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She preened a little under the compliment and jerked her chin toward the Magi, a thin, intense-looking young Asiano man whose muddy hazel eyes sharpened as he took me in. “Ogami, my partner. He doesn’t talk much.” The Magi’s tattoo was a Krupsev, bearing the trademark swirls; he carried a longsword that reminded me of Gabe, and from the way his hand rested on the plain functional hilt I thought maybe he knew how to use it.
This is absurd. I shot a glance at Japhrimel. He watched me, the green light from his eyes casting shadows further down on his golden cheeks.
“Pleasure,” I rasped. Rain began to smack the window in earnest, driven by a restless wind. A harsh spear of lightning flashed in the distance.
The other two, both spare, rangy men, watched me. Japhrimel finally stirred as the sound of thunder reached us again, a low grinding counterpoint to the tension in the air. “Hellesvront agents.” His voice stroked the air with Power. “Va
Va
“Hey,” Va
“Hey.” I sounded choked even to myself. I’ve had a hell of a night, two demons and a goddamn elevator. Now I’m supposed to be polite?
McKinley, on the other hand, was dark. Glossy crow’s-wing hair, dark eloquent eyes, pale skin, and unrelieved plain-black clothing. Only two knives I could see. The only color on him was the sparkle of a strange kind of metallic coating on his left hand. He stared at me for a few moments, then lifted himself from the couch.
He moved like oil. I set my back against the wall and returned his stare, the back of my neck prickling.
He approached me, slowly, one step at a time. When he was almost past Japhrimel my sword leapt up from the scabbard. Four inches of bright steel peeked out. I swallowed. I didn’t know who the hell he was, and the way he moved made me uneasy. “Don’t come any closer.” If you come near me, I’m not going to be able to stop myself. I am not safe right now, kiddo. Not safe at all.
McKinley studied me for a long moment. His eyes flicked down to my left wrist. He glanced at Japhrimel, whose eyes had never left my face. When Japhrimel didn’t move, the pale man nodded. “Impressive.” His voice was almost like a Necromance’s, low—but not whispering. Just quiet, as if he never had to raise it to get something done.
“Glad you approve.” Lucas heaved himself up from beside the fireplace. “I’m going to bed. G’night, kids.”
“Lucas—” For a moment, I actually considered appealing to him for help. Then I regained my senses. “What the hell is going on?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Villalobos didn’t even look back as he paced from the room. “Your green-eyed boyfriend made good on your promises. Consider me paid and on the job. ’Night.”
“Tomorrow,” Japhrimel said, and they took it like a prearranged signal. They filed past me to the elevator, while Lucas slid into another room, shutting the door and immediately almost vanishing even to my senses. McKinley edged past me, gave me a long look before stepping through the maghinged doors, and I shuddered at the thought of being in an elevator, unable to fight, unable to breathe.
Japhrimel stayed where he was. Watched me. The ele-vator door slid closed, the maghinged doors closed too, and I let out a mostly unconscious sound of relief. I was begi
“And yet, here you are.” His eyes traveled down me once, the mark on my shoulder responding with a flare of heated Power, staining through my shielding. My entire body ached with unspent tension under that caress. Lightning flashed outside the window, the sharp jab of electricity echoing in my shielding.
Sparks popped from my rings. His eyes sharpened, and he looked straight through me. “I came out of Hell to find our home burning and my hedaira vanished. The smell of a scavenger overlaid your trail, and when I tried to locate you, I felt resistance. I thought you taken or tortured, or too weak to respond.”
What happened next surprised me. He actually snarled, a swift brutal expression crossing his face. “Do you know what it is like to search for you, thinking you taken or worse?”
I jammed my sword back home in the sheath. “Were you hoping another demon would find me before you did?”
I have never had his gift for dry irony, it surprised me to hear something so horrible come out of my own mouth. It had sounded fu
Japhrimel took a single step toward me, his eyes burning. The air turned hot and tense, the plasglass table next to me begi
“Go ahead,” he said softly. “Draw. If it will please you.”
“I don’t draw without reason.” So help me, I am so close to the edge now. Don’t push me. “Just fucking give me a few minutes, Japh.”
“You’re angry.” He didn’t even have the grace to sound ashamed.
“Of course I’m fucking angry!” Why did I sound like a hurt child? My voice hadn’t broken like this since my first social worker had died, knifed by a Chillfreak for an antique watch and a pair of sneakers. “You pulled one hell of a bait-and-switch on me, and I just got chased and—”
“I did what was necessary. You may keep your precious scruples, because I did so.” Dismissive. His eyes half-lidded, the green glow intensifying—as if that were possible.
I couldn’t believe this. I was so happy to see him, and yet I was shaking with the urge to punch him. As if it would have mattered; I didn’t think I could have hit him anyway, he was too fast. I searched vainly for a way to hold onto my temper. “My ‘precious scruples’ worked for you once,” I said tautly. “I finished dealing with Lucifer. And if I hadn’t burned my house down, you’d still be a pile of ash. Right?”
He shrugged. “I would have come back to you, one way or another. You know this.”
Why were my eyes watering? He had come back, he had searched Saint City to find me and helped me destroy Mirovitch’s leprous blue ka; he had spent so much patient time nursing me through the effects of the psychic rape Mirovitch had inflicted on me.
The anger went out of me. I could almost feel it go with a helpless snap. There are some things even I can’t fight, and I was being ridiculous. No sleep, no food, and being chased by demons was not guaranteed to leave me in a good mood, but he didn’t deserve the sharp edge of my temper. My muscles began to ache, a sure sign I was coming down from the raw edge of homicidal fury. “I’m just… gods. I could have done without this, you know. I really could have done without this. That’s all. Can you just… I don’t know, give me a little credit for not being mad at you but at the goddamn motherfucking situation Lucifer’s trapped me in?”
“Dante.” He took another step, approaching me cautiously. I glanced past him, toward the window ru