“Five hundred?” Luc snorted. “For a succubus? She’ll probably jump you.”
“If she’s related to the Sem brothers, I’m not risking my balls for a hundred bucks.” Luc nodded. “Good point. Five hundred. With proof.” “Done.” Con grinned. This was going to be the easiest money he’d ever made.
* * *
Heat still flooding her body, Sin burst through the emergency room doors—and ran into Shade. God, these guys were like f**king Terminators. Or Borg. Resistance is futile and all that shit. It was clear she wasn’t going to shake the Brothers From Hell, so she might as well get what she could from them. “Where’s Eidolon?”
“Probably in his office,” Shade said.
“I want what he promised me. Now. I’m tired of his stall tactics.”
“Why would he stall?”
“Gee, I wonder. Maybe so I’d be forced to hang out here and get to know you guys?”
He sighed, as if she were a child to be humored. “Come on. I’ll take you to his office.”
“About time,” she muttered. She followed him to an administrative area, where they walked through a maze of offices, some separated by cubicles where various male and female demons sat, and some more private—full rooms with doors and hall windows with blinds.
Eidolon was at his desk, and he stood when she and Shade entered his office. He held out a file, as though he’d been expecting her. “Here’s your proof of death. If your boss has any questions, tell him to contact me.”
“Took you long enough.”
“You’re welcome,” he said dryly.
Shade turned to her. “What now?”
“I’m going to turn this in.”
“Are you coming back?”
“I doubt it.” She smiled. “Nice knowing you. Buh-bye.”
“Leaving so soon?” The deep voice came from behind her, startling her. She spun, coming face-to-chest with a tall, blond male she assumed was the one brother she hadn’t met. Wraith.
“Soon?” She stepped back so she wouldn’t have to crane her neck to look at him. “I’ve been stuck here for way too long.”
“I thought you went home,” Shade said.
“Forgot my iPod in my office.” His blue eyes flashed at Sin. “Where’s Lore?”
“If I knew, he wouldn’t be missing.”
“He’s probably dead.” Wraith’s tone was matter-of-fact, utterly cool, and Sin wanted to punch him.
“Wraith…” Eidolon’s voice was quiet.
“It’s okay, Eidolon,” she said, still glaring at Wraith. “I can handle anything this guy can dish out.” She started forward. “Get out of my way.”
Wraith’s broad shoulders filled the doorway… and he didn’t move. “Easy there, Smurfette.”
Smurfette? “Move.”
“No.”
She hit him. Put her knuckles right in his perfect nose. He didn’t even flinch, and she got the impression he could have stopped her if he’d wanted to. Instead, he grinned, those wicked fangs gleaming. “You hit like a girl.”
She gasped in outrage. “I. Said. Move. I’m going to find my brother.”
He snorted. “If I can’t find him, you don’t stand a margarita’s chance at an AA meeting.”
“Y-you arrogant ass,” she sputtered.
“It’s not arrogance if you can back it up.”
She was going to kill him. She really was. “You don’t care, do you? You don’t give a shit that the angel chick could be hurting him, doing horrible things to him.” She spun to Shade and looked from him to Eidolon. “See? This is why I didn’t want to get to know you, even though Lore kept saying we should give you a chance.”
“Why would he say that?” Shade asked.
“I have no idea,” she snapped.
Eidolon steepled his long fingers in front of him. “I think you do.”
“And I think you can guess,” she shot back. “How would you like to spend your life alone, stuck in some backwoods North Carolina hovel, thinking you didn’t belong anywhere or with anyone?” She glared at each of them in turn. “When he found out about you, he thought that finally someone might get us. We might get some answers about what we are. But then—” But then I told him to stay away from them.
Oh, God. She’d been so freaked out, so concerned about herself that she’d kept him from the one chance he had to maybe relieve a little of his loneliness. And because of her, his brothers didn’t know him, and they wouldn’t be as willing to cut him some slack over the Kynan thing.
If any of these guys hurt Lore, it would be all her fault.
Nausea washed over her, and she broke out in a cold sweat. Shade frowned and reached for her. Her chest tightened with a claustrophobic sensation. “Hey, why don’t you take a seat.”
She wheeled away, swaying a little. “I have to go.”
Wraith casually braced his shoulder against the door-jamb. “Not happening.”
“I have to find Lore!” Sin slammed her palms into Wraith’s chest. “Move!” Again. “I have to save him.” Again, harder. The guy was a solid wall of muscle. “You have no idea what it’s like to be held captive, tortured—”
His hands circled her wrists. He didn’t hurt her, but his fingers might as well have been iron shackles for all they yielded to her struggles. “I know more about that than you can imagine.” His voice was calm and quiet.
“Let her go, Wraith.” That from Eidolon.
Wraith’s gaze flickered to Shade, who must have nodded, because he released her and stepped aside. As she darted through the doorway, Eidolon called out, “If you find Lore, let us know.”
“I’ll do that,” she called back. When hell freezes over.
* * *
Shade took off the moment Sin was gone, without so much as a good-bye. Wraith did the same, and Eidolon wondered when and if this was ever going to end.
Pinching the bridge of his nose to stave off a killer headache, he headed to the emergency department. A male of undetermined species who looked mostly human except for the stubby set of black horns at his temples stood near the triage desk, head bowed and fingers clutching a long rope of beads… some sort of demonic religious artifact, probably.
That would be the exorcist.
Eidolon approached him. “How quickly can you have the hospital cleansed?”
The demon looked up, his hazel eyes swirling with what Eidolon would swear was fear. “It can’t be cleansed.”
“What do you mean, it can’t be cleansed? Why not?”
The demon looked around wildly and lowered his voice as though afraid of being overheard. “Great evil has a hold on the spirits who are trapped here. I’ve never felt anything like it.”
Perfect. A chickenshit exorcist. “What is this great evil? Is it another spirit?”
“No. That’s why I can’t perform an exorcism. Whatever is controlling the spirits is a demon, but I cannot tell you who.”
“So who can track down this demon?”
“I know not. But it will not be me.” He shivered. “Great evil. Hatred such as I’ve never felt.” He scurried toward the Harrowgate. “I’ll send you my bill.”
“Thanks for nothing,” Eidolon muttered.
Someone tapped his shoulder, and he turned to find Runa. Shade and the children were nowhere to be seen, and Runa must have anticipated his question, because she cocked her head toward the ER doors.
“Shade is putting the kids in the car.” She shifted her weight and chewed her lower lip before blurting, “I hate what’s happening between you guys.”
“So do I, Runa. Shade is being impossible—”
Her fierce growl cut him off. “Don’t blame all of this on him.”
His headache was now a sledgehammer against his skull. “I’m trying to keep everyone safe. I’m not choosing Lore over Kynan, no matter what Shade thinks or what he’s told you.”
“What if it comes down to a choice?” Gem’s voice came at him from behind, and he swore silently. Nothing like an ambush to make a shitty day even shittier.
“It won’t. We will find a way to keep Lore from having to kill Ky.”
“I understand how hard this is for you.” Gem’s voice was strained, which given the circumstances, was completely understandable. “You have a new brother and sister you want to protect. But I’m telling you now that if anything happens to Kynan, not even Tayla can protect you from my wrath.”
Thirteen
Lore didn’t think he’d ever enjoyed a shower more. Granted, he hadn’t been chained up for all that long, but he generally showered twice or more a day, and going without made him grumpy.
At least he couldn’t hear Idess yelling at him anymore.
He’d cleaned her up and then beelined for the shower, ignoring her curses and threats and demands to let her go. She’d quieted down for a little while, but about half an hour into his shower she’d started up again, loud enough that he could hear her shouts of “Lore, damn you!” even over the thunder of water.
“I’ll be right with you, Angel Food,” he called out, and braced himself for her furious response.
She didn’t disappoint, and though he couldn’t hear exactly what she said, the tone made it pretty clear that it wasn’t complimentary. She said something else, something that sounded like, “Heave a rock,” and that actually made him laugh. No doubt she’d like to heave a rock right at his head.
And she probably would after he took out Kynan.
The thought sobered him. Sin’s life was at stake, but so was Idess’s future. He shouldn’t care. Caring for her could lead to bad things. Like accidentally killing her, now that he wasn’t wearing Bracken Cuffs. Or like considering not whacking Kynan.
Fuck. The not killing Kynan thing was already tripping through his brain. Not that he wouldn’t do it. He would. But maybe he could put it off while Idess tried to find out who had ordered the hit.
Putting it off would be stupid. Procrastination always resulted in shit going wrong at the last minute. Always. But maybe he could—
Always.
But—
Always.
Dammit! Spewing the most vile curses he could think of, he shut off the water and toweled off. Sucked to have to dress in the same clothes, but it was better than nothing, and as he fastened his pants, Idess made an odd noise.
“Idess?” For a second, nothing. But in that second, her shower-washed words filtered through his head. “Heave a rock.” He glanced at his watch. Three o’clock New York time.
Three o’clock. Not heave a rock.
Fuck!
“Lore!” Her pained shout drilled into his brain as he blew through the bathroom door so fast the thing tore off its hinges. The nightmare that greeted him drew him to a halt more effectively than if he’d hit a wall.
Idess… on the bed… a Gargantua dagger buried in her shoulder. Sin was standing in the bedroom doorway, preparing to let a throwing knife fly.
“No!” He dove to cover Idess. An instant, searing pain ripped into his neck, and he dropped like a stone onto the bed, twisting to avoid crushing her. Blood splattered down around him, and he lifted a shaking hand to his throat. He knew what he’d find.
Sin’s throwing knife.
Her scream overtook the sudden pounding of his pulse in his ears. Sin wasn’t a screamer. This was not good. His vision swam and his hearing faded in and out and the next thing he knew his sister was right there, tears streaming down her face.
She wasn’t a crier, either.
This was way worse than not good.
“I’m sorry, Lore, oh, my God, I’m so sorry!”
“Hospital… Idess… too,” he gasped, but his words drowned in a stream of blood.
“Okay. Okay. Just hold still.” The fact that Sin so readily agreed meant that this was worse than he thought.
“Release me!” Idess’s tone was a command that should have ruffled Sin’s feathers. “I can flash him there.”
Sin didn’t hesitate. He heard the clank of chains, and then the next thing he knew, he was lying on the asphalt of Underworld General’s parking lot.
Idess was crouched beside him, her hand on his shoulder. “I can’t flash into the building,” she said, with a tremor in her voice, “and you’re too heavy to carry. I’ll be right back.”
He didn’t have the strength to answer. The life she’d said he had was draining onto the asphalt. He probably shouldn’t have cared all that much, but while he didn’t deserve for his brothers to save him, he really hoped they would.
* * *
Idess ran toward the sliding ER doors so fast that she stumbled over her own feet twice. The pain in her shoulder was nothing compared to the agony that streaked up her arm from Lore’s heraldi. He was dying.
Crying out, she held the dagger jutting from her shoulder as she ran. Blood seeped between her fingers and dripped to the ground, but she didn’t care. She burst into the hospital, and instantly, medical staff rushed toward her, but she gestured wildly toward the parking lot.
“Outside. It’s Eidolon’s brother. Get him. Hurry!” She didn’t allow anyone near her until Lore was wheeled in on a stretcher, a flurry of activity surrounding him. She didn’t understand much of the jargon the staff was using, but their tones and short sentences told her it was bad.
Then again, all she needed to do was look at Lore’s ashen skin and glazed eyes as he was wheeled into a trauma room to know that.