The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers (16 page)

He seemed to look to me for ideas. Lovely. Last time, I'd gone to hell, I'd
had to jump off the back end of an enchanted riverboat.

"I don't know how two of us can take on twenty-five demons." It
was impossible.

"I don't care." He ground the words between his teeth. "I'll
take out as many as I can until I'm dead. But I can't stop this alone. I've
gone without a slayer for almost sixty years, but now I
need
a
slayer."

Great. Immortal servitude. Or if he was mortal, he wasn't like anybody I'd
ever known. "What happened to your other slayer?" I asked, not really
wanting to know.

His gaze wandered past me, remembering. "She slipped."

"Oh." My stomach fluttered, but I forced myself to ask more.
"And her twin?"

"They turned her."

My veins iced over. "What do you mean?"

He searched me for some sign of comprehension. "You really don't know
anything, do you, Lizzie?"

"Not as much as I'd like," I admitted in the most colossal
understatement of all time. "I came here trying to get rid of one
succubus." Oh, for the days when I thought there was only one.

"You're going to have to fight with me, Lizzie."

"We can't kill them all," I insisted.

Max stood, the desk screeching backward. "I'll give you a day to think
about it."

My life suddenly seemed like a minor battle in the middle of a great big
war.

Max's sleek black Mercedes roared into the circle drive of the Paradise
Hotel. He paused long enough for me to step out, a shiver jolting through me as
the cool desert air touched my skin. I barely had my door closed before he
zoomed off into the night.

The lights from The Strip bounced off the X30's tinted windows, unable to
reach the man inside, as Max disappeared into the endless stream of traffic on
Las Vegas Avenue. He'd never pretended to be a gentleman. He was a soldier in
the middle of a great big war. And now I was involved too.

A startled bellhop rushed to greet me. "Are you all right, miss?"

Which was code for
you look like hell
. Fitting, since I'd indeed
caught a glimpse of it tonight. I smoothed my dress, wrinkled and torn from my
encounter with the demon. "Sure," I lied. "Everything will be
fine once I get to my room."

I wished I believed that.

The bellhop didn't buy it, either. But he allowed me my fantasy, escorting
me to the entrance and opening the smaller glass door next to the massive,
revolving one. The unexpected gesture made me pause. "Thanks," I told
him. "You're sweet," I added impulsively. I don't know why I wanted
him to know, except that seeing the darkness always made me want to look for
the light.

Even at three thirty in the morning, the Paradise Hotel lobby seemed
brighter, the slot machines louder, the patrons more boisterous than I'd seen
them before. Of course compared to Max's prison, Frankenstein's lab would have
felt cozy.

The wards at the entrance practically sizzled with energy. Battina and Jan
had been busy. I reached out with my mind to see what kinds of creatures I
could detect. Several unknowns scattered throughout. I'd have to get better at
sensing, along with everything else.

If Max was right and the demons were planning something big, I wondered how
on earth my gentle fairy godfather could be involved.

At the twelfth-floor maintenance entryway, I slipped my key card out of my
black utility belt and quicker than you can say,
home, sweet, hotel room
,
stepped into the lapping waters of our hallway. My shadow stretched over the
glistening water.

It would feel good to hug my little doggie. I hoped he hadn't gorged himself
too bad on Paw Lickin Chicken. I even looked forward to dealing with Dimitri
and Grandma. Sure, they'd be ticked that I left with Max. No question it'd been
worth it. Max's demon war would affect us all. They had to see it.

My thoughts lingered on the ageless half-demon vigilante and his Spartan
devotion to the cause. I didn't know how Max did it, alone every day. Come to
think of it, he wasn't alone anymore. He had me.

What a terrible thought.

The hallway smelled like pizza again. I hoped someone on the floor just
really liked pizza, because if Pirate had learned how to order room service, my
meager savings could go from stretched to nonexistent in the space of a couple
of dozen hotel platters.

My hand had barely touched the knob of my door when it came crashing in on
its own. Dimitri stood in the entryway. His eyes sliced into me, dissecting
every scrape, bruise and broken nail I'd suffered tonight.

"What the hell happened to you?" he demanded.

He was on me before I could answer. Devouring me in a superheated, melting
kiss that chilled me to the core. It quickly grew harder, possessive. His
fingers slid up my shoulders and neck, into my hair, gripping me and forcing me
to understand exactly how worried he'd been.

I felt myself weaken as my energy flowed toward him. I pushed him away
before I melted into his kiss.

"Are you hurt?" he asked against my lips, his caresses turning to
inspection as he frowned at the growing bruises on my arms. His touch was
light, but his eyes hardened as he scanned the remains of my dress. My body
didn't quite get the message. Pleasure seeped through me every place his
fingers traveled… and even a few places where they didn't. Call it denial
at its most delicious. Was it that much of a sin to want this escape? Who
wouldn't want to forget Max, his demons and everything else that had happened
tonight?

One of Dimitri's superlarge hands rested on my waist, while the other traced
a particularly nasty scrape that disappeared into the lilac silk of my bodice.
It would have been the ultimate distraction, only his eyes glowed yellow again.

"Lizzie!" Pirate jumped up and down against my legs. "You
hear me, Lizzie?"

His claws caught a cut on my leg I didn't even know was there until,
"Ow!"

Pirate intensified the assault. "I don't think you hear me because
you're not saying anything and I'm your dog and I'm right here. Lizzie!"

Good. Yes. Think about the dog—
and not Dimitri, who is being
corrupted right in front of your eyes
.

"Baby dog!" I broke away and reached down for my Jack Russell
terrier.

Pirate's spindly legs wriggled as fast as his tail. "I was starting to
think you'd never come back," he said, digging his wet nose into the crook
of my elbow.

"Yes, well." He also thought that when I walked out to the mailbox
without him.

Pirate could sniff, lick and talk at the same time. "And Grandma,"
he said, "I don't know where she went."

My body froze.

"She and Ant Eater are working on something," Dimitri said.

"Oh no." I shuddered to think. "They aren't chasing Serena,
are they?" I was the only one who could defeat her, and frankly, they'd be
more of a hindrance than a help.

"Don't worry," Dimitri said. "Battina and Jan have them
tracking down ingredients for extra wards. Something about stinkbugs and more
turtle knees."

"Fine," I said, clutching my dog to my chest. "Excuse
me." I edged past him and deposited Pirate onto the nearest bed.

"Now that you're back, we have some things to discuss," Dimitri
said to my back. The
alone
was implied.

"Yeah, well me first," I said. "Let's move." His room
would be better than mine, especially if Grandma showed up.

"Oh, now you know I can keep a secret," Pirate protested as
Dimitri clicked the door shut behind us.

"Let's go," I said, splashing backward down the hall, waving
Dimitri on.

Before I could turn around, Dimitri lit upon me like I was on fire.
"What is this?" He seized my right hand, turning it over. Gone was
the insistent touch of a lover. In its place, a hardened griffin warrior whose
power I was only beginning to understand.

He held out my right hand and there, in the center of my palm, pink slashes
swirled across my unbroken skin. I squinted at them in the dim lights of the
hallway. They looked like the wounds Max inflicted on Dimitri. They were about
the only thing on my body that didn't hurt. In fact, I didn't know what had
happened.

Had Max marked me?

I flexed my palm, stretching the marks out over my skin. He couldn't have
marked me without my knowledge. Could he? It could have been something I'd
touched—the banister leading down to the basement, my switch stars, the
steel door that held back an ancient demon.

Three parts of a whole swirled, in almost a floral pattern. Squat sides
together, lines reaching out. I didn't understand the significance at first,
until Dimitri traced each symbol that marked my palm—
6-6-6
.

I stared in horror at the fluid numbers etched over my palm. I fought the
urge to rub them against my stained dress, to keep rubbing until there was
nothing left. If I thought it had a chance of working, I would have done it.

A sudden realization made me go brittle inside. What if it wasn't Max?

They killed one slayer and turned the other.

Voice unsteady, I asked the question I feared the most. "What does it
mean?"

I didn't like Dimitri's somber expression one bit, but I knew I could count
on him to lay it out for me. "It seems you've made a deal with the
devil."

My heart thumped hard, threatening to take over my rib cage. "That's
impossible," I gasped. "I didn't agree to anything."

Dimitri cut me off. "Evil comes whether we invite it or not. What do
you want, Lizzie? Are you really looking for things to be fair? A demon isn't
going to wait for an engraved invitation to strike. You of all people should
know that. Don't kid yourself about the hunter, either. He's out to use
you."

"Max is on our side," I insisted.

Dimitri gave me a hard look. "So now he's Max?"

"Yes, that's his name." I wanted to say Max didn't mark me,
either. But I couldn't go that far. I just didn't know.

No question about it—something had happened to me down there. I
couldn't change it, but I could do my very best to fight it.

Dimitri looked like he wanted to smash something.

"Open your eyes, woman. And do it fast, because I'm not going to stand
around and watch you destroy yourself."

"Look who's talking. You need to leave this city. Now!" This
wasn't the way I'd wanted to tell him, but… "I have a confession to
make." My insides churned at the thought. "The night we went to hell
and you were really hurt"—I searched his
face—"remember?"

Of course he remembered. I was stalling, racking my brain for a better way
to say it. But there was no way to say this right. "You were going to die.
I gave you part of my demon slayer essence to save you."

Dimitri looked like I'd hit him with a brick.

"That's not all," I said quickly. "It tainted you. It opened
you up. Whatever protection you think you have—you don't. I'm sorry,
Dimitri." I reached for him. "I'm so sorry."

He backed away, shock etched across his features.

"I didn't tell you because, well, I didn't know how. I didn't want you
to feel obligated to me. I never thought in my wildest dreams this could
happen."

Dimitri's yellow eyes focused on a spot on the wall behind me. "I knew
something was wrong," he said roughly, almost to himself. "I felt it."

"There's nothing we can do. And you certainly can't protect me like
this. If you stay, you're only making them stronger. Let it go. Leave."
Then softer, I said, "They've won this round."

He stiffened, eyes darkening. "Not if I have anything to do with it."

Oh no, no, no. He wasn't going to deny this. "You're feeding
them!"

My voice echoed down the empty corridor. Now I knew why it was dim. The
concierge posts stood empty.

His nostrils flared, his body tight with resolve. "I'm also resisting
them." He loomed over me. "And doing a damned good job of it. Better
than I should be given these…" He couldn't even say it.
"Circumstances."

"You need to leave," I said. He gave me a predatory smile.
"Point taken." Stubborn, stubborn man. He might think he could control
his own destiny, but he couldn't deny one basic truth about the fight ahead.
"Fine. Whether you stay or go, we're not going to beat this thing without
Max." Facts were facts.

"You don't know what the hell he is."

"Max can kill demons," I said. "We need him." Dimitri
closed his fist as if he wanted to punch something. "He is a demon,"
Dimitri said, grinding out each word. "Half demon."

His mouth twisted into a mockery of a smile. "Now you're splitting
hairs."

"And you're lumping him in with the devil." His temper burned.
"He's a vigilante, Lizzie."

"Fine, so he's not a slayer." He killed for revenge. It left the
demons just as dead. "And how he kills them…" Disgusting wasn't
the word. I'd seen him consume a she-demon. I'd touched his steel holding cells
with my own hand. "But you have to admit, he's killed more than I ever
have."

If possible, Dimitri's rage intensified. "Can't you feel him
turning?"

I stood, rooted in place.

He thrust his hand out, gripping my shoulder, his fingers tight with fury.
"Every demon Max consumes takes away a small part of his humanity. Until
there won't be anything left."

"What about you?" I demanded.

"I'll survive."

"This is not a choice."

"He'll turn."

It took me a moment to hear him. Maybe I didn't want to understand.
"You mean he'll become one of them?" I gasped.

What was the male version of a succubus? "An incubus?" I wouldn't
wish it on my worst enemy.

Dimitri gave me a cold look. "I don't know what he'll become, but I don't
want you to be around to find out. We need to fight our own part of this war
and leave Max to fight his. In the meantime, I'm on you like a second skin. If
he shows up again, he'll have to answer to me."