Page 63 of Coerced

“Anything.” The moonlight glittered in her eyes as she looked up at me. “Anywhere. Anytime.”

“Even on other planes?”

“Yes.”

“Even in warded places?”

“Are you unfamiliar with the concept of ‘any’?” She squinted up at me.

I half-smiled and held out my hand, and she dropped the key into my palm.

“This burden I pass to you, Kerry Harker, with both confidence and relief. However, I caution you to conceal it until such time as its purpose is revealed to you.”

“Keep it secret until I need to use it?” I guessed.

“Yes, and then only in the direst of need, for Diabolical and Divine both can sense its power when employed. The more you use it, the brighter a beacon it will become, and I fear there are those on either side of the war who would seek it for their own purposes.”

“Then I’d better just hold onto it until we find another guardian.”

A real guardian who knows what they’re doing.Seeing as I’m just making this up as I go, I’m half-surprised we’re all still alive.

“You must do as you see fit.” Her expression was smooth as she stood up. “I have discharged my duty with a clear conscience.”

“Why did the archangel ask you to make this? I mean, in the wrong hands, this is the Apocalypse, right? You could open the gates of Dudael and free the rest of the Fallen. You could unlock Sheol and Gehenna and release the greater demons. Why would anyone want this thing to evenexist?”

“My dear boy.” Her grin made dimples in her cheeks. “If a key can open, it can also lock.”

#

Amanda fixed the key so I would be the only one able to sense it, and I added it onto the chain with my grace of refuge. We agreed to put the illusion on someone else, though, so when we got back to the hotel room, she asked for a volunteer to be the decoy.

You can guess who wanted to do it.

“I make the most sense,” Gemma insisted. “The shadow prince knows the miracle worker was female. I stand the best chance of mimicking a miracle well enough to fool most people. Plus, I’ll be with you. A hunter would expect her to be the most heavily guarded, right? And who’s a more powerful guard than you?”

I glanced over at Jax, wanting his opinion.

“It’s only a couple of days at the most.” He shrugged. “Andyou’llbe with her, like she said.”

“I can do this, Kerry.” She was wearing that face, the one that said she’d already made up her mind and good luck trying to change it

So I agreed - and hoped the bad feeling in my gut was just from that freaking shrimp Gemma made me eat.

17. Eau de Diabolique

Gemma

The black SUV pulled into the parking lot and Spin all but fell out of it the second it stopped moving. For someone who was usually in constant motion, he must have felt tortured to be cooped up in a vehicle for hours. The two other guys were a little slower getting out, and I bounced on my toes in anticipation.

Before he’d left, Clem had said one of the newcomers was a warrior and the other a healer, and I wanted to try to guess who had which power just by looking at them. It was a harmless little amusement, but turned out to be too easy.

The tallest people of my acquaintance were Kerry and John, who seemed to have engaged in a growing contest since Christmas. I’d seen a few people around the Sanctuary who were about John’s six foot three, but none that surpassed Kerry’s six foot six.

This guy did - and by at least three, maybe four, inches. I’d never seen, let alone met, anyone that tall in my life. He was wider and broader than Kerry, too, with bulky muscles that even his heavy coat couldn’t hide. His hair was silvery blond, his eyes chips of blue ice, and his mouth a taut line in a rock-hard, square jaw.

Warrior. No doubt about it.I sighed.Bet he doesn’t have a sense of humor, either. Maybe it’s a requirement for the class.

Then the second guy came into my line of sight, and my jaw dropped.

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