Death Wish (17 page)

I held out a hand to Jez. “I hope this works. If anyone is inside, we can’t have them sensing us.”

Jez placed her hand in mine. Excited energy trickled from her to send a strange tickle up my arm. “I always thought Lilah was pretty sketchy, too detached, and her lack of emotion is scary.”

“She’s a demon. It just gets scarier from there. Ready?” I waited for her nod before pushing my energy out around us in a circle, cloaking us with a keenly focused thought. Jez gave a little gasp as my power encased her.

The main door to the office was locked, nothing the key wouldn’t open. I hesitated, feeling for the heavy demon magic I’d seen Lilah surround the place in before. Nothing. Not hitting a demon barrier was a good thing, but it also meant the chances of her being inside were slim. I couldn’t probe for her energy unless I dropped my circle and opened my energy up to her as well. Not happening.

An advantage to being a predatory animal was our innate ability to move silently. Hand in hand, we eased the door open just enough to slip through. My eyes easily adjusted to the dark. There wasn’t a single light on inside, but the thin rays of light that crept through the windows kept it from being absolute black. Slow and cautious, we rounded the corner from the entryway into the hall.

Noise drifted toward us. It took me a moment to realize it was the sound of two people in the throes of passion.
Um, shit.
I glanced at Jez with my eyebrows raised, and she shrugged, urging me on.

The sound was coming from Veryl’s office, or what had once been his office. The door was swung shut but not latched tight. About six inches of space allowed us a view into the room. My jaw dropped.

Lilah was sprawled on Veryl’s fancy old desk. Her copper colored hair was in disarray and her head thrown back in pleasure. Standing between her legs, groaning with each thrust, was Falon.

I sure as hell hadn’t expected this. I could feel Arys’s questioning touch on my mind, wanting to know what was going on. I let him see what I was seeing, and his grim amusement came in response. Jez’s expression revealed that she, too, found it funny. If she laughed and gave us away, we were screwed.

Too late. My power could hide me from a vampire, but it couldn’t fool an angel, even a fallen one. Falon turned his head, finding us in his line of sight. Our eyes met, and my stomach dropped.

I pushed Jez backwards, toward the door. All we could do now was attempt to leave as if we’d stumbled upon them by accident, which in a way we had. That would have been easier if I hadn’t cloaked our presence.

Falon never let us reach the door. The air rippled, and he was just there, his large silver wings iridescent and shimmering. How he’d managed to make himself decent so quickly was beyond me. His wingspan allowed him to easily and effectively block our exit. With arms crossed over his chest, he scowled at us.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” I shot back. “But, I don’t need to. I saw what you were doing.”

Jez piped up, indignant. “I came to get something from my office. Got a problem with that?”

With a huff, she spun on her heel and marched down the hall to her office, following through with the bluff. I stood there staring at Falon, finding guilt in his pale eyes. I was willing to bet Shya didn’t know his sidekick was sleeping with Lilah. From what I could tell, Falon wasn’t happy with me discovering it.

“You didn’t see anything,” Falon warned, his tone low with menace.

I couldn’t resist the urge to taunt him. “Oh, didn’t I?”

I was keenly aware of Lilah’s approach. I stepped back so I could keep both her and Falon in my sights. I didn’t trust either of them.

She was as unkempt as I’d ever seen her. Her clothing had been hastily put together, and she wrestled her messy hair into a ponytail. Her flame colored gaze landed on me, and I could see her searching for the right words to explain away what we’d interrupted.

“Alexa, I’m sorry you walked in on that. Falon and I should know better than to allow such an indiscretion to take place. I’m sure you understand why this should be kept private.” Lilah did a great job meeting my eyes. For a woman that was just caught with her pants down, she was smooth.

I squelched the urge to laugh bitterly. I wasn’t keeping any secrets for her. “Honestly, I don’t give a crap who you fuck. But, when you send people to kill me, that’s when what you do becomes my business.”

I was disappointed by her lack of surprise. Lilah nodded as if she’d expected me to know. Her neutral expression didn’t change though her eyes darkened.

“You’ve done a good job of staying alive,” she said, emotionless. It wasn’t a compliment. “For the record, it’s nothing personal.”

Her lack of emotion was getting under my skin. I wanted her to be mad or aggressive. Anything that indicated she had a reason to want me dead. This calm demeanor of hers was pissing me off.

“It’s personal now.” I risked a glance at Falon who wore a mask of confusion. So, he wasn’t in on her little plan to off me. Or, was he just a great actor? “I killed Veryl for you. You owe me answers. Why?”

Jez returned quickly, unwilling to leave me alone with the demon. I was grateful for her presence. She stayed back where she could observe the entire situation. Her pupils were large in response to the growing excitement. I could feel it, too, crawling over me like ants on my skin.

Lilah pursed her lips, her gaze unwavering. “You killed Veryl because you wanted to. I just gave you the reason you sought to justify it to yourself. I respect you, Alexa. I may even like you a little bit. But, you’re a threat to me now.”

Now? When had I become a threat to Lilah?

‘Right around the time you gained power over vampires.’ Arys’s voice echoed in my thoughts. It startled me. I’d forgotten he was there.

I kept my attention on Lilah, acknowledging Arys with a thought but answering her.

“Then why the hell won’t you try to take me out yourself instead of having others do it for you?” I was seething. Knowing I had placed a level of trust in her over the years made me feel like a fool. She had saved my ass in the past just to turn on me now. I would never understand demons.

“It’s been interesting to see how you pull off staying alive each time. You’re a worthy opponent.” She dodged my question, answering it by doing so. Something was stopping her from killing me herself. Or, more likely, someone.

I found it interesting that Falon was so quiet. It wasn’t like him to refrain from tossing in his opinion. His silence spoke loud and clear, telling me that his loyalties lie with Shya first and foremost, regardless of who he took as a lover. Whatever Lilah’s issue with me was, Shya wasn’t part of it.

The wolf rose up inside me to stare out at the demon. I was quaking inside, my power running hot and ready to be unleashed in a torrent. “You have no idea what an opponent I can be.”

We stared into one another, each seeking out an unseen weakness in the other, anything to gain the edge without making a move. I was ready for her, braced for the heavy slap of demon tainted vampire power, but it never came. She wouldn’t do it.

With a rustle of feathers, Falon disappeared, vacating before things got ugly. This way he could honestly tell Shya that he wasn’t involved. I was tense, hoping Lilah would do something, anything to end this now.

“Let’s just get this over with,” I suggested, gesturing for her to take a shot at me. “You want me dead. Well, I’m standing right in front of you.”

Lilah smiled, a small wistful tug of her lips that was gone as quickly as it had come. “I may be many things, but a fool isn’t one of them. As long as Shya wants you alive, I can’t be the one to kill you. Which just makes this that much more difficult.”

“Are you kidding me?” I snapped. “Demon politics have you sending idiot vampires after me when we could just finish this here and now?”

She shrugged. So cold and unfeeling. She was likely the only vampire in existence that had never been human.

“I underestimated you. I won’t make that mistake again. Like I said, this isn’t personal. I have an agenda, and I refuse to allow you or Shya to interfere with that.”

I had never wanted to see Shya more than I did right then. My hand strayed to the dagger at my hip, the one he had given me. It would kill a vampire with barest nick of the blade. It would work on Lilah. She may not be willing to throw a shot, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t take one.

Lilah’s gaze flicked to the Dragon Claw. “I may not have authority to kill you outright, but I can and will defend myself.”

She wanted me to make the first move. That’s all it would take to bypass whatever was keeping her from doing it.

I advanced on her, the Dragon Claw humming with power in my grasp. “Good to know.”

Arys’s warning echoed in my thoughts. ‘Don’t do it, Alexa. It’s never so simple with demons. She’ll lead you into a trap. Get out of there.’

‘If I don’t deal with this now, her hitmen will keep coming.’

‘You can’t simply act with someone like her. You must plan.’

Lilah watched me expectantly, an eager gleam in her eyes. All I had to do was make a move, the wrong one, and she would kill me. It was her loophole. If I brought it on myself, she was home free. As badly as I wanted to plunge my dagger into her chest, I knew it would be a mistake.

I held myself back despite the wolf’s insistence that I eliminate the threat. As long as she couldn’t initiate a fight, we were at a stalemate. There was no threat.

So, rather than attack Lilah, I decided to feel her out. Reaching out metaphysically, I touched her power, sensing the depths of it. It was rude and invasive but in no way an attack.

Right away, I felt the cloying hand of demon power clinging to her like a second skin. It felt murky and dark, absolute black. However, it was missing the deep abyss-like draw that Shya’s power possessed. Lilah’s was limited, confined by the barrier of her curse. I could feel it there, an invisible force binding her powers, and beneath it was the cool but familiar sensation of vampire.

Lilah could be a threat. No doubt about it, she had the ability to be lethal. I’d seen her drop a demon with just a command, but I wasn’t a demon. I was a mortal and a threat. I had the advantage. I just had to find a way to keep it.

  She was far too calm and casual for this situation. I couldn’t handle her demeanor. She wanted me dead, and dammit, that was personal. I wanted her to be mad, to show hatred or spit a venomous word my way. The fact that she didn’t find me worthy of any passion or emotion stirred a fire deep inside me. I wanted to destroy her.

A bored expression marred her face. She crossed her arms and gave me a look like one might give an annoying, yappy little dog. “Is that it? No showdown after all? Pity.”

I stepped back toward the door. Arys was right. I needed time to think this over. Acting rashly would get me killed.

‘Stop the presses! Alexa O’Brien has just admitted to herself that her lover is right about something. That’s newsworthy.’ Arys’s self-assured chuckle filled my thoughts.

I ignored him, unwilling to acknowledge his gloating. I pulled the door open, half expecting to find Falon on the other side. He was long gone.

“Oh, we’ll have our showdown,” I said, waiting for Jez to exit the building first. I glanced back at Lilah. “If you’re as big a bad ass as everyone thinks you are, you’ll stop with the hits and take me on yourself. Either way, I’m coming back for you.”

Jez hovered just outside, waiting anxiously for me to join her. I could feel Arys’s obvious relief, but I didn’t see how putting off the inevitable was a good thing. I wanted it over.

I was about to let the door slam shut when Lilah’s next words stopped me in my tracks. For the first time since I arrived, her tone changed.

“Family is a funny thing, isn’t it, Alexa? One minute they’re dead, and then low and behold… alive after all.”

Slowly, I turned to face her. I’d never fought so hard to keep my feelings from showing in my eyes. With a carefully constructed blank look, I pinned her with a dead stare.

“Your point?”

“It would be a shame if something happened to your sweet little sister. You’ve barely had time to catch up.” She openly taunted me, knowing like every damn demon somehow knows, the right trigger.

I snapped. Human thought was gone. Rationale deserted me. The wolf burst forth in a territorial explosion of fangs and claws. Jez grabbed for me, but she was too late.

I lunged, hitting Lilah square on in the chest. We went down, sprawling with me on top of her. I succeeded in wrapping my hands around her throat. Before I could slam her head against the floor, she planted a foot on my stomach and sent me flying. I flipped over her, landing flat on my back in the hallway.

It crushed the breath from me, but I barely noticed. I was on my feet, lashing out with a blast of power before I could stop myself. A burst of swirling blue and gold exploded against Lilah. In the same moment, I was airborne, knocked off my feet by Arys.

He stood between the two of us, projecting an energy barrier meant to keep us apart. I already knew that with enough concentration I could break it. Could Lilah?

With a cold, calculating stare she scanned each one of us in turn. I half expected her to take a shot at Arys, but she was wary of him. Still maintaining her calm and cool exterior, Lilah spun on her heel and stalked out.