Moonlight and Diamonds & The Vampire's Fall (35 page)

“I don't think she's angel. Or if she is, if she actually fell to earth, I don't believe she's angel anymore. Though her blood does initially bleed blue.”

Kai hissed. “Keep your fangs away from that woman's neck.”

“I will. But I sense other things about her. Or so Dez put the idea into my head.”

“Like what?”

“Faery.”

Kai set the hammer down and turned to his son, arms crossed and head tilted. “She got wings?”

“If she does, she doesn't remember how to bring them out. And she's got some interesting markings on her arms. Sort of like Kelyn's, but not. They glow.”

Kai nodded. Thought about it. “So why are demons after her? And what is with this new club at the edge of town? I've never heard of it. And I usually have a pretty good eye out for all paranormal activity in the area.”

“Really, Dad? You're not even pack principal anymore. You've retired.”

Kai puffed up his chest. “Are you saying I'm losing my edge?”

Blade shook his head. His dad would always have the edge, but he was more focused on making a good life with his wife right now than pack politics or even the paranormal goings-on in Tangle Lake.

“I didn't know about the club, either,” Blade reassured Kai. “It's some creepy old mansion that looks as if it's been sitting on that property for centuries. Which makes no sense whatsoever because I'm sure all of us have been in the area where it sits, probably snowmobiling in the wintertime. And it had this portal in the middle of the dance floor that was sucking Zen toward it.”

Kai blew out his breath. “Portals are not cool. If it's a demon hotspot it might suck her into Daemonia.”

Blade hadn't considered Daemonia. Thinking about that place gave him a shiver. His parents had told him about it during their Teen Talk. It was the Place of All Demons. No place for any vampire, wolf or faery to go. They'd much prefer he smoke or start drinking than consider visiting Daemonia.

Kai asked, “You think this chick is worth the trouble?”

Blade ran a hand through his hair, but didn't meet his father's eyes.

“I get it. You're afraid if you let yourself care about her this will go down like the last one. What was her name?”

Blade bowed his head and turned a shoulder away from his father. “Octavia.”

The last one. Why wouldn't his family stop mentioning her? There was no way he could ever forget until everyone else did.

“That wasn't your fault, Blade. You didn't know Octavia was a
mimicus
demon. And you sure as hell couldn't have known her denizen would let her die.”

They could have saved her with intervention from a witch, even demonic magic. A simple spell. But Ryckt, the denizen leader, had allowed Octavia to fade—to death. Blade didn't want to stir into that muck again. He marched toward the door.

“I know you seek forgiveness, son,” his father called. “You're the only one who can do that for yourself!”

Blade veered toward the stream that paralleled the back of the house. He stopped on a mossy stone that edged the crisp, gurgling water. Even the fresh, verdant scent couldn't lessen his anxiety. His shoulders felt as tight as his jaw. And his heart squeezed in his chest.

Had he known they would let her die he would have done something. What, he didn't know. He had been so out of it after the torture. But—hell. She didn't have to die!

When he heard Zen's soft voice, Blade cringed. She stood right behind him. Shit.

“I won't ask,” she said softly. And she embraced him from behind and tilted her head against his back. “Let me in, Blade. I promise I won't look too deep. I just... I need someone to anchor me to this realm.”

He clasped her hand against his chest. He could do that for her, the anchoring part. But the letting her in part was what made him clench his teeth.

“Whatever you've done that makes you feel as though you are better off to push people away,” she said, “doesn't matter to me. I'm starting fresh. You can start fresh with me. Deal?”

It would matter to her if she knew his dark truth. It mattered to every family member who still cringed whenever his past was mentioned. He had been responsible for a woman's death. Because of his bite.

“I'm lost,” Zen whispered. “But standing close to you makes me feel found. Or at least, safe.”

“I can't protect you forever, Zen. So long as I remain clueless about what you are and why so many are coming after you, I can't completely protect you.”

“Maybe you should put the halo over my head? I know the mythology. If I am really an angel that'll give me my earthbound soul.”

True. It would also make her human.

“And make you mortal. Do you want that? What if you fell to this realm for a reason? With a purpose? Let's keep looking. We'll figure you out.”

He turned and she kissed him, and this time he didn't push her away. Because maybe he could protect her. And yes, it did something to his aching heart when he held her close. And he liked that feeling. It was a dangerous path to tread, but he'd never feared danger before.

Losing his heart to Zen could be the worst thing for him, but the best thing for his future.

Chapter 15

B
lade dropped Zen off at The Red Rooster. He told her he had something to do with Stryke. He said he'd pick her up later if she wanted to get a bite to eat.

Of course she did. She was never not hungry. That red-velvet cake had only stoked her craving for more food.

Waving him off, she turned in time to see the Mini Cooper pull into the parking lot. Trouble hopped out and handed her the keys.

“Thanks.” She tucked the keys into her skirt pocket. “Now how will you get back to your truck, which must be out on that country road?”

“Kelyn drove me out to your car. He'll swing by here in a few minutes and pick me up. Everything's cool. You and Blade getting along?”

“Yes.”

“That's good. I thought for sure he'd never want to see you again after the demon affair at the club.”

Zen slung the backpack over her shoulder and met Trouble's dark gaze, which was just as high up as Blade's was. “What is it with Blade and demons? Something really terrible must have happened because he always clams up when I ask him about it.”

Trouble leaned forward, sticking his face right before hers. He smelled great, like pine trees and fresh-cut wood. “You really want to know?”

Zen nodded.

“Well—”

“Wait!” She put up her hands between them. “Forget it. If Blade wants me to know, he'll tell me. It wouldn't be right to go behind his back and ask about something if he wants to keep it private.”

Trouble whistled. “I like you. Even if you do turn out to be demon, I'll have your back.”

“I think I can handle myself.”

“Really? 'Cause if we hadn't rescued you from the Demon Dance Hall you would be Hades knows where right now.”

She rubbed her arm and shrugged. “Fair enough. Just tell me one thing about Blade.”

Trouble shrugged his massive shoulders back and puffed up his chest, then shot out, “Maybe.”

“Was it a woman? Someone who hurt him?”

She wanted to know, and then she didn't. She didn't have a right to know. Again, Blade would tell her if he wanted her to have that knowledge.

“No,” she quickly said. “Forget it.”

Trouble smirked. “Wasn't going to tell you anyway. But so you know, you are barking up the right tree. See you later, Zen.” He strode off toward the big iron rooster and gave its tail a slap as he passed.

“A woman hurt him,” she muttered. “So it's heartbreak that keeps him from being open with me. How to help him get beyond something so devastating?”

The man needed space. And a reasonable means to trust her, if he was going to fess up and tell her something so deeply personal. So she'd give him space. She could do that. If any nasty demons came after her she'd just whip out the halo and...

“Where is the halo?”

Unzipping the backpack she shuffled through it and found the halo nestled in a hoodie jacket. Taking it out, she decided she would have to keep it on her at all times. If it could take out an angel, it sure as heck could take out a demon.

“Watch out, bad guys.” She swung the blade defensively in a close arc before her. “I am armed and ready.”

The statement felt empowering. But really? She'd accidentally slain the angel, and that was only because it had been distracted by Blade. What if she was alone and trapped by an angel or demon?

Zen gulped down a meek squeak. She sure hoped Blade stuck to his promise to protect her.

* * *

“It's like a beacon,” the demon said. He was visiting the mortal realm as first hand to his commander, who sat across the table from him. He set the coffee cup down and broke off a big bite of the sugared donut the café advertised as “heart attacks.” “We can track her when she's got that halo in hand.”

“But so can the angels,” Kesabel said. He rapped pointed fingernails on his coffee cup and sneered at the coating of sugar that painted his cohort's lips white. “And we don't want them to get to her before we do.”

“We were so close last night.” The lackey demon sucked the sugar from his fingertips. “Until the vampire and the werewolf crashed the party.”

“That idiot vampire thinks he's got to protect her.”

“Someone needs to have words with him.”

Kesabel nodded. “Done.”

* * *

At the back of the garage where once a farmer had herded dairy cattle in and out to be milked twice daily, Blade leaned over the steel worktable his father had designed for him. He worked on cars as a hobby, but he wasn't a die-hard car fanatic who fixed them up and polished and shined and then parked them at shows for display. He liked a good, solid car and preferred not to buy new. Recycling was the way he'd been raised. He did the same with the weapons he stocked in the small arsenal here in the cool shadows of the garage. He rescued rusted blades from antiques shows and flea markets, took them home and polished and honed them. He liked blades, and it wasn't because of his name. When in combat, being up close and able to feel his opponent's breath on his face was the most challenging and satisfying way to win the fight.

He didn't own a gun. They were too loud, and really, it was too easy to kill with them. If a man were committed to defense, to protecting himself and others, he had better be willing to stand before that threat and give it good and fair fight. A bullet was too impersonal. A coward's weapon.

He drew his fingertips over the one blade he wouldn't leave home without. The bowie knife his father had forged for him when he was a teen. As well...he reached high for the salt dagger that hung above the assorted weaponry. It was fragile, but the hardened salt that had been compressed into the cheese-grater-like base of steel was an effective weapon against demons. Daisy Blu's husband, Beck, had given it to him; it was from his late father, Severo's, arsenal.

And now he'd added an angel halo to his necessity weapons. Or he would if his dad was able to modify it.

So he had told the mysterious Sim he was going to help him annihilate the demons in Tangle Lake. They had threatened Zen. And that was a good enough reason for him to go after the next demon he laid eyes on. And the next. And so on, until he was confident the threat had been eliminated.

He sniffed the bowie knife and then licked it. Traces of demon blood still clung to the polished steel. Fangs descending, he grinned wickedly. He was growing stronger with every demon he killed. It wasn't as though he needed more strength. Only, the gaining of said strength fed his faery's vicious desire for power. As well, strength bolstered his mission. He'd need muscles of steel if he were to fight more angels.

He wondered who Sim was and what his beef was with demons.

Didn't matter. There were no wrongs about this situation. Humans were protected from demons. He got to slay demons. And in the process Zen was also protected. Everybody won.

And because he was feeling so confident, Blade tugged out his cell phone and called Zen at the inn. “I'll pick you up in an hour,” he said after suggesting dinner at a local restaurant, and clicked off.

Time to start treating that remarkable woman like the lady she was. And in keeping her close, he'd also be able to protect her.

* * *

Dinner at an Italian family-owned place called Mansetti's was followed by a movie. Which Zen had been very excited about. She'd never seen a movie before. Not that she recalled. Afterward, she strolled with Blade, hand in hand, out to his truck, which he'd parked around back in the theater lot far from other patrons.

“That was awesome,” she said. “But I still don't think it's possible to shoot a man so many times and he'd continue to rise up, shake it off and go after the hero.”

“That's why they call it a fantasy action/adventure flick. He did eventually die after they sliced off his head.”

“Yeah, but his body still twitched.” Zen thrust her arms out before her in a zombie imitation and twitched her limbs. “I will never die! Fear me!”

Blade's laughter was a startling surprise. She dropped her arms, and wrapped them around his neck. “Do that again.”

“What?”

“Laugh.”

He grinned and shook his head. “You're a strange one.”

“If I told you I thought your laughter was sexy would you do it again?”

“I don't do sexy on command.” He chuckled softly and playfully pushed her away. Zen beamed at him. “That wasn't on purpose!” he called as he strode to the truck.

“Doesn't matter.” She skipped to meet him at the passenger door. “You've already gone and done it.”

“And what have I done?”

He teased the ends of her hair. Such an absent-minded move. His guard was down. She liked that. “You are seducing me with your charm.”

“I...don't have a charming bone in my body.”

“Oh, I think this one is.” She ran a finger down his arm and stopped at the wrist, where he flexed his powerful fingers. “This one, too.” She tapped his shoulder. “It's not your classic charm, to be sure.”

“Like you would know, Amnesia Girl. Hop in.” He held the truck door open and helped her up with a hand to her hip.

“Can I drive?”

“No one touches the steering wheel,” he called as he swung around the hood, then opened his door and slid in, “or the radio. Driver rules.”

“Sidekick shuts his cakehole?”

Blade tilted a curious gaze on her. “Where'd you hear that?”

“I don't know. Should I have heard it somewhere?”

“It's a quote from a popular TV show that features monster hunters.”

“Huh. Must have picked it up when I walked the world.”

Blade turned completely on the seat. His stare was so intense, she felt a shiver ripple through her system. “What?” she said in a panic.

“That's the first time you've ever said that. Actually acknowledged it. That you walked the world.”

“So?”

“Angels walk the world after their fall to take in knowledge.”

“I knew that. Because...huh.” She sat back, considering the implications. “Because I walked the world. That's what I was doing before the bus hit me. I know it as truth.”

“You getting back your memory?”

“I don't know. A little? But if I am an angel, that doesn't explain why my blood turns black.”

Blade turned the key in the ignition, and, still looking at her, shifted into gear. “Explains why you have a halo.”

He let his foot off the gas, and Zen screamed.