Realm Walker (20 page)

“Perhaps he’s apologizing for not keeping you safe,” the demon said cocking its head to the side.

“What are you talking about?” She eased forward another step.

“I believe that’s close enough until we’ve finished discussing some things.” And with those words it dropped all pretense of pretending to be Thomas. The voice was unnatural, cold, feral.

She preferred it that way. “Talk, demon.”

“Your file made for quite interesting reading,” the demon taunted. “Some of the things they did to you were quite creative.” It glanced down to look at the nails on Thomas’s right hand and began to clean them with the tip of the knife it still held. She wasn’t sure what good that was going to do given the amount of blood on the blade, but she said nothing. At least its actions were distracting her from its words.

“You said Tony was apologizing for not keeping me safe,” she said to change the subject. “How was that his responsibility? He was never told to protect me. And it’s not like Raoul announced his intentions.”

The demon shrugged. “I care not. I was merely guessing his reasons.”

While they talked she moved closer to her prey. Fire raced up her arm. Stupid her forgot to pay attention to the other vampires in the room and got too close to Tony. His fangs buried in the flesh of her wrist as he feasted. She gave an experimental tug but it was evident he wasn’t about to let go anytime soon.

The demon shoved her aside, her wrist ripping from Tony’s jaws. At the same time it swung that long, thin blade and sliced through her friend’s throat. Shock took over his features and then his head fell backward, attached with only a few tendons. A shudder ran through Juliana and she swallowed the scream that threatened to spill from her.

“My toy,” the demon said. It walked over to the table and laid the knife on it. Picking up a glass it took a long drink. Without taking the time to think her actions through, Juliana lunged at the demon and wrapped a hand around its arm. She used her thumb to twist the stone in the ring. A portal opened beside them and she fell into it, pulling the demon with her.

Chapter Twenty-One

Juliana landed on her back on the concrete floor of cell seven with the demon on top of her. The breath fled her lungs and she struggled to get it back. They were in one of nine cells located deep below the Agency that contained no window, no cameras and no witnesses. They were reserved for very special guests.

This cell in particular was designed with demons in mind. A mix of holy water and concrete coated the walls. Two feet of steel-reinforced concrete stood behind the coating on all sides except the front. The front consisted of bars made of blessed metal.

The demon leaped to its feet and spun, looking for the portal which had closed down the moment after they passed through. It turned back to her, a snarl on its face. In a lightning fast motion, it wrapped one thick hand around her neck and lifted her into the air. Not this again. “What have you done, Hound?”

She couldn’t have answered even if she wanted to. His grip was too tight on her throat. She wrapped both hands around its wrists to give herself some leverage and swung both legs forward hoping to hit something vital. She didn’t, or if she did, it didn’t affect her captor any.

“Drop her, demon.” Michael’s voice came from the front of the cell to her right. It was low and controlled but there was no mistaking the undercurrent of anger in it. It was the voice of a man used to being obeyed. Yeah, good luck with that.

The demon snapped its head to the side and focused on Michael. “Who are you?” The fact that Thomas kept that information from the demon made her laugh, though it came out sounding more like a pained gurgle. The demon turned back to her and loosened its grip a bit. The little black spots quit swimming before her eyes, but she wasn’t sure it was much of an improvement.

“Michael Bishop.”

It looked back at Michael with narrowed eyes. Then its mouth curled up into a wicked little smirk. “You want her? You can have her.”

She flew through the air and bounced off the thick metal bars that made up the front of the cell. The middle of her spine connected first and shards of pain shot up to her skull and across her shoulders. She lay where she fell, a crumpled pile on the floor. She didn’t move, didn’t think. She just hurt. A lot. A hand lay against her side and she realized Michael was saying her name. From the sounds of it, he’d said it several times without getting a response.

She tried to say “yes” but it came out as a groan instead.

“Juliana?” he said again.

She tilted her head so she could see him and tried to ignore the screaming pain the motion brought with it. Footsteps moved across the floor and Michael looked past her to the demon.

“Crap.” Her exclamation drew Michael’s attention. “Sprinklers,” she said.

“What?” he asked, rising with her as the demon picked her up with his arms behind her shoulders and her knees. It moved toward the lone piece of furniture in the cell, a cot bolted down in the middle of the floor.

She looked past Thomas’s shoulder to Michael. “Turn on the cursed sprinklers.”

Michael still looked confused, but he hurried to do as she said.

“The water will not harm me, Hound, regardless of what you may have heard about my kind and running water,” the demon said.

Since it had been raining the night she first encountered it, she kind of thought that was a given. She didn’t know anyone that believed the running water myth anymore and it usually referred to rivers anyway. Stupid demon. Its hold on her was gentle but she had a hard time believing he intended to lay her down and nurse her back to health.

“What to do with you, Juliana? I could snap your neck and be released from this realm. My master however would not take kindly to me causing you pain. And this host is being most verbal about his disapproval.”

“Well, you’re just all kinds of conflicted, aren’t you?”

Before it could answer, water began to spray from the sprinklers placed throughout the cell. The moment the first of the spray touched the demon, it howled and dropped her. For the third time, she hit the floor with a thud. She’d just as soon not do it again.

She lay there to get her bearings while the demon howled above her and waves of agony radiated through her with every movement. Finally, she managed to get on her hands and knees and half-crawled, half-scrabbled for the cell door. Michael waited on the other side, ready to unlock it the moment she reached it. The demon stayed frozen in place behind her, back arched in pain while it screamed in rage. When she got close enough, Michael flung open the door, grabbed her and pulled her through. He slammed the door and locked it.

She made it to the wall across from the cell and sat with her back against it. She panted through her pain while the demon writhed in his. Running water may not hurt the thing, but holy water sure did.

“Interesting set-up you got here,” Michael said, indicating the cell behind him.

“It has its uses,” she agreed. “Is all the blood off yet?” She’d prefer not to see her dead friend’s blood covering her mate from head to toe any longer than necessary.

Michael looked the demon over before turning back to her. “I think he’s as clean as he’s going to get.”

“All right. Turn them off.”

He went to the end of the hall and pushed a button. The water shut off, though a few drips still fell here and there.

The demon’s shoulders were rigid with tension when it turned to show her eyes pure black with rage. “You twisted, insignificant thing,” it spat, a guttural sound that had no place coming from her mate’s mouth.

“Sorry. Did that sting?” she asked. Michael sat beside her, took her arm and pulled it into his lap to examine her wrist. He was careful not to injure her further.

“You little whore.” The demon leaped across the cell. It wrapped its hands around the bars in front of her only to hiss and jerk them back. It frowned down at them, turning them as if looking for a defect.

“Blessed metal,” she enlightened him. “And the walls are set with mortar mixed with holy water. You’re just in your own little version of hell, aren’t you?”

Michael grabbed a first aid kit from somewhere and used its contents to dress the wound in her wrist. “This is not good, Juliana.”

She shrugged one shoulder. “It’ll be all right. Just wrap it up.”

The demon began to pace in the small area directly in front of her. She kept her eyes locked on him, watching every movement. “Did Catalina do as I asked?” she spoke to Michael, but kept her eyes on the demon.

“It came through right before I got here,” he said. “You’re going to have problems with your boss over this one.”

She knew she would, she just didn’t care. Her job, which had seemed so important to her before was now just a tool she could use to help Thomas.

A muscle twitched in his jaw and the demon turned to her with a hiss. “You will release me.”

“You know how to get out.” The demon might not be able to leave the cell, but it could leave its host and then she’d be more than happy to send it home. Hopefully it would stay there.

“If you think to force me to leave this host, I will shred his mind on my way out. Vampire he may be, but I will make sure he will never be whole again. Now release me.”

She glanced down the hall when the door at the end swung open and a ghost stepped through. Nathaniel stood there looking whole and unharmed. As solid as he looked, she knew he couldn’t be real. She pushed herself up the wall and walked toward him.

He gave her a sheepish smile when she approached. “Jeremiah told me I better get down here and show you I was all right.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You’re not dead?”

“Do I look dead?” he asked.

She reached out a hand and pushed against his chest causing him to rock back on his heels. “You’re not dead,” she said again, only this time it wasn’t a question. Her friend wasn’t dead, hadn’t been killed by the demon riding Thomas. Her fingers curled into the palm of her hand as she drew back her arm. Then she punched him in the stomach as hard as she could. “You selfish son of a bitch.”

Nathaniel grunted and curled around himself protectively. He gasped in a mouthful of air. “What the hell was that for?”

“You let me think you were dead.”

“It wasn’t my fault,” he protested. “I told you they had me on psych leave. No one tells me anything.”

She clenched her jaw, not ready to forgive him yet. “Who was it?”

He straightened most of the way upright and ran a hand through his hair. “Some rookie that came by to check in. I was complaining about it and he was more than willing to go for me. I figured what the hell. If I’d known...”

If he’d known, he would have gone. And he’d be dead. While part of her grieved for the agent that had died in his place, she couldn’t squash the overwhelming relief she felt that he was alive. She punched him again, softer this time and in the shoulder. “Don’t you ever die on me again. I don’t like it.”

“You’re one to talk.”

She scowled at him and went back to her spot on the floor.

“Was that a dog joke?”

She frowned at him. “What are you talking about?”

“You called me a son of a bitch.”

Closing her eyes, she shook her head. Leave it to Nathaniel to find humor even in a situation like this.

He wandered over, hands in his pockets, eyes on the demon. “Why is Kendrick in the demon dungeon?”

“They really don’t tell you anything, do they?” she said. “He is our demon.”

His eyes widened. “Are you telling me that your master vampire is playing host to a first-level demon?”

“That would be an accurate assessment of the situation,” Michael answered.

“What are you going to do?”

“We’re still working on that.” She wasn’t about to admit that she had absolutely no plan. Well, she had a plan. It just wasn’t much of one. The fact that she had the only demon-slaying sword in residence would buy her some space, some respect amongst the parties involved. But they weren’t going to wait forever for her to fix this. Eventually they’d get tired of waiting for results and come in and take over. If they did that, Thomas was dead.

“You’ve got to destroy the host, Jules,” Nathaniel said, looking down at her.

“Can’t,” she said.

“Don’t be stupid, pup.” He bit out the words. “You risk us all by letting it continue to live in our world. If you can’t kill your boyfriend, I’ll do it for you.”

“Actually you won’t,” Michael said. “The Council has received a court order prohibiting the extermination of the vampire Thomas Kendrick for forty-eight hours, provided that he is contained and not a threat to the general populace.”

She glanced at him. “They did put in a clause for release if the demon’s gone, right?”

Michael nodded.

“Are you crazy?” Nathaniel said.

She turned back to him, her brows arched. “What makes you think I had anything to do with it?”

He blew out a breath. “Please, this has you written all over it. No wonder Ben’s pissed. You can’t save everyone, Jules. You just can’t.”

“I saved you and I’m going to save him.” She had no idea how, but that had never stopped her before.

The demon continued to pace but she knew it was listening to their conversation.

“Why are you doing this to yourself? Prolonging this is only going to make it worse in the end.”

She clenched her jaw. “If you can’t contribute, you can leave.”

“Be reasonable,” he pleaded.

“Leave,” Michael said.

“Excuse me?”

Michael turned to meet Nathaniel’s eyes. “Leave now or I will throw you in the cell with it and you can see how much damage you can do before it rips off your head and laps up the blood. Is that clear enough for you?”

Nathaniel paled. “I don’t think that was necessary.”

She sighed and ran a hand down her face. “Just go.”

He looked like he was going to protest, but he finally shook his head and went back through the door.

“Pity,” the demon said. “I would have enjoyed playing with him.”

“I think you and your pet played with Nathaniel enough, don’t you?”

The demon thought for a moment. “No, actually. So, Hound, will you do it? At the end of your forty-eight hours, will you destroy this host to be rid of me? I think not.”

She didn’t think so either. Her feelings for Thomas aside, he was a master vampire. In order to kill him, he had to be drained completely of blood. Somehow she didn’t think the demon was going to wait patiently while she did it.

The demon smiled when she didn’t answer. “If you won’t kill me, you might as well let me out. I’ll find a new host and leave this one.”

“Silence,” Michael ordered. He pulled out a small blade and began flipping it over his knuckles. Back and forth, back and forth. She’d seen him do it before, but never ceased to be amazed he didn’t cut himself in the process. Not that it would matter much if he did. He said he found the motion relaxing. It made her nervous.

She sat cross-legged and laid her injured arm in her lap. Blood seeped through the bandage in a couple of places. She looked up when the demon crouched in front of her. “Let me out or regret it forever.”

“What could you possibly do to me from in there?”

“I’m only in here for the moment.” It straightened slowly and frowned down at her. “And when I free myself from this cage, I will cause you pain in ways you cannot possibly imagine.”

“I don’t know about that,” she said. “I’ve got a pretty vivid imagination.”

“It’s true. She does,” Michael added, making her smile.

“Speaking of,” she said and held her injured arm out to him. “Help me with this, would you?”

He furrowed his brow.

“Blood calls blood. It’s time for daddy to lend a helping hand.”

A wicked smile lit his face.