Page 71 of Living Legend

He nodded. “I did some digging -- Keegan Finley is missing. I’ve sent scouts out to find him, but nothing has come of it. Natalia doesn’t know much about it, so I’m back to where I started. Perhaps he defected and Lilith got to him, or maybe this demon can tell us where he is.” Jonah shook his head, his shoulders slumped down. “I should have paid more attention.”

I looked down at my shoes, silently thanking Natalia for keeping her mouth shut. If Jonah just found out about Keegan, then how did he send him to Oculus in the first place? I was starting to understand their incentive for needing answers, yet I made no move to give more information. I knew I would regret my next words, but I had to do it. I needed to see how this played out. “I’ll ask her.”

“Nicholas, if it’s something you don’t feel comfortable with, I can do it myself,” he offered, his sincerity speaking volumes.

I stuck my hands in my pockets. “It would probably be better coming from me. Maybe she’ll be thrilled.” I said this with as much enthusiasm as I could muster, which wasn’t much.

Jonah nodded, taking in my words. “Just like your father, making the most of things.” Jonah looked into my eyes this time. He looked at me and smiled so the corners of his mouth ticked upward the slightest bit. His eyes scanned my face as if he was seeing someone else, someone he was remembering fondly. “I always admired that about him.”

Present

“No?” I repeated. She said it with such determination and malice, I almost took a step back.Almost. “What do you mean, no?”

“No means no. Do they not teach that in your angelic education?” she snarked.

I rolled my eyes, hating how she was so close to me that I could almost feel the hairs on her arms tickle mine. “Stubbornness isn’t an attractive trait, so just stop.”

She let out a one note bark of a laugh and crossed her arms over her chest. “Ah, not a fan of it when your backs’ against the wall, huh?”

“That’s not what’s happening.”

She tapped her index finger to her chin and looked up at the ceiling. “Really? From where I’m standing, you’re being told to do something with no real choice, like the little servant bitch you are.”

“Wow, a little aggressive, aren’t you?”

“I’m just getting started. Unfortunately, that pretty face of yours won’t get you very far this time.” She pushed her bottom lip out in a fake pout. “I’ve given you my answer, Nicholas.”

I gazed at her incredulously. “Did you not hear what I said?”She raised one of her dark eyebrows at me. “Demon. On the grounds. Found dead. None of that rings a bell?”

“It does. That sucks ass for you.” She pushed her index finger into my chest. “Doesn’t really fucking matter. Just send me and Elise back. Deal with this shit on your own.”

“I can’t.”

“What do you mean you can’t?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Guess I forgot to mention Jonah shut down all the portals for now. Especially ones to Purgatory. So I’m sorry to say, your ass is stuck here, so you might as well make the most of it.”

She stepped back from me and turned around. “Fuck! Of course, that’s how it is. You trap me here without a leg to stand on so that I’ll have to do what you want.” As she spoke, I couldn’t help my eyes from roaming down her body. I was frustrated with her, but that didn’t mean I was blind. The way the leggings she wore fit just right, how her neck curved perfectly.

I ran my hand through my hair, clearing my thoughts. “You’re being overdramatic.” I lifted both my hands up in hopes of reclaiming control of the situation. “All of this is beside the point, Dani. You know you can do this, so just do it and get it over with. I’m sure we could be in and out in minutes.”

Dani slowly turned and tilted her head to the side. “Aw, thank you for reminding me how good I am at my fucking job. That doesn’t change the key fact that I need something to do the kind of damage Jonah wants. I don’t think they would appreciate knowing I brought a party favor with me.”

I looked around as if someone else was listening in on our conversation. “I’ll make sure you have it, as long as you don’t get out of hand.”

She widened her eyes. “Oh, now there are stipulations? Torture the demon, but not too much. Only kill it a little bit. You guys are fucking ridiculous.”

“I never said you have to kill it.”

“You can’t honestly look me in the eyes and tell me they want me to let it live? After I’m done, it won’t have any reason to want to live.”

I peeked over to meet her eyes.“Dani, come on.”

“No, Nicholas, just no. I do those things because I have to. I’m good at it, yes, but I do it to survive, if you haven’t figured it out. Lilith gave me that dagger and helped me become who I am to make me worthy, so that’s what I became. I don’t have a crowd cheering me on, I don’t have the motivation towantto do this. All I know is that this demon broke through the portal. That doesn’t call for ripping his soul out at the end.” She stared right at me, eyes almost burning right through me. “All I have is a bunch of angels on my back telling me to be a good little demon and know my place. That’s not how it fucking works.”

“Okay, okay, I get that, but you can’t just sit in your room and do nothing. This will get a lot worse before it gets better, you and I both know that.”

“Believe me, I’ve seen worse, so I’ll let you figure out how to survive on your own.”

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