The Demon King and I (18 page)

“No. We weren’t allowed to ask anything about you. Our father spoke of you on occasion, perhaps three times that I can remember.”

This time her small smile was sad. “I’m a mage, and at that time worked as a Guardian. I was in your world helping with the spells to bind the portals. There had been a shift between worlds, much like what is happening now, and I’d been sent to ward your planet. Your father was my protector during my time there. He was a charismatic man. He didn’t much care for me in the beginning, but I think I eventually charmed him.

“I slipped and we shared a dream one night. Dreams are only one of the many realities in which a mage can live. I’ll spare you the details, but it was a passionate one. A month later I discovered I was pregnant. I’d returned to Earth, and decided I would raise you here. But when you were born those beautiful eyes of yours burned orange, and I knew you wouldn’t be safe until you were able to control your powers.

“Gillian’s father helped me work out an agreement with your father, who was pleased that he had two sons. He never gave any indication that he didn’t care for the human part of your DNA. He loved you from the first moment he saw you and Throe.

“It was no safer for me on your planet than it was for you here, and my presence could have brought harm to your father and you. The arrangement worked for that first month, and then he came to see me one night. He told me that you had been killed in a raid. He was so upset, and I had no reason not to believe him. Devastated, I never could return to Maunra. If warding needed to be done, another mage took my place.”

Arath and Aunt Juliet sat in silence for several moments.

“Is your brother—where is Throe?”

“He’s in the Malan dimension setting up trade agreements. He will be pleased to know our mother lives.”

They continued to stare at one another.

I cleared my throat. “I should probably get back to the party before my sisters begin to wonder what happened, and I’m supposed to give a short speech. I’m sure you have so much to say to one another. Take your time.”

Juliet stopped me as I walked to the door. “Gillian, please find my date, Signor Batolli. He’s a handsome man with a gray streak going through his black hair. Very distinguished, and a lovely Italian accent. Alex knows him.”

I grabbed the doorknob. “Sure, no problem.” I left them to get reacquainted.

The ballroom was even more crowded than when I’d left. I found Alex checking on the silent auction items. “Gilly, where have you been?” Dressed in Chanel couture, with her hair in an updo, she was the picture of the perfect socialite. If only these people knew what she really did for a living.

“Busy visiting. It looks like you have another smashing success on your hands. What’s the bid on the Canyon Ranch package?” I wanted to distract her from asking any more questions about where I’d been.

Mira walked over. With her green dress and red hair she was nothing less than stunning. Claire was right behind her, looking fashionably young and chic.

We stood in a small circle. “Damn, we look good.” Mira laughed. “That silver looks hot on you, Gilly.”

I smiled. “Thanks.”

“Who was the guy you were dancing with?” Claire asked. “That’s all anyone is talking about. Someone saw him duke it out with Emilio at the bar and then kiss you.”

Amazing how rumors started. Before I could answer she continued.

“And why did Aunt Juliet faint when she saw him? I mean, he’s beyond hot, but she actually passed out from touching him.”

I coughed, not certain how to answer. “It’s Arath.”

There was a collective gasp as the implications dawned on them. “Wait, Arath. As in the demon king?” Alex whispered so that those around us couldn’t hear.

“Yes. He was here chasing down a demon.” I looked around and discovered we were attracting attention. “Someone is trying to work a deal to help with a coup, and one of us is in danger. He didn’t have all the details, but it looks like another assassination attempt against one of us.”

My sisters nodded. “Will everyone be back at the house tonight?” Mira asked. “I feel like we should have one of our sisterly powwows. I could use a good power infusion.”

When the four of us meditated together we were able to share and build our power. It was much like recharging a battery.

“I’m headed back to Fiji,” said Claire. “We start filming the tiger shark migration on Tuesday. I’ve already scouted out some of the spots.”

“Ack. I forgot about my meetings in New York, so I’m heading out on a red-eye tonight,” Mira added. “We’ll have to get together soon, but you better message us and tell us what’s going on.”

“I will. Now, my lovely sisters, you go out among the crowd and get them to open up those checkbooks. These silent-auction numbers aren’t nearly as high as I would like.”

I couldn’t keep from wondering what Juliet and Arath were talking about, but I was sure they needed more time. Heck, they’d need years to get to know one another again. Alex pointed out Signor Batolli to me, and I introduced myself.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Caruthers. Juliet speaks kindly of your family.” She was right about him being handsome, in an elderly gentleman way. I reached out to shake his hand, but he didn’t take it.

He bowed his head instead. “My apologies for not taking your hand, I’ve been suffering from a cold.”

Odd, since I saw no sign of a red nose or sniffling.
He must
be taking one heck of a cold medicine.
There was something about him, in his eyes, as if he knew important things I didn’t. It bugged the hell out of me. Maybe it was that he had that air of a wise old gentleman who’d seen a bit too much of the world.

“My aunt asked me to let you know she’s been detained by business, but she’ll be back soon.”

“That is good news.” He gave a short smile and glanced around the room. “She sent me for champagne and then I lost her.”

“The business was—very sudden. Have you had a chance to view the auction items? Alex procured a Bentley for the cause, and the last bid I saw was very low.” I motioned him toward the tables in the back of the room.

He bowed toward me. “Again, a pleasure to meet you, my dear.”

I nodded to him.

“Have a wonderful evening.”

My speech wasn’t far off, so I decided to spruce up in the hair and makeup room. I caught up with Aunt Juliet there as she repaired her makeup.

I touched her shoulder and she patted my hand. There were too many women around to say much. “Is everything okay?” I whispered.

“Yes, he’s a lovely boy. He asked me to tell you he had to go. There’s trouble”—she looked around—“at work.”

I smiled. “No problem. I didn’t want to have to explain him to the gossip mavens.”

I needed her to know that I wanted to tell her the truth days ago. She’d always been beyond kind to me, a second mother. The one person I could go to when the chips were really down and I didn’t want my family to know what a loser I was.

“I’m sorry I didn’t prepare you. I’ve known for a while. At least, I knew something. You and Mom have been gone for weeks, and it wasn’t the kind of thing I could message you about. I feel awful. For both of you.”

She squeezed my hand. “It’s all right, darling. It was a shock. There is so much more to the story, but this isn’t the place.” She indicated some rather nosy women putting on several layers of lipstick.

“Well, your date is waiting for you,” I told her. “I’m afraid I steered him to the auction tables, as our numbers are falling a little short this evening. May I ask where you met him?”

“In Cannes last year. He happened to be in the States for business this week and flew here tonight. This is only my second date with him, but he’s a very charming man, and a wonderful companion.”

We all knew what she meant by “companion.” It was a gentler word for lover. The idea of Signor Batolli and Juliet going at it was not a visual I needed in my head.

“What kind of business is he in?”

She turned back to me. “My, you’re a curious girl. Do you have a crush on my date?”

I laughed. “No. He was just so interesting.” I couldn’t tell her that he had a weird vibe. She’d been through enough, and I didn’t want to hurt her feelings.

She patted my arm. “To be honest, dear, I don’t really know. I believe it’s something to do with investment banking. He’s also quite the collector. Art, homes, I think he even owns an island or two.”

I followed her out and watched as she met her date. He smiled at her and took her in his arms, but I noticed the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

Biting my lip, I went in search of Alex to see what she knew about Juliet’s new man. There was something about him that didn’t seem right, and I couldn’t help being overprotective. She and I both had a homing device for jerks. If I could save her some heartache later on, it was worth a bit of snooping now.

Before I could find Alex, Georgia, my assistant, pulled on my arm. “I’m sorry to bother you, but it’s time for you to give your speech.” She handed me a small slip of paper, and her hand was shaking so badly she almost dropped it.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

She ducked her head. “It’s nothing. I think my imagination is getting the best of me.” Georgia was competent and not one to give in to flights of fancy.

“Please, tell me what’s bothering you. Is it the ball? You and Alex have done a wonderful job, but I know we’ve overworked you. Do you need to go home? I can certainly handle the rest of the evening.”

She gave me a quick smile. “I promise, it’s nothing. I just had a weird feeling on my way here this afternoon. Like, I don’t know, someone was watching me.” Looking up, she shrugged. “It’s so silly, but I ran from the car into the hangar this afternoon. No one but the caterer was here, and, oh, I don’t know. It gave me chills. And I keep having the same sensation. I look over my shoulder but no one is there.”

Given the recent murders I didn’t take the news lightly. We hadn’t told the employees about Reuben yet, as the police were still trying to find his next of kin.

“Georgia, I don’t think it’s silly at all. Promise when you are ready to go home that you’ll take my limo. There’s been a lot of weird stuff going on lately. Tell the driver I said to walk you to your door and let him search throughout the house. I’m going to call my friend Kyle. You know him, the detective. He’ll probably have some questions about anything weird you might have seen, or if you noticed something out of place the last few days.”

“That’s too much trouble.” She twisted the sleeve of her dress, so I knew she was nervous. All of this seemed very out of character for her. “It’s not necessary. I’m sure it’s just my overactive imagination.”

I hugged her. “It’s purely selfishness on my part. I refuse to let anything happen to you. How in the world would I survive without you? You are also a dear friend. So take the limo and we’ll both feel better.”

Taking a deep breath, she smiled. “Thank you, but how will you get home?”

“I’ll ride with one of my sisters, or Bailey. Hey, have you seen him lately?”

“No, his flight came in a couple of hours ago from Houston, but he hasn’t been checked off the list at the door.”

“Knowing Bailey, he’s still in Houston. They’ll have to throw him out of the place to get rid of him.”

The lights dimmed and Alex was spotlighted on the stage. The music stopped, and the crowd hushed to a whisper.

“Time for me to get these people to open up those wallets.” I smiled at Georgia.

CHAPTER 21

The ball finally ended at two, and my sisters and I
were the last to leave. We all piled into Alex’s limo, exhausted but happy. We’d managed to raise more than two million dollars.

“You know, we make a pretty good team.” I smiled as we clinked champagne glasses. “I saw all of you working the crowd. Mira, how did you get McCloven to part with five hundred thousand dollars?”

She crossed her legs under her evening dress. “I told him that my friend Cassie was really impressed with the art collection in his apartment. She also mentioned that he was a fantastic dancer, and I told him we’d have to meet at one of Alex’s clubs one night. Since Mrs. McCloven was headed our way, he pulled out his checkbook. Told me thank you, and that he’d appreciate it if I didn’t mention his dabbling in art to anyone, especially his wife. It was a ‘private thing’ ”—she made little quote marks in the air—“that he wanted to keep to himself. When she walked up, she wanted to know what we’d been discussing so thoughtfully. I sensed she was a little jealous. I said her husband was about to make a sizable donation of more than two hundred thousand dollars to the cause. You know how she is, always wanting to be the best, so she told him to double it. I thought he might drop dead right there on the spot.”

“Mira, that’s awful.” I couldn’t keep from laughing. “You blackmailed the poor man.”

“That
poor man
is a multibillionaire who cheats on his wife with a different woman every week. He deserved a little karmic payback.”

We all giggled. It felt good to release the tension of the last few days. “I have so much work to catch up on, but I’m going to sleep for a couple of hours first.” I yawned.

“Hey, Gilly, I was curious about something,” Alex chimed in. “You and Arath seem to be awfully comfortable with one another. In fact, you two made a beautiful couple on the dance floor.”

“Leave it alone, Alex. We are not a couple. He came for business. I told you.”

“Yeah. And he put on a tux and danced with you because ...”

“We were at a ball.” I knew what she was getting at, but I refused to go there. “Aren’t you guys as curious as I am to know what Aunt Juliet said to him? And everything happened so fast, I didn’t even get to talk to him about being a male mage.”

Claire nodded. “I kind of wanted to talk to him, too. He has to know what he is. It’s crazy that he’s the ruler of a world full of demons and he isn’t really one. Well, I guess technically he is, but there’s not much demon in that DNA.”

“Maybe, Gilly, you should—”

My cell phone interrupted Mira.

“Ms. Caruthers?” Jake was on the other end. “There’s a problem.”