bedeviled & beyond 05 - bedeviled & besmirched (12 page)

I didn’t make it.

Something massive hit my back hard, sending me flying across the hall to smack against the wall on the other side. I looked up and saw nothing, except the slight shimmering of the air before me. Before I could get my feet beneath me again, a low rumble sounded and my head jerked around.

The enormous, dog-like creature I’d battled with at the Davis place stood just outside the bedroom door. My gaze flew to the door but it was still closed.

The creature’s orange gaze was fixed on me, its massive teeth dripping with saliva as if in anticipation of how I would taste.

“Shit,” I murmured to myself.

The massive creature threw back its head and roared, spewing fish scented breath into the air around me. Then it sprang in my direction. I barely had time to leap to my feet and grab my knife.

But the creature never got to me. It hit the rippling wall of whatever had sent me flying and dug into it with massive claws, clamping its jaws over the invisible enemy and working hard to wrench a chunk out of it.

I recognized the shimmering air for what it was. A protective power bubble. I suddenly knew what was standing between me and the monster from the Davis place, and I also knew that the monster wasn’t gonna get through that bubble by itself.

My sensing power told me it was built of the most impenetrable magic. Pure, black magic. Teeth and claws wouldn’t touch it. There was only one thing that could take a chunk out of it.

Only one race could create that type of bubble. Created from magic purely of the dark world. Halfling bubbles were a mixture of white and black magic, varying in color from light to the deepest charcoal gray, depending on where the halfling landed on his or her Settling. This was a Royal Devil I was dealing with.

One of Dialle’s subjects. That was just peachy.

I stood there watching the struggle and wasn’t sure what to do. Which one of the monsters in the hallway was my friend? Or were they both enemies, just bumping up against each other in their hurry to get to me?

My gaze slid to the tiny, broken body on the floor a few feet away. Another enemy? Caught in the crossfire of all the creatures trying to take me out? I swore under my breath and expelled air in an angry burst. The fun that was my life was escalating. I had to fight multiple critters who hated me at once.

Frunkin’ awesome.

Maybe they’d kill each other and do my work for me.

But then the giant puppy dog suddenly yelped and flew backward, slamming hard against the wall at the end of the hall and sliding down into a soft puddle on the floor, and I found myself facing my invisible enemy once again.

Keeping my eyes trained on the ripples in the air a few feet away, I dropped the knife and yanked as much power as I could into my hands, creating softball-sized orbs of spitting white power that throbbed in each palm. I waited for the Royal to make his next move.

We stood at an impasse for long enough that I’d begun to wonder why he didn’t attack. Then the air began to thicken and a shape started to appear before me. It was a different shape than the one I’d expected to see, much slimmer and more...shapely.

The Royal stood with hands on softly rounded hips and glared at me through gorgeous, almond-shaped black eyes, fringed with thick midnight arcs of lash. Her bow-shaped, cherry-tinted mouth was pursed with disgust. Her hair was cut in a thick, spiky cap and highlighted with blonde streaks that seemed to glow against the dense blackness of her hair.

Her skin was a flawless, creamy gold.

I stared at her and she stared back, oozing hostility.

Finally I decided it was time to either kick some Royal ass or move the program forward. I was getting bored just standing there staring at her evil perfection. “So, are we gonna rumble or not?”

Her bow-shaped lips twitched and softened into a reluctant smile. “I’d be happy to kick your ass, Astra Q. Phelps. But you might want to hear what I have to say first.”

I cocked my head. “What could you possibly have to say to me that I’d want to hear?”

“How about this? I’m here to save your life.”

Down the hallway, the door opened and Mx. Diamon stuck her head out. “Mx. Phelps, is it safe to come out now?”

That was when I noticed the doggie monster had disappeared.

CHAPTER EIGHT

I Kissed a Girl and She Liked it

Devils can have curvy shapes, and speak in dulcet tones,

But even those whose plans are pure, will not their natures hone.

“No! Close the door!”

The woman quickly shut the door and I heard the lock turn. I smiled. Like a flimsy door lock would stop a Royal. “So what exactly are you saving me from, devil woman?”

The perfect lips tightened. “My name is Brina. You would do well to respect me, halfling. I may be all that saves you from the forces aligning against you.”

Before I could stop myself, I snorted.

The gorgeous, black eyes narrowed and I felt the sting of her power against my skin. I allowed my magic to cover me, giving me an impenetrable barrier against anything she tried to use on me. Sparks flew as her power met mine and she took a step forward, moving into my personal space. I leaned into her, glaring. “Let’s get something straight here, devil bitch. As I told your impudent advocate, I can take care of myself. I don’t need any Royal bodyguards.”

The glare turned into a derisive smirk. “Your ignorance is amusing, but I’m not willing to risk the health of our court on your puny skills. I will be your bodyguard whether you wish it or not.”

Speaking of unwelcome protectors, the air beside me shimmered and Slayer appeared, sword drawn. Before he could get the first slash moving through the air, Brina was on him, her rapier flashing toward him in a deadly arc.

I stepped back to avoid being skewered and leaned against the wall, prepared to enjoy the show.

“Who’s Slayer fighting?”

I jumped away from the wall and swore. Darma stood next to me, her pretty, blue eyes wide with concern.

Not for me.

For Slayer.

“Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

She shrugged. “I don’t sneak, Astra. Apparently you weren’t paying attention.” She jerked her head toward the battle down the hall. “So who is she?”

Slayer was pinned against the wall, using everything he had to keep his sword between him and the devil’s rapier. Brina was thrusting with such blinding speed I could barely keep track of her movements.

Slayer already had two long gashes on his person but looked as if he was barely exerting himself.

“A Royal devil. She claims she’s my protector, whether I want her or not.”

Darma snorted. “Apparently she doesn’t know you very well.”

I smiled. It was nice to be understood. “That’s what I told her.”

With a move that nearly matched the Royal’s for speed, Slayer twisted his wrist and turned her blade aside, ramming his blade into hers and driving both weapons toward her chest. Brina took two steps backward and then stopped, the entire line of her petite form rigid under the effort she was exerting to hold Slayer off.

His face came to within an inch of hers, his free hand sliding to her throat.

Sparks flew as his skin met hers and her fingers clasped his wrist.

“Who are you?” Slayer ground out between gritted teeth.

She spit on him.

I chuckled and Darma slammed a bony elbow into my ribs.

“Ouch!”

“You should be helping him, Astra.”

I snorted.

“I would ask you the same, halfling. What is your business here?”

Slayer apparently tightened his hand on her throat because the light show increased and Brina’s eyes looked a little buggier. “I am here to protect your queen. A task your court has been woefully inadequate in undertaking,” Slayer informed her in silken tones.

Brina’s slim body tightened and then flashed away. She came up behind Slayer, her thin, deadly rapier pressing the skin of his throat inward. “I am here to protect my queen, impudent halfling. Your services are not needed.”

After another nudge in my poor ribs from my sister’s knifelike elbow, I pushed away from the wall and strolled toward them. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell him.” I grinned at Slayer and turned to Brina. “He’s a friend, Brina. Leave him alone.”

Just because she was a devil, Brina twisted the rapier, digging a shallow cut into Slayer’s muscular neck before stepping away. She swiped the deadly weapon across his jeans to clean it and flashed across the hallway before he could grab her.

“Bitch!” Slayer’s face was tight with anger but his eyes held a far different emotion.

The she-devil dropped her deadly rapier back into its sheath and wandered into the kitchen. We followed her into the well-lit room. She moved right to the antique oven and grabbed one of the perfect, golden cookies off the pan on the top. I watched as she consumed the cookie in three bites and grabbed two more.

Apparently the devil liked sugar.

“Did you kill that bird demon?”

Brina glanced at me but didn’t respond, probably because her mouth was full of cookie.

I sent my sensing power around the room and found the tiniest speck of foreign magic. It was an oily magic, cold with malevolence. I didn’t think it belonged to the bird demon.

But, silly me, I didn’t think it had come from Brina either.

“Your enemy was in this house. I tracked him here.”

I frowned. Maybe the magic belonged to the doggie monster, but I didn’t think so. Though the creature had mauled me once or twice, I never really got the impression that it wanted to kill me. “Which one?”

Her smile was slow and smug. “You informed me that you didn’t need my help.”

Okay, she had me there. “I don’t need your help fighting him off, but if you know who it is I’ll take that bit of information from you.”

She picked up a cloth from the counter top and daintily wiped her fingers. “That is very large of you, my queen.”

Oh, that was a good reminder. “And since I am your queen you must aid me as I request.”

She snorted.

That wasn’t exactly the response I’d been looking for. It was a far cry from dropping to one knee and touching her forehead to the floor in obeisance.

Pretty damn far.

“I do not feel the need to follow court dictates. Unfortunately, I am already...how do the humans say...off the reservation just by being here. However, the women of my court wish to know how you marked the king. We wish to perform this ritual on our mates, to bring them under our power. Unfortunately, we must keep you alive if we are to discover your secret. And you are such a bumbler that, at every moment, you are just a breath away from being exterminated. It has been very painful to watch. So we decided that someone would need to stick to you like a sucker demon or you would become room temperature before we could find out your secret.”

I glared at her amid general snickering.

“Har.”

Brina grinned. “It is all true.”

I liked the woman less and less by the moment. “So let me take a stab at this...you will tell me who’s trying to kill me if I tell you my secret for marking Dialle?” Never mind that I had no frunkin’ clue how I’d marked him. I’d deal with that later.

But Brina hadn’t just tumbled off the brimstone truck. She shook her head. “I will learn your secret in due time. My task for the moment is to keep you alive long enough to find and kill the one who wants you dead.”

“And who might that be?” Slayer stepped close, his gaze sliding assessingly down her body.

Brina returned his frank stare with one of her own, her dark eyes sparking with interest. Apparently she wasn’t completely immune to his considerable charms. “I keep my own council, halfling. You may follow me around and aid me if you wish, but knowledge is power and, in this instance, I fully intend to be the one holding it.”

So much for controlling my own destiny.

~SC~

A few moments later, I finally let Mx. Diamon out of the bedroom and left her to entertain my sister and Slayer, both of whom actually seemed to enjoy the old woman’s company.

Go figure.

Figuring she was in good hands for a while, I retreated to my cell block and flopped myself down on the overly soft bed before remembering that it was a succubus nightmare. While I was trying to extract myself from the clutching mattress, the door to the room opened. I glared at it, my mouth opening to expel whoever entered the room.

Brina slid inside and closed the door, leaning against it.

“What the hell are you doing in here? Get out!”

The damnable chit just stared at me, her gorgeous black eyes speculative. “You are very cranky, my queen. Has something twisted your bloomers?”

My lip curled. “You mean besides the fact that someone is trying really hard to kill me and I can’t figure out who because I’m stuck in doily-and-sugar-cookie hell, babysitting a scary old lady?”

Her lush lips curved upward. “That is why you have me, my queen.”

“Don’t call me that.” Something about the way she was looking at me made me distinctly uncomfortable. It was a hungry look, reminiscent of the way she’d looked as she’d gobbled those cookies.

I struggled into a sitting position. The bed rocked and when I looked up Brina was on her knees in front of me. “Hey!”

She reached a golden finger, tipped in a perfect French manicure, toward my face, skimming it across my cheek as she swept a ribbon of hair out of my eyes. I shivered and my Settling roared to life.

Shit!

Her nostrils flared as she scented me and she dropped forward, onto her hands, forcing me back to my elbows on the sucking mattress. “You smell yummy. I am intrigued by this Settling thing you halflings experience. I thought I’d come explore.”

I grimaced. “If you don’t back the hell away right this minute you’re gonna find out a whole lot more about my Settling than you’re probably interested in knowing.”

Her smile made my body tighten around a coil of need. Heat pulsed between my thighs.

“Promises, promises,” she murmured huskily.

I sucked air into my lungs and tried to get myself under control. All I managed to do was pull her scent into my body, where it infused my cells like fine wine, making me slightly giddy. I realized my silence could be misconstrued so I opened my mouth, fully intending to tell her to get the hell away from me. I croaked a few non-committal sounds as she drew closer.