Claimed by Light (6 page)

Chapter Eight

Halena knocked on the door again. “Hello?” She opened her mind. There was someone in the house, just not answering. “I’m a friend of Addison’s.”

More shuffling followed.
Now we’re getting somewhere.

Halena stepped back. Wilting trees flapped the paint-peeled sides of the dilapidated ranch house. Weeds protruded from every open space on the cracked sidewalk leading to the crooked front door.

“Hello?”

The door creaked open, but the chain latch allowed only a few inches.

A dim blue eye surrounded by wrinkled skin peered out at Halena. “Who are you?” The voice was airy, and a strand of silver hair fell along her forehead.

“I’m Halena. A friend of…” She cleared her throat. “Slade and Addison’s.”

“Slade?” The door shut and
clank
s sounded briefly before it swung wide open. “You’ve seen Slade?”

A short, silver-haired woman peered at Halena through unkempt bangs.

“Is Addison here?” The hairs on Halena’s neck straightened, prickling her skin.

Something wasn’t right. No demon sense, but—

“I haven’t seen her in days, and I haven’t seen Slade in over three weeks.” Her nostrils flared.

“Any idea where they might be?” She glanced behind the old lady.

“Who are you now?”

“Met Slade way back. Haven’t heard from him or Addison in a while. Got a little worried when I couldn’t reach them.”

“How’d you find me?”

“Oh, Addison…she…talked about you. I just…looked you up.”

“You found me on that…internet.” She shook her head. “No privacy anymore.” She opened the door wider. “Come in for some tea.”

Halena froze. The itch to reach for her Mavet overwhelmed her, but she hadn’t sensed a demon. “You’re alone?”

She glanced to the left. Again her nostrils flared.

Halena opened her mind and got an image of a man, a tall human with coal-black hair.

Where is he?
Halena silently asked the old woman, hoping she’d give a gesture or motion to indicate where the guy might be.

She flinched, her eyes widening.
Two feet to my left.

Wow. She’d answered Halena.
Just one?

She nodded.

Back up.
Halena sneaked her hand into her side pocket for her dagger. The old woman shuffled out of range.

Halena kicked in the door, then sped around the corner and slid as if beating a tag to home plate. Her feet met the ankles of the tall, bulky man, and he stumbled. She rolled, then hopped to her feet and collared his throat.

One quick movement had him pinned to the wall. Halena let a thunderous rumble slip, and her fangs descended. Behind her, the old woman gasped.

“Who are you?” Halena asked him.

“Trevor. Trevor.” He choked out. “Don’t. Don’t kill me.”

She let his feet touch the ground but kept her hand on his throat. “Talk.”

“Jace. He told me to watch her. Watch for anything…”

“What?” Halena asked, glancing at the woman. “Spit it out, you wimp.”

Surprisingly the guy hadn’t pissed himself. Totally not a demon. But what was he?

“They sent me here to see if you came.”

They must know about the Ahavah. She hadn’t received the Mark because she hadn’t touched Slade, but he had and was more than likely puking his guts all over the place, getting ready for the change. To become Shomrei.

That Mark could land him in some serious trouble at the demon compound.

“You’re human.” She sheathed her weapon and took inventory of her surroundings.

They were standing in a small living room; an old box that could have passed for a first-edition television sat in the far corner of the room. The shades were drawn, and the stench of two-day-old food and beer hung heavy in the air.

Trevor stared at her, eyes wide, mouth agape.

Oh, great. Another wannabe demon. This whole Slade and Addison situation got stinkier by the minute. Halena faced the grandma type, keeping Trevor in the corner of her vision. “And who are you?”

The old woman clutched her chest and shuffled back. “I need to sit.”

Halena hurried forward and eased her into the single chair in the middle of the small room. A recliner, of course.

Trevor moved, and Halena growled. That time she scented a little urine.

He’d make a terrible demon.

“This is too much for my old mind to handle.”

“I know.” Halena nodded. “Just tell me everything.”

“Mae. My name is Mae.”

“And you’re…”

“Slade and Addison’s grams.” She let out a long breath and shook her head. “Have you seen them? Are they okay?” She looked at Trevor, who stood there watching. “He barged in… I…didn’t see him coming.” She sagged into the armchair.

Didn’t see him coming?
Halena riffled through Mae’s mind and picked up a few specks of information. Mainly Trevor backhanding her across the face. Halena lunged at him, and with one fist to the temple he was out.

Hard.

“Thank you, dear,” Mae whispered. “Asshole he was.”

Halena chuckled and knelt before the old woman. “Please tell me what happened.”

“That guy stormed in here two days ago, saying if I didn’t cooperate Slade would be killed. He had pictures of Addie and Slade.”

“Show me.”

She pointed to the coffee table. Eight-by-tens littered the wooden tabletop.

Slade’s bruised and bloodied face graced several. Addison’s pictures, on the other hand, looked more like a Gap commercial—tall, cute guys hanging around her and a few other females.

Smiling. Laughing.

Behind Addie, in one of the pictures, a tall guy stood, fully fanged out, pointing to Addie. Halena held up the picture for a closer look. “Is this Jace? The one who told Limp Dude over there to rough you up?”

Mae looked at Halena and took a long breath. “What are you?”

“Sorry?” She took the pictures, corralled them in a neat pile, then slid them into a manila envelope lying on the coffee table.

“You spoke to me without words and heard mine.” Mae pointed at Halena.

“Perceptive old woman.”

Mae shook her finger. “Mind your manners.”

Halena chuckled and folded the top of the envelope. These pictures might give her an idea of where the Gap commercial wannabes hung out. But what she didn’t understand was why the demon, Jace, acted like he was Addie’s boyfriend.

Mae coughed into her hand. “That Jace. I knew he was bad news when I saw him with Addie. But she was so sad after her brother up and left. Scared. Said she had a bad feeling.”

“So she hooked up with the nearest de— Loser?” Halena sat on the floor in front of Mae and crossed her legs. “What gives?”

“That one. She’s been messed up since losing her mom so early on. Poor Slade was always chasing her, saving her from one problem after another.”

That struck a chord in Halena. The emails she’d read in Slade’s in-box. “He sacrificed a lot for her.”

“More than a brother—particularly someone so young—should. After their parents died—” She shook her head. “Both had to grow up too fast. Slade did the best he could, got into school and fought hard for a normal life. Addie just stayed…lost.”

“Wrong crowd?”

“Slade and I tried to show her the right way. He was only eighteen when his dad—my son—died. Still just a child himself.”

“When’s the last time you saw Addison?”

“Well…let’s see. It’s hard to keep track. Slade disappeared a few weeks ago. Addie stuck around until Jace entered the picture. That was about a week ago.”

The timing corresponded with Slade helping Halena escape.

More and more made sense now about Slade and Addison. The parents weren’t in the picture, and he had a younger sister to contend with. No wonder the guy did what he did.

A tear skated down Mae’s cheek. “Do you know where Slade is? It’s not like him to leave like this. And then those pictures…”

Halena’s gut wrenched. She couldn’t really say, “Oh, he’s a demon. Sorry. Just try to remember him how he was.”

“Halena?”

“Sorry. No—wait, how’d you know my name?”

“You said it earlier. Do you know where Slade is?” she asked again, her voice a little more forceful.

Her intense stare made Halena, an eight-century-old Gatekeeper to Hades, crumble. And Halena didn’t crumble.
Ever!
But right now, she wanted to curl up in a ball and tell Mae everything. How much she cared for Slade despite what he’d done to her. How the one night they’d had together, before he drugged and kidnapped her, had rocked her world. She’d never felt a connection stronger than that and, at the time, The Great One hadn’t even marked him yet.

Even now, despite Slade’s betrayal, she still thought of him. Was racking her brain for a way to save him.

She tried to blame her feelings for him on the Ahavah, but the more she learned about Slade… He was honorable.

But she would never admit that to anyone, let alone a stranger…who just happened to be Slade’s grandmother.

And, someone who knew Halena’s name when she was certain she hadn’t offered it.

Chapter Nine

“Oh, Jace. You’re so strong!” Addison slapped the demon’s bulging biceps, and Halena nearly puked. How could this girl be so clueless?

Sure, he was easy on the eyes, with his thick black hair and fair skin, but still.

The demon steadied her with his big hand on her shoulder as she slid out of the booth.

“I’ll be right back.” Addison gave a cute one-finger wave and blew a kiss at the demon.

Halena focused on Addison stumbling toward the ladies’ room. Damn girl couldn’t be more than sixteen at the most, and she was wasted in a bar filled with demons.

Okay, not
filled
, but there was at least one massively strong demon here. If Halena had to guess, that Jace loser was a few centuries old. And for how young Addison looked, he more than likely had connections at this bar to get her in the place.

Halena might have her work cut out for her getting that little brat out of here.

None of this made sense, though. What was that demon doing with Addison? Or with Slade, for that matter? So much time and energy had been spent on these two, Halena couldn’t look the other way. She had to figure out what was going on.

She patted both sides of her legs, confirming her Mavets were in place. If she couldn’t work some mind mojo on Addison and get her out of here quietly, she’d have to fight their way out.

The tipsy teen passed by, leaving a wake of strong, spicy perfume that stung Halena’s eyes.

Lovely
.

Halena hugged the walls, dodging two women making their way from the hallway, and sneaked into the bathroom before the door closed.

There were three stalls to her left. Straight ahead was a full-length mirror and a stand with a myriad of beauty supplies to keep the women fresh…and smelly. Halena bit back a sneeze.

She’d never been the kind to wear a lot of perfume. It messed with her sense of smell.

Shuffling to her right drew Halena’s attention. Addison patted her lips as she leaned into the mirror.

“Busy out there tonight.” Halena approached the young girl.

Addison stopped and clutched something in her free hand, then brought it to her side. Weapon maybe? How’d she hide one in that skimpy skirt and tight shirt? Maybe in her tiny purse.

“You okay?” Halena took another step.

“Fine. Um. I just need to use the bathroom.” She laughed. “One too many beers for me tonight.”

Funny, though, she navigated around Halena with no stumbling, and there wasn’t much of a scent of alcohol wafting off the girl. Not drunk.
Interesting.

Addison shifted whatever she held to her other hand as she passed Halena. It was small. Black.

A man’s wallet. Halena pried into the girl’s mind and saw images of her sneaking that off the giant demon. A sense of panic and confusion, not to mention a ton of fear, rammed into Halena as well.

“Whatcha got there, little miss pickpocket?” Halena snatched the wallet.

“Hey!” Addison’s voice cracked.

“Relax. I’m not a cop.” She manhandled Addison to the fainting lounge in the small sitting area near the vanity.

She flopped onto the chair. “I—”

Halena held up a hand, shushing the miscreant, and opened her mind. No one was approaching from what she could tell, but she still needed to be quick. “Look. I’m a…friend of Slade’s. I’m—”

Addison jumped up. “Slade? You know my brother?”

“Quiet!” Halena pointed at the tiny ingrate. “And quiet your mind. You’re giving me a headache.” She held up the wallet. “You’re stealing from your date?”

Addison’s eyes went wide. “He’s not my date, he’s a— No. I just—”

The word “demon” screamed through Halena’s mind. Addison knew that jackass out there was a demon? Halena bit her tongue. She needed to find out more about this little pocket picker.

She flipped open the wallet and found a driver’s license, gym membership card, even the standard credit card plastic. All in Jace Conroy’s name. Boy. This demon really played the part of a human.

“What are you doing with that loser?”

“Where’s Slade? Who are you?” Addison planted her fists on her hips.

Brave little thing standing up to Halena like that, but she had no idea how far in over her head she was. Even if she knew Jace was a demon.

“Slade asked me to check on you.”
More like save you.
“Looks like he was smart to do so.”

“You’re French. Is he still over in France? Why’d he send you to me? Where is he? Is he okay? Why—?”

Halena held up her hand. “Whoa, whoa, whoa.” She rubbed her throbbing temples. This place was giving her a headache. “First things first. Let’s get out of here.”

“No way. Give me that.” She reached for the wallet. “I want to see what’s in there.”

Halena held it out of the girl’s reach. “Please, what are you, like twelve? You have—”

“I’m sixteen and a half!”

“Oh, and that
half
really makes a difference. You’re coming with me. Either on your own volition…” She ducked into Addison’s line of sight. “Or I’ll just make you.”

The girl froze. “What’s happening?”

Halena held her gaze a bit longer. “Just making you a little more compliant.”

“Stop. It’s hurting my brain.” She clutched her temples.

Well,
that
was new. No one had ever resisted a trance.

“What are you?” Halena asked, reaching for Addison’s arm. “You—” A mental vibe tickled the base of Halena’s skull. “Someone’s coming.”

“How do you know that?”

“Trust me.” She shoved the wallet in her back pocket and fluffed up her hair. “Just follow my lead, and I’ll get you out of here.”

“No. I can’t go. I need to find out more information.”

“Trust me, Jace doesn’t have it. If you want to see your brother again, you’ll do exactly as I say.”

“Prove you know him.”

“He has brown eyes and brown hair.”

“You can get that from a picture.”

The door swung open, and two women sauntered in. They paused, then hurried toward the stalls, talking about how they had to pee so badly. There were two more on their way.

“Fine. He calls you Addster.”

“Oh my God.”

“There. Now shut up and follow my lead.”

Addison stepped back and motioned Halena in front of her. “Lead on…”

“Halena,” she said as she strode through the doorway.

The hallway outside the women’s room was dark. Too bad Halena didn’t have Theo’s splicing ability. She could mentally reach him and have him take them both back to his compound.

No. She needed to figure this out on her own.

Halena reached back, and a dainty hand fell into hers. Addison must really love Slade to trust a total stranger. Then again, the thoughts streaming out of the young kid’s mind indicated she’d only buddied up with Jace to find Slade.

What was it with the Bennet family? Everyone sacrificing themselves for each other. These guys didn’t know what they were dealing with. Demons were professional tricksters. Deal-breakers. Cheats. Murderers—

Two massive bodies rounded the corner at the end of the hallway—and one was Jace. “I knew I smelled a Shomrei here.”

Well, shit.

“Addison, come here.” Jace waved her to him.

“Sorry, buddy, she’s with me. What’s a Shom— How do you say that word?”

The demon beside Jace cocked his head as if confused.

“Funny, Gatekeeper. Your angelic stench rolls off you.”

Halena raised her arm and sniffed her pit. “I just thought it was that pretty powder-fresh scent.”

Addison’s hand tightened around Halena’s, and a wave of fear bore into her. Damn if that didn’t tug at Halena’s heart.

The confines of this tiny hallway didn’t help matters. Addison to worry about, a dead end behind, and the two hulks in front of Halena blocked the only exits.

“Look. No scenes here,” Halena said. “Not in public.”

“Then give me the girl.” Jace smiled. “And we’ll let you leave.”

“
Let
me leave?” Oh, now this guy was just pissing her off. She could clean the floor with these two demons, no matter how enormous they were.

But she had Addison to worry about. She tried to play it off as her Shomrei responsibility to protect humans, but deep down she knew it was more. This was Slade’s sister. The person he’d given up so much to protect. She
had
to take care of this girl, because if Halena could save Slade—and that was a big if—she needed to keep Addison safe to reunite them.

“Fine.” She tugged at Addison, and the girl squealed.

As she maneuvered Addison in front of her, feigning to turn her over to Jace, Halena slid out a Mavet.

She tossed the dagger and shoved Addison face-first into the wall, holding her there with a palm to her back. “
Reverto ut Abyssus
.”

The skewered demon vanished just as Jace lunged. Damn it, this was going to get messy, and this was a
very
public place.

Halena pressed Addison to the other wall as she kicked Jace in the throat. She dropped and punched his groin, then pushed her back against the wall directly beside Addison as the tower fell forward. She kicked his back, then snatched her Mavet and hurried toward the exit.

Jace roared as he hopped to his feet. Screams cut through the air as Addison and Halena backed into the main room. “Security! Help! There’s a guy trying to hurt us,” Halena yelled in her most girly voice.

The two guards manning the entrance leaped into action, each grabbing one of Jace’s arms. “Hold it right there.”

The tips of Jace’s fangs retracted. He must have agreed that it’d be too much of a scene to battle here. Too much trancing would have to be done to cover this up.

“Go,” Halena whispered to her charge. No, not a charge. To Addison. Not Addie or Addster. No nicknames. No connections.

She could not allow this girl to crack through her heart any more than she already had. More than her brother already had.

“Are you deaf?
Move
.” Halena pointed to the now-unguarded exit.

The frightened girl took off down the stairs. Halena stayed close behind, pocketing her daggers.

“Out the door and to the right.”

The girl followed the instructions without another word. Trust radiated from Addie—no—
Addison
. Trust in Halena. But so did love for Slade.

That one hurt the most. Halena didn’t love Slade, though. Before he’d betrayed her, she’d been ready to love him for a night…no strings. But now strings ruled the scene. She couldn’t afford to love anyone. After losing Dru, Halena had spent four centuries working hard at never loving anyone, because she knew she wouldn’t survive losing someone she cared about again.

And Dru was her Companion—her Shomrei sister; a connection with a Mate was infinitely more intense, and that scared the shit out of her.

They pounded down the sidewalk in the dark. The frigid Colorado air bit like tiny razors through Halena’s thin shirt. Addison must be freezing her ass off with that micromini and tank top. She looked like she belonged on Hooker Street.

“Left just past that building.” Halena patted the girl’s back. “Black SUV.”

Within minutes they were in the vehicle, and Halena cranked up the heat. “You knew Jace was a demon the entire time you were hanging out with him?”

Tears streamed over the girl’s cheeks, and she shook so much it might have registered on the Richter scale in Minnesota.

“I had to. I— Slade—” Sobs choked off the words. Her shoulders shook, and she pressed her hands to her face. “Is he dead? Is he”—she drew in a hiccuped breath—“a demon?”

“No. No. He’s fine. Just relax.” What did Halena know about taking care of a freaking-out girl in the middle of having a meltdown? She steered the vehicle out of the parking spot and navigated a few turns until she found Main Street.

“Come on, kid. Focus. Do you know how to work this GPS thing?” Yeah, distract her. Maybe that’d help. “We need to get out of here.”

Addison sniffled and wiped away the tears. “You really saw my brother? He’s okay? He’s not a—?”

“Type in this address.” Halena handed the girl her phone with the contact address highlighted.

“That’s in Arizona.” Addison took the phone from her.

“Exactly. Find me the fastest route.”

The girl started clicking the GPS on the dashboard, and Halena was thankful for the silence so she could get a minute to think. Addison was the reason Slade was in this demon mess. He’d been saving this girl’s ass, and now she was putting it back on the line to save him.

Votar owned Slade. That had to be evident when he didn’t escape with Halena. He could have, but didn’t. He knew that’d be Addison’s death sentence. So why were Votar’s demons still after Addison?

Then again, Justin’s Mate, Yvonne, had sold her soul to save someone and come out of that okay. Of course she couldn’t touch
anyone
except Justin without vaporizing them. Plus she was one of the seven Artifacts needed for Lucifer’s downfall.

Maybe Slade and Addison were somehow connected to the Artifacts.

“There. It’s in.” Addison sat back. “Thanks.”

Halena gave her a sideways look.

“I needed that distraction.” She scrubbed her face. “I’m so freaking out right now.”

“Well, stop it. I don’t want to have to hit you to snap you out of it.”
Like I’d ever do that.

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” She tilted her head toward Halena. “Is Slade in Arizona? Is he really okay?”

“First, tell me what you were doing with über demon Jace?”

“Looking for Slade.”

Halena dug out Jace’s wallet from her pocket. “By lifting this?
Please
.”

“I wasn’t sure where to start. I was desperate.”

“You’re lucky I got there when I did.”

“What’s a Shomrei?”

“Opposite of demon, lucky for you.” Halena steered the SUV onto the interstate and hit the button for cruise control. “Now, you better start telling me everything.”

“I got an email from Slade the other day.” More tears. “Saying good-bye.”

“Wait. Recently?”