I laughed. "I wasn't judging. Trust me. I justthought you were younger than you are."
"No."
"Well, maybe steer clear of the big city for awhile."
"There's not as much going on in Santa Fe, butyeah, I'll stick close to home. I'm not anxious for that to happen again."She shuddered.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah."
She sounded like she believed it. I supposed timewould tell and hopefully she'd get someone to talk to, but at the moment Ibelieved her.
"So, Sabian."
I sighed. "Sabian is an incubus."
She burst out laughing. "God he's hot."
I nodded my agreement.
She fell silent and I almost thought she'd fallenasleep when she spoke again, voice soft. "Am I going to remember thisconversation later?"
That was a fair question. I hadn't decided on thatmyself.
"Do you want to remember it?"
"Yes. And I swear I won't tell anyone else."
I glanced at her before looking back at the road. Hereyes were wide, and she stared at me, a mix of wonder and fear in herexpression and on her scent.
"Can you promise me you won't go looking forother vampires or supernatural beings? Most of them are not nearly as friendlyas the ones you've met so far."
"Do you know any who are nice?"
"Mandy..."
"No, really, do you?"
I sighed again but put a little thought into it. "Notlocally."
She pushed out her lip in a pout. "No, I won't golooking," she agreed after a few minutes of silence. "If anyonedecent does show up locally, would you, uh, put in a good word for me?"
Was she really asking me to play match maker? I shookmy head. "No promises, Mandy."
"Well, that's not a no."
"It's not a no."
Her wide grin was interrupted by a jaw popping yawn.
"Why don't you get some rest. I'll wake you upwhen we get back to your place."
"Thanks, Mal. Thank you for saving me."
"You're welcome."
"Chris is lucky she found you."
I smiled. "I am, too."
Mandy drifted off, and I focused on the road. My lifehad officially gotten even stranger, but at least Mandy was safe and hopefullyI didn't have to worry about her going on a vampire hunt. Maybe I'd talk toSabian about finding her a nice, friendly incubus friend. I shook my head andwondered what Chris was going to have to say about all of this when she foundout. Maybe I should have let the angel kill me.
Chapter 14
Price
I pushed out of the clingy material, expecting to becovered in slime or something, but no, I was just cold. The air on the otherside was frigid, dry, and sucked the breath from my lungs. It was significantlydarker here than on Earth, and that probably explained why Ezra used sunglassesall the time.
"Wrap yourself in my power and think about beingwarm," Ezra directed.
Doing what he suggested, I instantly felt better.
"You can do this on your plane, same with coolingyourself down."
"Is that why you and Sabian are never affected bythe heat?"
"The elements don't bother us nearly as much asthey do humans, but extreme temperatures will still affect us. This is what wedo to protect ourselves."
"Cool." This shiver was completely unrelatedto the cold as I looked around.
I didn't see any guardians or anything, but I couldsense a presence studying us. Mayhem had shifted to his hellhound form and Iput my hand on his back. The landscape was barren, stark, artic almost.Definitely my idea of hell. It stretched endlessly away from the cliff we stoodon. Wind tugged at my jacket and whistled around us.
"Yeah, this fits."
Ezra chuckled. "It's not all like this."
"Good."
"I'm going to take you to my home now."
He grabbed my hand, did something, and suddenly wewere standing in a completely different landscape. This one was more like analpine mountain range. Still cool, so I didn't drop my power, but not desolate,and the wind didn't try to steal my soul with every breath. We stood in frontof something that looked like an ancient keep on Earth, all granite rock, andsolid looking. Sigils shimmered along the crenelations at the top of the hugestructure. I turned, able to feel the wards that the sigils powered surroundingus.
Wolves howled in the distance.
Mayhem sat and cocked his head, listening. After amoment, he let loose with a beautiful, yet chilling, howl of his own.Hellhounds then, not wolves.
"Yours?" I glanced at Ezra.
"Yes." His smile of pride had me grinning inreturn.
"They run the mountains here, patrolling. I wasfortunate in my younger years to start a rather prized breeding program and it,and other things, have done well for me. Shall we?" He gestured to themain doors of the keep, which were slowly opening.
"Sure, mate."
I was inclined to trail along behind Ezra, but heoffered me his arm, so I let him claim me and together we walked through thedoors into his home.
The inside was fairly medieval in that the lightingwas from sconces along the walls, though I couldn't tell what was powering thelights. Probably magic. There were no tapestries or art, just bare granitewalls that were certainly beautiful in their own right. The floor was stonewith carpet runners.
"Is there anyone else here?"
The moment I asked, I knew the answer. I could senseothers all around me, though I couldn't see them. Whispers filled the edge ofmy hearing.
"They're cautious. Your reputation precedes you."
"Ahh."
A pair of hellhounds poked their heads around acorner, ears perked forward.
Mayhem whined, did a little dancing step, and glancedback at me, as if for permission.
I looked at Ezra, hoping he wasn't asking forpermission to attack them, though I didn't get that impression.
"His litter mates."
"Go ahead, Mayhem."
He woofed happily and galloped down the hallway. Hecrashed into the others and they all went sprawling for a moment before they seton each other in a terrifying display of what I hoped was hellhound playtime.
"Ezra? They playing?"
"Yes. They won't hurt each other."
"Hope you're right." I hunched my shouldersbefore letting Ezra lead me to a large staircase. We went up and through moreidentical corridors until Ezra pushed a door open into a study. This had morepersonality. Bookshelves lined with ancient looking tomes, and some more modern.A few trinkets sat on the shelves here and there that I would investigate atsome point. A fireplace, a couch, recliner,
