For a Few Demons More

I was furious—my anger fueled by guilt—and I fumed until Glenn muttered, 'Sorry.'

'All right, then,' I huffed, wrapping an arm around my middle and turning away from the hall. This isn't my fault. I'm not responsible for Al's actions.

'At least he's gone,' Glenn said, no emotion in his voice.

I laughed bitterly. 'No, he isn't.'

There was a moment of silence. 'Piscary said—'

'Piscary and Al are working together. And you fell for it, letting him out so now you have two monsters with free run of Cincy, not one.' My face twisted bitterly. 'Don't ask me to take care of them for you this time, okay?'

The background office noise filled my ear. 'Can you come down here anyway?' Glenn finally said. 'I want you to identify someone.'

My heart clenched. He had said there was another body. Suddenly Piscary was the last thing on my mind. 'David?' I said, knees going weak, cold though the sun shone in strong on my back through the kitchen window. Someone had killed him. Someone was killing Weres looking for the focus, and lots of people knew that David was my alpha. God help me, they've killed him.

'No,' Glenn said, and relief, made my breath tremble in my lungs. 'It's a Were by the name of Brett Markson. He had your card in his wallet. Do you know him? '

My brief elation that David was okay shifted to numb shock. Brett? The Were from Mackinaw? I slid to the floor, my back against the sink cupboard, my knees scrunching up.

'Rachel?' came Glenn's voice from far away. 'You okay?'

'Yeah,' I breathed. 'No,' I amended. 'I'll come right down.' Ceri. I licked my lips and tried to swallow. 'Can you give me about an hour?' Shower and eat. 'Maybe two?'

'Ah, damn it, Rachel, did you really know this guy?' Glenn said, his voice guilty now. 'I'm sorry, I should have come over.'

I looked up, seeing Ivy's empty spot at the table. 'No, I'm fine. He was… an acquaintance.' I took a breath, remembering the last time I saw Brett, hanging at the outskirts of my life trying to ease his way into my pack, a powerful man looking for something to believe in.

'It's what? Seven-thirty?' Glen was saying. 'I'll send a car at noon. Unless you have your license? '

I shook my head, though he couldn't see it. 'A car would be nice.'

'Rachel? Are you okay? '

There was a demon loose in the city. A master vamp was out to get me. My church was unsanctified. And Brett was dead. 'I'm fine,' I said, sounding wispy. 'See you after noon.'

Numb, I hung up the phone before he could say anything more. It felt heavy in my hand, and I stared at my spell books, at eye level. Damn it, this wasn't right. I wiped my eyes and got to my feet, feeling like everything had changed.

Bare feet squeaking, I headed into the sanctuary. I came to a halt just past the top of the hallway. Trent was examining the stained-glass artwork, and his shiny shoes caught the light when he turned. Quen was six feet away, looking ready for anything.

'Trent, I'm sorry,' I said, thinking my face must be white when his eyebrows went high. 'I can't do this right now. I don't think Ceri is going to come over anyway.'

'Why?' he asked, spinning on a heel to face me fully.

Oh, God, they had killed Brett. 'I shoved her down last night,' I said, 'and she's probably still upset about it.' Brett was dead. He was military. How could someone kill him? He was damned good at staying alive.

Trent shook out the sleeves of his expensive suit and let out a disbelieving laugh. 'You shoved her down? Do you know who she is?'

I took a quick breath, trying to hold myself together. Brett was dead. Because of me. 'I know who she is, but when someone pushes me, I push back.'

Trent glanced at Quen, his face going tight. My jaw clenched, and I kept my breathing shallow. I looked to the rafters for Jenks, trying not to cry. Someone had killed Brett. He had been only one step away from me. I was so damned vulnerable. All it would take was a sniper, but I couldn't live in a cave. This was crap. Purple fairy crap with green sparkles on it.

I trailed my hand along the wall as I went to sit in Ivy's chair. The scent of vampire incense made me feel even worse. I had to stop living my life as if it were a game. I had to start buying insurance, or I wouldn't live to hear my mother complain about the lack of grandchildren. Though it twisted my gut, I was going to give Piscary the focus to put into hiding, to bribe him into not killing me. Then I was going to rescue Lee to get Al back where he belonged and Trent off my case. Might as well start there, I thought, sitting up and taking a deep breath. Al, I could take care of later. After dark.

'Trent,' I said, closing my eyes in a long blink as I felt my sense of right and wrong take a hit, 'I think I might have a way to get Lee free of Al. It won't cost you a dime, but I want you to leave me alone.' I looked at him, his face blank in wonder. 'Think you can you do that?'

'You said you couldn't get a familiar free from a demon,' he said, his velveteen voice holding a rough edge.

I shrugged, staring past him at the door and unfolding myself so I didn't look so miserable. 'Where do you think Ceri came from?'

His expression empty, Trent glanced at Quen. The dark elf blinked once with meaning. 'I'm listening,' Trent said warily.

This was where it would get sticky. 'I'm going to try to swing a deal with Piscary—'

'Careful,' he mocked. 'Someone might think your black-and-white outlook is going gray.'

'Shut up!' I shouted at the billionaire, feeling the sting. 'I'm not breaking the law. I have something he might want, and once he has it, I ought to be able to get rid of Al safely and in such a way that will free Lee. But I want your word that you'll leave me and the people I care about alone. And…' I took a deep breath, feeling like I was becoming one of them. '… I'll leave you and your business dealings alone.'

I wanted to survive. I wanted to live. I had been playing in a sandbox with murders and casual killers, with the arrogant innocence of a snowflake in hell. The FIB couldn't protect me. The I.S. wouldn't. Trent could kill me, and I had to respect that even if I didn't respect him. God, who am I becoming?

'You'd stop trying to tag me?' Trent said softly, and then went still in unvoiced thought. His lips parted, and he looked at Quen in wonder. 'She has the focus,' he said to him, then turned to me, amused. 'That's what you're going to give Piscary. You have the focus,' he said around his laugh. 'I should have known it was you!'

My face went cold, and I felt my stomach drop. Oh, shit.

I stood upright when Quen shifted to stand between us—maneuvering.

'Stop!' I said, my hand outstretched, and he did. Heart pounding, I held him off with my fingers splayed, trying to figure it out. Trent was the one killing the Weres?

'You killed Brett?' I said, seeing him flush. 'It was you!' I exclaimed, dropping my hand and flushing in anger. Damn it, what had I almost done? What in hell was wrong with me? This couldn't be happening!

'I didn't kill him. He killed himself,' Trent said, his jaw clenched. 'Before he could tell me you had it,' he finished, hands behind his back.

Quen was balanced with his weight on his toes, his arms loose at his side. As if in a dream, I said to him, 'You killed Brett. And Mr. Ray's secretary. And Mrs. Sarong's aide.'

Quen's face darkened with guilt, and his muscles tensed.

'You sons of bitches,' I whispered, not wanting to believe it, cursing myself for wanting Trent to be better than he was, wanting both of them to be better than murderers and assassins. 'I thought you had more honor than this, Quen.'

The older elf's jaw clenched.

'We didn't kill them,' Trent said, defending himself, and I snorted with derision. 'They committed suicide,' he insisted, the devil in his perfect suit and perfect hair. 'Every last one of them. None of them had to die. They could have told me.'

As if it made a difference. 'They didn't know I had it!'