Ask the Oracle (7 page)

For the first time in his life, Gray found himself speechless. As an Oracle, he was always

the first to know everything. It was rare for him to find himself in a situation where he didn’t

already know every possible outcome. The only true blind spots he’d ever found in his gift

seemed to be if he tried to look for knowledge that directly influenced his own life. While the

Fates had no problem saddling him with the ‘gift’ of knowing all there was to know about

everyone else, he wasn’t able to use it for any kind of personal gain. At first, he’d been

bothered by the double standard. Now, he didn’t even bother trying to look. The knowledge

that he had been caught so completely unaware was both exciting and terrifying.
What could

it mean
?

Raised voices caught his attention and brought his focus back to what was happening

around him. Two guards had moved forward and were closing in on Povell. Heavy chains

were hanging from their hands, ready to restrain the man. The murderous Demon didn’t

seem to be onboard with their plans. Waiting until they were within striking distance, Povell

lurched forward, throwing his weight into the body of one of the approaching guards.

Unthinking, the guard dropped the chains and raised his arms in an attempt stop his fall.

Gray had a moment to take in the look of malicious victory on Povell’s face before everything

around them burst into chaos.

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37

There was no chance to even call out a warning before Povell’s hands erupted into

sickly, green flame. Their glow was reflected in Povell’s eyes, further accentuating the

malevolent gleam in his narrowed orbs.

“Povell,” Dreo placated coolly, taking a cautious step forward. “Extinguish the flames.

Do not make the situation worse for yourself by causing more damage.”

“Fuck you,
Lord Demos
!” Povell screamed. “You would take the word of that piece-of-

shit human over me? Over your own kind? You would make yourself a traitor to your own

people, all for him?” Disgust coloured his expression, from his narrowed eyes to the sneer

that twisted his lips.

“The only traitor to our people is you, Povell. The crimes you have committed against

humans and Demons alike are beyond belief. There is a sickness in you. Something vile and

festering, corrupting everything you touch. A sentence of death would be too merciful a

judgement for the crimes you have committed. The Oracle has shown me the truth of your

crimes. The joy you took in them. There is no arguing with what he has
Seen
.”

Dreo’s eyes were cold like black pieces of ice as he glared at the man before him. If he

had ever felt anything for the other Demon, be it friendship or love, there was no longer any

trace of it. His stony glare was hollow, empty of anything but disgust. Gray hoped that Dreo

never looked at him with such disdain. Povell would not find an ally in Dreo and the man

knew it.

Desperation morphed into rage. “I might not be able to argue with what the Oracle has

shown you,” Povell sneered, “but I can make sure it’s the last things he
Sees
.”

In a move faster than Gray could have ever imagined, Povell jerked his arm to the side.

His flaming hands now aimed straight at Gray’s face. With a final sneer and without one bit

of hesitation, he appeared to relax his grip and shot a stream of fire directly at Gray,

engulfing him in deadly green flame.

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38

It happened so fast, Gray didn’t even have time to flinch as the burning projectile closed

the space between them. The room seemed frozen. The only sound was the crackling hiss

from the fire as it drew nearer. To Gray, even time itself seemed to have stopped in its tracks.

What seemed like an eternity could, truly, only have been seconds then the room erupted in

a flurry of noise and movement.

Screams and shouts filled the hall as the guards converged on Povell. Thankfully, there

was a Water Demon present who stepped forward to lend a hand. Never having had the

chance to work with one before, Gray found himself entranced by her appearance. The

statuesque beauty was nearly as tall as Dreo, with long, shimmering blue hair and pale grey

skin. Winding up, like a pitcher on the mound, she hammered Povell with thick silver

streams of water, over and over again, until he could no longer withstand their power and

was driven to his knees.

Once he was on the ground, the Water Demon really kicked it up a notch. Holding both

arms out in front of her, she approached Povell’s downed form, blasting him with an

unending torrent of water. Between the determined glint in her eyes and the heavy fall of her

hair swirling around her, she looked like an avenging angel. With a flick of her wrists, the

liquid churned and rose until it became a ball of solid water, encasing Povell’s body. The

flames coating his hands flickered briefly before winking out of existence as their master was

completely submerged in water. She continued to restrain him there until his struggling

ceased and his body went limp. With the threat now neutralized, she released her hold on the

water and allowed Povell’s unconscious form to drop to the floor in a sopping wet heap.

Instantly, Dreo was in Gray’s face, grasping his shoulders in an iron grip. His wide eyes

were filled with concern as he ran hands down Gray’s body, frantically searching him from

head to toe for injury. Worry was quickly replaced with confusion when all he uncovered

was pale, unmarred skin. There wasn’t a burn or scorch mark anywhere to be found on Gray.

“How?” Dreo gasped, his brows pulled down in bafflement.

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JJ Black

39

Gray shrugged sheepishly. “It kind of comes with the gig. Being an Oracle has the

added benefit of a certain level of indestructability. It definitely comes in handy. As you can

see,” he continued, motioning to an extremely soggy Povell, who was now screaming and

thrashing on the floor like a fish out of water, “people aren’t always please about what I
See
.”

“You’re indestructible.” Dreo’s softly spoken words were hesitant, yet filled with

wonder.

Gray shook his head. “Not completely. While I’m locked in my
Sight
, all my shields

come down. In that moment, I’m vulnerable to attack.”

Dreo scowled. “But you have others there to protect you during that time…”

“When I’m working for a private client, usually not. However, when I’m working in the

field for the police, then definitely, yes. I have a whole team of bodyguards there to watch

my back, in case things get out of hand. Unfortunately, I don’t always have control over my

Sight
.” Gray grimaced. “Sometimes, like today, I’m pulled into a vision and there’s no

stopping it. When that happens, I’m basically just dragged along for the ride. Thankfully, it

doesn’t happen often. If it does, the situation is always dire and in need of immediate

attention.”

“You have human guards?” Dreo scoffed, in derision. “Never again! From now on, you

go nowhere alone. If I’m not with you, I will arrange to have Demon guards there to protect

you.”

Gray bristled at Dreo’s highhanded command. He considered correcting the Demon’s

faulty assumption but decided against it. It would be more entertaining to let Dreo be

surprised. It was nothing less than he deserved for being such a domineering ass.

“Whatever,” Gray dismissed, with a wave of his hand. “I trust my guards and I’m not

replacing them. They’re like family. If you want to waste your money, go ahead and hire

more guards. That’s your business and I can’t stop you. Now,” he said, pushing away from

Dreo, “since we’ve wrapped up the drama portion of the evening, can we get back to the job

you hired me for? We still have a murderer to find.”

Jerking back, Dreo looked at him in confusion. “I assumed, with Povell in custody, we

already had our killer.”

“Well, you assumed wrong,” Gray snapped irritably. “You went through the vision

with me. Did you, at any point, see Povell plot and execute the murder of the Lord of the

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40

Underworld?” When Gray received no immediate answer, he shook his head. “While Povell

is one sick puppy and guilty of things I never want to see again, he did not kill your king. It

seems like you’ve got more than one murderer roaming your halls.” Crossing his arms over

his chest, he smirked at Dreo. “Still sure it would be safer for me to have some Demon

guards?”

“You’re kind of a cocky shit, you know that?” Dreo growled.

Gray sighed dramatically. “We all have our crosses to bear.” Turning his back on Dreo,

he looked around at the gathered crowd. “Now, does someone have a phone I can use?

Sadly, my phone plan doesn’t provide coverage in the Underworld and I need to make a

call.”

Dreo sighed, irritation clear in his tone. “Why do you need a phone?”

“Isn’t it obvious? With the state of things down here, there is no way I’m going to be

able to
See
without my team with me.”

“I already told you that I would arrange to have a team of guards for you,” Dreo

scowled. “There is no need to bring humans into the Underworld.”

Gray scoffed. “You honestly think I’m going to trust any of your Demon guards more

than my own men?”

“My men are absolutely trustworthy and I do not appreciate your insinuations to the

contrary.”

“Oh, yeah?” Gray asked, quirking a brow. “After everything that’s happened, just in the

last few minutes, you really want to stick with the story that all of your Demons are fine,

upstanding citizens that wouldn’t even hurt a fly?”

If looks could kill, the glare Dreo shot in his direction would have had him dropping

dead on the spot. Thankfully, despite his obvious frustration, Dreo didn’t refute his

argument. After all, the evidence had been stacking up in Gray’s favour ever since they had

got to the Underworld. After everything he had seen, Gray was definitely not buying the

‘gentle as a kitten’ spin they were trying to attach to Demons. While he was prepared to

reserve judgement before labelling them all as the ravenous, soul stealing monsters he had

originally believed them to be, they were also far from being docile little lambs. To believe

otherwise would be a mistake.

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41

With a hand on his hip, Gray cocked his head and stared at Dreo expectantly. “Phone,

please?”

Dreo groaned before retrieving a sleek, silver cell from his pocket and placing it gently

in Gray’s open palm. “As you wish, Oracle.” Dreo’s expression softened before he turned

and made his way back over to the guards who were preparing Povell for transport. The

Water Demon, it seemed, would be making the trip as a temporary guard to ensure there

was no more excitement.

For a moment, Gray just stood back and observed Dreo. He found himself entranced by

the play of muscles across Dreo’s back and shoulders that flexed and bunched as the man

moved. He had a fluidity to his movements that was surprisingly graceful for someone of his

size. Gray’s body began to heat as his thoughts, once again, turned away from the business at

hand and more towards Dreo and himself getting down to business between the Demon’s

sheets.

He was so totally lost in his imagination that when a door slammed shut across the

room, Gray swore he almost had a heart attack. He let out a relieved breath as he saw that it

was just additional guards that were making their way over to join the growing crowd on the

other side of the hall. Shaking his head, he tried to clear his thoughts. He didn’t know if it

was a side effect of being in the Underworld, but something was not right with him. He’d felt

out of control since he’d arrived. With his brand of power, control was something he had to

strictly maintain or risk falling back into the chaos that had tormented him in his youth. If he

hadn’t been on a job he would have taken the time to figure out what was going on with him.

Unfortunately, their investigation was time sensitive and every minute longer it took to find

the murderer was a minute closer the Underworld came to falling into complete

pandemonium. His issues would just have to wait.

“I’ve gotta call Sarah,” he muttered, trying to calm his racing heart.

Gray walked to the edge of the room and surveyed for danger one last time before

placing the call. Luck was on his side when it immediately rang through, with only a few

cracks and pops for his trouble. There were two rings then Sarah’s soothing voice filled the

line.

“Hello, sunshine.”