Elven Blood (Imp Book 3) (8 page)

“Come on,” Wyatt urged. “Let’s go hide out in your barn while this horrible woman does her thing.”

“No,” the horrible woman proclaimed. “The worshiper of this cowardly spirit must remain here while I secure his house.”

Wyatt, my worshiper? I nearly choked in amusement.

Wyatt gave me a pained look. “Go on,” I told him, still grinning at the aunt’s comment. “It won’t take long, then she’ll leave and we can go curl up in my barn among the saddle pads and feed sacks.”

It took forever. There was a lot of swaying, chanting, humming and depositing of dust at various spots around Wyatt’s house. Michelle had told me that originally the protection was just on the dwelling, the dust placed in the corners of the building, but she’d asked her aunt to place the barrier further out, for added protection. I kept creeping close, trying to see what was going on. Finally Michelle came out to me and told me I needed to go away, that her aunt had instructed she was to “beat me off with a stick” if I came any closer. So I went back to my house and watched fetish porn with Leethu, waiting for Michelle to call me and have me come out to test the barrier.

It was almost dawn, and Leethu and I were dozing on the couch when the call finally came. The Succubus had been trapped in my house for far too long, so I coaxed her out to see Wyatt’s wall, promising she could try to seduce the aunt. I had my doubts that she’d be successful.

“Now
that
is a spirit worth knowing,” Michelle’s aunt said in admiration upon seeing Leethu. “A minor in the hierarchy of Erzulie Freida, but still powerful.”

Leethu looked up coyly from downcast eyes and graciously thanked the horrible woman for her flattery while I tested Wyatt’s new barrier. I pounded it with my fists, kicked it, and threw myself against it all around the perimeter, and it held admirably. The woman was a real bitch, but she did know how to make an invisible wall.

By the time I’d made my way around the other side of Wyatt’s house, Leethu was in close conversation with her, hanging on the woman’s every word and looking up at her respectfully. I watched as she took her hand and ran her fingers caressingly down the aunt’s arm. The woman smiled. It was an alarming sight to see; the smile was absolutely out of place on what I’d assumed was a permanently scowling face.

“All right, Leethu,” I told her. “Let’s get back before Gregory shows up and lops your head off.”

The succubus shot over to my side for protection, looking nervously around at the dark shadows cast by the trees.

“The barrier will protect against servants of Rada as well as Petro,” the aunt assured me. I looked to Michelle for translation.

“Angels as well as demons,” Michelle helpfully chimed in. “I didn’t have her do mine against angels, but with Wyatt as your boyfriend, I thought protection against angels might be a good idea.”

I hadn’t thought of that. I knew Gregory didn’t particularly like him, that he often claimed to wish Wyatt dead, but I didn’t honestly think he’d take any action against him. In fact, I kind of got the impression he would protect Wyatt, even though he disliked him. Still, it was a good idea.

“Thanks,” I told her. “And thank you,” I said to the aunt.

The aunt waved her hand dismissively. “I like this boy,” she said. “I think my niece should date him.”

Michelle looked horrified. “Auntie, I’m already dating someone. And Wyatt is Sam’s boyfriend. I mentioned that before.”

I kissed Wyatt, just to emphasize the “my boyfriend” part. Demons wouldn’t care, but I was starting to have very un–demonic, rather possessive feelings toward Wyatt. Michelle was my friend, and if Wyatt wished to be with her, I wouldn’t stand in his way, but it would bother me. I was beginning to want him all to myself. Mine. In every way shape and form.

“Lock up your place and meet me in the barn in ten,” I whispered to him. “I’ll bring breakfast and we’ll watch the sunrise together.”

He cupped my face with one hand, brushing his thumb across my cheekbone. His eyes were warm with passion and a kind of gentle emotion. “I’d like that,” he said, and those words set every nerve in my body alight.

“She said I could mount her,” Leethu confided to me as we walked back toward my house. “She is so soft and round. I find her irresistibly attractive. I can’t wait to fuck her.”

“She doesn’t mean ‘fuck’,” I explained. “She’s talking about something entirely different.”

I quickly told her about horses. She sighed with regret.

“That does not sound as much fun as fucking,” the Succubus whined. “I am so disappointed. I’ll bet I could change her mind though.”

Yes, I’m sure you could,
I thought as the pheromones flowed in a velvety caress over me. They soothed me and added to my rather satisfied mood. Wyatt was safe, rents were in, and I was confident that I’d soon have Haagenti off my back. At the moment, I was relaxed and sleepy from the late hour and Leethu’s presence. I couldn’t wait to see Wyatt, to glory in both the sunrise and the feel of his skin against mine, then fall asleep wrapped in the tight embrace of his limbs, but as I poured coffee into a thermos, my doubts returned. Wyatt was safe, but for how long? What if the barrier failed? What if he was ambushed while grocery shopping or pumping gas one day? This last demon was smart and strong. Wyatt wouldn’t stand a chance. I needed to resolve this issue with Haagenti, and resolve it fast. Before it was too late.

6

I’d
hauled the trailer with the Surburban to Dargan’s Landing early afternoon. Wyatt and I had eaten microwaved bacon and mini donuts in the barn, then slowly explored each other as pink lit the morning sky. I hadn’t wanted it to end, but with a defensible barrier around Wyatt’s house, it was time for me to see about a more permanent solution to my Haagenti problem. So here I was, hauling my horse to the safest gate to Hel that I could think of.

It wasn’t unusual to see various trailers at this particular access point to the C&O Canal. There was a boat launch; but not just the rafters, kayakers, and fishers put in here. Cycling groups, joggers, and those who longed for a nice easy trail ride with their horses also used this spot. Of course, there weren’t as many horses on the towpath as there used to be. With all the joggers and cyclists, it took a placid horse to handle the chaos without bolting. My huge draft gelding, Piper, was such a horse, but he wasn’t the one I’d brought today. I had Diablo.

Diablo was a thoroughbred cross, and I don’t just mean in equine breed terms. Some demon had gotten his freak on with a mare and sired this horse. Breeding is an intentional act for our kind, and we can exercise great creativity in the traits we endow our offspring. I was surprised to find Diablo in the hands of humans because his breeding had clearly been given some thought. I could only assume his sire meant to return to collect him and sell him at a later date but had either been killed or was unable to successfully cross the gates again. I’d bought the horse for practically nothing from humans who found him so dangerous and unpredictable that he was seconds away from finding himself in a dog food can.

I didn’t find him much easier to handle than his human owners had. He was smart. He had skills. And he obeyed . . . sometimes. He was crazy and skittish, terrified of plastic grocery store bags, blowing leaves, even his own damned shadow. Which was really ridiculous since he had the ability to store enough raw energy to explode any killer plastic bag that threatened his being. Horses.

He wasn’t any happier about the elf gate we stood in front of. Or the cyclists. Or the joggers. Or that insane guy kayaking the Potomac River in January. He danced around with his ears pinned flat, snorting at the elf trap and its bait; an illusion of a dirty, tear stained toddler sitting at the bottom of the ravine.

“It’s an illusion, you worthless horse,” I told him. “It’s a gate. You just walk right on through the damned thing.”

Piper would have plodded through without a second thought, but once I was on the other side, I needed a horse with a good bit of demon in him. We’d need to move fast though the elf kingdom, dash across a tiny swath of demon lands, then head deep into the Western Red Forest where I should be safe. I needed a fast horse, one that could defend himself and me, one that could teleport. Although there was no guarantee he’d be able, or willing, to teleport me along with him. Stupid, unreliable horses.

Diablo pranced, and I was getting tired of kicking him in the sides and jolting him with energy. I needed to change tactics.

“You’ll get to see the horses back home. Mmm–mmm. Other hybrids like you.” His ears twitched. “And the Elven mares. You have no idea, my friend. Elegant and leggy. They always think they are better than us, so you need to chase them down and pin them against the fence before you fuck them.”

Not that I’d ever fucked a horse, Elven or otherwise. Clearly the idea of a challenge intrigued Diablo, because he cautiously made his way down the canal embankment and extended his nose toward the gate.

“We need to go through fast, and then run like crazy. They always have a couple of scouts near the gates to scoop up the humans, so they’ll be on us quickly. They won’t have horses though, so we’ll get a good head start before they alert the cavalry. If we hustle, we’ll be out of their territory and safe before they even saddle up.”

I hoped so anyway. Elves were a tricky bunch. This was trespass, and if they caught me, there would be repercussions. I’d done work with this elf lord before, so hopefully I could negotiate a service or some favor in exchange for passage. If not, I’d be spending some quality time in their dungeon.

Then there was the narrow strip of demon land I needed to cross. For all I knew, Haagenti had his own people patrolling the area. And there was always the chance that this was a trap, that Taullian was luring me in to turn me over to Haagenti for a bounty. I hesitated, reconsidering, but then I remembered the demon in Wyatt’s house, and urged Diablo forward. I had to take the chance.

Diablo tensed then leapt through the gate in a standing jump that would have done a mule proud. I had to duck so the top of the gate didn’t take my head off.

As soon as we hit the soft ground, he bolted. I got one glance of a shocked elf, his mouth wide open, then huddled as close to Diablo’s neck as I could to avoid the branches that were smacking me on the legs and arms like a series of whips. There was one problem. I needed to look up and see where we were going, so I could give Diablo direction, but I didn’t want my head decapitated by an overhanging tree limb. I compromised by hanging slightly sideways off the saddle and gluing my cheek to the horse’s neck.

Now I could see, but I was constantly shifting my body left to right to avoid tree trunks. Diablo had a great sense of personal space, but that personal space didn’t include my body. I wacked my knee on several trees and nearly dislocated my shoulder on another.

“Slow down a bit,” I shouted. “And don’t cut it so close. You’re going to rip the legs right off my body.”

He paid no attention to me whatsoever. He wasn’t afraid, wasn’t racing terrified through the forest. He was exhilarated. He’d never been in Hel before, and the energy that flowed thick through the air filled him with an adrenaline burst. He was faster, stronger, and he could draw power right from the air. He didn’t have to wait for me to give it to him. He wasn’t limited by the small amount he was able to store. The world was at his hooves and he was ecstatic.

I knew how he felt. I hadn’t been home in so long, and I felt the same godlike feeling of power. It soared through me, making me giddy. I missed this.

Thankfully, we made it through Wythyn without any trouble. We darted across the three–mile stretch of demon land separating the elven kingdoms and were safely in the borderlands of the Western Red Forest, which connected the demon lands with Cyelle. Hopefully safe.

I slowed Diablo to a walk, which wasn’t easy given his current state of excitement. The forest evoked all sorts of memories from my childhood. Technically the woods were part of Cyelle, but a treaty allowed demons access. Besides that, they’d always been tolerant of demon children encroaching on their lands—as long as we didn’t come too far. We’d chased each other through the trees, blasting woodland creatures, carving patterns in bark, boulders, and even dirt with claws and spikes. Sometimes the young elves would try to trap us, or ambush us with their special arrows. Sometimes they caught us and poked as they whooped and hollered with triumph. It was fun. Adult elves were not as much fun.

We were only a few miles into the forest when Diablo snorted and tossed his head. He didn’t have to warn me, I could feel them nearby. Elves. I stopped the horse and kept my posture relaxed and open.

“I’m the Iblis, here at the invitation of your Lord Taullian. He should be expecting me. I’m not sure where to meet him and would appreciate an escort.”

Elves materialized from the forest, weapons at the ready. I understood. It was always prudent to be cautious around demons. Diablo had never seen an elf before, and he totally lost it as they appeared from the shadows. It was a little embarrassing having him leap all around the narrow path, smashing me into trees as I tried to control him. At first the elves were alarmed, but they relaxed, realizing I was not a threat at the moment. Their attitude quickly shifted to amusement as Diablo bashed me against a large oak. Normally they would have stepped in and calmed the horse down, but with a demon hybrid, they knew to keep their distance. Finally, with no help from me, Diablo settled down enough to stand frothing and shivering, rolling his eyes at the elves.

“Can you get him through a gate?” one asked me.

“He’s been through one already. I’m hoping he’ll go through another, but I’m not promising anything.”

These elves had clearly mastered an inter–realm gate, as the angels had. I’d never even heard of this before I’d met Gregory. Another little secret the elves kept all to themselves. I hoped I could get Diablo to go through since I wasn’t sure where in the kingdom this lord would be and didn’t want to be gone for weeks. The longer I was here, the more likely I’d be handed over by some bounty–hungry elf. And there was that stupid Ruling Council meeting hanging over my head. Actually, it was nice to know if I was held here against my will, Gregory would summon my ass back for the meeting.