“A bodyguard for the human? And not just any bodyguard…they gave you your very own
songbird. You
must
be special, eh? And here I was thinking you were just a loose end to tie up. Another
stupid talking monkey who stuck her nose in somewhere it didn’t belong. You killed
one of my better recruits, you little bitch.”
She struggled to deny it, understanding now that whoever had left the door open had
only done it to bait Phenex away. She’d been ridiculously easy to trap. Part of her
wanted to see who was behind her, whispering in her ear. Another part was horrified
by the prospect.
“N—” she tried to push the simple word out. “Nnn—”
“Don’t.” The silken voice turned poisonous. “Not a word. If you hadn’t walked in,
Reichen would have been able to have his fun and vanish before anyone found the whore
he’d been playing with. But no, you had to play hero. I heard all about it. I loathe
boring little do-gooders.” She felt one long finger trail down the back of her head,
over the curve of her skull through her hair, and whimpered. She wanted to scream,
but couldn’t. There was something in that touch that she knew would drive her insane
if it lasted.
“That pathetic excuse for a vampire king is wrong. You’re useless, little human,”
the voice crooned. “A pretty bit of nothing. You’ll have to die, you know. You look
too stupid to know much of anything important, but one never knows. Besides, Reichen,
was worth a thousand of you. Loyal, strong, vicious…”
“D—don—” God, why couldn’t she speak?
“Don’t?” A soft, humorless laugh. “Begging already? I’m going to make you wish I’d
killed you quickly. But not yet. You’re going to give me something I want before I
disembowel you and feed your entrails to my horde.” Whoever was behind her moved in
closer. She could almost feel the lips against her ear. He whispered, and it was like
nails on a chalkboard.
“Imagine my delight when I discovered who your protector is, little monkey. He and
his friends are going to burn, but I want to take care of him most especially. He
took something of mine, you see. Something valuable. I will have the retribution I
am owed from that filthy traitor. Maybe the Phenex will sing us all a sad song when
he sees your carcass. I think I’d like that. That’s what you’ll give me, you mewling
bitch. I want to see the songbird’s face when I break something of
his
.”
He might have been discussing the weather, or an interesting place he’d visited. His
voice was calm, almost cheerful. But the things he said were awful, making her stomach
roll. Sofia began to shake, the only motion she seemed capable of. This man—or whatever
he was—was serious. He planned to kill her slowly and painfully. Through sheer force
of will, she was finally able to rasp out two words.
“Not. His.”
“Lies.” He spat the word. “Hellfire, you stink of him. Has he been all over you?
In
you? Of course he has. Weakness is drawn to weakness. Phenex’s weakness will be the
end of him. I will see to that personally.”
Sofia gritted her teeth and tried desperately to regain some kind of control over
her body. She managed to wiggle her pinky finger, though the effort nearly made her
black out. She was going to die tonight. Right here, with help only feet away. She
knew it with a certainty that was bone deep. Sofia thought of her parents, and her
brothers, all of whom might as well have been a million miles away instead of just
an hour… All she wanted in that moment was to see them again. The pain was as keen
as the edge of a knife. As mocking laughter ruffled the hair by her ear with breath
that was like a blast of heat, a tear slipped down one of her cheeks.
“Oh, are you crying, little human?” the voice crooned. “Such sweet tears. Perhaps
I’ll lick them up.” She heard a soft rustle, and knew that she was about to see the
owner of the voice that had gone harsh and raspy all at once, much less humanlike.
She didn’t want to see…didn’t want to know what he would do…
There was a thunderous shout as her door slammed open and Phenex came through, moving
so quickly he was little more than a blur. His sword flashed over his head. Sofia
summoned up strength she didn’t even know she had and hurled herself to the side,
landing hard on the floor and hitting her head. For a brief instant, she saw stars.
There was a rush of air, an unearthly shriek, and then she was free again. What had
felt like invisible ropes dissipated into nothing, and her limbs could move, if weakly.
Sofia didn’t even try to get up, instead curling herself into the smallest ball possible.
Her head ached miserably from the fall, throbbing in time to the rapid beating of
her heart. She couldn’t get that
thing’s
voice out of her head.
I want to see the songbird’s face when I break something of his.
But she wasn’t his. Was she?
Then Phenex’s hands were on her, surprisingly gentle as he gathered her to him and
lifted her into his arms.
“Damn it, Sofia, are you all right? What did he do to you? Say something. Please,
baby.”
The endearment was enough to shock her into speech.
“I’m okay. I couldn’t move or talk, but I can now.”
Her voice was too soft, and her limbs didn’t have much strength in them, but at least
she was in control of herself again. Phenex’s voice was as gruff as she’d ever heard
it, but she couldn’t even muster the wherewithal to look up at his expression.
“Just hang on to me. I’ve got to get rid of the dead vamps in your apartment, and
then we’re getting out of here. It isn’t safe for you.”
She didn’t have it in her to argue, though she couldn’t imagine where they’d go. A
hotel? Maybe that was best. She couldn’t imagine being comfortable here. Not knowing
how easy it had been for them to get to her this time.
“Who was that?” Sofia asked as Phenex stepped back into her apartment, carrying her
as though she weighed nothing. He was warm, and she huddled as close to him as she
could. She couldn’t seem to stop shivering. She’d seen plenty of death, terrible things.
But she’d never come so close to touching it herself, never had it whisper in her
ear. It shook her, more than she’d ever thought it would.
“Belial,” Phenex growled. He shifted, pulled something out of his pocket, and murmured
a few words she didn’t understand. The burst of flames made her jerk, and Phenex’s
hands tightened on her.
“Don’t worry. This is just cleanup. Fire is cleansing. It’ll be like they were never
here.”
He repeated the ritual twice more, then turned off the lights and locked the door
before shutting it. Sofia considered suggesting that he put her down to make it easier
for him, but she found that right or wrong, she didn’t want to be put down yet. His
strength was a comfort, which she sorely needed when she was so low on her own.
“I’ll send somebody by to pick up a few of your things tomorrow,” Phenex said. “I’m
not interested in sticking around to see if Belial has anything else to throw at us
while the sun is down.”
“You didn’t kill him?”
His laugh was hollow. “Not even close. He didn’t make it onto the Infernal Council
by being easy to kill. The Prince of Sloth moves pretty quickly when you swing a sword
at him. Besides…it would take fire. A lot of fire. It’s really the only way to kill
one of us.”
“Oh.” Any hope she might have had was replaced by a sick, empty feeling.
“Son of a bitch,” Phenex cursed softly. “I knew. I knew there would be a demon running
things. When I see Uriel again I’m going to throttle him. He could have given us some
warning. If I’d known, I would have had you somewhere safer. Especially if I’d known
it was Belial.”
“He said you took something of his...”
She felt him stiffen. “No. I removed something he should never have had. The lords
of Hell are like dragons with their treasure, Sofia. They hoard it, amass it, and
ignore it. But remove the smallest thing, and their fury will make you think you’ve
stolen their most precious possession.”
“Would he stop if you just gave it back?” Sofia asked, unable to imagine what it might
have been.
“No. And even if I could, I wouldn’t. It should never have been tolerated in the first
place. She’s back where she belongs.”
She?
So many questions, and none of the energy to bother asking. She was still reeling
from the pure evil that had touched her, whispered in her ear.
It was hard to associate Phenex with the creature that had taken such pleasure in
terrifying her. Had Phenex ever been like that? She didn’t know. Right then, Sofia
realized she knew almost nothing about him, except that he’d given his word to keep
her safe. It was going to have to be enough for now.
But it wouldn’t always be.
“There’s only one place I know of you’ll be safe,” Phenex said, then sighed angrily.
“This is going to cause some problems, Sofia. Just remember to blame me if anyone
gives you shit. They’ll be more than willing to believe it.”
She looked up at him wearily, not liking the grim look on his face at all.
“Blame you for what?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he carried her up the stairs to the roof. She began to
get a strange, not altogether pleasant feeling about what he was doing. “Phenex?”
The cold night air hit her like a slap, and she sucked in a breath. She said his name
again, not a question this time but a demand. In answer, he strode to the edge of
the building. As he moved, there was a rustle and snap as the beautiful black wings
she’d seen once before spread out at his sides. Her eyes widened when she realized
what he was going to do.
“Oh, God,” she said.
“Just hang on,” Phenex replied, and sprang into the air with a flap of his wings,
rising, taking them both away from whatever danger still lurked below. Sofia tucked
her face into Phenex’s chest, hiding it from the wicked breeze, and wondered whether
she would ever truly be safe again.
Chapter Thirteen
The last place Sofia expected Phenex to take her was the club that had been the source
of all her problems. But once he’d landed in a pool of shadow and set her down, Sofia
turned on shaky legs to see the pale marble and graceful columns of Amphora.
Vampire central. She wasn’t sure whether to laugh hysterically or run screaming.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Sofia said.
His reply was curt. “No.”
She turned her head to eye Phenex, who’d been perfectly silent on the flight here.
That hadn’t bothered her. She’d been too busy hanging on for dear life to talk, her
eyes squeezed shut and her teeth clenched. Now, though, she could see that he’d been
just as affected by the sudden appearance of the demon—Belial—as she was. He was handling
it differently, though. She felt unsteady, and she was perfectly willing to admit
that it had scared the hell out of her. Phenex just looked furious.
If she wasn’t already used to him, the look on his face would have scared her almost
as badly as Belial had.
“Come on,” Phenex said, catching her hand in his and beginning to pull her toward
the club. “It’s still early. The restaurant and lounge will be busy, but it’s nothing
like it will be later. And right now the crowd is mostly human, which is better for
us.”
Sofia tried digging her heels into the pavement, but resistance was futile. It was
keep up or be dragged along.
“I don’t want to go in there,” she said, and then got louder when he ignored her.
“Seriously, Phenex. I don’t. What if
he’s
in there? What if a bunch of his…his minions are in there? He said he wanted to kill
me and make you watch!”
Phenex didn’t break stride at all, though she could almost swear he’d flinched. But
it was hard to tell, since he didn’t slow down.
“Of course he does, though he’d probably have someone else kill you while he sat on
his ass and enjoyed the show. He’s lazy. He’s also one twisted son of a bitch.”
“I noticed.” Sofia tugged fruitlessly at her hand. “Damn it, Phenex, why are we here?
You said we’d go somewhere safe. This doesn’t look anything like safe!”
He finally stopped at the base of the steps leading up to the entrance and turned
to look at her. Sofia managed to wrench her hand away and glare at him. He’d gone
from the surprisingly tender lover in the stairwell right back to this inscrutable,
bossy, angry creature she wasn’t at all sure how to deal with. It was as disheartening
as it was frustrating to see him shut down again.
“Quit dragging me around,” Sofia added, unable to hold it in. “The flying was enough.
I can walk on my own.”
Phenex’s lips were a thin line before he answered. “We’re here because this is the
way in. There’s one other, but I couldn’t risk the chance that we were followed.”
Sofia glanced around uneasily, seeing nothing but the usual foot traffic in the area.
No one seemed to think anything abnormal was going on. Not even the budding argument
between one very tall, intimidating man and a much smaller woman on the sidewalk.
The problem was, she didn’t even know what Belial looked like. Or what the average
vampire looked like, for that matter. She needed to be able to defend herself, but
that was going to be tough when she couldn’t identify the enemy.
“Look,” Phenex said, shoving a hand back through his hair. “This isn’t ideal for either
of us. But now that Belial knows I’m with you, there isn’t anyplace you could go but
where I’m taking you. It’s protected, and not just with physical strength. There are
ways to keep Hell out, and the ones who created the place we’re going were good at
that. It’s only temporary, Sofia. I’m not tossing you into a pit.”
“And I’m not going anywhere until you give me a little more information. I’ve got
one friend who’s disappeared already, and one who’s had her mind messed with…” She
trailed off as something occurred to her. “Sara. We’re going where she is.”
Phenex exhaled loudly, his eyes everywhere but on her. It was strange, and unnerving,
to see his guard up this way. “Yes. And you’ll get to see her. Is that enough to get
you moving? Because this is about the worst place I can think of to be standing and
arguing.”
“If you’d do more than give orders, I wouldn’t argue so much,” Sofia replied, though
she relented and began to walk up the steps. If it was a choice between this and agony,
she’d deal with Phenex. She’d had a clear alternative painted for her, and it was
infinitely worse than anything she might imagine for herself.
He was at her side almost instantly, ushering her in past the bouncers, who gave her
curious looks as she went by. Then she was in the wide, arched corridor of Amphora,
hurrying past the draped entryways into the varied sections of the club, including
the one that she’d nearly run out of only a week ago. She certainly hadn’t thought
she’d be back.
Phenex’s hand was warm where it was wrapped around hers, the contrast of his alabaster
skin striking against the gold of her own in the dim, flickering light of the stylized
torches that lined the walls. He didn’t really walk, she decided, watching him. He
stalked, all lethal grace. There was nothing weak about him, no matter what this Belial
said. She’d never heard hatred like that. Belial obviously loathed everything about
Phenex, especially his music.
“Your guitar,” Sofia said suddenly. “You left it at my place.”
“Just the pieces of it,” he replied, barely turning his head. “Bastards smashed it.”
“Oh no!” she said, and was surprised at how bothered she was by it. It was probably
the way he’d held it. Like it was important to him, almost a part of him. “I’m so
sorry—”
Now he did turn his head to look at her curiously. “No need to be. I’ll get another
one. Lots of things I like get broken.” His voice dropped when he said the last, as
though he were remembering some of those broken things—or maybe they hadn’t been things,
Sofia thought. Then he fell silent, guiding her down another corridor, then another,
taking her farther from the public areas of the club. Her footfalls seemed incredibly
loud as they echoed off the walls. Phenex, she noted, didn’t make a sound.
They passed various rooms, all of them dark and empty, finally turning into the last
of them. There was very little inside, only some spare chairs lined up against one
wall, a little table covered in a thin layer of dust. Phenex let go of Sofia’s hand.
“Hang on,” he said. He walked to the heavy wooden door of what Sofia assumed must
be a closet and pressed his hand against it, murmuring something she couldn’t quite
hear. When he took his hand away, the glowing imprint of it remained, then slowly
faded while she watched.
“Wow.” It was the first word that came to her.
There was a hint of humor in his expression when Phenex glanced back at her. “Trust
me, that’s nothing.” Then he turned the knob and pulled the door open, revealing stairs
that descended into darkness. Sofia felt the panic she’d been holding at bay beginning
to rise, but Phenex didn’t seem concerned. She tried to think of that as a sign that
she had nothing to worry about. Down there. In the deep, deep dark.
Oh, God. I’m doomed.
“Come on. Just stay right behind me. We keep it dark to discourage any nosy humans
who might manage to find a way in.”
Sofia raised her eyebrows as she forced herself to accept the hand he offered, hoping
he didn’t see how she hesitated. “You have humans who know how to bibbidi-bobbidi-boo
the door open?”
“Not so far. But your kind is great at getting into things you shouldn’t.”
“Like me,” Sofia muttered, forcing herself to walk through the door and pull it shut
behind her, plunging her into a blackness so deep that she couldn’t even see a hand
waved an inch in front of her face. Phenex was unnervingly silent. Especially because
his feet never seemed to make a sound. She couldn’t even hear his breathing. It was
almost like being alone, except that she could feel him near her.
“Where does this go?” Sofia asked, her voice dropping to a whisper as they descended.
It seemed like it would be a mistake to speak too loudly in this place.
“Basement.”
“Great,” she said flatly. In a place like this, who knew what might be in the basement?
He actually chuckled, a small thing, but reassuring. Sofia concentrated on his touch,
on the strength of his presence. She had forgotten, probably because it had been years
since she’d even had to deal with it, just how much she hated the dark. She’d spent
a lot of time as a child hoping that her blankets served as both camouflage and armor,
hiding her head beneath them to protect herself from whatever bogeyman was surely
lurking in her closet. Or under her bed.
After what seemed like a long time, they got to the bottom of the stairs and another
door. Phenex repeated the odd ritual with the handprint and the words, and when this
door opened, Sofia was relieved that there was at least a faint light illuminating
what was beyond.
Phenex led her quickly through the cavernous basement, which seemed to be full of
things that might be used upstairs—spare furniture, boxes labeled “glassware,” speakers
and linens, and other things covered in sheets. Nothing weird. And there was nothing
that would seem to merit the security.
“Do the vampires sleep down here?” she asked, starting to look for the shapes of long
boxes or coffins. Or maybe it worked like the book
Dracula
, and there was just a room with a dirt floor where the vampires would be mostly dead
all day. Picturing it gave her the creeps. The vampires she’d met had seemed very
much alive, but she had no idea how it worked.
“Nope.”
When he said nothing more, Sofia glared at his back.
“You’re a font of information, Phenex.”
“I know.”
She sighed heavily, but her irritation vanished quickly when she saw what looked like
nothing more or less than a large hole, or maybe the entrance to a cave, in one wall
of the basement. Stationed on either side of it was a pair of dangerous-looking vampires—in
this case, the glowing red eyes were a dead giveaway. One was male, one was female,
both were dressed in leather, and neither looked friendly. As she and Phenex approached,
a group of five people strolled out of the hole, chattering as though there was nothing
unusual about the way they’d arrived. Sofia noticed that they gave Phenex a wide berth
once they spotted him. The female guard, on the other hand, grinned as soon as she
recognized him. Her fangs glinted in the light.
“Hey. We were wondering where you’d gotten off to lately.”
She was pretty, Sofia noted. Actually, she was drop-dead gorgeous. And the way she
was looking at Phenex was awfully…friendly. Sofia supposed it should be reassuring
that, despite the fact that she’d nearly been killed by a demon less than an hour
ago, she was still capable of petty jealousy. And knowing that it was stupid didn’t
stop her stomach from twisting into knots, especially when Phenex was uncharacteristically
friendly right back.
“Hey, Tania. Yeah, work’s keeping me busy. You know how it is.”
“Hell yeah.” Tania looked at Sofia, and her reddish eyes gave her a far cooler look.
“Uh, you know that’s a mortal, right?”
“Really? I had no idea.”
Tania didn’t appear to appreciate the sarcasm. She peeled away from the wall she’d
been leaning against to intercept them before they got to the entrance to what Sofia
could now see was definitely some kind of a tunnel. A really, really dark tunnel.
Damn it.
“I can’t let you bring her down, Phenex,” Tania said. “You know the rules. She shouldn’t
even be down here.” As she spoke, Tania’s male counterpart headed their way, too,
and he looked even less friendly than she did. Phenex came to a full stop, and Sofia
ended up plastered against his back, which, all things considered, didn’t seem like
a bad place to be.
I’m going to grab you. Get ready.
She blinked when she realized he hadn’t spoken the words aloud, though she’d heard
them loud and clear in her head. He was in the middle of giving the vampires a hard
time.
“I wouldn’t be bringing her if I didn’t have a damned good reason. The little stand
you’re trying to take here is cute, but if I want her in, she’s coming in. I’ll tell
Justin you tried, if that makes you feel better.”
Both vampires bared their teeth at the same time. Tania looked furious.
“You can’t—”
It happened in the blink of an eye. One second Sofia was just standing there, listening
to everyone argue about her. The next, a strong pair of hands had gripped her waist,
and she was tossed over Phenex’s shoulder. Not only that, but he was moving so quickly
that the world around her was nothing but a blur. They rocketed into the tunnel, and
Sofia was grateful that her hair blew into her face with the speed. The rapid motion
made her nauseous even without looking, and she didn’t even want to contemplate puking
down Phenex’s back.
When he finally stopped, Sofia just hung there for a few seconds, wondering whether
she should try to move yet. Then Phenex’s voice rumbled through his chest, vibrating
into hers.
“You okay?”
She took a couple of breaths, made sure it was safe to open her mouth, and then answered.
“That depends on your definition of okay. I get the feeling that you just brought
me someplace I’m really, really not supposed to be. Call me crazy.”
Gently, he set her on her feet, sliding her slowly down the front of him. Sofia sucked
in a breath as she was dragged over every hard curve and contour of his body. By the
time he had her feet on the ground she wasn’t completely sure they’d hold her. She
allowed herself just a moment to lean into him, soaking up his heat. His hands stayed
pressed against her back, even when Sofia lifted her head to brush her hair back and
out of her face. When she looked up at him, Phenex was staring down at her with an
expression that left no question as to what he was thinking about.