“Forgive my brother’s rudeness,” a smooth husky voice said suddenly. I looked up to find the driver watching us in the rearview mirror. His eyes were green, his cheekbones high.
“I am called Luther,” he said.
His accent wasn’t deep. Something told me he wasn’t originally from Italy. We didn’t introduce ourselves, and he didn’t seem to expect us to. The car moved quickly through the streets before pulling up to a building nestled on the edge of what appeared to be a large plaza. I didn’t know enough about the country to know where we were, but I found myself staring in awe at the people casually walking by as if they had all the time in the world. There were birds flying around the heads of passersby, and other birds limping from foot to foot along the stone walks. There was an incredible fountain visible from the car, and I craned my neck trying to get a better look. A Piazza.
This
was a Piazza. I had read about those, but nothing prepares you for the beauty of reality.
“Ladies,” Luther said suavely as he climbed out of the car and pulled open the back door, his gesture punctuated by a long, deep bow.
It was a ridiculous, over-done move that reeked of charm, and I heard Monroe choke on a cough next to me. I knew without looking that she was fighting the urge to giggle. I caught a glimpse of Marcas swearing at the Heavens behind the stooped Demon, and a smile spread across my face as Luther straightened. For a Demon, Marcas sure did talk a lot to God.
“Thank you,” I murmured as I slid out from the interior. I heard Monroe mumble the same. Luther let go of the door and walked toward the building before Conor could emerge. I guess the hospitality ended when it came to gargoyles. Conor didn’t seem to care.
“This is your brother?” I asked Marcas as we all followed Luther.
“I have a lot of siblings, Blainey. He’s one of many. Some are sons and daughters of Cain and Lilith and others I just share with one parent,” Marcas answered, his back to us.
I glanced at Monroe. There was no telling how many that would be. Talk about sibling rivalry.
“Must make for some nice family reunions,” Monroe hissed.
I snickered. I saw Conor smile from the corner of my eye. His humor was returning. Luther stopped at a doorway on the side of an ancient stone building and held it open. We all moved through it. A hallway opened up to us, and Marcas said something else to Luther in what I assumed was Italian. Maybe I was wrong. Who knew? It was obvious they both spoke English but wanted whatever they were discussing to remain on the down-low. Whatever.
“You do realize that having foreign conversations in front of guests is rude,” I pointed out to the two Demons as we started down a flight of stone steps. It got darker as we descended. Marcas looked away from his brother.
“You’re not a guest,” he said. Ouch, that hurt.
“No, I’m just your unwilling, bonded Naphil,” I complained.
Luther actually laughed. He seemed much more comfortable with joviality than his brother. I still had yet to make Marcas smile. I put my hand against the wall as we moved, my balance precarious as the stairs narrowed. Light filtered upstairs from a room below, and the engagement ring and wedding band from the airport suddenly glowed as it caught the light. I stared. They were still on my finger? I looked away just in time to see Luther staring at the rings. Why hadn't they disappeared?
“I’m sure he finds the bond detestable,” Luther said as he looked at Marcas curiously.
Marcas' eyes met mine briefly, his gaze glancing quickly from the rings to my face. He didn't say anything, and I found myself reluctant to ask why they hadn't disappeared. We both looked away.
Curiosity engulfed me as we came to the bottom of the stairs and entered what appeared to be a living room. Cushy leather furniture was scattered throughout the room. Most of it was red and black. These Demons weren’t very creative. A bar stretched along the back of the room. Stools covered in black leather lined the front of it. Luther leaned against the corner of a sofa. He made the move look irresistibly sexy. I heard Monroe whistle quietly under her breath.
“Does he do that on purpose?” she grumbled.
I couldn’t help but grin.
“No doubt."
She shook her head before grinning back. It felt nice to relax a moment. Things had been pretty tense. I was seriously contemplating trying out one of the couches when I
felt
it. I looked up.
“Dayton?” Monroe asked, her senses tuning into the wariness I was feeling.
Another Demon? The sound of a door creaking made us all pause. Monroe swore under her breath. This Demon didn't
feel
right, and I broadcast the emotion to Monroe. It didn't hurt to be prepared.
“Well, what do we have here?” a sultry female voice asked suddenly from the side of the room.
I glanced at Conor and Monroe. Both of them had turned toward the voice, and the expressions on their faces spoke volumes. I fought the urge to run away and turned toward the woman slowly instead. What were we going to have to deal with now? I wanted to stomp my foot in frustration, but temper tantrums weren’t going to get me anywhere.
My gaze found the source of the voice easily. A svelte, raven haired woman sauntered into the living area. She was tall and curvy with straight, shining black hair and clothes that looked painted on to every valley, plain, and dip her body made. Each step she took emphasized her physique. She moved stealthily, her eyes pinned on me. Once again, I
felt
Demon. It made me nervous, but I didn’t move.
“Is this the one?” she inquired curiously.
I glanced at our male Demon escorts but they barely reacted. Luther only raised a brow and Marcas didn’t move at all. Conor, Monroe, and I were the only ones who seemed startled and put off by the woman’s sudden appearance. Her presence filled the area with tension and anxiety. I wondered briefly if she was doing it on purpose. She didn’t look pleased to see us here. Her focus was undoubtedly on me.
“A little thing, aren’t you?” she asked with a sneer as she moved across the room to stand before me.
She was as tall as the other two Demons. It left me just about eye level with her boobs, but I didn’t look up at her. Something told me she was expecting that. And I was determined not to let her believe she was dominant enough to influence me or I’d have to deal with a bitchy power gamble. Thus, the whole "mean girls" concept. Movies can be oh so educational. And I assumed the whole Lindsey Lohan movie example worked the same way with any female species. The Demon circled me.
“I expected more from the daughter of Bezaliel,” she continued, her eyes curious as she ran painted black fingernails somewhat painfully along my collarbone.
It took all I had not to shiver. What did she know about my father? News obviously traveled fast in the Demon world. The fact that I was a target must not be an exaggeration. And it really,
really
frustrated me that so many people and creatures knew more about my father than I did. I glanced at Marcas. He was leaning against the wall, his gaze focused elsewhere. Was this a test?
“You think you might give her some space?” Conor asked guardedly from behind me.
He must have noticed my discomfort. An open book, he’d called me once. I seriously needed to learn to keep my book cover closed. The woman’s head popped up with a frown until she caught sight of the tall gargoyle behind me. She grinned. Her eyelashes fluttered.
“Why, of course, sweetheart! Aren’t you a handsome young thing?” she purred as she gave him the classic feminine once over.
She moved around me just enough to put Conor fully in her view. It gave me a little space but not much. Her gaze moved between Conor, Monroe, and me before landing once again on me. Her eyes were searching.
“Hmmm." she murmured before glancing at Marcas.
“They couldn’t have bound you to the sister?”
I must have been found wanting. Marcas gave her a look. Some unspoken message seemed to pass between them. She laughed.
"So, the little Angel doesn't know?" she asked gleefully.
I narrowed my eyes. Know what? The woman circled me. She rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
"Even so, I hear the sister is still more impressive," Lexi muttered.
Marcas looked away, his gaze focused on the opposite side of the room.
“The sister wouldn’t have lasted a day,” Marcas said evenly.
My gaze shot to his face. Did he mean that? The female Demon drew back in surprise.
“Well!” the woman said.
She lifted my chin up slightly. I continued to avoid her gaze. She dropped my face.
“Marcas here must think highly of you,” she said before reaching out to touch me again.
I flinched. Luther pushed away from the couch.
“Forgive my sister. She’s obviously my more evil half. She forgets mortals have manners. This is Alexis,” Luther said pointedly, his eyes riveted on the female Demon. His gaze was full of disapproval.
“Lexi,” she corrected him with a pout. The similarities between them were undeniable.
“She’s your twin,” I said quietly. Luther didn’t deny it. I could hear Conor huff from behind me as he threw his hands up into the air.
“Jesus, do all you God forsaken creatures come in pairs?” he asked irritably.
Monroe snorted next to me. I could tell she was trying not to laugh. Only Monroe could find something amusing in a moment so dark.
“Lexi . . .Luther. . .Lex Luther. Ha! Someone was a fan of DC comics,” Monroe said snidely. I got the joke and it tickled me.
“Oh, my God,” I said with a giggle.
The Demons didn’t look pleased. I’m sure they’d been around before the invention of comic books, but it didn’t make the coincidence any less amusing. Lexi glanced at Marcas. She seemed perturbed. I guess she wasn’t the type of Demon who enjoyed being goaded by humans.
“You traveled with these mortals?” she asked. He nodded his head slightly.
“And you didn’t kill them?”
Her mouth sprouted fangs. I think at this point I was too numb and delirious to care about the dangers pissing off a Demon posed. I still giggled. Lexi growled.
“Young ones! All of them! And this . . .,” she paused just long enough to give me a look of disgust, “is the daughter of Bezaliel?” Lexi spat as she waved her hand in my direction. I grew still.
“He’d be so disappointed in her,” she added with a laugh.
It was like rubbing salt into an open wound. I brought my shoulders back and took a small step forward. She didn’t know shit about my father or me!
“Dayton,” Monroe warned as Lexi leaned toward me, bending over so that her eyes were just about level with mine. I didn’t look away. My blood pressure was rising.
“What would he say if he saw you now, darling?” Lexi drawled. “Would he enfold you in his protective Angel wings or abandon you?”
She tapped my nose.
“Oh wait! He already did that,” she said with a laugh.
Anger filled me. I tried deep, soothing breaths, but I just wasn’t feeling the calm. Something inside me burst, and I shoved the Demon woman as hard as I could. She flew across the room, her eyes going wide.
“You bitch!” I screamed.
A light shot forth and hit the wall just above Lexi’s head. She watched it a moment in amazement before getting up with a snarl. Had I done that? I looked down at my hands. What
was
that? I looked up fearfully, my gaze finding the red, angry eyes of the female Demon easily. Lexi was pissed.
“You wanna fight, Little One?” she asked before moving with lightning speed toward me.
Her pointed teeth and newly expelled claws shone in the overhead light. I stood frozen, my body numb with terror as I watched her move toward me as if in slow motion. Conor shoved himself in front of me, and I grabbed his shirt desperately. I didn't want him protecting me! I wanted him out of danger! I pushed at him, but he wouldn't budge. I heard Lexi's snarl as I quit fighting Conor and braced for impact, but something stopped her midflight and she bounced onto the floor.
“Want to calm this down a notch, girls?” Marcas said calmly from the spot he’d been in since we’d gotten there. His hand was raised. Lexi bared her fangs. She didn't appreciate his interference.
“What the hell are you going to do with her?” she growled.
Marcas pushed away from the wall and slowly moved between us.
“Kill her if I can, save her if I have to.”
There is danger coming for them both. Lilith is angry, but she bides her time. Her son must know this. He is an unusual creature. For while he is as much Demon as he is man, there is rumor that he once fought his own kind and almost gave up his soul.
~Bezaliel~
Thirty minutes later, I still wasn’t feeling the calm. Marcas had stopped Lexi from attacking me, but he couldn’t turn my thoughts off. Had the light that shot out at her been because of me?
“She’s giving me the creeps,” Monroe whispered from beside me.
We’d moved to the back of the room, and I glanced next to me warily. Alexis peered at me from a stool against the bar. She didn’t sit; she leaned in a position that gave everyone in the room a wonderful view of her cleavage. If I was supposed to be impressed, the effect fell short. Her skin tight leopard print skirt and solid black v-neck top suddenly undulated as she shifted, and I fought not to roll my eyes.