Devil May Care (16 page)

The string of power collapsed. I spun and bolted for Mammon. In the two strides it took me to reach him, I’d summoned what power I had and poured it over him. My element latched onto Mammon’s cold body, and spilled heat back into his veins. I gave everything I had, let it wash through me and into him. I’d call from the veil if I needed to. Mammon needed to live.

The ice that clutched hold of Mammon by the legs, arms, and wings peeled back and melted away. Sparkling shards retreated into the earth, and as the fire I fed him took hold, steam coiled in the air. Mammon lifted his head. Thick lips pulled back over jagged teeth in a wolfish grin. He shoved me aside as easily as scolding a puppy and grabbed Stefan by the neck.

“Wait! What are you going?” I demanded.

Stefan barely fought him. As Mammon’s huge claws locked around Stefan’s throat, the veil snapped closed above.

Stefan fell limp, head lolling to one side. Mammon straightened and growled, “He will live.” He snorted a satisfied sound, pumped his wings, and glared at me.

Within a few blinks, he’d shaken off his demon guise, replacing it with the mortal man. Akil’s shirt was torn and bloody, his hair a tousled mess. His eyes burned. “We need to leave,” he said, breathless and rigid. “The energies stirred here have caught the attention of the Princes. We must avoid their intervention at all costs.”

I nodded. My voice had completely abandoned me. Turning my back on Akil, I mentally opened a cut in the veil and reached toward Boston.

T
he hole
in the veil spat us out somewhere along the leafy cobble streets of Beacon Hill. Brownstones towered over the three of us and blocked out much of the pale blue sky above. Long shadows stretched from parked cars. Briefly disorientated, I stood motionless and let the ambience of the city wrap around me. The air slipped easily across my lips. I could hear the constant noises of city life and feel the beat of the city through the ground. A swell of unexpected joy jolted me back into my human skin.

I took one look at Akil’s bloodied shirt, my own filthy naked body, and Stefan’s blood-encrusted nakedness, and realized we needed to get off the street before someone called the cops. Akil leaned Stefan against a house wall. I was about to join him when I noticed a woman walking with her toddler up the steep hill toward us. They hadn’t noticed us; yet.

“Wait here.” Akil took a step and vanished in a sizzle of static.

I spat out a curse. The bastard. I knew it. I knew I couldn’t trust him. I crouched beside Stefan. “I’ll kill him if he doesn’t come back.” Stefan’s entire body trembled. His eyes were clamped closed, and his lips pulled thin over gritted teeth. A sprinkling of perspiration beaded on his face and chest.

Akil appeared beside me with a metallic snap of air. I almost jumped out of my skin. He dropped a pair of jeans, leather ankle boots, and a sweater in my lap and tossed a blanket over Stefan.

“Where d’you—” I tugged on the garments with frantic hands.

“Department store. Petty theft.”

“We need to get moving. If we can wake him...” I stopped planning. Akil looked back at me, weary eyes worried. When I glanced at Stefan, I saw why. Webs of ice wove around him. His body twitched as though an electrical current pulsed through his muscles. Eyes squeezed closed, he clamped his teeth together and growled, the sound fraught with agony. “Stefan...” I reached out to touch him, but Akil pulled me back.

Veins of ice snaked up the building behind Stefan like slow-motion lightning. It twitched and lashed over the brownstone façade. The ground beneath my bare feet frosted over. “What’s happening?”

“He’s cut off from the elements. His demon wants freedom.” Akil tried to draw me against him, but I tugged free. He shot me scolding look that seemed to say,
don’t be an idiot
. “When I brought you here, Muse, it took months for you to rein in your demon.”

I remembered those early months as a swirl of conflicting emotions. I shivered. “But he’s always controlled it before.” I tried to prevent the outpouring of panic from flooding my thoughts, but it felt a little like plugging a dam with a cork. Stefan had always been the pillar of control. I was a walking disaster compared to him. He’d had the sort of control over his demon I could only dream of.

Akil shook his head. “It’s been too long.”

I heard the woman talking with her young son as they neared. At any moment, they’d notice us.

“It’s been six months,” I said. Six months was a long time to live entirely as a demon. I’d let my demon trample all over me after a few days, but Stefan was stronger than me.

Akil tilted his head and gave me an odd sort of expression, as though he couldn’t quite believe me. Had I said something wrong? His eyes narrowed, and then widened again. “Here, yes. But time passes differently beyond the veil.”

Realization jabbed me in the gut like a physical blow. Of course. It had been six months for me, living in the human realm, but Stefan’s time would have passed more slowly. I should have known that.

“It’s been years, Muse,” Akil said, his voice soft with a sympathy I didn’t know he was capable of.

Years. Stefan thought I’d left him there for years.
You took your sweet time, Muse.

A snowflake drifted aimlessly in front of me and settled on Stefan’s blanket.

“Is he okay?” The woman and her son stopped a few strides down the street from us, close enough to see Stefan in the midst of a seizure. I glared at her; she flinched, the horror I felt likely clear on my face.

“Look, Mommy, snow.” Her little boy giggled and reached out a chubby hand to catch a flake.

His mother, dressed for summer in an above-the-knee flower-print skirt and short-sleeved top, looked as though she was about to shush her son when she noticed the snow flurries spiraling in the air. She forgot us for a moment and threw a confused glance up and down the street.

Akil gripped my shoulder. “The best place for him is the Institute.”

I shoved him off me. “No. He can’t go back there like this. If they suspect he’s losing it, they’ll lock him up. Or worse.”

Stefan bucked, cried out, and the sheet of ice shattered. His human appearance shimmered and rippled. The full transformation was difficult for my human eyes to see. If his demon manifested here and he called his power, there was no telling what he might do.

“He needs help.” The mom fumbled in her shoulder bag.

“Wait.” I held out a trembling hand. “Please. Don’t call anyone.” She had the cellphone in her hand, thumb poised to dial. “Please, just... just don’t. Let me think…”

“Hey, it’s snowing,” a man said, from somewhere behind me. I looked up at more people ambling from their front doors. Some frowned at the snow flurry. Others gawped. It was snowing in summer. Why couldn’t Stefan be a water-elemental? Rain in summer wouldn’t have been so bad. Rain, I could bluff. Snow blew any excuses I had out the water.

“Muse,” Akil growled. “If not the Institute, then where?”

The mom jabbed at her phone and lifted it to her ear. “He’s one of those demons, isn’t he?“ She gathered her son against her side and backed away.

Dammit. A ripple of unease spread through the swelling crowd. Ice sparked over Stefan and snapped across the sidewalk, reaching for the people. One of the men lifted a cellphone. Some snapped pictures, others made calls. I searched their concerned faces. They would call the police, who would call the Institute.

“Please...” I raised my voice. “It’s okay... He’s just... He’s....” The crowd didn’t care. All they saw was a demon about to lose control on their street. There were children here, families, they were doing the right thing.

I had about four minutes before the Institute Enforcers would appear. I couldn’t let them take Stefan away. They’d destroy him.

I searched Akil’s mildly concerned expression. He could have abandoned me. We were back in Boston. He had the freedom he wanted, but he stood waiting for me to make the right call. I’d expected him to vanish the second we breathed the Boston air. Yes, we’d made a deal, but a part of me had always assumed he’d drop me the second he became a free demon again.

“Help me get him to safety,” I said carefully, as though my asking this of him would spook him into tipping his proverbial hat and bidding me farewell.

He nodded. Akil could bend reality around him, rendering him and everything he touched virtually invisible. He’d once walked me out the police station in full view of the cops, and nobody had seen a thing. That same talent enabled him to hop from one place to another in seconds.

“Where?”

“To a vet.” I took Akil’s hand. “I know what to do.”

J
erry’s
veterinary clinic was closed. Not surprising considering the late hour. The sun had all but vanished, and the streetlights were blinking on. Akil put a bit of muscle into the door and broke in.

The Voodoo Lounge was a short walk from Jerry’s clinic, but I didn’t want to walk into a demon sanctuary with an unconscious Stefan. We left him sprawled across the waiting room chairs. As soon as he came into contact with the chairs, ice bloomed across the floor and up the walls, like mold in a time-lapse photo. At this rate, it wouldn’t take long before the entire room resembled a freezer.

I followed Akil out and let my gaze linger on Stefan before closing the door behind me. Akil had suggested he stay with him. I’d snorted and didn’t dignify his words with a reply. I didn’t trust Akil as far as I could throw him. The Prince of Hell would likely hand Stefan over to the Institute, or worse. No, Akil was staying right beside me. I’d have handcuffed him to me, if I had a pair. On second thought, maybe not handcuffs. He’d like it.

I shook the unwanted image of an aroused Mammon from my head, wondering if I’d ever be free of that disturbing memory, and told Akil all I knew about Jerry. He listened quietly, nodding in all the right places. We didn’t have time to talk about the infusion, and even if we did, I wasn’t sure what I’d say. Once Stefan was safe, Akil had agreed to free me of Damien’s soul-lock, but what would happen after that? Damien was still out there. He’d come for me. Free of the soul-lock, I could—I would—kill him.

The relentless beat of dance music drummed against the walls of the club as we approached the neon lit entrance. The doorman raked his gaze over Akil, his attention drawn to the blood stains. He looked me up and down, expression thoroughly bored. A trickle of an elemental touch slid over my skin when he dove a little deeper than physical appearance. Done with me, he did the same to Akil and jolted upright. Had his face just drained of all color? With a wordless nod, he allowed us entry.

The early evening crowd was thin. I glanced back at Akil and saw him reading the anonymous faces. All looked human, but only a handful of them were. The rest moved with the fluid grace of netherworldly things. Under the sliding lights, my human eyes had trouble focusing on the demons for more than a few seconds. The touch of power summoned goose bumps across my arms, as it always did. I shrugged it off. Considering I’d survived a netherworld riot, annihilating countless demons in the process, this should’ve been a walk in the park. Akil appeared mildly amused, no more, no less.

About to look away, I noticed his step missed a beat. He winced and pressed his hand against his side, catching my eye.
It’s nothing,
those eyes said.

At the bar—the music too loud for softly spoken words—I glared at the dark stain on his shirt and met his calm expression with a concerned one of my own. He smiled, and gave me the smallest of nods, before leaning against the bar. I wasn’t convinced. His shoulders slumped. Stefan had skewered Akil with a lance of ice. In his true form, as Mammon, Akil might’ve been a tough bastard and immortal, but the lance must have wounded him, and considering the events of the past few days, he had to be feeling the strain. I was.

I ached in every conceivable muscle, even in muscles I didn’t know I had. My demon was rammed back into the flesh and bone of my squishy and fragile human body, and I felt all the physical damage. Demon flesh absorbs much of a half-blood’s battle-scars, but not all, and not those that aren’t physical.

I ordered a vodka and coke and gritted my teeth as I waited for the bartender. Neat vodka might be asking for trouble, but damn I needed something. I kept my face turned away from Akil. The physical tiredness would pass, as would the other aches and pains, but the tugging sensation behind my ribs, where my heart raced? That wasn’t going away. Damien. The darkness of his touch seeped putrid poison through my veins. Just the thought of something of his, some part of him, metaphysical or not, sitting inside of me made my flesh prickle and my stomach lurch. I couldn’t think too long about it without wanting to run and hide in the darkest corner of the quietest of places, where I could bury my head in my hands and cry. What Damien had done to me was a violation of the most penetrating kind. I shouldn’t have been surprised. The act of violation was his specialty, but nausea still burned the back of my throat every time I sensed him inside me.

Akil watched the expressions drift across my face. I gave him a bright, utterly unrealistic smile. He didn’t buy it and narrowed those dark eyes, attempting to scowl me into an explanation. He knew me too well, even after the months we’d spent apart. Six months for me, years for him. Years for the both of them. Stefan was suffering now, because I’d waited too long. I should have forced Adam’s hand months ago.

“I didn’t realize—about the time. I should have.”

Akil leaned in close. “The passage of time is unique for each of us. This curious fact is felt a little more keenly in the netherworld.”

His shoulder brushed mine. Heat lapped gently down my arm. I met his eyes and wondered if he truly had changed since threatening to peel my flesh from my bones to free my demon. Could demons change? Could a Prince of Hell change? Everything I knew about them, it all pointed to a simple ‘No’. Demons don’t change. They are eternal beings, constructs born from the elements of chaos. Chaos doesn’t change.

I wanted to believe Akil had changed. He seemed different, softer, somehow. But I’d been down that road before, and I wasn’t falling for his soft hazel eyes and suave exterior again. Back in my mortal flesh with my thoughts grounded in reality, I had the strength to stick to my guns. My demon still wanted to jump his bones. That wasn’t going to change either, but the squishy human me had control now.

Akil searched my face for any clue of my thoughts. Whatever he saw there, it didn’t erase his frown. “Once Stefan is safe,” he said, perhaps sensing my doubts, “I will free you of Damien. That was our agreement.”

I lifted vodka and coke to my lips. “I’ll believe you when it happens.” I watched him closely and took a sip. He dropped his gaze, ageless eyes harboring a touch of sadness. Then he flicked his head up and focused behind me.

“We have company,” he said flatly.

Carol-Anne parted the crowd and glided toward us. The hem of her blue silk dress rippled over her dainty shoes like water over pebbles. The fabric hugged her languid figure, accentuating lean legs and luscious curves, before rising up to cup her breasts in a strapless corset. She’d pinned her dark hair up, leaving just the one electric blue lock twirling free. The caress of her power trickled over me, and I dampened down my jealousy. It helped to remember the fish-like demon hiding inside that human suit, but even so, her manufactured beauty turned heads.

I was about to grumble something to Akil along the lines of how we both looked like we’d been washed up on a beach when I saw the twitch of a smile on his lips. “Let the games begin.”

He pushed away from the bar, moved around me, and extended his hand to Carol-Anne. Her radiant smile shone only for Akil, and her pace quickened. She took his hand, bowing low before him. “Mammon.”

He touched her lightly on the head and let her rise. He lifted her hand to his lips and skipped a kiss across her knuckles, his eyes fixed on hers. “Carol-Anne,” he purred.

His voice had slipped into its lowest tone, the one he used to deliver secrets and promises. I might have turned my back on the both of them to finish my drink had I not been fascinated by their exchange.

“You should have notified me of your arrival.” She touched her hair with the hand he’d kissed and twirled the blue lock around her finger. Her cheeks warmed. I could practically smell the hormones wafting off her. “It’s not often we have a Prince among us.”

“Yes, well, as you can see,” he gestured at his bloodied shirt, “we’ve been otherwise occupied. I apologize for the unscheduled arrival.” His words came out clipped and precise, his exotic accent gone, reminding me how easily he could put on an act for the benefit of those around him.

“No need.” She batted his comment away with a flick of her hand. “And so I see you have Muse back by your side.” Carol-Anne’s gaze barely lingered long enough to acknowledge me.

I wanted to say something about Akil being at
my
side but swallowed my pride in the spirit of getting the job done. “We need to see Jerry,” I grumbled.

I slid my gaze back to Carol-Anne. She pinned her stare on me with unadulterated disgust. I frowned back at her. Sure, we’d clashed swords a little. I might have torched her two men, but in demon terms, our tiff had amounted to little more than foreplay.

She checked Akil, taking note of his bloodied shirt. “Are you wounded?”

“Yes,” I said.

“No,” Akil winced, then covered my slip by offering Carol-Anne a confident smile. “It’s nothing.”

“Then why do you need Jeremiah?” She mirrored Akil’s smile. “I’m sure I could help with your wounds, Mammon.” She inched closer to Akil and draped an arm over his shoulder, her dress ruffling around her. She walked her long thin fingers down his chest. “A little water can do wonders for the heat of wounds.”

Akil made no attempt to pull away. He eased his hand around her waist and pulled her close. I chose that moment to return to my drink. “Get a room.”

I heard Carol-Anne purr in response to my suggestion. My stomach hardened. My teeth squeaked as I ground them together.

“Your pet does not appear to appreciate our teasing, Mammon.”

Anger rolled up my spine and jolted me upright. “I’m not his pet.” I glared at Carol-Anne’s body still glued to Akil’s. “We don’t have time for this.” Stefan was in agony, and Akil was copping a feel. “Where’s Jerry?”

Her blue eyes danced as laughter bubbled up her throat. She and Akil parted. He did a damn good job of appearing delighted by her. He wouldn’t meet my glare, and instead, fixed his gaze over my shoulder. The smile was real though. Real and curious and sly.

I coiled heat across my skin. “We’ve been here before Carol-Anne, but the last time I wasn’t in control. Things have changed. I don’t want to start anything, but I’m very capable of burning this bar down around you.”

She absorbed my threat for a few moments, glanced at Akil, and then laughed a soft trickling chuckle. “You stand beside a Prince of Hell and threaten me when I have done nothing to incite such a display of anger. You insult both Mammon and me, little half-blood.”

“Akil is with me on this.” At least I hoped he was. “So tell us where Jerry is, or you’ll answer to the both of us.” Akil stood off to her side, face impassive, watching me lose my cool. He hadn’t said or done anything to help. A thought hooked into me, an accusation I’d once thrown at him before: he liked to watch me squirm on a hook.

Her laughter cut off. “I do not answer to you,” she snarled. “And your so-called Prince cannot lift a finger to protect you. You are bound to another. Mammon has no claim over you. You’re a half-blood pet playing games with higher demons you do not understand.”

Finally, Akil moved closer to me. “Carol-Anne, I would think carefully before you assume to know who you’re dealing with. While it is true I have been... indisposed of late, I have reclaimed my title.” He leaned casually against the bar. “Ask yourself, why I would ally myself with a half-blood while in such a precarious position?”

She didn’t think before answering. “Because you’re a fool, Mammon. You’ve spent so long in your human vessel that you’ve become blinded by their inconsequential ways. She makes you appear weak.” As soon as the words left her mouth, I caught the brief widening of her eyes, saw her lips part, and heard her draw in a tiny gasp.

Akil’s element bristled. I couldn’t see it, but I felt his heat prickle against my skin, and so did Carol-Anne. She rippled her top lip in a snarl. Her beautiful face contorted in a purely inhuman manner. Akil hadn’t moved. He still smiled, still leaned against the bar, but the elements stirred around us. A few people in the crowd had stopped mingling and turned toward us, sensing the draw of energy.

“I have to admit,” Akil said, “I had my doubts over the years, but I’ve seen what Muse is capable of, and her talent is magnificent. Perhaps you are unaware of the massacre in the netherworld. News will reach you soon enough.” He paused, possibly remembering how I’d gone nuclear. His nostrils flared. His eyes widened. His element throbbed in the air. Oh, he remembered alright. “Muse incinerated a crowd of several hundred demons. She could make short work of you. So shall we dispense with the theatrics? Tell me where Jerry is now, while we all still have a measure of control.”

“I don’t believe you,” Carol-Anne hissed. “She is unstable...nothing but a human girl playing with fire. She’s a disgusting freak, a demon contained in human flesh, it’s repulsive.”

Akil was on her. He locked his hand around her throat and threw her down on the bar. She had enough breath to yelp before he clamped his hand closed and choked off her air.

“You speak of disrespect.” He leaned over her, intimately aggressive. “You disrespect me and her. Muse is not to be so easily dismissed. She is quite capable of turning your insides to ash before you can draw breath to apologize. You will give her due respect, and you will tell us now where Jerry is, or I’ll let her burn your beautiful human vessel off your demon-skin and watch Muse broil your insides. Do you understand?”

I wasn’t sure whether to hoot and cheer or nonchalantly admire my nails. We’d drawn quite a crowd. Those who had been surreptitiously observing us now openly watched the confrontation play out. Nobody was likely to interfere, not while Akil had his power coiled around him.

Carole-Anne’s eyes darted across Akil’s face, lingering on his eyes, where sparks of energy burned. Her appearance wilted around the edges. Her flesh sagged as she fought to stay in control of herself. One hand gripped Akil’s forearm, and the other clawed at his hand around her throat. She could easily call her power, and manifest her true appearance, but it would be a sign of weakness in front of a Prince. Besides, summoning her power wasn’t going to help her. She was beaten, and she knew it. Everyone in the club knew it. You don’t throw down with a Prince of Hell unless you have the power to back it up.