she knew. After the fifth attempt, she gave up and focused on what she was told to search for.