So?

  The young man remained oblivious that one of the “ladies” now looked like someone’s idea of a low-budget horror movie. Riley felt a prickle of discomfort in the palm of her right hand as the fire extended down her fingers, joint by joint, and then flamed out of the end of them as the ethereal sword took shape. The younger demon hissed in fear and reverted to its natural form.

  “Ah, crap.” The cat was definitely out of the bag.

  “What is this?” the older abomination demanded. “How do you wield the Divine Fire?”

  “Just lucky, I guess.”

  Kill the stronger one first.

  “You think?” Riley muttered.

  She and the elder fiend squared off, working in a wide circle around each other, Riley’s nerves at the breaking point. Ori was throwing her to the wolves. Or the fiends, in this case.

  Fortunately, the other Mezmer stayed out of the fight, nervously chewing on one of its claws.

  Do not trust it, Ori cautioned. Do not show it your back.

  Riley was fed up with the running commentary in her head. Why are you making me do this?

  Time for you to carry your own weight. Either you kill it, or you die tonight.

  “No way,” Riley said, more to herself than the voice in her mind. She had too much to live for. She refused to give up now that she and Beck had finally gotten their hearts in sync.

  The elder demon gestured at the clueless guy. “Kill it and feed on its corpse.”

  The younger fiend moved to fulfill its superior’s orders.

  “No! Stop!”

  Riley knew it was a trap, but she had no choice. When she broke formation to intercept the lesser demon, its companion struck. The first swipe of its claw cut a line of pain across Riley’s left shoulder and her arm immediately went numb.

  Move! Ori shouted.

  Riley ducked another broad slash and retaliated with one of her own. It sliced deep into the elder demon’s muscled chest, but not deep enough to slow it.

  The Four wore a cunning smile now. “I know of a mortal who cares for you. The trapper I nearly possessed. I saw you in his mind.”

  “Goody for you,” she said, still circling. How do I stop this thing? There was no reply from the angel. She was truly on her own.

  “After I kill you, I shall destroy the trapper,” the fiend taunted. “I shall feast on his body and his soul shall be mine.”

  Riley’s composure fled and she charged forward. The demon responded instantly, leaping toward her with teeth and claws bared. She raised the sword to repel its attack and the creature tried to redirect its lunge, but it was moving too fast, and the blade impaled it before its talons could reach her. An ear-splitting shriek filled the air as they hung for a second, frozen in battle. Then the demon exploded into a seething cloud of boiling flames, followed by a choking cloud of black ash. Riley clamped her mouth shut to avoid getting a lungful of the stuff.

  Behind you!

  She whirled and countered the smaller Four’s halfhearted attack, wounding it. It fell on its knees, wailing in Hellspeak, begging for mercy, offering its allegiance for eternity if she would spare its life. Ori materialized near her.

  “Now you show up,” she said, bent over, trying to catch her breath.

  “You did the job as required,” he said. “Though that was sloppy.”

  He never gave her any praise. Not once.

  With a gesture, Ori restored the young man to his senses. “Go, mortal. It is not your night to die.”

  The man bolted down the alley and never looked back. The smaller fiend continued to whine, bowing its head to the ground in abject obeisance.

  “If you do not kill it, it will be yours to command,” Ori explained. “Is that what you want? Do you wish to become a mistress of demons?”

  “What? No!” Riley exclaimed. “Let it go!”

  “That is not possible now.” He closed on the wailing fiend, then raised his sword. Riley averted her eyes, but still heard the sickening sizzle as Ori’s blade sliced through its flesh, bisecting the body.

  Her stomach felt as if it was about to empty, the adrenaline rush history.

  “I want to go home now,” she said wearily. “I don’t want to kill anymore.”

  The angel shook his head. “There are more Hellspawn in this world that have need of your sword.”

  Riley turned on him, no longer fearing his wrath. “I am not some heartless executioner like you. I can’t keep doing this.”

  “In that you are wrong,” he said patiently. “The moment you gave me your soul, you lost your choice in the matter.”

  † ~ ‡ ~ †

  The night’s sleep trashed by recurring nightmares of murderous Mezmers, Riley knew she had to talk to someone, or lose it entirely. She didn’t dare tell Beck about what she and the angel were up to, at least not yet, and confiding to the masters would lead to repercussions with Rome for both her and Stewart. That left her friend Ayden. The witch had always given her sound advice, and Riley desperately needed more of the same.

  It took time to score a parking spot near Centennial Park as she’d never have Peter’s talent in that regard. She docked her car in the lot across from the ruins of the Tabernacle and surveyed the scene. It had changed since the last time she’d been in the area. Giant monoliths sat at irregular intervals, testimony to a bulldozer’s industrious efforts. It seemed sacrilegious to clear away the building, but the land was probably worth something to somebody.

  Once she’d locked the car and hefted her backpack onto her shoulders, she was drawn across the street into the ruins. The ground was uneven, so she moved carefully. Trying to find landmarks in the rubble was impossible, so she wandered around aimlessly, recalling that terrible night, the demons, and the men who’d died.

  Someone had laid flowers at the base of one of the brick mounds, a shrine of sorts. She knelt and touched the bouquet. A card attached said it was for Ethan, one of the apprentices who’d been lost in the fire. It was signed Love, Janine. His fiancée.

  Nearly overwhelmed by the enormity of the loss, Riley rose, eager to get away from this place. As she turned away, the toe of her tennis shoe caught on a piece of wood, shifting some of the debris. She stared at a piece of leather cord that snaked from underneath the rubble, and knew what it was even before she unearthed it. Though scorched, Simon’s initials were still visible on the back of his cross. Somehow the symbol of his faith had survived.

  Riley dusted it off, her hand coming away black with soot. If she returned it to him now he might not take it, still shaken by all he’d endured. Instead, she tucked it into her pack for safekeeping hopeful that someday Simon Adler would find solace in his faith again, and he’d welcome the cross’s return.

  † ~ ‡ ~ †

  The Bell, Book and Broomstick bustled with customers checking out the ample supplies of incense, crystals, and various potions. Ayden was assisting a woman who kept insisting she wanted a love charm. The witch patiently cautioned her how such magic often had unintended consequences, but the customer wasn’t listening.

  “I don’t see why this is a problem,” the woman said. “I just want to have him fall in love with me.”

  “And then what?” Ayden asked, an eyebrow raised in irritation. “What happens when you decide you don’t love him anymore? You’ve bound his will to yours.”

  “I’ll tell him it’s over. No big deal.”

  Fortunately, the woman took off a short time later, minus anything resembling a love potion. She’d claimed she knew somewhere else she could buy one.

  “That one’s about to learn a nasty lesson,” the witch replied. Her curly auburn hair was up in a loose bun, displaying her neck and the chest tattoo that extended into her bodice. Before it’d been a line of solemn fairies marching into battle, but now it had reverted to the full dragon tattoo.

  “Do you change your tattoo, or does it do it on its own?” Riley asked, intrigued.

  “Once I set the magic it alters as it sees fit. Usually, it picks up what’s going on around it.” She glanced down. “Hmm, I wonder what that means.”

  “Nothing good.” Riley gave a quick look around. “I need to talk. Any way you can get free?”

  “Sure. I need a break anyway. Let me get my cloak.”

  As they walked to the tent that served hot cider, Ayden brought her up to speed on the witch/necromancer politics and what Riley had missed when she’d been in South Georgia.

  “We have a truce in place. Ozymandias laid down the law to a few of the hotheaded necros and they backed down.”

  “Ozy? The Dark Lord himself? Why is he involved?”

  “Mort thinks the guy’s trying to atone for the disaster he unleashed on us. Ozymandias has let it be known that he will personally toast any summoner who calls up demons.”

  “That’s harsh.”

  “It did the trick,” the witch admitted. “It took my people longer to cool down, but right now everybody’s playing nice. I’m hoping it will last.”

  Her friend led her to the same tent they’d visited a while back and bought two mugs of steaming cider. They settled in the back on oversized pillows.

  “I saw the news reports about what happened in the swamp,” Ayden said. “That had to be rough going.”

  “Pretty much. But not everything sucks. Beck and I went to the prom the other night and it was totally awesome.”

  “That’s news I can live with,” the witch replied, smiling.

  Riley adjusted the cup in her fingers. “I made a mistake with Ori, you know sleep . . . ing with him. If Den and I, well, what if it’s all wrong?”

  “Does your love for Beck seem the same as you had for the angel?”

  She shook her head before Ayden finished the question. “This feels real, you know? We’ve been through so much and yet when I’m with him I’m complete. It’s as if he holds all the pieces of me I’ve lost along the way. Ori was cool, but what we had was too surreal. Too perfect.”

  “Sounds like you’ve got your head on straight this time. So, what’s the problem?”

  “I don’t want to screw this up.”

  “Love without risk?” Ayden said. “It doesn’t exist. There are no sure outcomes. You do your best and hope not to get hurt too badly. If you survive unscathed, you’re doing really well.”

  “Been there, done that?” Riley asked, studying her friend anew.

  “You could say that.”

  It was time to come clean. “I’ve got another problem.” Riley let her gaze wander to the tent’s red silk as she explained exactly what was going on with her and Ori. How the angel was alive, how her new boyfriend wasn’t aware of her latest occupation: demon slayer’s apprentice.

  Ayden was frowning now. “You have to tell Beck everything. You can’t hide this from him. He has to know.”

  “But what if he can’t deal? He’s jealous of Ori and if he finds out I’m spending almost every night with the angel—”

  “He should know that now, before you commit more than your heart to this union.”

  It was sound advice, though it wasn’t what Riley wanted to hear. She’s right. Riley had expected Beck to lay out all his secrets, she had to do the same or their relationship would never survive.

  “Tell the masters, especially Stewart,” Ayden advised. “You can’t handle this on your own.”

  “I’ve done pretty well so far,” Riley replied, irritated.

  “You have, but now it’s time for backup. Perhaps Stewart will know why the angel is doing this to you. He always sees the bigger picture.”

  She reluctantly nodded. “I’ll tell Beck tonight.”

  If he truly loved her, he’d be there for her.

  If not, Hell might as well claim me now.

  TWENTY-NINE

  That afternoon’s class was uneventful, an anticlimax to the whole Allan and Ori drama. Her ex was AWOL, and the word was that he’d called in sick. Riley suspected his class transfer was already in the works. She actually felt bad for him. He’d never said his dad beat him, he just demanded the world bend to his will, probably because it wasn’t that way at home. Maybe Ori’s tour of Hell would do him some good. If not, at least they’d tried. She couldn’t save everyone. So far, she hadn’t even figured out how to save herself.

  When Riley left class she found a voice mail from Harper waiting for her on her cell phone. The news wasn’t good. Both his new apprentices were history. Lambert was gone because he’d smart-mouthed Harper one too many times, and Fleming had been tossed out because he’d been the “mole” planted by the television producer.

  The other message was from Beck, inviting Riley to his place. Though that invitation should have been greeted with considerable enthusiasm and seriously steamy daydreams, Riley went directly into a bad case of nerves.

  I have to tell him, but what if he loses it?

  Unfortunately, there was only one way to find out.

  Once Riley arrived at Beck’s house, she found her courage flagging even though she’d given herself a pep talk on the way over. After trading a kiss, they settled at the kitchen table. She tried to do her homework while he sat across from her working on his reading and writing exercises. He wore a clean shirt and she caught the faint scent of aftershave, evidence he’d been looking forward to an evening she was about to ruin.

  Just tell him. She opened her mouth then closed it, fearful of losing everything that mattered in her life.

  He caught her looking at him. “Yer too quiet,” he said. “What’s goin’ on?”

  “Just doing my homework,” she replied, hoping he’d accept that lie.

  “No, it’s not that.” Brows furrowed, he leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “Tell me what’s botherin’ you. That’s part of this whole goin’ together thing.”

  “Guys don’t talk stuff out,” she replied, waving him off.

  “It’s the angel, isn’t it?”

  Riley slammed down her pen, upset that he could read her so easily. “Why does everything have to revolve around Ori?”

  “Because it does as long as he’s yer demi-lord,” he replied, his jaw tensing.

  “I can’t undo that, Beck,” she said. “It’s not a ‘Gee, I made a mistake, can I have my soul back now?’”

  “I know that,” he said, testily. “But I refuse to let that Fallen come between us.”

  “I’m not cheating on you.”

  “I never said that,” he said, his voice equally sharp. “Somethin’s got you spooked. I trusted you with my problems, you have to trust me. It’s not just one-way.”

  Riley rubbed her face in profound weariness.

  “Please let me help you,” he said. His tone was gentler now, not as confrontational. He really cared.

  “I killed a Four last night. It was the one who almost took your soul.”

  “What?” Beck blurted. “You shouldn’t have been anywhere near that thing. If it got into yer mind—”

  “And do what? My soul’s gone, Beck. The worst it could do was kill me.”

  “Why were you after it?”

  “I was hunting with Ori.”

  Beck took a long and deliberate inhalation, no doubt to short-circuit his anger. It wasn’t working as his fists were clenched now. “What’s really goin’ on?”

  “He’s teaching me how to slay demons. I don’t have a choice in the matter.”

  “Why?”

  “He said it’s because he owns my soul. He says I have to learn how to kill them to stay alive.”

  “Oh, sweet Jesus,” Beck muttered.

  Now that the truth was out, Riley wanted to tell him everything. “He calls me out at night. One minute I’m sleeping and then I wake up somewhere else. My hand . . . ” She stared down at the right palm. “That fiery sword he used at the cemetery? I have one like it, except it’s more me-sized. He said it’s an extension of his angelic power.”

  Beck’s mouth dropped open in shock.

  “Usually, he’s right there bitching at me about how I’m not doing anything right, but last night he didn’t show up until after I’d killed the first Mezmer. He took out the weaker one.”

  “Yer sure yer not dreamin’ all this?” he asked, skeptical.

  “It’s real, Den.” Too real.

  “Did he do this kind of crap with Paul?”

  “No, it’s just me.”

  “Damn that bastard!” Beck stormed, slamming a fist down on the table and nearly knocking over his cup of coffee.

  Riley knew he’d never hurt her, but she still put some space between them, retreating to the picture window. The street was dark now, demarked by the occasional streetlight. Someone was rolling a trash can to the curb.

  Behind her she heard him swear under his breath. “Why didn’t you tell me this was happenin’?” he demanded.

  “I . . . ” She choked back a sob. “I was scared I’d lose you just when we . . . ”

  There was a long silence, then a chair slid back and footsteps came toward her.

  Was he going to open the front door and tell her to leave? Tell her never to come back like he had the last time, but this time it would be forever? She tensed as Beck’s strong arms curved around her waist possessively and pulled her back against him. His comforting warmth flowed into her, strengthening her.

  “Ah, girl, I’m not goin’ anywhere without you. No way some damned angel’s gonna break us up. No one in Heaven or Hell has that kind of power.”

  He was drawing her closer, not pushing her away. She knew right then that she’d been a fool to think otherwise.

  “No matter what happens, I love you,” he whispered.

  He’d never used the L word before.

  She wasn’t in Hell yet. She still had time to live. Riley turned in his arms and gazed into his rich brown eyes. All she wanted was for him to kiss her, touch her, make love to her.

  “I don’t want to go home tonight,” she said, her voice quavering. “I want to stay here with you.”