September Moon (32 page)

Those words echoed in my head, and for a moment I thought I might pee my pants in sheer terror.

Shya gaped at him with his mouth open in shock and anger. “I need her, and you damn well know it. She’s not an option. There’s your payment.”

Saber glanced at the bound man and shrugged. “What makes him so special?”

“It’s a life. A pitiful human life. You have no right to ask for more.” The heat of Shya’s growing ire caused the atmosphere to pulse and burn. It felt like the sun on the hottest day of summer. I considered jumping into the pool if only to rid myself of the wretched feeling. Arys held my hand, and his soothing energy helped.

“You’re asking me for help. I have every right.” Saber wasn’t backing down. “Give me the Hound or let me leave.”

“Alexa isn’t property for you to bargain over,” Arys spat, losing his temper. “There’s a reason Lilah never wanted you, Shya. You’re unworthy of acquiring anything on your own. Using other people as pawns, playing them against each other, you’re nothing but a fucking puppet master with no real authority. We are going to end you.”

Uh oh.
I expected Shya to kill us both right then and there. Especially when Saber burst into laughter.

Instead, Shya merely smiled, the fakest, most plastic-looking of smiles. “Is that so? By all means, please do. Oh wait a minute, you can’t. Not while Alexa is still mortal anyway.”

“The vampire is right, Shya,” Saber said when he managed to stop laughing. “There is a valid reason why Lilah didn’t want you for anything more than a servant. You should just be glad that she’s gone, for now.”

“Tell me what you know about the scroll!” The screech Shya let out was astounding. It hurt my ears, and I cringed when the rising heat of his rage continued to grow.

The two demons glared at one another. I took a few steps back, pulling Arys with me. Unfortunately, no amount of distance would ever make me safe from Shya.

Finally Saber gave a short nod and said, “I will tell you. And you will never call on my name again. I want no affiliation with you, Shya.” Pausing, Saber met my gaze, and I trembled. When he spoke again, it felt like his words were for me more than Shya. “The scroll is no longer a physical object. The ritual written upon it has been transformed, made incorporeal. There is one keeper of the key to Lilah’s kingdom now. And all who know it are forbidden to speak that name. That is why you will never find it.”

“Liar!” Shya hissed.

With a sweep of his hands, the flames rose until they stood high above us. Saber was enveloped in a cloud of sulfuric smoke. When it cleared he was gone, along with the man in the center of the pentagram.

I didn’t know what to make of Saber’s declaration. It could be a lie. But if it wasn’t, then what?

I exchanged a look with Arys. I couldn’t decide if this was good news, or very, very bad. I held so tight to Arys’s hand I could feel bones grinding beneath my fingers. He was oblivious, watching Shya with veiled suspicion. The demon swore at the fire, and it promptly went out.

Turning on us, he clenched his hands into fists and flapped his massive wings a few times. “Don’t enjoy this too much. The longer it takes me to find the keeper of that key, the longer I make your lives miserable.” To a few demons lurking nearby, he shouted, “What are you looking at? I will be your king, and you will all bow down to me.”

That sounded like crazy talk to me. Watching Shya meltdown was not on my to-do list. He was terrifying when calm. I imagined he would be a total mess during a tirade.

A vibration in my pocket indicated someone was trying to reach me. It didn’t seem like the best time to check a text message, but I had to know. I slid the phone from my pocket to find a message from Jez that said:
Can’t reach Kale. At TSR waiting for Arrow. I slipped. So sorry.

Panic seized me as I thought of Jez waiting at The Spirit Room for a fix. Arrow would be all too happy to provide it. There was no way in hell I was staying at Shya’s a moment longer.

“Shya, I need to leave, and you’re going to let me,” I said, daring to anger him further. “I have a friend in need. Since you’re back to square one, you’re going to let me walk out of here, and you’ll have Falon return my things.”

It took effort to keep my knees from knocking together. Those red snake eyes fell upon me, and I stared steadily into him.

“I’ll do no such thing.”

“You can’t keep me here until I become old and grey just in case you find the fucking scroll,” I shouted, losing my own temper now. “I am walking out of here, away from this filthy demon party and away from you. The only way you’ll stop me is if you kill me. And I don’t think you want to do that yet, do you?”

Shya’s gaze never wavered. So intently was he transfixed on me that for a moment I thought he might actually kill me.

Arys added, “Just let us go, Shya. Have Falon follow us if you like, or anyone else for that matter. But we’re leaving.” There was no room for argument in Arys’s tone. Like me, he’d had enough.

Shya stared at us in stony silence. I braced, expecting the worst. It took a lot to muster my best “don’t fuck with me” expression. Shya was one of few people I truly feared.

“You know what? Go ahead. Leave.” Each word brought Shya a step closer until he was standing directly in front of me. He didn’t waste time with Arys. It was me he glowered at. “You just became a waste of resources anyway. But know this, if you willfully bring about your own death, I will make you suffer.”

“If what Saber said is true, then I will die of natural causes long before you find what’s left of the scroll.” A smile pulled at my lips. I couldn’t help but enjoy his failure.

Shya got unbearably close. Our noses were almost touching. One of his wings grazed my arm, and it was all I could do not to jerk away from the murky sensation that followed.

“Have you not been paying attention?” Shya murmured, low and sly. “Demons only tell their version of the truth. Don’t be too quick to count me out, Alexa. You can’t get rid of me that easily.” He grabbed my arm with spindly fingers that bit into my flesh. The dragon there pulsed at his touch. “You owe me. I’m calling in the debt.”

“You can’t do that,” I protested, keeping a straight face even though I wanted to shudder and grimace. His power slithered up my arm. I shielded hard against him, but still I felt it.

“I just did. You’ve had plenty of time to bring me a dreamwalker. I happen to know that the FPA has one in lockup. And I’m willing to bet that you know it too.” The satisfaction in his glare was intimidating.

My mouth went dry, and I was at a loss for words. This had been inevitable, but it still felt sudden. I wasn’t prepared to deal with my debt to Shya. I’d hoped I would find a way to get out of it. It was delusional.

It was a huge letdown to learn that he knew about the dreamwalker in FPA custody. He’d probably known before I did.

“Look, Shya, I know you’re pissed, but come on. We don’t have to do this now.” I was eager to leave and even more eager to get his hand off me.

“We do though.” His shifty gaze slid to Arys. “What do you say, Arys? Do you want to take her debt? I know you’ll actually pay up.”

“No,” I snapped, yanking my arm from Shya’s hand. “I’ll pay my own debt. Leave Arys out of this. It doesn’t concern him.”

Shya’s wicked chuckle made my skin crawl. “Suit yourself. You have one month to bring me the dreamwalker.”

“Or what?” I shouldn’t have asked. I didn’t really want to know.

“I’m not going to tell you. Whatever you imagine won’t even come close to what I’ll do to you.” Shya’s sinister calm was more worrisome than his openly psychotic amusement.

Arys pulled me away, retreating fast as if he feared Shya would change his mind. The demon watched us go with thinly veiled contempt. I kept waiting for him to stop us, to shout, “Psych!” and laugh maniacally while he dragged me back upstairs.

I was careful to avoid eye contact with anyone. The demons were all too engrossed in their vile gratification to pay us any attention. Only Falon and Gabriel watched us disappear from the yard.

I didn’t believe it until we were in Arys’s Firebird speeding down the gravel road away from Shya’s house. Even then I expected him to appear.

Chapter Twenty-One

In less than an hour, I had retrieved a very agitated Jez from The Spirit Room. Lucky for Arrow, he hadn’t arrived yet. In between questions and shows of concern, Jez apologized several times on the way to The Wicked Kiss.

“You don’t need to apologize to me, Jez. You’re a grown woman who doesn’t owe anyone an explanation. But if you know this isn’t what you want, then it’s time to deal with Zoey’s death instead of numbing out on intoxicants.”

I felt like the world’s hugest hypocrite. My drug of choice differed, but I too sought out escape in false comforts. Still, street drugs were risky, and I didn’t want to watch one of the strongest women I knew go down that treacherous road.

“I know,” she mumbled, staring around the room, squinting against the dim lights that broke up the darkness.

We sat in a comfy corner booth. Arys had brought me there to pick up my car; he’d had it towed there. I hoped to hang around long enough to see Willow. Then I was headed home for the next two days. My plan was to lay low at home and spend as much time as wolf as I could before Ky’s big day. I needed it.

While waiting for Willow to make an appearance, I checked the many messages left on my phone during my brief but serious absence. A voicemail from Dayne asked if we could meet. Another, from Juliet, I hit delete without listening to it.

I called Dayne back and told him to come by the club if he had time. It would be my last night in the city for a few days. I needed some down time.

My blood boiled as I thought of Kale locked in the back with another blood whore. He had abandoned Jez in a time of need after promising me he would take care of her. He had no excuse for that.

A waitress came by to refill our coffee. Jez didn’t need booze to make her situation harder to handle, and I was nowhere near ready to swallow a poison of any kind. I felt good, great actually, after the incident at Shya’s. Tired though. I was ready to sleep beside the pond in the shadow of the trees. My wolf was restless, needing release.

The coffee was bitter and strong. I stirred cream and two sugars into it, watching the back hall entry with a predatory scrutiny.

Arys had left Jez and me to speak in private, though he hadn’t gone far. He lingered near the main door, speaking to Justin. I think he was afraid to let me out of his sight.

“I’m really looking forward to Ky’s wedding,” Jez said with a sigh. With a hand beneath her chin, she leaned heavily on her arm and stirred her coffee so that the spoon clinked loudly against the cup.

“Yeah, you look real enthused about celebrating love right now,” I said with a smile. I patted her hand, stilling it with my own so the annoying noise would stop. “I think you should stay with me until the wedding. We’ll get furry and unwind. I’m sure you need it as bad as I do.”

“That sounds good, actually. I think you’re right. I can’t remember the last time I shifted.” She was fidgety, twisting a sugar packet between her fingers until it exploded in a small shower of white powder.

Oh dear. White powder of any kind was likely a trigger for her. I swept it aside, pushing it into a small pile behind the napkin canister.

At her insistence, I spent most of the time talking, telling her about what went down at Shya’s. She nodded as if she was listening, but her eyes began to droop. Fatigue was a withdrawal symptom. The poor girl probably needed some serious rest.

“When was the last time you slept?” I flicked her hand, and she sat up straighter, forcing her eyes open.

“Honestly? I’m not sure.”

“As soon as I’m done here, we’re going home. I’d offer you a bed, but I doubt you’d want to lay on anything in this building.”

Jez made a face of disgust that was made absolutely hilarious by her inability to keep her eyes open. “Ew. Most definitely not. I’d rather sleep in the parking lot.”

I sat there quietly, wondering how she could drift off with the loud music and voices thundering all around us. I guess a few days without sleep will do that to a person.

She didn’t even stir when Willow appeared. He seemed to step out of nothing, becoming corporeal. Jez was slumped against the wall of the booth, drooling into the palm of her hand. I would have laughed if Willow hadn’t pulled me out of the booth into a colossal hug.

“I’m so sorry. I couldn’t stop him from taking you. I tried.” Willow’s words were muffled by my hair.

“None of this is your fault, Willow.” I pulled back to find his eyes shadowed with regret. “I know you think it is because of the choices you’ve made, but I don’t blame you for anything. Please, stop blaming yourself.”

He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m trying.”

“Try harder.”

“Will do, boss.”

I glanced from Willow to Jez, wondering why those I loved had descended into such self-loathing. It hurt me to see them suffer and to know I couldn’t take away the pain.

I was wary of discussing demon business in a place where anyone could be listening. So I told him the gist of what Saber had said and left it at that.

“That doesn’t surprise me at all. Shya must be having a fit over it though.”

“He took it out on me. He demanded the dreamwalker that I owe him. I have one month.”

Willow swore and shook his head of dirty-blond hair. “Why does that not surprise me? Try not to worry about it. We’ll figure something out.”

“I’m not sure there is a we in this case.” My gaze dropped to Shya’s dragon sigil. “This is very much a me scenario. I made the deal. I have to honor it.”

“You’re not going back into the FPA building. You can’t, Alexa. That place is too dangerous.”

“Save me the warnings and pep talks, ok?” I laughed, but it was forced and dry. “I have a wedding to get through without any mishaps or deaths. It’s going to be harder than it sounds.”

My name being shouted from across the room had me whirling to find Shaz dodging people as he made his way through the crowd. In his enthusiasm he lifted me off my feet and squeezed until I yelped.