Good Intentions (53 page)

He was fol owing men with guns who had just kidnapped or kil ed one of his best friends. He had no experience with this sort of thing. He didn’t know where it would lead, or what the hell he could possibly do about it, or what he would be able to do if they spotted him. There was a lot wrong right then. “I’l tel you later. Look, I swear to God, there’s nothing I want to do more than come over and hit that like the hammer of Thor, but right now I just can’t, okay? I’l hook up with you and wreck you as soon as I possibly can, okay?” There was a pause. Jason kept his eyes on the road, but as he drove he realized to his horror what had just come out of his mouth. His jaw dropped at his own sheer stupidity. The hammer of Thor? Wreck you? Who says that!? Jesus fucking Christ, why would I actually say that?! The line was silent for a long moment. finally, he heard a single word: “…Promise?” * “How come we never hung out much before?” Taylor asked aloud. She still lay on the couch in Drew’s living room staring at the ceiling. Drew sat on the arm of the couch near Taylor’s feet. “You and me did hang out in high school. Ain’t the first time you’ve been on the therapy couch.” “No, I mean everyone. I always liked Wade. I always liked Jason. And Alex was…I mean, I just didn’t want to date him back then, but of course I liked him. Of course he was my friend. Maybe my best friend, now that I look back on it.” “You’re here now. We al love you. An’ it sounds like whatever you and Alex got going on is fine for the both of you. The three of you,” he corrected teasingly, swatting her foot.

Taylor put her hands over her face, laughing a bit. “God, I’m a total skank.” “Hey, if you’re a skank, we’re al skanks.” “Oh, whatever,” Taylor said, waving off his comment. She stared at the spackling on his ceiling. “Do you…I don’t know how to ask this…” “Just do it,” Drew shrugged helpful y. “Do you get jealous?” He blinked. “Of what?” “Alex. I mean, look at what he’s got. He’s slept with three women this weekend alone. Four, apparently, if you count whoever he was with Friday afternoon after class. And Lorelei’s loaded and devoted to him and she’s just so…she’s amazing, you know?” “Shit, you’d know that better than I would, apparently. Skank,” he grinned. “Who the fuck else has he been with?” “Some Goth chick from North Seattle. And he got it on with Jocelyn at the party.” Drew’s eyebrows shot up, and then he laughed. “Okay, now I am jealous. That bastard.” “I’m serious! You didn’t know? He didn’t say anything?” “I think Alex isn’t the kind to brag about this stuff. I mean, yeah, he had one motherfucker of a shit-eating grin when he first showed up with Lorelei, know what I’m sayin’? But he ain’t one for giving play-by-plays. You’ve told me and Jason a lot more than he has.” Drew gave her a teasing grin. “But it ain’t like we didn’t know there’s other girls. You haven’t seen the angel, either. Damn. Just damn.” Taylor looked over at him. She had seen her, actual y, but couldn’t remember much. “Is she prettier than Lorelei?”

“Hel , I couldn’t tel you that one way or the other. That’s like comparing…I don’t know. They’re both just so hot it’s ridiculous.” “But you don’t get jealous? I mean, al that, and you don’t feel any envy at al ? Not the other guys?” “Well , I guess there’s envy and there’s jealousy. I mean, any guy who looks at that woman and doesn’t wanna hit that is, like, one hundred percent gay, right? I mean like not even a little bit into girls. And yeah, I guess it’d be cool to have a girl who wants you to think with your jock first and your head second, but…man, you didn’t see him when we were drivin’ around with that demon guy in the minivan. I mean, Alex had this look on his face like he was just fucked. He was like, ‘That’s it. That’s what I get to do from now on. Just hell a crazy guys kickin’ my ass an’ an’ tryin’ to take my girl an’ al my friends getting’ hurt.’ That’s gotta be some heavy shit there.” “See, that’s what I mean, though. You defend him. And look what he’s got.” “Look what I got, though. We told you earlier about the pool hall . I mean, the only complication there is figurin’ out how to tel it to our parents and family and make sure it don’t look dirty, but man…four days ago I felt like I’d never be able to afford to go to college. Now I’ve got that licked. hell , I’m probably gonna finally buy a car or move out of my mom’s place here. Maybe both, if I keep workin’. An’ Jason’s talkin’ about maybe sel ing me his share if we can figure out how to swing that fairly, ‘cause he doesn’t want to be in business with friends. Says it’s bad juju.” Taylor nodded. “I didn’t mean money, though. I mean women. Sex.” “Hey, Alex and Jason were the ones who could never pick up. Sherri’s al over me, and I gotta tel you, it ain’t like we ain’t havin’ a good time. You can tel me Alex has greener grass and more of it, but I wouldn’t know, ‘cause I’m busy takin’ care of my own. And Wade…man, he ain’t even been lookin’ for a girl, but I think he picked one up the other night.” “I know Trish. She’s a sweetheart.” Drew nodded. “I think Wade’s just lookin’ for someone to talk to after al the shit he’s been through. So no. No jealousy there. And, Jason…” he tried to go on, but just laughed.

“What?” Taylor grinned. “Jason…oh, man, that fool. Taylor, you aren’t the only one who’s been…” He gave up trying to talk and laughed more. “What? Tel me!” Taylor said, nudging his leg with her foot. “He went home with two of those blonde Britney girls from the party.” Taylor’s eyes went wide in shock. “Jason did?” “Yeah,” Drew nodded. “He came over and plopped down on the couch just like you did like he was still in shock. I mean I guess those girls are freaky. He’s al blown away, his hickeys haven’t al faded yet, and he’s getting texts from both of ‘em like crazy. An’ his parents found out like immediately, like one of ‘em slipped her panties in his pocket an’ they fell out when he got home an’ his parents flipped the fuck out. So he drops al that on me, and then finally we’re like cool and shit, and then you come over an’ plop down on the couch, and I’m just like, ‘Oh, what the fuck now,’ know what I mean?” The thought gave Taylor a good laugh. “Wow, I saw those two. They were hot.” “No shit. He showed me a couple of the pics they sent him. Nothin’ nude, but freaky.” Her eyes went wide with interest. “Did he share them?” “No, but I bet if I asked him,” Drew suggested, reaching for his phone. As he did, it went off with the chorus of “Pretty Fly for a White Guy.” “Oh, hey, speak of the devil,” he chuckled. Drew flipped the phone open. “Yo’ momma so dumb she-–” he fell silent as Jason barked at him. Then his face grew very serious. “What is it?” Taylor asked. “Someone just grabbed Alex,” Drew scowled. “Maybe Lorelei, too. Jason’s fol owing ‘em.”

“Oh shit,” Taylor gasped. “Wait. Did he see them? Were they al dressed in black?” She was loud enough that Jason heard her over the phone. Drew listened and told her, “Yeah, said they al looked like a costume party for emo kids.” “They’re probably vampires,” Taylor thought aloud. “Dammit.” Drew blinked. “What?” “We gotta get after him!” “We’re on it. Jason’s fol owing. We can’t exactly cal the cops for this. We’re gonna cal Wade and get him–” “We’l cal him on the way,” Taylor said, already up and grabbing her jacket. “Wait, on the way? What? You’re coming, too?” “Last I checked, you don’t have a car,” Taylor said firmly. Drew looked up at her for a brief moment. Arguing with her was obviously pointless. * The moment the heavy door opened, Lorelei could smell him. The ashen scent was so unmistakable that it renewed every bit of crushing fear and despair within her. She didn’t even need to look up at him. She didn’t want to look up at him. Shadows of multiple people moved across the bare concrete floor. Lorelei was huddled on her knees as they

entered, forced into the position by the very short length of the chains that connected her wrists and her neck to the floor. A metal muzzle had been fastened around her head with heavy leather straps. The succubus was dressed only in her black nightgown, now tattered and torn and stained with dirt, ash and a great deal of her own blood. Lorelei leaned over to sit with the side of one cut and bruised thigh against the floor. She would not kneel before Baal again. Lights went on in the room of nearly featureless concrete. “Well . Isn’t this a sight,” mused a voice Lorelei had hoped to never hear again. A man’s hand reached down to grab Lorelei’s chin. It pul ed up with strength that she could not effectively resist. She stared up into the smoky eyes and ashen breath of Baal and his current host body. “My people were advised to do everything possible to break her short of maiming her,” answered a calm voice with an English accent. “What a lovely room,” Lydia said in appreciation. “It’s positively medieval.” There were other metal fixtures imbedded in the concrete where one could chain prisoners, but there was only one other occupant in the basement prison. Near one wall across from Lorelei was a woman, similarly but less restrictively chained, dressed in faded jeans, hiking boots and a flannel shirt. Her brown hair hung limply to her shoulders. The woman was perhaps pretty but for the fact that she clearly hadn’t been al owed to bathe for days. “Who is that?” the succubus asked. “A local matter,” Damien answered stiffly. “It is the Lady’s business. She isn’t to be physically harmed. If you require us to remove her, we shall .” “No harm,” Lydia mused, “but no reason to keep her from seeing these unspeakable things?” “It’s not as if we have an abundance of rooms like this here in Washington,” Damien replied dryly. “When and if she is eventually released, it will be good for her to carry back to her family her impression of how we deal with our problems in the Lady’s lands.” “I see,” Lydia said. She smiled at the woman, who stared back at her baleful y. The prisoner seemed to be perhaps in her mid-twenties. “And clearly so does she.”

Baal ignored al of this. He reached out to stroke Lorelei’s hair, which of course she resisted. The demon lord smiled. “Lydia told me you were in much worse shape than this,” he said with feigned concern. “Well , perhaps not in the immediate sense,” he corrected, glancing at the blood on his hand and smearing it lewdly on her nightgown. “But she said you had sustained far worse injuries than these. Clearly you’ve been working…but not for Belial anymore.” Lorelei glared at him, but was unable to do much more. Her eyes then turned away. “How long has it been, Lorelei?” Baal asked. “Fifteen hundred years at least? A very long time since you were on your knees for me.” “If I might be so bold,” spoke up a new voice, “how does a succubus leave the service of a mighty duke such as yourself?” “You are bold, Lord Stefan,” Baal grinned, still looking at Lorelei. “But we’ve shared this much. I will indulge you with the simple answer. I was once a lesser duke than I am now. Belial stood in my way. I crushed him and ascended. Yet in the ensuing chaos, what with Belial wanting revenge and the upheaval that resulted, the other dukes demanded a token of truce. A consolation prize, if you will . Together, they were far too powerful to deny. Al saw Belial for the loser that he was, but to placate him and al ow the rest of the Pit to move on, I gave him Lorelei. “I’m sure he took those frustrations out on you, didn’t he, my sweet?” Baal said to Lorelei, who still did not look at him. “Perhaps that’s why you made such an effort to do so well here in the mortal realm. The better you did up here, the less reason to cal you back to the Pit to perform directly for your master. I’l be pleased to have you back in my service. That will al ow Lydia here to remain in the mortal realm, where she has done so well . You can stay in my domain and keep me entertained.” Lorelei didn’t bother to hide her disgust or her hate. She made no noise, but the change in her eyes was clear. She would sooner face the wrath of every angel in Jerusalem. A phone buzzed. “Yes?” Damien asked. He listened silently. “Excel ent. Thank you.” Then he turned to Baal. “Our people have Carlisle. They are on the way here with him. It should be roughly twenty minutes. One of Lord Stefan’s

associates and one of our best soldiers have remained to clean up any evidence from Lorelei’s recovery.” “You used to be better about hiding your emotions,” Baal said to Lorelei as her eyes clamped shut. “Lord Stefan, please have your people enact the warding of these premises as soon as Carlisle arrives. How long will your specialist need?” “Once Carlisle is here? An hour, perhaps two at the most.” “Time enough to amuse yourself, Lydia?” “My master is too kind,” Lydia answered. “Lord Blackthorne, when he arrives, could you have him put on the table there? With those lovely restraints?” “This would suit our needs as well ,” Stefan added. “It will be arranged, madam. Lord Stefan.” “Splendid,” Lydia smiled. “Thank you.” “Have someone come down and clean Lorelei here up, too,” Baal said. “I wouldn’t want her to attend Lady Anastacia’s party upstairs in such a state.” “It will be done,” Blackthorne consented, stepping away to relay commands to guards near the door. As he did, Stefan and Lydia exchanged a meaningful glance. “Do your work well ,” she said softly, “and we will settle the issue of whose celebration this is before Baal takes his leave. None will doubt who has his final favor.” *

“Wow, who knew angels swear so much?” Molly mumbled. It was an attempt to break the silence between them, but it didn’t go very far. She flicked her eyes to Onyx, then back to the road. Finally she put her hand on Onyx’s leg. “It’s okay, love.” “I’m so sorry about al this,” Onyx said softly. Her eyes were still turned out the passenger side window. “No. Don’t. We could’ve walked away and ignored it al if we wanted to. And we don’t even know if that chick’s story is gonna check out, right?” “Doesn’t make me feel like any less of a moron,” Onyx shrugged. “Doesn’t make me feel any better for putting you at risk.” “Onyx, if he really has been grabbed and it really is those assholes, we’re as loaded for bear tonight as we’re ever gonna be. The Brotherhood’s a problem we’re going to have to deal with sooner or later. We know that now. Might as well do it when we’ve potentially got an angel and a freakin’ demon on our side. Potential y,” she repeated dryly. “Or if she’s lying, then we go back home and kick her lying, shapechanging ass.” “I don’t think she’s lying,” Onyx said quietly. “It’s up here. Turn left. Three buildings up. There. I don’t see anyone out there…probably long gone already.” Molly nodded, parking a couple of houses away. “Stil ready with the contingency plans?” As if in answer, Onyx simply held out a snapdragon petal. “Bul shit first, run like hell second,” she repeated. Molly began murmuring the words of the spel even as Onyx pul ed out a petal for herself. She sighed, not wanting to cast a spel of deceit yet again. As Molly finished, she said, “Maybe I got paid forward for casting this last time.” “Onyx. Seriously. Let’s say Rachel’s story is legit. He couldn’t have known you’re an honest-to-goddess witch. What was he going to tel you?” Onyx sighed, murmured the words, and put the petal under her tongue. “I’l pry an explanation out of him when we see