Through a Crimson Veil (21 page)

In the nearly five years he’d lived here, his protection had been impenetrable. It had been tested repeatedly by humans, vampires, werewolves, and yeah, demons. Sometimes he knew when someone tried to cross the energy shield or take it down, sometimes he only suspected. He did know that in the last six months or so, the attempts had become a lot more frequent. But this was the first time anyone had succeeded, and he wanted to know how they’d done it.

Conor checked the two front corners first. Nothing was amiss at either place, but he didn’t expect to find anything. With his truck mere feet away, he’d have noticed immediately when he pulled up. Even if he had been in a fog of lust.

He walked along his property line to the back of the house. The third corner checked out okay, too. Which left one last place.

Corner number four was hidden by bushes he’d been meaning to trim for months. As he neared them, Conor noticed they were even more overgrown than he’d realized, and perfect cover for nefarious activity. Damn. He’d have to make this a priority.

Pushing the branches away from his face, he headed behind them to check the last section of his yard. He nearly fell over the body. Crouching down, Conor checked for a pulse. It was there, but weak, and even as he monitored it, the beat grew fainter. There was no blood or other sign of injury, but a Dark One didn’t need to leave visible wounds to kill.

As he pulled his hand back, the half-dead man turned his head and Conor grunted in surprise. Ben? His mentor had been the one to let the enemy in? He struggled to fight the overwhelming sense of betrayal. “I don’t see any indication of trauma,” Conor said, his voice tight. “What did they do to you?”

“Life force spell.”

It made an odd kind of sense. The spell they’d used stole
life force energy from a victim and transferred it to the demon. The spell was only capable of extracting a small amount, but at Ben’s age, that would be all it would take.

“Do you want me to call an ambulance?” he asked, although there was nothing anyone would be able to do.

“No. It’s too late. But I knew if I could hang on, I’d get a chance to talk to you.”

“Why?” he demanded furiously. “So you could explain why you turned on me?”

“I was protecting you.” Ben’s voice was sad. The man tried to sit up, obviously using the last of his energy.

Conor was too angry to rein in. “Bullshit. You destroyed my home’s shield and allowed him in! He nearly killed my wo—my client tonight.”

“
They
”—Ben emphasized the plural—“are here to protect you from her. The leaders of Orcus want you killed.”

Conor would have laughed if he weren’t so angry. “If Mika wanted me dead, I’d be dead. She’s had plenty of opportunity. Either you’re lying, or you were stupid enough to believe their lies. Mika isn’t capable of murder.”

Ben reached out, clasping his arm with surprising strength. “She’s part of a team. She’s not an assassin, she’s the thief. They briefed her on you and your background, then sent her in. The Council wants a spell you have, and when she gets it, the two assassins sent to kill you will do so. Believe me.” His grip tightened for a moment, but the strength didn’t last.

“Why should I? Your facts come from Dark Ones.
Demons!
It never occurred to you that they were telling you lies to get at her? You should be smarter than that. They want her dead, and you did everything but roll out the welcome mat.”

“Your father…” Ben’s voice trailed off as Conor stiffened.

“What about that bastard?”

Ben took a deep breath. “He’s with the demons trying to
protect you, and he swore to me that he wanted to save your life. I couldn’t come to you. I had to work with them. Didn’t want you dead. They said…” Ben’s hand slipped from his arm. “I love you, Conor, like my own son. Couldn’t let you die.”

The older man’s eyes actually filled with tears, and that thwarted Conor’s anger. “You’ve always meant a lot to me too,” he said awkwardly. Damn, the man was dying and he still couldn’t say those words. He did love Ben, as if the man were a grandfather or an uncle. If it weren’t for him, who knew how Conor’s life would have turned out? Ben had found him living on the streets of Los Angeles after his mother washed her hands of him, and had taken Conor under his wing, given him a place to stay, and taught him the business of being a slayer.

“Don’t worry. I know…” Ben’s eyes closed as he winced.

“Thanks,” Conor whispered.

“I know too, that you don’t want to believe me about
her.
You’re thinking they did this to me, so how honest can they be? But your father wasn’t part of this. I believed
him
. You won’t want to hear it, but he loves you. It was obvious when he talked about you.”

Conor could have said a number of different things on the topic, but he didn’t. What was the point? Ben would think whatever the hell he wanted, anyhow.

Although Conor knew there wasn’t a damn thing any human doctor could do to save him, he asked, “Are you sure you don’t want me to call an ambulance?”

Ben shook his head. “Nah. Can’t do nothing against this spell. Just promise I didn’t die for no reason. Promise me you’ll throw her out.”

“I promise you won’t die in vain, but I won’t throw Mika out. I already gave my word to protect her. I’ll fulfill the obligation.”

“You don’t believe me about her?” Ben hissed. “She was
sent for the enslavement spell. I
knew
that thing would be trouble.”

“Yeah, I remember. You told me to burn it, that no good could come from finding it. But those dark demons, they’re not on my side.” He didn’t want to believe it. Yet…if they were here to protect him, their retreats made more sense. They’d known from the way Conor put himself in front of her that he would die in her defense.

Conor shook his head. He couldn’t be buying into this fantasy they’d spun for Ben. “Why send her then, and not a stronger demon? If they want me dead?”

“They knew she’d be able to get closer. She’s half human. Like you.”

“You know?” That shocked him.

“I always knew. It doesn’t change who you are.”

A thousand thoughts whirled through Conor’s head, but before he could settle on any one, Ben’s breathing changed. The wheezy, rattling sound shook Conor and he put his hand on his mentor’s shoulder. “Ben, are you all right?” No answer. “Ben?”

The older man’s breathing stopped altogether.

Conor waited for it to resume, but it didn’t. The urge to throw his head back and howl raged through him, but he fought it. “Rest well,” he said. “I guess you know how much what you did meant to me. Thank you.”

Slowly, he stood and walked back inside. Mika was alone and vulnerable. He couldn’t neglect her any longer.

But how could Ben have conspired with demons? He’d known how they lied.

Mika
’s a demon. Conor shook off the voice in his head. The Dark Ones were trying to kill her; she wasn’t lying about that. She’d be dead already if not for him.

But she’d claimed it was a Kiverian who wanted her dead, and not these two Dark Ones. He knew she read energy too accurately to make that kind of mistake.

Maybe she’d lied to ensure he’d take the job. It was understandable.
She’d been scared, needed help and knew nothing would get him on her side faster than being hunted by a Kiverian. Except, she shouldn’t have known yet that he hated Kiverians. Or why.

Conor thought back to the night they met, the way she’d immediately known his mother was raped. What he’d said hadn’t given it away, Mika shouldn’t have jumped to that conclusion so quickly. Unless she had been filled in about him beforehand.

He walked to the front of the house instead of using the back door. Mika couldn’t be part of some plot to kill him. If she was, it meant that everything between them was a lie. Everything. And that just wasn’t possible.

Mika paced anxiously, but when two turns around the room left her dizzy to the point of staggering, she sat on the sofa. Where the hell was Conor? It couldn’t take so long to just check around—not unless he’d run into trouble. She brought her heels up and wrapped her arms around her knees. If anything happened to him, she’d hunt those bastards down and kill them. Big talk for someone who could have died tonight, and whose head was still swimming from the shots the Dark One fired, but she meant every word.

She wanted to go outside and check on Conor, but she knew better. If he was involved in a fight, her presence would only distract him. She refused to let her worry make her do anything that would endanger him.

No matter how difficult it was to wait.

It was an eternity before she heard the door open. Mika dropped her feet back to the floor and let her eyes eat Conor up. He appeared unharmed, but something had occurred, and from the stone-cold look on his face, it was serious.

“Conor?” she said. She stood, crossing the room to him. “Are you okay? What happened?”

Without answering, he stepped around her and walked deeper into the great room. Pivoting, she went after him, but she’d moved too quickly and her head started to spin again. She braced her feet to keep her balance. The last thing she wanted was Conor to think he had to take care of her. “You’re scaring me. Please, are you okay?” she asked.

“Fine.”

There was no emotion in his voice, and that frightened Mika more than his expression. When he walked away from her again, she followed and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind. After pressing a kiss between his shoulder blades, she asked, “What happened?”

Another eternity passed; then he turned and pushed her away from him. Okay, some men didn’t like to be touched after a battle because they were too keyed up, she understood that, but she didn’t think that was Conor’s problem. After an even more intense encounter with one of the dark demons, he’d taken her to bed and kept her there until they were both exhausted. Why didn’t he want her to hold him now?

For the first time, Mika felt unsure of herself. She linked her fingers together at her waist and squeezed her hands tightly as she debated what to do. Did she continue to push to learn what had gone on outside, though he’d already ignored her question?

As the silence lengthened, she became more uncomfortable. Finally she cursed and said, “McCabe, you tell me what happened out there or I’m going to hurt you myself.”

“Hurt me yourself? Has the plan changed, Mika? I thought you were supposed to find the enslavement spell before I was killed.”

“There’s no plan to kill you! I made them promise—” It wasn’t until she saw the flash in his eyes and watched his expression become even more remote that she realized what she’d admitted. She felt the blood drain out of her
face. He’d been on a fishing expedition, and she’d taken the bait faster than a shark would chum.

“Conor.” She reached for him, but he stepped back, evading her touch. Mika let her hand fall to her side.

“Congratulations, you had me snowed. I trusted you. I believed what you told me. Of course, you went out of your way to make sure it was my cock doing the thinking and not my brain.”

McCabe didn’t use language like that with her, not out of bed, and it drove home exactly how furious—and how hurt—he was. “It wasn’t like that, I swear.”

His hands fisted and relaxed at his sides. “You swear? Why doesn’t that make me feel any better?”

“I know I hurt you, but I give you my word, I did not use the visht—the attraction between us to complete my mission.”

He’d caught her slip; she could see it in the way his gaze sharpened. Mika bit back a groan. Tonight wasn’t going well for her. The magical attacks she’d absorbed earlier had left her thoughts sluggish, which was why she was making mistakes. That was small consolation.

Conor closed the distance and, taking hold of her shoulders, glared down at her. “Vishtau. That’s what you were going to say, right?
Right?
” he demanded, when she didn’t answer.

“You know about the vishtau?” That surprised her.

“Start talking,” was all he said.

Mika frowned. Was he testing her? “I don’t understand.”

“I want you to tell me about the vishtau.”

“But—” When the glow in his eyes brightened, she stopped short. Mika tried to organize her thoughts, but she wasn’t having much luck. Not only was her mind slow, she was upset. She decided to just be honest. “Sex is pretty casual for most in Orcus. I don’t know if it’s always been that way, or if it’s because the number of males is far greater than the number of females.”

When she paused, Conor’s hands tightened. Mika continued
quickly: “But that changes when a demon meets a vishtau mate. The closest thing to it is the human concept of soul mates, but it goes far beyond that for demons, and most of us hold it in reverence.” She shrugged. “Probably because our population is stagnant and we can only conceive with such a mate.”

“What?” His tone startled her.

“Well, there have been rumors that the dark demons found another bond that leads to conception, but—”

“I don’t give a fuck about the dark demons,” he interrupted, pinning her with the hardest look she’d ever gotten from him. “We didn’t use birth control that one time.”

Although he didn’t say it, she knew he referred to the time she’d recited the rauthima ritual. “It was only once.”

“That’s all it takes.” Conor released her and walked away. When he reached the wall, he put his palm against it and leaned forward before cursing a few more times.

Hurt filled every cell in her body before anger replaced it. “You weren’t worried before, but now it’s a concern? Well, you can put your mind at ease, McCabe. Odds are slim I’m pregnant. The average time before conception is around seven years.”

He turned back to her. “
Average
,” he said. “That means sometimes it happens faster. Likely, sometimes much faster.”

“And it also means that sometimes it takes longer. Like I said, don’t worry.” Mika flipped her hair over her shoulder. “I can see how much you dislike the idea, and I won’t burden you if it turns out we’re a more fertile match than most.”

Before she could escape, he caught her and jerked her around to face him. “If you’re pregnant, you had damn well
better
tell me.”

She supposed that meant he didn’t plan on waiting around with her to find out. Mika dug her nails into her palms, trying to fight back the pain. She might not like it, but it wasn’t something she could hide. Those of demon
blood were connected to their children, and he’d be aware of the baby the minute she gave birth. Besides, the chances of her being pregnant were so minuscule that it cost her almost nothing to grant his promise. “You have my word: I’ll contact you if it’s necessary.”

“You better.” The growl was so pronounced in his voice that Mika didn’t doubt his resolve. For a long moment, he stared at her, maybe judging her sincerity; then he asked, “When did you realize we had this bond? From the start?”

“I suspected before I crossed the veil,” she admitted. “And it was confirmed when we met. My response to you was overwhelmingly sexual. That came from the vishtau”—she grabbed his forearm and squeezed—“and not some plan to keep you from thinking about what I was doing.” She didn’t know why she bothered to explain when he was so unreceptive.

Conor pulled free and walked away. Again, pain swamped her. It hurt something fierce to lose him and she could see him growing more distant already. “I love you,” she said quietly.

His reaction was immediate. In a blur of motion, he pinned her to the wall, his hand resting at the base of her throat. He wasn’t as threatening as the night they’d met, but close. “I don’t want to hear that lie from you again,” he snarled.

“It’s not a lie.” She held his gaze so that he’d know she was speaking the truth, but it wasn’t easy with her head swimming.

“It’s not real emotion, but some biological connection. It means nothing.”

He was so near. An hour ago, she could have leaned in and nuzzled the pulse hammering in his throat. She could have whispered sex words in his ear and enjoyed the results. Now, she didn’t dare respond sexually. Though Conor would hate to know this, there wasn’t much human about him at the moment; she was facing an infuriated Kiverian
male. She trusted that he’d never hurt her physically, but no one with a brain would goad someone in this mood.

“The bond doesn’t guarantee strong emotions,” she informed him. She kept her tone matter-of-fact. “My parents are fond of each other, but they never fell in love.” Mika lost her detachment and reached for him. “What I feel for you is real, Conor—as real as it gets.”

If she’d been smart, she wouldn’t have said that last part since it caused his temper to spike. All she saw was red in his eyes now, which was strong enough to burn through the green tint in his lenses. “Don’t fucking lie to me,” he snarled.

Each word was bitten out, and Mika realized he was balanced on a razor’s edge. She began to drop her gaze, to act submissive, but stopped as she recalled how much he’d hated it the last time. As furious as he was with her, the last thing she wanted was to enrage him more.

“I swear, no more lies,” she said quietly. He looked skeptical. “Demons don’t break their promises, you know that.”

Some of the fire faded, though his eyes continued to glow. McCabe released her and said, “I want to know everything about why you’re here. Start at the beginning.”

“Do you mind if we sit down? I
will
tell you all I know,” she added hurriedly when his expression hardened once more. “But there’s no reason we can’t be comfortable, is there?”

After a moment of hesitation, probably trying to decide if she was up to something, Conor stepped away. Mika took a deep breath and tried for nonchalance as she walked to the couch. She couldn’t let him know how adrift she felt; in a matter of days, he’d become her cornerstone, and just as she’d begun to rely on that foundation, it had been jerked out from beneath her.

In all fairness, she couldn’t blame McCabe. As soon as she’d met him, Mika had known he wouldn’t take her subterfuge lightly. She’d even planned to stay around and face
the music after fulfilling her mission. Well, the band was playing—too bad it was earlier than she’d expected.

She sat on the end opposite the bookcase and tucked her right ankle under her left knee. Without a word, Conor joined her, sitting as far away as he could get. He gestured. There was no mistaking that the motion meant
start talking.

“I didn’t go looking for this job,” Mika said. She was uncertain how much he knew of demon society, but she decided that if he had questions, he wouldn’t be shy about asking them. “I’m largely ignored by other demons, and it was a surprise to be approached by an aide to the Council. My first thought was that they wanted me permanently out of Orcus.”

Mika smiled at Conor, but he only stared back at her. Sobering, she tugged the hem of her T-shirt and continued. “They had a favor to ask me. That shocked me even more than being summoned to the Council chamber. I’m a weak demon—what could
I
do that they, or some other demon, couldn’t do more easily?”

“Get to me.” His voice was flat, and Mika bit back a sigh.

“They weren’t that blunt. There was some mild ass kissing, but it wasn’t overdone. Looking back I can see how they played me, but at the time”—she shrugged—“it seemed legitimate. I felt as if they valued me.”

But she’d promised him complete honesty, so she went on. “I was going to turn down the mission, then they handed me your file and told me to look through it. Once I saw your picture and suspected you were my mate, I knew I had to meet you.”

“You didn’t need the Council’s job for that.”

“I know. Except, I realized that they wanted you dead. If you had the spell memorized, you could recite it even without a written copy. I bargained with them.” She leaned forward, hoping her intensity, her sincerity would pierce his anger. “I told them I’d do it if they vowed not to harm you.”

“Sure,” he drawled sarcastically.

Mika ignored him. “As I’ve thought about it, though, I decided they were correct about one thing—that incantation does need to be destroyed. My mother lives in Orcus and so does my gran, my half brother, and other assorted relatives. I won’t allow their wills to be enslaved by anyone,” she said fiercely. “Not even you. It’s not right.”

He snorted. “I have no plans to enslave anyone. Do you think I want a bunch of demonic serfs?”

“Well, how was I supposed to know? I hadn’t met you yet when I gave the Council my word.”

“But you figured it out once you got to know me.”

She couldn’t decipher the emotion in his voice, so decided to take his words at face value. “I know you hate demons.” She quirked up one side of her mouth at the understatement. “But I’ve also learned that you’re honorable. I don’t think you’d perform the spell—but it doesn’t matter. The Council insisted I make a promise.”

McCabe sighed impatiently. “I heard that the first time, and we both know demons never go back on their word. So despite everything that’s happened between us, you have no choice.”

“Right!” She leaned forward again, optimistic that he finally understood. Maybe he could forgive her.

“Did you promise the Council that you wouldn’t reveal your mission to me?”

Hope died. Mika could guess which direction Conor was headed with his questions. “No, but if I told you why I was here and you refused to hand over the spell, it would be the same as not doing my utmost to secure it. And I did vow to give it the best effort I was capable of giving.”

“You can assure the Council that you sacrificed everything.”

His neutral tone almost disguised the dig, and it took her a few seconds to catch on. “I didn’t make love with you for that stupid spell! I went to bed with you because I wanted you, because I lo—” She cut herself off before she finished.
Conor would become livid again if she said that. “It was about us, not my assignment,” she finished more quietly.

He shrugged, and Mika rumbled low in her throat. He was determined to deride what they’d shared, and she refused to allow that. Their relationship was special, important. He could deny it aloud all he wanted, try to convince himself that it was part of her ruse, but in his heart, he had to know the truth. Furious, Mika pushed to her feet.