The Demon's Song (4 page)

Chapter Six

Someone was watching her.

Sofia paused in the middle of the parking lot and looked around, frowning. Apart from
a young couple getting out of their car and, a little farther away, a homeless woman
pushing a small cart filled with plastic bags, there was no one around. Still, Sofia
couldn’t shake the sensation of eyes on her, couldn’t stop the hair from rising at
the back of her neck.

Leftover trauma
, she told herself, clutching her keys as she got moving again. She’d worked eleven
to eleven yesterday and today, and it had gone a long way toward keeping her sane.
The ER was a busy place most of the time, and even during the occasional lull, there
was always something that needed doing. She hadn’t had to think. All she’d had to
do was eat, sleep, and work. It was only during the short spaces between those things
that her mind had tried to fill with the memories of what had happened. Blood, and
vampires, and black wings…she still couldn’t make sense of it. The only thing that
convinced her she’d really seen it all was that Sara was still gone…and the note,
written in an elegant, unfamiliar hand, that had been slipped beneath the apartment
door while she’d slept after her return from Amphora.

Your friend is well. Thank you for your silence.
No signature. She didn’t bother showing it to Amy. Just as Justin had said, her roommate
didn’t even remember going to Amphora. Something about the glazed look that came into
her eyes every time the subject came up was deeply unnerving, and Sofia had decided
not to push it. The memory of what had happened seemed to belong to her, and her alone.

She still couldn’t decide whether that was a good thing or not.

Sofia blew out a breath and tried to just enjoy the facts that it was a warm September
night, she had the next two days off, and most importantly, that she was alive to
appreciate both. Yeah, she was twitchy. But she’d handle it. Based on the other night,
she seemed to be able to handle just about anything.

She was almost to her car when she caught a flicker of movement, no more than a shadow,
out of the corner of her eye. She hadn’t even finished spinning around to confront
whatever—or whoever—might have made it when a man dropped from the sky and landed
not ten paces from her. And he didn’t just fall. He landed gracefully, like a cat,
and directly on top of another man who seemed to have appeared from thin air. The
unlucky landing cushion gagged and squawked, a noise that would have been an ear-piercing
shriek if he hadn’t been pinned to the pavement, the other man’s hand around his throat.

Sofia’s sharp gasp seemed overly loud in the relative quiet. Her mouth dropped open,
though she covered it quickly with her hand. Her heart began to pound.

She knew the guy who’d dropped out of the darkness. And she’d caught a glimpse, at
the moment he’d landed, of shadows that could almost have been wings.

“You,” she breathed, unable to run, unable even to move. Shock froze her in place.
Phenex raised impossibly blue eyes to hers. They gleamed unnaturally at this distance,
beautiful and strange. He was dressed much the same as he had been the other night,
in worn jeans, run-down boots, and a faded blue T-shirt. His auburn hair was vibrant
beneath the fluorescent lights. When their eyes met, he grinned, though there was
a ferocity to it that had Sofia backing up a step. Still, she couldn’t escape the
burst of wild joy she felt at the sight of him. Out of all the confusion and horror
the other night, he was the one thing that had stayed with her, crystal clear. She’d
dreamed not of blood, but of him, as though he continued to protect her even when
she was at the mercy of her imagination. And he really existed. He’d come to see her.

He was…strangling someone. Very effectively. And he looked as though he was enjoying
himself. Her pleasure at seeing him vanished as quickly as he had appeared. Phenex
cut her off neatly before she could start shouting for help.

“Get in the car and go home, Sofia. I’ll meet you there.”

His voice, compelling in a way her memory hadn’t done justice to, brooked no refusal.
The man beneath him thrashed and bared his teeth. Long, pointed teeth. Sofia’s stomach
sank as the pieces fell easily into place. This wasn’t a social visit.

She knew that Justin had made it too easy to just walk away.

“Oh, God. Was he…following me? Am I being followed?” she asked. Her voice sounded
strange and thin.

“Not after I’m done with him. Go home.”

Much as she hated being ordered around, Sofia wouldn’t argue when staying was the
last thing she wanted to do. Without another word, she ran to her sporty little sedan,
got in, and started the engine, trying not to panic. Looking in her rearview mirror
as she peeled out, she saw a blur of black shoot upward into the night sky, out of
the harsh glare of the lights, leaving nothing but empty space behind.

“He flew,” she muttered to herself as she tried to focus on the road, her heart pounding.
“With wings.
Hijo de puta
.”

She hadn’t been to church in years, much to her parents’ chagrin, but it was impossible
not to make the connection between the man with the black wings and the images she’d
been exposed to every Sunday growing up. Except…angels were supposed to have
white
wings. And there weren’t any stories about them flirting with human women. Or playing
guitar at clubs filled with vampires.

But then, not every angel in those long-ago stories had stayed in Heaven.

Sofia groaned and pushed her foot down harder on the gas. Whatever Phenex was, she’d
worry about it when she was safely—she hoped—home.

It took her a half hour to get back to the apartment, and by the time she found a
parking place Sofia had nearly decided to quit her job, pack up her stuff, and relocate
somewhere sunnier. A lot sunnier. And really, really far away from what appeared to
be a hotbed of violent supernatural activity. She knew she’d gotten away too easily
the other night. She
knew
it. After seeing everything she’d seen, it hadn’t made any sense when Justin had
let her go.

Now she understood. And with that understanding came a mix of fear and anger so potent
that she could hardly separate one from the other. All she’d wanted to do was help
a friend, and
this
was what she got? Sofia was shaking as she stepped out of the car, her flight response
screaming at her to just keep driving. But her practical side, the thing she relied
so heavily on, insisted that she needed time to think this out, without all the emotion
in the mix.

It was just hard when every shadow suddenly seemed like a potential threat.

She punched in the security code at the door, then took the stairs two at a time to
get to the third floor. It was habit, skipping the elevator, but even the well-lit
stairwell didn’t feel safe. Nothing did.

By the time Sofia unlocked the door, flipped on the light, and hurriedly locked up
behind herself, she knew she wasn’t going to be able to sleep until the sun came up.
Amy was on nights this week, and with Sara still gone…she was alone. She flipped the
deadbolt, braced herself with one hand against the door, and dropped her head, taking
a deep breath.

I’m home
, she told herself, over and over.
I’m here now, I’m home, and everything is going to be okay.

“I don’t know what you’re so freaked out about. I took care of it.”

Sofia screamed before she could stop herself, spinning around and flattening her back
against the door. Phenex looked at her from where he was sprawled comfortably on her
couch, his expression faintly amused.

Once the initial burst of terror subsided and she managed to process exactly who was
sitting in her apartment speaking to her, anger quickly moved in to take over. Her
fuse, normally fairly long, ignited. Sofia’s hands fisted. It was the first time she’d
seen that gorgeous face and wanted to punch it. He looked completely comfortable sitting
there, as though he didn’t have a care in the world. as though he wasn’t very busy
trying to make her nice, orderly life a living hell.

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

One dark red brow arched. “That’s a nice way to say thank you.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Thank you?
Thank you?
For what? For following me around, breaking into my apartment, scaring the shit out
of me? I don’t know what you people are, and I don’t care. I don’t want anything to
do with it! And your friend can find somebody else to use as vampire bait, because
I’m out of here. I didn’t sign on for this!”

“You figured that out, huh? If it helps, you made beautiful bait. Worked like a charm.”

Phenex’s slow, sensual grin only fed her building fury. Was this funny to him?

“It’s not some kind of fucking joke,
cabrón
! I mean it, get out!”

Phenex stood in a single, fluid movement that startled her with its speed, and was
looming over her before she could make a run for it. He was much faster than any human
could ever hope to be. She needed to remember that he
wasn’t
human. Sofia glared up at him even as she pressed back against the door, barely able
to breathe. Up close, Phenex was overwhelming���the sheer size and strength of him,
the faint, unmistakably male scent that reminded her of sultry nights and endless
oceans. She had no doubt he was the sort of man who was used to getting his way. She
was determined not to show how close she was to just slumping to the floor and curling
up in a ball. But she hadn’t gotten where she was without being a fighter, and she
wouldn’t crumble now.

As intimidating as he was, Phenex didn’t sound remotely angry.

“You’re angry,” he said, his voice turning even a simple sentence into a dark melody.
“Don’t be.”

“I’ll think about getting over it, if you leave.”

He made a soft, amused sound, his eyes searching her face with an expression that
was almost confused. That didn’t make any sense to Sofia. Between the two of them,
she was far from the confusing one.

“You cursed me out in two languages,” he said.

“So?”

His lips curved. “I liked it. You might want to think about that before you do it
again.”

Sofia stared up at him incredulously, her emotions so potent and muddled that she
could feel herself quivering like a live wire. “What
are
you?” she finally asked. “I saw the wings, but you’re no angel.”

“Wrong. I’m the best kind of angel. A fallen one,” Phenex said. “I’m also your new
bodyguard, so you might as well get used to me. I’m not going anywhere.”

It took a moment for the words to sink in. When all the pieces clicked into place,
Sofia let loose with a string of curses that were a mix of English, Spanish, and completely
unintelligible.

And the man—or whatever he was—had the audacity to laugh.

Chapter Seven

It was a good thing she was cute when she was angry, because Phenex was beginning
to think he might see a lot of that from Sofia. At least until she came to terms with
the fact that he wasn’t going anywhere.

He watched her bang a few things around in the kitchen while she got herself some
coffee, noting that she hadn’t asked if he wanted anything. Nor would she, from the
couple of infuriated glares she’d shot him since he’d laid it all out for her. He’d
given her the basics: asshole vampires, witness protection, and, of course, how lucky
she was to have a former Hell-dweller at her disposal. Sofia hadn’t said a word, but
her face left no questions about what she thought of all this. He didn’t really blame
her—she’d had her universe upended. But he didn’t feel sorry for her, either. This
was the sort of thing that caring too much about others got you. Better she learn
that now.

Actually, the point where he’d mentioned that was about when she’d gotten up and walked
away. Humans—always so oversensitive.

As Phenex watched her, with all her misdirected anger, all her useless
caring
, the irritating wound deep within that had plagued him so much lately opened anew,
flooding him with unwanted memories. Ages ago, when his wings had been the color of
snow, he’d tried to inspire humanity to beautiful, wondrous things. He’d cared. Until
he’d watched passion born of that inspiration destroy one too many lives. He’d hated
them for wasting what he’d given them. Just as he hated them for experiencing emotion
with a depth that he had never been able to muster for anything but song itself.

His Fall had not cured the emptiness inside him.

“Here.”

Phenex jerked his head up. He’d been so lost in his own thoughts that he’d forgotten
where he was for a moment. The way Sofia was looking at him suggested she’d seen more
on his face than he would have liked. The mask he’d perfected slipped more and more
often lately. Justin was right. He was wallowing. He needed to get a grip.

He needed to figure out what was so special about this woman who made him coffee even
when she was completely pissed off at him.

“Maybe I don’t like coffee,” he said, just to see whether Sofia would throw it at
him. It was better than pity, or whatever this was. Instead, Sofia just shrugged,
her fury channeled into cool detachment for the moment. It fascinated him—her beauty
covered steel.

“More for me if you don’t. You just looked like you could use something, since you’re
sitting here looking like you lost your last friend.”

“I don’t have friends,” Phenex said, unpleasantly confused about his reaction to her
small act of kindness. She was gorgeous. Her fire entertained him. The heat between
them promised to be even more entertaining. But this…he didn’t know what to do with
this. Was it compassion? Simple manners? Nonplussed, he took the coffee and sniffed
it.

“No sugar?”

Without a word, she dangled two packets of sugar in front of him, along with a spoon.

Chagrined, Phenex took one of the packets and the spoon, then set his mug on the coffee
table to doctor it.

Sofia tossed the other packet on the table and headed for the love seat, apparently
unwilling to get too close. For now. Phenex eyed the extra sugar packet, considered,
then decided that now was a lousy time to develop a sense of shame. So he dumped that
one in his cup, too, stirred it, and took a sip. The sweet, smoky taste was soothing,
despite the fact that he didn’t particularly want to be soothed.

Sofia watched him silently with those catlike green eyes, drinking her own coffee.
He ignored her, mostly, until she got tired of it and spoke.

“So you really think you’re just going to stay here until this Justin figures out
who’s messing with his clientele?” She still didn’t sound like she could quite believe
it, and she sure as hell didn’t like it.

“I don’t
think
I’m staying here,” Phenex replied. “I
am
staying here. You need a bodyguard until this network of vamps, if that’s what they
are, is taken care of. They know who you are, remember? That one I grabbed in the
parking lot wasn’t waiting for you just to talk, I promise.”

She frowned and looked away, giving Phenex another opportunity to stare. She was more
mouthwatering in scrubs and a ponytail than he had previously believed might be possible.
Everything about her, including his reaction to her, was unexpected.

And because he could be honest with himself, if no one else, Phenex knew that was
one of the main reasons he was sitting here. In an eternity of sameness, she was,
for some reason, different.

“Even if they saw me, I’m no threat. That’s what I don’t understand. I’m just a human
who was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Sofia said. “If I had some secret insider
knowledge, I would have done something about it by now.”

The forlorn note in her voice tugged at him. Phenex tried to shake it off. “One, these
vampires are outside of Justin’s purview. They don’t accept him as king. They don’t
follow rules, and they don’t care about peaceful coexistence. Two, they don’t know
what you heard, what Sara might have said to you. You might know something as simple
as a name you shouldn’t. They’d consider that too much. Three, they enjoy killing,
so it’s not like they need much of an excuse.”

“So you followed me around until one of them tried,” she said.

“Didn’t take long. I told you, you made excellent bait.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Yay for me. Did you at least find something out?”

Phenex considered her. Normally, he would have refused to say. But these rogue vamps
weren’t going to leave her alone regardless of what she did or didn’t know. Terra
Noctem was off-limits in conversation, because staying hidden, staying little more
than an obscure myth, was key to its survival. But as far as the vampires, why not?
They weren’t
his
kind. If she wanted to get pissed and turn vampire hunter eventually, it was just
less work for him in the long run.

“Interrogating him isn’t my job,” Phenex finally answered. “I passed him off to one
of my brothers, which is how I got here before you did. Your admirer is now sitting
in a cell…elsewhere. He’ll talk. Most renegade vamps don’t amount to much when you
get them alone and start hurting them.”

She winced, ever so slightly. Compassion, Phenex decided, was her weak spot. It disgusted
him less in her than most, but he still didn’t understand such sentiment for those
so unworthy of it.

“Don’t feel bad for him, Sofia. He would have had a lot of fun killing you.”

“Oh, I know,” she replied, a frown creasing her forehead as she stared into her coffee.
“I just… Hurting people in general doesn’t really appeal to me. I’m a nurse, remember?”

“Then you probably hurt people all the time,” Phenex said, amused by the dirty look
she gave him.

“Keep it up and you’ll find out.”

“That a promise?”

She wasn’t in the mood to play. Disappointed, and fascinated in spite of himself,
Phenex watched various emotions flicker across her face as she struggled to keep her
cool. There didn’t seem to be any guile to her. That stunning face was an open book,
and it was more refreshing than he’d imagined to find her so easy to read. He was
used to deception. Sofia had already proven herself terrible at it.

“This isn’t funny. Not to me,” she finally said, her voice strained. “I can’t have
you staying here with Amy and my job and… Look, what if I leave DC? I have some time
off saved up. If I took a trip home, I’d be less of a distraction.”

It was bizarre, how little he enjoyed dashing her hopes.

“You want to endanger your family, too? They’ll chase you, Sofia. Good and bad, vamps
enjoy the chase, and we’re talking about people who have all the time in the world.
Until this group is wiped out, you’re not safe anywhere.”

“What about Amy? Is someone watching her, too?” she asked.

Phenex shook his head. “Not necessary. She was
outside
the bathroom, remember? And obviously thralled when she was escorted out. Unlike
you.”

Sofia looked so crestfallen that, for just a moment, he wished he could take it back.

Which was stupid. She belonged here. Within reach.

“Look, don’t worry,” he heard himself saying, common sense overridden by his strange
instinct to soothe her. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

She shook her head, then locked eyes with him. He was as startled by her sudden intensity
as he was by the flash of white heat he felt in that instant, accompanied by an inspired
fragment of song that flickered through his consciousness. It was gone as quickly
as it came, impossible to catch hold of, but as sweet as spreading his wings in the
moonlight. He didn’t know what to make of it. He hadn’t composed in centuries. That
part of him had gone as dead as what passed for his heart. Unnerved, Phenex shifted
on the couch, hunching a little as though he could defend himself against the strength
of this attraction.

He wanted, needed to be in control here. Floundering around like some…well, like some
human
was out of the question. He was a supremely powerful being, damn it.

And her words burned right through him.

“I don’t want to die,” Sofia said quietly.

“You won’t.” The words came out more harshly than he’d intended, but that didn’t seem
to faze her.

“Can you promise me?” she asked. “Can you absolutely guarantee, give me your word
that I’m going to survive this?”

It was a struggle to conceal his surprise. Nobody ever banked on his honor. It was
assumed that he had none. His word had meant nothing for eons. He ought to be amused
by Sofia’s
naï
veté. But he wasn’t.

Truth be told, he didn’t know what he felt. With Sofia, he was still stumbling around—willingly—in
the dark.

“You did catch the part about me being a
fallen
angel, right?” he finally said. “My word isn’t worth much to people.”

Sofia’s glaze was intense. “You helped save my butt twice already. If your word is
still worth something to
you
, then it’s worth something to me.”

He found himself nodding. “Fair enough. You’ve got my word, Sofia. I’ll keep you alive.”

She exhaled harshly, and it was only then that Phenex realized how badly she’d needed
his guarantee. That she was actually depending on him. He couldn’t quite remember
the last time he’d been in a similar position. His most important relationships worked
because of mutual self-interest. They sure as hell weren’t grounded in honesty and
integrity.

He had a sudden, overwhelming desire to jump out the window and take wing until he
got his head back on straight. Instead, he forced himself to stay put.

“I still can’t quite believe that this is happening.” She sighed, and he finally realized
just how tired she looked as she shoved her hair out of her face, propped an elbow
on the arm of the chair, and rested her head in her hand. The coffee didn’t seem to
be helping with alertness…there were shadows beneath her eyes. What she’d seen had
been eating at her, he realized. And why wouldn’t it? Not everyone was as accustomed
to seeing—and causing—gore as he was.

The guilt that hit him was sudden and unpleasant. Guilt was one of those things he’d
been glad to leave behind millennia ago. He didn’t intend to pick it back up now.

“You need to go to bed,” he grumbled. And he needed some space. Sofia’s green eyes
were instantly wary. He would have laughed, if his mind hadn’t gone into the gutter
right along with hers. That was a good start, as far as he was concerned.

“There are still a lot of things we need to work out about this,” Sofia said. “And
I’ve got a lot of questions.”

“I bet,” Phenex replied. “They can wait until tomorrow.”

“You’ll actually answer them?”

He smirked. “Probably not. But you can ask them.”

“Great,” she said flatly. “Look, Phenex, you’re welcome to the couch, I guess, but
I have no idea what Amy’s going to think when she comes back. She’ll be home around
four, and she isn’t going to recognize you in the dark.” She frowned. “Actually, she
won’t remember you at all, will she?”

“No,” Phenex replied. “Justin said they wiped her memory pretty clean. She didn’t
need those images in her head. You, though…not that it would have changed things if
you’d wanted to forget, but it helps that you remember the big, dangerous-looking
yet incredibly handsome guy following you around. Saves me ducking a restraining order.”

The hint of amusement at the corners of her mouth had his jaw tightening. The woman
had no idea how appealing she was. He wished she’d tone it down, just a little, so
he wasn’t quite so tempted to put her to bed himself and then crawl in after her.
He already knew they’d both enjoy it. But he was pretty positive he wasn’t invited.
Yet.

“Somehow I doubt a restraining order would work on you,” Sofia said. “And that doesn’t
tell me what you’ll do when Amy shows up.”

“She won’t even look at me,” Phenex said. “She’s being intercepted on her way home
from work. Amy’s about to get a burning desire to take a trip to her parents’ house
for a few days. By the time you wake up, she’ll be gone. Her schedule at the hospital’s
already been adjusted.”

Sofia turned her head to stare pensively out the window. “I hate that you can do that.
It’s wrong, messing with people’s heads.”

“We can agree to disagree there, but you’ve got the wrong
you
. Only vamps use the thrall. I fly and stab things. Totally different skill set.”

She looked sharply back at him. “That’s an interesting way of putting it.”

Phenex chuckled, unable to help himself. “It’s the truth. Look, Sofia, it’s late.
I’ll still be here when you wake up. Why don’t you try to get some rest? You look
like you’re ready to drop.”

Her look was withering.