whiskey witches 01 - whisky witches (8 page)

His eyebrows leapt into his hairline. “Yours is, too.”

She narrowed her gaze as she dropped it to the candle. “Then why is there a hole in my soul?”

“We talked about that.”

She flattened her lips then smiled slightly.

Shit.

“Yes. It’ll get better, you said. Concentrate on the job, you said.”

“Don’t side with the demons. Did I miss saying that part?”

“They’re trying to build us stronger, to make us better able to accept the responsibilities of life.”

He sucked the corners of his mouth together, his jaw wide, making a popping sound as he released them. “They’re regular saviors.”

She watched his reflection. “What are you doing here, Dexx?”

“Keeping an eye on you,” he said a little hotter than he probably should have. “You’re head’s not exactly in the game here, Pea.”

She spun on him. “Where is it exactly, do you think?”

Alarms rang in the back of his head. He ignored them. “I don’t know, but you’re getting dangerous. Let’s talk about this, get you back to normal.”

“Let’s talk about normal, shall we.” Her voice low and dangerous as she stalked toward him like a wolf. “My mother took away my child. Why? To protect my daughter from my gift. Hell, for that matter, my sister moved out of the house to protect her daughter. And my grandmother? What did she do? She told me to stop using my gift. But do you know what I do with it?”

He took a half step backwards. “Summon demons?”

“I watch them. I call them when they’re needed and I send them back when they’re not.” She lowered her voice to a bare murmur. “I protect the human race from the things that are hell bent to ‘save’ them, and they took my daughter.”

“Paige.” Dexx reached out a hand, not knowing what he planned to do with it.

“And after Leah—” She closed her eyes and turned away, silent for a moment. “And after they took her from me, instead of helping me—”

Dexx bit his lip in the ensuing silence. “Yeah, about that. I told them to stop. So, don’t go sending any demons after me, all right?”

Paige’s face lost all color as a sickly smile slithered onto her face. She straightened. Her shoulders slid back. Her neck lengthened slightly as she marched to the dresser.

The candle shot with flame.

Holy fuck!

A tendril of smoke rose from the flame, permeating the room with a heady, earthy scent. Sandalwood.

“Pea.” Dexx searched for his bag of demon-killing gear without moving. He did not want to tip her off and force her hand. “What are you doing?”

“Summoning.”

D
EXX LAUNCHED HIMSELF
at his bag, then dumped the contents on the bed.

In her reflection, the brown of her eyes receded to a near total black, her eyes fully dilated like she’d just come back from the optometrist. “Balnore, I need you.”

Dexx grabbed his sawed-off shotgun—which was absolutely useless but might buy a few seconds to do . . . something—and his dagger consecrated in holy water.

A cloud of smoke formed in the middle of the room as the demon took the shape of a man. He had black hair feathered back from his soft, boyish face, but his stance held power. His blue, button-up shirt was open and loose.

Dexx raised his shotgun with one hand, his lips flat. Balnore. He’d seen the demon around back in Texas before everything had gone to shit. While he’d never seen this demon actually do anything bad, he did have Paige’s ear. She trusted him. It. Whatever. Maybe this demon was the reason Paige had decided to summon demons to kill her mother in the first place.

Or, maybe, Rachel was the reason Paige had tried to kill her.

The demon studied Dexx, a slight frown furrowing across his brow. “Peanut? Why is there a strange man in your room, and why is that man Dexx Colt?”

“You know him?” she asked. Her eyes had returned to normal again, at some point.

“He’s a reputable demon hunter,” Balnore said, his tone inferring that should have occurred to her. “I didn’t piss you off when you dream-called, did I?”

Dexx stepped forward. “Stop where—”

“I really don’t have the patience for you.” Balnore swept his hand nonchalantly.

Dexx raised one sigil-protected arm to deflect the demon magick, and stood his ground through sheer force of will. The sigil took the brunt of the blow, but Balnore’s magick was strong and came at him like a hammer.

The demon quirked an impressed eyebrow at him. “Seriously, Peanut, what is he doing here? Did you call him, or did your family?”

“He’s a friend, Balnore.”

“He’s a demon hunter who befriended a summoner only after her gift had been banished.”

A frown flickered across her brow.

Dexx fought the invisible force and gritted out, “I didn’t know you, not really, until you came to New York. That’s when I became your friend. He’s trying to manipulate you. Don’t let him.”

She narrowed her gaze. “I distinctly recall you threatening me.”

“If you lost control of your gift again. Pea, I had to try.” Even if he couldn’t actually follow through with it.

She flexed her fingers.

Dexx shoved the knife in his belt and held the gun with two hands. “You’re here for information. Nothing more. Just tell us what she needs to know so she can send you back.” He glanced at Paige before returning his gaze to the demon. “Before I do.”

The demon tipped his head toward Dexx. “This should be fun.”

Paige crossed her arms over her chest. “Why didn’t you break the bonds Grandma put on me?”

“Paige,” Dexx said. “Tell me you didn’t summon him to dredge up the past.”

“Well, love,” Balnore said gently, walking over to the bed. His long, bare feet made no sound.

Dexx backed up a step, keeping the demon in his sights without giving the thing an advantage.

“I wasn’t really that tore up about it.” He sat down and smiled up at Dexx, revealing sharp, pointed incisors.

Dexx bit down on his pride and his fear, seeing the hook for what it was. The damned demon was baiting him, daring him to do something stupid.

“It wasn’t really a bad idea at the time. You didn’t handle things very well. Especially for you. You have responsibilities. You can’t just hare off and—” He flung one hand in the air. “—and do the things you did.”

“What exactly did I do?”

Balnore looked at her through narrowed eyes. “How much do you remember?”

“I remember everything.”

“No blank spots? No unexplained situations?”

She shook her head.

“What about the day Alma knocked your block off?” Balnore asked. “Do you remember that?”

Paige raised her chin.

“You raised a demon for the sole purpose of killing your mother.”

Emotion finally flitted across her face. Surprise.

“I went to your grandmother myself and suggested this. It was only supposed to be temporary, mind you.”

“But why did she block my gift?”

“Actually, I did that.”

“Wait,” Dexx said, taking two steps back. “I’m confused.”

Balnore folded his hands in his lap. “By which part?”

Dexx narrowed his eyes at the demon. “Is she here to protect us?”

The demon nodded serenely.

Dexx pulled out his knife as he set the gun on the table. The damned thing was getting heavy. “Then why did you block her gift? To make it easier for the demons to take advantage of her?”

“Dexx,” Balnore said calmly, “try to remember that your brother killed himself.”

“To be rid of the demon inside him,” Dexx said, voice heated.

“He couldn’t face what he had done.”

Dexx’s face screwed up in disbelief. “What he’d don—Shut up. That has nothing to do with this. Keep my brother out of this.”

“That has everything to do with this. Demons walk the earth to save the soul of man.”

“That damned thing possessed him. It twisted his mind.”

“Demons only possess to make someone face something they’re hiding from,” Paige whispered. “It goes back to their belief of self-responsibility.”

“That demon ruined my brother,” Dexx said fiercely.

“The demon was within his right,” Balnore said softly. “He raped a woman and got away with it because she never had the courage to stand up and talk about it. But we heard her.”

Disbelief slammed into Dexx. His brother would never do something so low. “Liar.”

“Enough,” Paige said loud enough for her voice to bark through the room. “I need information before he sends you back.”

Anger seethed through Dexx’s veins.

The demon faced Paige. “I did what I had to. You were falling apart. There comes a point where facing your demons doesn’t help. It hurts. With your gift, you should never have had a child. How many times did I tell you that only to be proven right? She was used against you.”

“You’re telling me Rachel is on the enemy side?”

“She’s . . .” Balnore raised his eyebrows delicately. “She’s not on ours.”

“And what about now?” Paige asked. “Am I any stronger now?”

Balnore was quiet for a moment, eyes flickering over her face. “I don’t know. Are you?”

“We have a killer to find.” Dexx spoke through clenched teeth. “Can you help or not?”

The demon rolled his head on his neck. “Remember what we talked about years ago?”

Paige pressed the butt of her hand to her head. “Which time?”

“In Dallas, when you asked if there was a demon convention.”

“Yeah. I guess.” She sat down. “Leah learned to ride her bike that day.”

“Lucifer lost control. There was a demon uprising. Do you remember why?”

“Something about The First being dead.”

“Yes.”

“The First?” Dexx asked.

Balnore offered a tight smile. “Lucius. He was born hundreds of years ago, but then Lucifer discovered him and found his soul worthy.”

“He turned him into a demon?” Dexx fingered his blade. “I thought demons were born demons.”

“Sometimes, but not always. But, no. Lucius Kane is still a man. His life has been lengthened.”

“To what end?”

“To guard the Gates of Heaven and Hell.”

Paige raised her chin, drawing the demon’s attention back to her. “Is Lucifer concerned for the man or the gate?”

“I’m not in a position to know.”

“So, what are you saying?”

“Lucius was the last guardian,” Balnore explained slowly. “Gabriel was involved.”

“Meaning what?” Dexx asked.

“Meaning,” Paige said, “that Gabriel probably trapped Lucius somewhere in a different dimension where he’s not alive and he’s not dead. The only way to keep Lucius out of Lucifer’s hands.”

“There’s a lot of Luci’s.” Dexx rubbed his eye. “Why didn’t Gabriel just kill the man and take him to Heaven? Didn’t his soul count?”

“There, he could have been reborn.” Balnore folded his hands over his crossed legs. “Which means that if someone talked to a demon who would like to get a hold of Lucius and open the gate—”

Paige thumped the table with her index finger. “Or Lucius could be trying to free himself to open it himself.”

“I’m just saying maybe Lucius is the one you’re looking for.”

“But you said he’s not a demon.” Dexx glanced at Paige. “She was nearly possessed by him.”

Balnore screwed his lips to the side. “Did you ever wonder how the human body could survive longer than a hundred years without looking like a decrepit prune?”

Dexx cleared his throat. “Why would I ever wonder about that?”

“He was given a demon soul, hunter, and the two became sort of a hybrid, of sorts. For all that Lucius started out a man and hasn’t spent any real time in Hell, hasn’t been initiated into the demon pack, if you will, he still has demon powers. Which means—”

“He’s able to connect to Paige and possess her.”

“Huh,” Paige said, blinking. “It’s not who I thought it would be.”

Balnore frowned. “Who’d you think it was?”

Paige looked at the demon. “Seven Tails Sven.”

“Then let’s be glad it’s only Lucius.”

So, who the hell was Seven Tails Sven, and how was he worse? Could this case get any more fucked?

B
ALNORE SET HIS
hands on Paige’s shoulders.

She stared up at him, the weight of the world settling over her. So much had happened. Memories slammed into her mind, making it hard to think. She needed her protector and guide, her teacher and the only one who could understand her at that moment. “What do I do?”