I exchanged glances with Hugh and Peter. They looked a lot like I felt: weary and frustrated, with the secret suspicion that this was all almost funny.
'Well,' I said, watching Tawny smile with delight. 'At least someone's happy with all this.'
CHAPTER 13
Hearing Cedric assure me I couldn't die lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. I left the Cellar with much less anxiety, though I still had no intention of doing anything that might test how exactly we'd heal from decapitation. So, while I still operated with caution, I no longer felt suffocated or threatened by every aspect of the world.
Rather than go home, I drove down to Dante's shop. His store/apartment was in Rainier Valley, on the southeast side of Seattle. He had no regularly posted hours for his assorted 'psychic' services, but he would usually hang around there at night if he had nothing else to do. It tended to be the time drunk people or couples out on dates (or high teens) would wander in looking for fun and novelty. Daytime business hours didn't generally bring out that many who were seeking help from the divine unless, perhaps, it was someone seeking advice on stock trading.
Dante had no customers tonight, however. The shop and its flickering neon sign seemed sad and lonely. I pushed through the unlocked door and found him leaning against the checkout counter, leafing through a copy of Maxim .
'What gives?' I asked. 'Your subscription to Frauds and Scams Weekly run out?'
He glanced up at me with a smile, flipping black hair out of his face. 'Just needed something pretty to look at since I didn't know when I'd be seeing you again.'
I planted a kiss on his cheek. 'Holy shit. That's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me.'
'Yeah, well, I can make some filthy sexual suggestions to you if you'd prefer.'
'What, and ruin foreplay for next time?'
This made his grin grow, and he shut the magazine. 'To what do I owe the pleasure? Shouldn't you be visiting our neighbors to the north? Or is that done? I honestly can't keep track.'
'Well. About that.' God, how I was going to explain what had happened? Had all of this seriously happened in just one day? It felt like a year had gone by since I got woozy in the car. 'Something strange happened today.'
'Strange like you sold out of Jane Austen books at the store or strange like the rules of time and space as we know them are about to be ripped apart?'
'Mmm…more like that last one.'
'Shit.'
I took a deep breath, figuring I should just get the big stuff out of the way. 'There's no easy way to put this, but…I'm not a succubus anymore.'
'I never believed you were a succubus.'
I groaned. That had been an old joke between us when we'd first met. Oh, the irony. 'I'm serious,' I said. 'No more succubus. And Jerome's disappeared too, possibly opening up Seattle to a new demonic reign.'
Dante stared at me, eyes speculative as he assessed me for the truth. He was speechless for the first time I'd known him. Not waiting for more witty commentary, I plunged forward. I explained about the summoning, what it had done to all of us lesser immortals, how demons everywhere were now sizing up Seattle, and why I needed to find Jerome as soon as possible.
When I finally finished, it took Dante several moments to gather his thoughts. 'So…you've seriously lost your succubus powers?'
'Abilities,' I corrected. 'And yes, I have. Are you saying that after all that other stuff I just told you about the balance of power in Seattle, my succubus status is what caught your attention the most?'
He shrugged. 'You gotta admit it's weird. Besides, that other stuff doesn't affect me. You do.' His eyes narrowed. 'Am I going to have to use a condom now?'
'What? No. Of course not.'
'You sure?'
'You've never batted an eye over me stealing pieces of your soul these last few months, but the nonexistent threat of child support suddenly scares you?'
'Well, yeah, seeing as my bank account's got more in it than my soul.'
I glanced around the shabby room. 'Debatable.'
'Cute,' he conceded. 'But I'd be asking a few more questions about all of this if I were you. Like, can you die?'
'I already asked that one,' I said smugly. 'And the answer is no. Our immortal bodies are still essentially the same. We're just cut off from all the perks.' I hoped he didn't ask about decapitation because I honestly wasn't in the mood to debate that.
'Okay, so what do you want from me?' he asked.
'What makes you think I want anything?'
He looked at me.
'Okay, maybe I do want something. But come on, who else would know more about this stuff than you?'
'Who knows more about demons? Hmm, let me think. I know. How about the demons you work for , the ones who are all-powerful and have been around since the beginning of time?'
'They're not all-powerful. Otherwise they wouldn't need a human for the summoning-or end up getting summoned in the first place. And that's what I need you for. There can't be that many humans in the area capable of doing this, are there? You have to know who they are.'
Dante opened his mouth, no doubt with a snappy reply ready, and then abruptly closed it. 'I don't know,' he said slowly. 'I don't keep track of those things.'
I leaned toward him, incredulous. 'Of course you do! Do you not want to tell me? Why?'
He sighed, his hesitant expression turning typically annoyed. 'Because those kinds of people get pissed off if you start advertising their names.'
'What, you're afraid they're going to come beat you up?'
'No. Not exactly. But there's sort of…a professional courtesy in these circles.'
'I'll be discreet. I won't tell them where I got the information.'
'Most of them already know we're together. They'd figure it out. They keep an eye on those kinds of things.' He turned considering. 'Of course, in that same vein, a lot of them know you as a succubus and might just think you knew through your own connections.'
He still seemed hesitant, so I played a mean card. 'Well, I can always go ask Erik if you're too nervous about it.'
Erik was another mortal in town who dealt with the occult and paranormal. Unlike Dante, who was a practitioner, Erik simply studied and built up knowledge of the magical undercurrents in the city. He had a psychic's gifts and was attuned to what most human eyes didn't see. Sometimes he could even see what immortals couldn't. He and Dante had an old, old grudge and didn't enjoy being around each other, to put it mildly.
My attempt to bait Dante didn't work, though. 'Don't even try it, succubus. Making me jealous of the old man won't make me help you.'
I looked up at him pleadingly. 'What will make you help me?'
He traced the outline of my lips with his fingertip, gray eyes wicked and thoughtful. 'Not sure it's anything you can do while cut off from your super-secret powers. You're not a sex goddess anymore.'
'Hey, I don't need super-secret powers to be a sex goddess.'
Just then, three twentysomethings stumbled in, staring wide-eyed at the shop as they tried to stifle nervous giggles. They undoubtedly had the same kind of potential that high teens did. I gave Dante one last frantic plea. 'Please? Just give me the names. You don't have to do anything else. And I won't say anything. I swear it.'
Dante scowled, glanced at me, at the potential customers, and then back at me. He told them he'd be with
