Page 9 of Demon's Bluff

I said nothing. We were too deep for me to reach a ley line, but Elyse probably could through her familiar. It made me vulnerable. Ivy, too, hadn’t moved, and my neck was beginning to tingle from the pheromones she was kicking out. It had been Elyse who had tried to lure me into being a member of the coven of moral and ethical standards, promising me the spell to bring Kisten back as a ghost if I did. The deal sounded good on the surface, but they didn’t wantme. They wanted what I knew. I would be doing their bidding, when, where, and how they wanted—not be a real member with a voice.

It ticked me off that I was tempted, regardless.

“Looks like you took a beating.” Elyse leaned back confidently against the desk. “No wonder you want to get rid of the evidence. I wouldn’t want anyone to know how badly I fucked up a simple restitution chat, either.”

Language,I mused, thinking the word made her sound less of a threat, not more. “What do you want? You gave me until June to uncurse Brad. I’m working on it.”

Elyse sniffed in amusement. “Relax, I’m not going to bust your chops over a vampiric power struggle. You’re simply hard to pin down and I figured you might be here.” She tossed the mangled paper towel to the trash, missing. “You. Me. My office. Tomorrow,” she said as she drew a business card from her jacket pocket and extended it. “Here’s the address.”

I let her hold it there for a good three heartbeats before I took it. Hard to pin down? She didn’t want to come out to the church is all. I didn’t blame her. My stronghold was formidable. “Carew Tower?” I said when I read it. “You’re renting space from Trent?”

The tall, slim woman grinned. “Ironic, isn’t it? But the location is central and it came with parking. Is three thirty okay? Yes? Good.” She pushed from the desk, her nose wrinkled at the scent of the dead. “I’ll see you there.”

“Uh-huh,” I managed, still trying to figure out how she knew to look for me here.

“Oh, and bring that book you used to curse Brad Welroe,” she added, one hand on the door. “It will make the afternoon go smoother.”

Ahhh, twist me to the Turn and back.

Ivy took a step forward and Elyse jerked, shoving herself backward through the double doors and into the hall. She was afraid—even down here where I couldn’t reach a ley line and she could—but my God, she was good at hiding it.

“Oh, and if you go to the ever-after, we will assume you are fleeing justice,” Elyse said from the safety of the hallway. “I will follow you there and drag you out, resident demons or not. Seems I’m the only witch on the planet who didn’t get cursed. Thanks for that, by the way. See you tomorrow.”

She let go of the door and it swung inward. Elyse was gone by the time it swung through again, the door closing in ever-shortening arcs as the sound of her steps faded.

“Is it a job offer or a ticket to Alcatraz?” Ivy asked.

“Does it matter?” I said, not sure which would be worse. Alcatraz I could escape. Probably. The coven? Not so much. I could show them the book and take the job to stay out of Alcatraz, but I’d have to abdicate my subrosa standing. “Constance isn’t anywhere near ready. And even if she was, I don’t trust her. Do you?”

Motions slow in thought, Ivy went behind the desk to replace the key. “No,” she said softly, brow furrowed.

I stood with my arms wrapped around my middle, my entire night—my entire week, probably—ruined. There wasn’t anyone I trusted to maintain the city except maybe Ivy.

And you had to be an undead or a demon to even be considered for the job.

Chapter

3

Eyes closed and reins heldloose, I enjoyed the sedate, soft thuds of Red’s hooves beating the soft, grass-covered ground. The rocking motion was soothing and I was tired. Trying to mesh my natural body rhythm to Trent’s crepuscular one made for early mornings. I’d been up since an ungodly eight thanks to Lucy and Ray, but it was hard to complain when morning meant real maple syrup, waffles toasted over a fire, and a ride through the ever-after to an unwatched ley line with two little girls. I had Ray before me, and the dark-haired, studious three-year-old was as comfortable on a horse as in her car seat.

The tall autumn grass of the ever-after tickled the horses’ bellies, and the sun was shining. White-capped mountains rose to one side, a flat, tree-spotted plain ran on the other, and not a sign of civilization in between. Al was right. The ever-after needed a wild herd.

Tulpa’s bluster behind me was a soft complaint, and I pulled the younger mare up, smiling as Trent and Lucy came even on the old gray. Trent looked fabulous on a horse at the worst of times. Today, though? His blond hair was almost white in the sun, his green eyes dark under the shade of his cap. He’d once had his ears docked—as all elves of his generation had—but a spell had returned them to their natural, pointy-arched elfness to match both Lucy’s and Ray’s. Slim and confident, he brought Tulpa even with us. Two trendy princess-and-rainbow-decorated backpacks satbehind him, holding what the girls would need for their weekend at Ellasbeth’s.

Seeing him there, not just dealing with his life going off the rails, but thriving, my stomach gave a little hop. I loved him, and he loved me. Sometimes, it was that simple.

Trent guided Tulpa closer until our legs touched. “We should be seeing the ley line soon. Quen said it was clear of any FIB presence in reality.” He frowned, squinting at the slight rise. “Eden Park would have been more convenient. This was a good twenty-minute ride.”

“Perhaps, but you can’t leave your car unattended there.” I tightened my grip on Ray when the little girl pointed at the distant rise.

“See?” she said, her high voice clear, and I nodded, having brought up my own second sight. Not too far away, a ribbon of hazy red swayed and undulated at chest height. The ley line went deep into the ground as well as into the air, leaving only this narrow band that could be seen, shimmering like a heat mirage over the tall, unspoiled grass.

The sun seemed to dim as I used my second sight, and the hint of a cityscape wavered into existence within the tall grass; traffic and people moved silently amid the hard corners and dull colors. Grimacing, I dropped my second sight and reality vanished. Never in my wildest imagination would I have thought that the demon’s ever-after would be an improvement from reality—but it was now.

“I need to walk.” Trent gracefully slipped from his horse and helped Lucy to the ground. “Go pick some flowers for your mother,” he said softly, and the little girl ran off, her straight blond hair streaming behind her. Still smiling, he reached for Ray, the quiet, dark-haired girl already leaning down to him. “You too,” he added as he set her gently on the earth, and she beamed up at him before following her sister. The two girls shared not a drop of blood, but between Trent, Quen, and Ellasbeth, they were being raised as siblings, raised in love.

For a moment, I sat atop Red, feeling tall as I scanned the open grassland. Despite the ever-after belonging to the demons, there was nothinghere to harm them, and I swung my leg over to hit the ground hard. I hadn’t been riding for a while, and I felt it. Trent’s hand found mine, and horses in tow, we followed the girls as they raced from flower to flower.

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