“My sister died when we were small,” he said.
I understood instantly. During our last mission, when I’d called Raoul out over his crappy attitude toward Vayl, his colleague, Colonel John, had let slip that my Spirit Guide’s history involved a nasty confrontation with vampires. This must be part of what he’d been hinting at.
“That must’ve been awful for you,” I said. And then, because I could tell he didn’t want to talk about it anymore, “You know how sorry I am, right? But just because you didn’t develop mad communication skills in your childhood doesn’t mean you can’t do some shaping now. Just take it slow at first. Maybe pretend Nia doesn’t wear lipstick.”
“She doesn’t.”
“No?”
“She wears gloss.”
“Oh. Shiny.”
“Like the sun on steel.”
“Okay, well, don’t look at her lips, or her eyes, which are probably just as devastating, am I right?” He nodded miserably. “Look at her nostrils.”
“What?”
“Have an entire conversation with the cilia inside her nose holes. If that doesn’t ground you, I don’t know what will.”
Raoul chuckled. “Between your advice and Cole’s, this may just work out.” I badly wanted to ask what “this” consisted of, since they only inhabited physical bodies a small percentage of the time. But I found Raoul and I hadn’t developed our relationship to the bump-ugly point yet. And, come to think of it, I hoped it never would.
Jack and I showed him to the front door. “You can keep the weapons we brought until your deal with Kyphas is done. I can’t tell you how she’ll try to turn on you, only that eventually she will.” I nodded, returning his somber look to let him know how seriously I took him. “Thanks. For everything.” He knelt, gave Jack a swift rub on the head, then leaned forward and whispered something in his ear.
After which Jack backed up a few steps, sat down, and nodded.
Raoul smiled up at me, and for a second I saw through the body he wore to the being he’d become. His beauty made me close my eyes.
When I opened them again he said, “You did right to keep this dog.” And then he left.
Jack and I stared at each other. “What are you two hatching?” I asked him. He just licked his nose.
Then he trotted to the kitchen to hover over his empty food bowl.
“What, have you got a tapeworm? You just ate like, an hour ago!” Pathetic eyes, blinking soulfully, followed by a sloppy drink that clearly didn’t satisfy. “Okay, I’ll get you a snack,” I said. “But I don’t see how you can eat at a time like this.”
I went to my room, followed by the hungry mutt, who seemed to think I needed an escort to remind me of the importance of my current mission. Deciding Jack needed some exercise, I detoured past Kyphas’s room on my way. Raoul had moved an adult-sized chair beside her bed, on which Cole currently lounged. He’d made himself comfortable by putting his feet up beside hers.
She was laughing.
We’d all removed our party lines, but I didn’t need cutting-edge technology to overhear the convo.
“Naw, none of my brothers are nearly as charming as me,” Cole was saying with his usual utter lack of humility. “I think the only reason Trig and Pait are married is because their wives have no judgment when it comes to character. They actually think I’m a solid citizen.” Kyphas giggled. I shoved my hand in my pocket. The hilt of my knife fit smoothly into my palm.
“Jasmine?” Vayl came up from behind me, hooked my elbow, and led me to our room, waiting until Jack had followed us in before closing the door. “Why am I sensing barely restrained violence from you?” he whispered.
I jerked my head back toward the demon. “She’s a menace. We should’ve taken care of her along with the rest of them.”
“You know we chose the wiser course.”
“She’s going to try to steal souls the whole time she’s with us!”
“She is a demon. We cannot prevent that because she cannot sign a contract that contradicts her nature.”
“But—”
Vayl stepped in closer, rubbing his fingertips from my shoulders to elbows as he spoke. “Enough, my
“Like?”
“Why you began scratching like a flea-infested mongrel in the first place. After all, it did not occur at the first bite.”
I dropped my fingernails from my rash-covered arms. “Oh, I’m pretty sure I know what the problem is.” Vayl’s eyebrows inched upward. “And?”
“He wasn’t calling the shots then. Now he’s making a play for all the control centers in my brain. And the rash shows you how successful he’s been so far. I do think I know how to put him in a place where he can’t reach me anymore. But…”
When he realized how hard it was becoming for me to explain, Vayl sat on the bed. He pulled a box of treats from my trunk and gave Jack a couple to crunch on while I pulled myself together.
Finally I sank down beside him. I ran a hand down his thigh, watching my fingers trace the hard outlines of his muscles. Ignoring an itch behind my knee, I reached toward him with my other hand, sliding it across the flatness of
