Heart of the Demon (8 page)

Stefan went on to blah-blah some more. Frankly, she wasn’t all that interested in his rhetoric, so she only listened with
half an ear. She was more interested in the people in attendance. As nonchalantly as she could, she looked around the room
and saw varying degrees of attention from those around her. A few had the same rapt expression of fanaticism that Tracy did,
while others looked like they were holding on until the meeting was over so they could head upstairs to the club.

Finally Stefan said, “We all have our parts to play. Each one of you is integral to our success.” He swept his arms open.
“The future is ours!”

More applause broke out, then Stefan stepped away from the podium. Prets of all clans, Tracy included, rushed to the front
to speak to him directly. He smiled and clasped shoulders and shook hands, all the while wearing the wide smile of a seasoned
politician. Keira hung back and watched, thinking these people acted like they were in a cult. Or was it that they were locked
in such desperation that it made them willing to follow a madman who gave promises of glory?

Javier stood next to her, one of the few that hadn’t run up to receive the touch of the charismatic leader. “So,
bonita
. What’d you think?”

Here we go
. “I think it’s about time someone says what Stefan said tonight. I’ve been on this planet a long time, keeping my otherworldliness
a secret for all but the last three years.” She looked at Javier. “It’s been a relief to finally be who I really am.” She
shook her head. “It’s still hard being outnumbered by humans. We don’t have the same rights, and we should.”

A werewolf standing in the row in front of them turned around. “Damn straight.” Before he could say anything more, his attention
was drawn to the other side of the room. He muttered an “Excuse me” and headed away from them.

“I’m glad you feel that way.” Javier smiled at her, flashing a bit of fang. He glanced to the front of the room, then looked
back at her. “Stefan wants to meet you, but he doesn’t have time tonight. As soon as he finishes with them,” he indicated
the group, looking like mindless drones, gathered around the leader, “he has another meeting.” He gave her a second fangy
smile. “I’ll see you later,
bonita
.”

Keira walked slowly down the row until she reached the column at the end. As she started to skirt around it, she heard a man
say, “Stefan says the device will be ready in time.”

“He always makes good on his promises,” a woman responded, her tone rife with satisfaction.

Keira paused. She needed to learn more about this, but she had doubts that they’d continue their conversation with a brand-new
member, one they didn’t personally know. Taking a deep breath, she called on the Earth energy she had stored deep inside.
Her skin began to tingle as if small electric currents ran beneath the surface. She waited until they ran in a steady stream
before she stepped out from behind the column.

The two vampires continued on with their discussion as if she weren’t standing three feet away from them. As far as they could
tell, she wasn’t.

By extending her empathic abilities, not only could she influence people’s emotions, which colored the way they perceived
events that occurred, she was also able to influence their perception of the world around them. It was basic physics, though
done through preternatural means, making light bounce off of her body to reflect her surroundings. She was, for lack of a
better word, invisible. She rarely used this power because it utilized a lot of energy, which meant she couldn’t hold the
illusion very long. But if she could glean some pertinent information it would be well worth the weak knees and exhaustion
she’d later feel.

Because the motion of her clothing would make it harder for light to be reflected and thereby increase the likelihood some
vague outline of her could be seen, Keira put her back to the wall and held still, taking in slow, silent breaths. A werewolf
walked past her and paused, his head lifting as he sniffed the air. His brow furrowed and he looked around then shrugged and
went on his way.

That was the other flaw to this ability. She might be able to conceal herself from others’ sight, but she couldn’t mask her
scent.

“He said he’s waiting on a special gold filament that fits in the oscillation unit,” the male vamp said. “That jeweler guy
over on Scottsdale Road is supposed to have it for him in a few days.”

“That’s cutting it a little close, don’t you think?” the female vamp asked. She kept her voice low. Keira watched as the woman
glanced toward the front of the room where Stefan chatted with a few of his followers. When she looked back at her companion,
a small frown furrowed her brows. “Why would he wait this long to actually finish the machine?” Worry entered her tone, making
it not quite as satisfied as it had been a few seconds before.

The other vamp scowled. “Because of those delays a few months ago when the smaller rift device and schematics were stolen,
remember? That pushed production of the larger machine back several weeks. Otherwise it would’ve been done days ago, in plenty
of time.” He, too, looked toward the front.

Say something more about the jeweler
, Keira silently urged.

“Let’s go upstairs,” he said and looked at his companion. “I could use someone to drink.”

The woman agreed and the pair walked away.

Damn it
. Keira let out a long breath and eased back behind the column again. She relaxed her hold on her Earth energy. When the tingling
in her skin ceased she leaned against the column, taking in deep breaths, and waited for her legs to stop trembling. As soon
as she felt she could walk without crumbling to the floor, she headed toward the exit. She returned Javier’s wave and pushed
open the door.

As she headed toward the stairs, she wished the two vampires had given more specific information about the jeweler, but at
least she had a place to begin a covert investigation. After all, how many jewelers could there be on Scottsdale Road?

Finn circled the column, staying out of sight until Keira left the room. He’d glanced at her off and on through all Liuz’s
bullshit, and to his surprise she’d seemed interested. Her expression had been nearly as rapt as all the other lemmings in
the room.

He was disappointed, and a little angry. She was supposed to be doing better than him, moving away from her old life. So what
in the hell was she doing with this crowd?

For his part, he thought everything Liuz had said was bullshit, and hated the idea that now that he was “in” he’d have to
put up with all this crap until the next rift. Thankfully that was only three more weeks away, then his mission would be complete
and he’d be his own master for the first time in two millennia. Failure was
not
an option.

After listening to Liuz tonight, and seeing how everyone in the room cradled his words like they were precious newborn babes,
Finn didn’t disagree with dear old dad that having the demon-to-other-pret ratio swing even wider would be a bad thing. If
vampire numbers grew and demons did not, it wouldn’t be long before Finn and his kind were eliminated.

This was as much about maintaining the status quo as anything else. It was also about self-preservation, pure and simple.

And if there was one thing he understood, it was self-preservation.

O
ver the next few days Keira came to realize there were more jewelers on Scottsdale Road than she would have thought possible.
Without having a specific name it was very improbable that she’d find the one who was going to provide Stefan with the gold
filament. Not that she was ready to give up, not yet. She was merely ready to move on to plan B as soon as she thought it
up.

She stared down at a row of sapphire rings without really seeing them. This was the tenth store she’d been in, and everything
was starting to blur together. She looked up at the salesman and gave him a smile. “I’m sorry, I just don’t see anything that
catches my eye.”

She knew that wasn’t what he’d wanted to hear, but his polite expression never changed. “That’s all the sapphires we have,
I’m afraid.”

And yet again she’d struck out. “Well, thank you,” she said with another smile. She left the store and headed toward her car.
Then her stomach growled, and she thought maybe she should stop and get something to eat before trekking on to the next shop.

Thankfully there was a small café near the jewelry store. It was brightly lit with mostly small tables for two, a few tables
for four, and stools at the counter. Against the far wall were three booths that were all occupied at the moment. She took
a seat at a table near the back, sighing with relief to be able to sit down. While she liked expensive jewelry as much as
the next woman and enjoyed spending hour after hour looking at diamonds, rubies, and sapphires, she didn’t like pretending
to be interested in buying something while she watched and listened to what was going on around her. It was too much like
scoping out a place in order to run a scam.

It didn’t make her feel good about herself at all, even as she reminded herself she was doing it for a good reason. It still
seemed too much like what she’d done in her old life.

That’s not who you are anymore
.

Though she was beginning to think perhaps she should embrace that part of herself instead of fighting it. If she continued
to feel so conflicted about this job, this mission she was on, eventually someone would pick up on that. Maybe, for this short
period of time, she should become who she’d been before.

For the greater good.

If she did, could she get back to where she was right now? She was very much afraid the old habits were too deeply ingrained,
and they’d overtake her again. If she didn’t do this, how successful would she be?

A young man dressed crisply in a long-sleeved white shirt, black tie, and black pants with a small green apron tied around
his waist approached her table. He placed a small menu in front of her with a smile. “Can I get you something to drink?”

Keira returned the smile. “I’ll take an iced tea, please.”

“One iced tea coming up.” He grinned. “I’ll come back in a few minutes to take your order.”

After he walked away, Keira pulled the menu closer. She was so hungry, every last thing on the menu looked delicious.

The waiter came back a few minutes later with her tea. “Are you ready to order?” he asked.

“I’ll take the bacon cheeseburger with fries. Oh, and a side salad.” She wasn’t particularly fond of salads. It was only in
the last fifty years or so that humans had started using them as something other than a garnish. But she’d ordered the salad
so she wouldn’t feel as guilty about the burger and fries. She still had more jewelry stores to hit this afternoon, and the
heightened stress alone would work off most of the extra calories she was getting ready to ingest.

“How do you want your burger cooked?”

“Medium, please.”

“That’s mostly done with a thin strip of pink in the center?”

Keira nodded.

The server gathered up the menu. “I’ll put your order in right away.” After giving her another dimple-producing smile, he
walked away.

She sat back and glanced around the small restaurant. There was a woman with a young child a few tables over, and a couple
of older men sitting on stools at the counter toward the front. A smartly dressed woman and a man in a suit sat at one of
the booths against the wall, and men in ties sat at the other booths. They all seemed to be business people on their lunch
breaks.

By their scent, everyone here except her was human. Maybe it was all of Stefan’s rhetoric still rolling through her head,
but all of a sudden she felt outnumbered and hemmed in. At least one more pret would be nice. She pulled her phone closer,
debated a moment, and then sent off a quick text to Finn, asking him to join her if he could.

She looked around, read the menu again, looked around some more, and wished she’d thought to bring a book with her. Ten minutes
later the server approached with her food. After ascertaining she didn’t need anything else for the moment, he went over to
another table.

Keira checked her phone; Finn still hadn’t responded to her text. She thought about sending him another message but pushed
her phone away. He was probably busy, and she wasn’t going to beg. She heard the door open but didn’t look to see who was
coming or going.

Footsteps sounded behind her, then Finn plopped down in the chair beside Keira. His hair curled against the collar of his
shirt. Long sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, showing off his hair-roughened forearms. His grin crinkled the corner of
his gorgeous blue eyes. Bloody hell. He looked good enough to eat.

“Hey, there, stranger. I got your text.” He leaned over and placed a soft kiss at the corner of her mouth, his breath warm
and sweet against her skin. “Where’ve you been keeping yourself lately?”

She inhaled, holding the fresh scent of him in her lungs a moment. She couldn’t tell him what she’d really been up to. With
a nonchalant shrug, she said, “I’ve been around. I’ve been doing some shopping today.”

“For what?” His eyes twinkled with good nature and curiosity.

“Oh, this and that. Jewelry mostly.” She picked up her iced tea glass and took a sip, and grimaced when she realized she hadn’t
put any sweetener in it.

As she reached for the small container of sweetener packets, his sensual lips pursed. He clearly didn’t care for her evasiveness,
but he didn’t push it. When the server approached and asked for his order, Finn said, “I’ll have a burger, rare, and fries.
With a cola. Thanks.”

After the waiter left the table, Finn snagged one of her fries. When he reached for another one, Keira fisted her fork and
made a move to stab his hand. “Hey!” he protested. His grin told her he knew she hadn’t seriously been ready to hurt him.
“Look, you’re the one who invited me to lunch, remember? You’re not going to make me wait until my order comes out, are you?
I’m starving.”

She pondered a moment to tease him. “Fine,” she finally said. “But when you get your food, you have to share with me.” She
cut her burger in half.

He grabbed the portion closest to him and took a big bite, giving an appreciative groan that made Keira grin, though she almost
mimicked him after tasting her hamburger for the first time. The bite of mustard was tamed by the creaminess of mayonnaise,
and the crispy savory taste of the bacon complemented the slightly sweet beef of the burger.

“They put a little brown sugar in the meat,” Finn said as if he’d read her mind. “You wouldn’t think that combination would
taste good, but it does.”

The server returned and handed Finn his soda. He took a sip and snagged another of Keira’s fries. After a minute or so, he
wiped his hands on his napkin and took one of the hands Keira had wrapped around her glass. He gently toyed with her fingers
before lacing them with his. “I’ve missed you,” he said, his voice husky and deep.

She tightened her fingers around his. “Have you?” Her own voice came out in a throaty rasp.

He gave a nod. “Even if you are being cagey,” he said, a slight smile playing around his mouth. “I understand women need to
be mysterious. Especially one like you.”

Her brows shot up. “One like me? What does that mean?”

“I don’t mean anything bad by it.” He brought her hand to his mouth and pressed a warm kiss to her knuckles. His cerulean
eyes darkened with the beginnings of desire. “Means you’re full of surprises, and I like surprises.”

The server approached with Finn’s order. Finn released her hand and sat back. After they both assured the server they didn’t
need anything else, he walked away.

Keeping to their deal, Finn halved his burger and then picked up his half and finished it off. When she realized how much
she was enjoying watching him eat, she shook her head. She was acting like a besotted teenager. While she didn’t begrudge
herself a friendship with Finn—and maybe something a little more, like friends with benefits—she still hadn’t changed her mind about getting emotionally involved with him. Even though she couldn’t help but wonder
what it would be like to give her heart to him. To have him love her back.

To have a family again.

If they wanted it badly enough, she knew they could make it work. She wasn’t sure, though, that they could move beyond their
pasts with all their hurts and disappointments to build a future together.

Right now, if she let him get too close, he’d be more likely to figure out she was up to something, and she wasn’t ready for
that. She didn’t like lying to him, because friends didn’t do that to each other.

She focused on her own food and made sure to keep their conversation light, because Finn was one sharp cookie. Not much got
past him, and without knowing where he stood on things she didn’t want to clue him in on what she was up to.

Finished with his meal, he wiped his mouth on the paper napkin and crumpled it, tossing it onto his plate. “Damn, that was
good.” He glanced around. “Coming here was a great idea.”

“Thanks. I’m glad you could join me.” She’d eaten all of her salad and had made it through all of her fries and had only a
bite or two of burger left, but she was close to being stuffed. She had to stop now, or she’d have to be rolled out the door.
She crisscrossed her silverware on her plate to signal the waiter she was done.

“You’re not gonna finish that?” Finn asked.

She shook her head. “I’m full.”

“Hmm.” He shoved his plate out of the way and slid hers in front of him. He finished off the food and then leaned back, patting
his stomach. “No sense in letting it go to waste.”

“No, instead we’ll let it go to your waist,” she murmured.

He grinned. “Demon metabolism,” he boasted with another pat on his flat belly. “Plus my job keeps me pretty active.”

“I imagine so,” she said. She’d never really liked thinking about exactly what his job as Lucifer’s enforcer entailed. But
since he’d brought it up…“Chasing down rogue demons and killing them must use up a lot of energy.”

“I don’t always kill them,” he muttered, his eyes flashing with yellow sparks of annoyance. “Sometimes I do, if the situation
warrants it. I’ve never killed anyone who didn’t deserve to die.”

She kept her voice low. “If killing is wrong in the first place, how do you justify taking someone’s life?” She leaned her
elbows on the table and held his gaze.

He heaved a sigh. “I’m not going to get into a debate about capital punishment with you, Keira,” he rejoined, his own voice
soft and deep. “I know some fey are tree huggers, some of you more literally than others, but you’re also preternaturals,
and you know you can’t judge prets by the same rules you use for humans. We can’t build prisons for the deadliest pret criminals.
It’s too dangerous to keep them alive. That’s one thing the council’s gotten right.” He signaled the waiter. “Anyway, I don’t
kill demons who keep their aggression within the pret community. Well, unless they’ve implemented an unsanctioned blood feud
against another clan. Usually, it’s only those who harm humans who pay the penalty with their lives.”

She knew what he was saying had basis in fact. In order to keep peace with humanity, prets had to pay a higher price for their
transgressions. Otherwise people like Senator Martin and the judicial committee would get their way and the wholesale tagging
of preternaturals, maybe even internment camps. And that was unacceptable. Most of them hadn’t asked to be here, and many
of them, her included, had done their best to live good, decent lives since they’d arrived on Earth. They tried to make the
most of a bad situation.

“Fair enough,” she said quietly. “I’m not judging.”

His eyes narrowed. “Sounded to me like you were.”

Maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea to invite him to lunch. She was feeling raw, off her game, because she was right back
in the old life she’d tried so hard to leave behind. Even if it was the right thing to do, she couldn’t feel completely right
about it. And it was making her a tad cranky.

Reaching out, she placed her hand on his forearm where it rested on the table. His muscles flexed beneath her fingers but
he didn’t otherwise move. “I’m not judging,” she stressed. “I guess this is one area where we’ll just have to agree to disagree.”

“Do you really think that a demon who’s gone rogue, one who has gotten a taste for human blood or flesh, can really be kept
locked behind bars for the rest of his life?” Finn took a sip of his soda. “The stress of being in prison tends to shorten
folks’ lifespan by a few years, so for most humans a life sentence might, at best, be fifty or sixty years. For a pret,” he
shook his head, “you’re talking hundreds, even thousands, of years.”

“I realize that, but—”

“Do you remember how being imprisoned felt, Keira?” He flipped his hand over and wrapped it around her fingers. His skin was
warm and rough. “When you were in the other dimension and were brought to the Detention Center for trial, do you remember
what that was like?”

“Of course,” she responded in a quiet voice. It was a memory that would never leave her. Even with over three thousand years
between her and the event, it remained as sharp in her mind as ever. The shock, the fear, the guilt, it was all still part
of her.