Now I was finally asking for his help, and Revel acted as if he always knew this day would come. But I wasn’t playing one of his games. “Could you keep Shock here and take care of her until I find a safe place for us? And promise you won’t tell anyone about it?”
“Why? Did that shack of yours finally burn down?”
“For all intents and purposes, yes.”
Revel shifted his eyes to Theo, saying discreetly, “You’re not giving me much to go on, Allay.”
“I’m not giving you anything—except a promise that if you hurt Shock, I’ll kill you.”
He hesitated, but I held firm. I didn’t want his help contingent on how much I told him. Revel was notorious for his information network of human and demon spies; he always knew what was going on, and he shared that information to get more. I wasn’t going to have my troubles become his currency. He had to agree on my terms, or at worst I could move Shock from hotel to hotel until I figured out an alternative.
“
Allay
,” Revel chided with a mocking smile, “there’s no need for threats between us. Of course I’ll take care of Shock. I would do that for Shock’s sake, if not yours.”
I was relieved, but I couldn’t quite manage to thank the bastard. I wouldn’t kowtow to him, not in any way. He needed to respect me in order to fear the consequences of hurting Shock.
Revel went to the door and pushed a button, murmuring a request. As he returned across the expanse of rug, a burly man appeared. “Bring Shock to the Green Room.” Turning to me, he said, “Come along and you’ll see that we’ll take care of her properly.” To Theo, he added, “You can stay here.”
Theo stiffened, but I needed to be able to speak honestly to Revel. “Do you mind waiting, Theo? I’ll be right back.”
“Of course,” he said, taking a step back to let the security guard pick up Shock. Her head lolled.
I glanced back at Theo as I followed Revel out of the room. It was an awful thing, but he was my canary in a coal mine. If something happened to him, I would know that it wasn’t safe here for Shock. Unfortunately, all I had now was the word of a pathological liar.
8
Through the door in the corner of the ornate reception room, there was a spiral stairway leading up to a long hallway to our right. Two young people in shorts at the top of the stairs were arguing good-naturedly about when they were going to play a game of tennis.
As I followed Revel down the hall, we passed another living room, more intimate in scale. A young coed was reading in one deep window seat, and a guy who couldn’t be much older was playing a handheld video game in the other. The wood smelled of old-fashioned beeswax, and I imagined there was a sea of white-coated servants working feverishly behind closed doors to maintain this place.
At the end was a long wall of tempered glass, with shouts and laughter echoing inside. Several naked people were splashing in the lap pool, which was paved in tiny glass tiles of blue, green, and white. A mural bordered the pool; a vast expanse of golden countryside dotted with cypress trees and vineyards.
Down another short hallway was a pretty guest room of modest proportions, with a pale green rug and bedspread, and white satin wallpaper. It was probably one of the more ordinary rooms in the penthouse.
Revel dismissed the guard with a wave. “I’ll send one of my harem to feed her. Michelle has a toothache; that should be to Shock’s taste. Or maybe I should send her a boy—she’s hopelessly heterosexual.”
Maybe he was trying to remind me of the few bisexual experiences I had shared along with him. But those days were ruined, though he acted as if I were silly for thinking that way. “Just feed her, Revel. And don’t let anyone get to her. I don’t know when I’ll be back.”
“Where are you going?”
There was no doubt in my mind—I needed to see Vex. I needed to know whether Shock and I were still under his protection. I needed to find out if Dread was behind these attacks on her. “I’m going to see Vex.”
He dropped his flippant tone. “What for?”
“You think I’m going to confide in you?” I let out a short laugh.
“You should, you know. Listen, I’ll tell you what I’ve heard. Shock birthed another demon, and the rumor is that she had him at your bar. Petrify was last seen near the New Jersey docks. If he was smart, he grabbed a slow boat to Taiwan. I have reports that Pique was on his tail, but nobody’s caught sight of him since.”
“
Pique
again,” I repeated grimly. “Who is he? Where did he come from?”
“Nobody knows. Nobody’s claimed him.” Revel seemed very interested. “Pique isn’t talking. The first sighting of him was on the west side of Manhattan a few weeks ago.”
“He must belong to somebody. He’s been hunting around my bar a
lot
. And last night he attacked me, right on the street in front of everyone. He would have killed me if it weren’t for that man out there.”
Anger flashed over Revel’s face. “I told you that bar isn’t safe, Allay! You should have security around you at all times.”
I didn’t want to get into that again. But his reaction seemed genuine, which surprised me. He was always calculating cause and effect; he didn’t usually get this upset unless he was putting on an act. And this wasn’t an act; I could sense his frustrated concern without even touching him.
Suddenly I did want to confide in him. I was trusting him with Shock’s life. I had to make sure he was on my side. “It gets even worse. Today a demon got inside my apartment—twice—and both times I didn’t sense him. He’s the one who attacked Shock. When he didn’t kill her the first time, he came back to finish her off.”
That made him pause. “Shock doesn’t fit the profile.”
“What do you mean?”
“There have always been mysterious deaths among our people. Surely you know that? Even the earliest Sumerian records include citations of demon ‘begets’ and consumption, but not all were accounted for. We can’t hide it when we take another’s essence—that pearly glow lingers for days and gives it away. But demons have always disappeared without explanation.”
“I’m not sure which is scarier, a demon I can’t sense or the chance that I could implode without warning.”
“I think it’s a demon who can stealth himself. The only time I heard of a near-death like this was Slam, back in the fourteenth century. He was a new demon, barely a decade old. He came to me one night in as bad shape as Shock. He said he was attacked by a demon he didn’t sense until it turned on him. And he was standing right next to him. A few days later, Slam disappeared. I never did find out who did him in, and I searched out everyone to be sure. There weren’t nearly as many of us back then.”
“So this stealth demon might come back for Shock, now that she’s been targeted?”
Revel gave me a long look. “It happened that way with Slam. Most demons just disappear, and we’re left wondering.”
“Like Malaise. Shock’s also an older demon who’s suddenly been targeted. Why?”
Revel had completely dropped his affected mannerisms. “I’ve kept close track of demon genealogy since I was born, and I’ve researched every scrap of writing from before then. There’re a few things almost all of the demons who disappear have in common. They’re young, rarely more than a decade old. Lately they’ve been even younger, under a year. They’re also the more vicious sort, the ones who fatally injure humans. Malaise was definitely hurting her victims, and she lost her head when she found such a rich vein of her preferred emotion in the modern prison system. But Shock helps people, so it doesn’t fit.”
I remembered what Shock had said about the last dregs of human emotion. And she kept overdosing on emotions and birthing new demons. She was getting that energy from somewhere.
But I had to stick to the important point. “How can it be possible for a demon to appear and disappear without warning?”
“Isn’t that what the bogeyman does?” Revel shook his head with the patience of a man who thought he knew the truth. “It must be a demon who has a very mild signature. There are a few around—yours is very light, Allay. If someone wasn’t expecting you, I bet you could sneak up on another demon, maybe even into the same room.”
“Then why did Vex accuse Dread of being the demon killer? He has a really strong signature.”
Revel gave me a proud smile, as he did when he was teaching me something. “So you’ve heard about that! Very good, Allay. I almost despaired of your ability to navigate the complexities of demon culture.”
I didn’t want to admit I’d only gotten around to asking these questions when Shock’s life was hanging by a thread. “Vex must know more than he’s let on.”
“Allay, you must let me make the arrangements if you want to see Vex. You can’t walk in off the street and demand to see him. Will you leave it to me?”
“No way, you’ll take forever doing it. And you’ll get too involved. I’m leaving now.”
“Now? But it’s Saturday.”
I looked down at Shock. “It’s important.”
A servile young woman entered and whispered in Revel’s ear. “Apparently your man has wandered into my library.”
“I’m ready to go.” I leaned over and kissed Shock on the cheek, giving her hand a squeeze. “You take care of her, Revel.”
“I will.” There was something in his voice I didn’t recognize. I hoped it was sincerity.
I followed Revel upstairs to the library, a large room lined with wooden glass-fronted display cases. Ki was standing nearby, with Theo seated in one of the leather chairs waiting for us.
A sweeping glance revealed the depth of Revel’s collection. I knew he collected art, but I hadn’t realized the extent of his investment in manuscripts. They were displayed in climate-controlled cubes scattered around the room. Next to the double doors lay an old book, open to a delicate parchment page.
I scanned the spidery, Old English words that listed the seven categories of demons:
Fates
control destiny
Imps
cause mischief
Succubi
incite lust
Hordes
bring conflict
Fiends
tempt the saintly
Familiars
instigate witchcraft
Guardians
lend comfort
The descriptions did contain a kernel of truth. Since each demon sought out and devoured a particular emotion, that made them fall into certain patterns. Demons who craved anger, such as Pique, were Hordes causing conflict. Revel, with his constant partying, would be considered a Fiend, tempting the saintly. Shock and I would be considered Guardians because we helped people, Shock by taking away their physical pain, and I by making them feel better in any way I could.
Theo came toward me, as I nodded shortly, letting him know everything was all right. “Let’s go.”
But Revel stopped me. “Don’t rush off like this, Allay. You need a chance to eat. You’re looking famished, darling, and you need to be strong right now.”
He was offering to feed me. Our auras fluctuated where he touched my arm, flaring brighter. Invasive green tendrils curled from him into my aura. My mouth watered at his sticky sweetness.
I peeled Revel off me, not bothering to hide how much I shuddered at his touch. It brought everything back with full force. There was pain deep in his eyes, but he was so expert at the wounded-male look that it was far too overdone. Besides, I’d been shunning him for a decade; he couldn’t pretend to pout because I still felt the same.
Theo’s eyes widened at my overt rejection. He moved between us, taking my hand and tucking it under his arm. “I can take care of Allay.”
He let my palm rest on his forearm, so it was easy for me to draw off his emotions. Theo was jealous, surprised at his own reaction, but wanting nothing more than to get the better of Revel. It made me feel a feminine twinge of pleasure knowing Theo would get right into Revel’s face if he had to and make him back off. I soaked it up, my lips parting.
Revel tried to brush it off lightly. “What on Earth could
you
do?”
Theo simply stroked my hand where my aura was flashing as I fed from him.
Revel’s eyes narrowed. “How much do you know?”
“Nothing,” I said hastily. “He knows nothing.”
“The lady obviously needs protection,” Theo said.
“That’s what
I’m
saying,” Revel said impatiently. “Allay, you know I can help. You can’t go alone, and you’ll need me to deal with them properly.”
“I’ve dealt with them for the past ten years, Revel.”
“Yes, but now you’re upset, Allay. If you make
him
upset”—Revel gave me a particular glance rather than say Vex’s name in front of Theo—“he could take everything away from you, including that bar you love so much.”
That stopped me. “Michael owns the bar, and he would never cave to any pressure—”
Revel was shaking his head. “The church owns the Den, Allay. Vex bought it the week after you started working there.”
“But Michael . . . he would have told me.”
“He can’t, not according to his management contract.”
I took a deep breath, shaken by the news. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You’ve refused to listen to anything I have to say. That’s why you have to listen now. I’m going with you, and you can’t say no.”
I lifted my chin. “
No.
You can’t order me around, Revel. Just take care of Shock, or I’ll make you pay for it.”
I tugged Theo’s arm, heading toward the door of the library. I was already feeling stronger from his steady input.
But Revel tried to stop me again, saying, “Allay—”
