Chase the Dark (Steel & Stone Book 1)

  The hallway had doubled in width. On either side, long tables stood like sentries, draped in red velvet. Covering almost every inch of the tabletops were masks: stylized, jeweled, feathered, and beaded masks with long ribbons. Half of them were recognizable as animal countenances; the rest were fantasy creations. All of them had a sinister cast to them.

  Curved glass cases protected the masks and a masked attendant stood behind each side. The male attendant, with a grinning snake mask, wore no shirt and had scales painted over one shoulder. He spread his hands invitingly across his display. The woman on the other side, wearing a feathered peacock mask, was already reaching under her table. She produced a black mask and handed it wordlessly to Ash. He accepted it with a nod.

  “Choose one,” he said over his shoulder to Piper. He turned away to affix his mask to his face.

  “But . . . why?” she asked. On closer inspection, the man’s display had smaller, more feminine masks than the opposite side.

  “Because the Styx is an anonymous sort of place,” Lyre replied absently, perusing the woman’s masks. “I’ll take that one,” he decided, pointing to a ruby-studded fantasy countenance with long red and black ribbons.

  Piper turned to the man’s display and swallowed. They were all beautiful but vaguely creepy. How was she supposed to pick one? The silent attendant recognized her confusion. He reached under the glass and lifted a silvery mask with a delicate, pointed snout and large silky ears. He passed the stylized fox face to her.

  “This one?” she questioned. He nodded. She shrugged and put it on, fumbling the trailing ribbons as she tied the mask in place. Whatever.

  “Come on,” Lyre said, his red and black mask in place. It looked doubly sinister with his golden eyes peering out, the strange angles pulling her gaze irresistibly to his gaze. Ash was already walking down the hall, his steps quick with impatience. The hall curved again and he vanished around the bend. Piper trotted after him, rounded the corner, and stopped to stare.

  There were only two colors of light in the massive room that opened in front of her: red and blue. The red came from everywhere, radiating dimly from under the bars, out of the cracks in the walls, and from hidden pot lights. Blue flickered and flashed from strobe lights and spotlights. Everything else was black that reflected the colored lights. The effect was eerie beyond words. The red light suffused the smoky air as it subtly pulsed, while the blue lights flashed all over the room in time to the eardrum-bursting bass.

  The club was packed. Bodies swayed and writhed to the music and crowds formed dense spots of black around the bars and what looked like some sort of stage at the far end. Small tables with stools surrounded a dance floor that took up the entire center of the space.

  Everyone in sight wore a mask and most wore costumes to match. Piper gaped at the sight of a hundred bodies moving to the beat until Lyre took her elbow and steered her straight into the mass of dancers in the wake of Ash’s retreating back. They made their way toward the main bar at the back of the huge room. The flashing, flickering lights made it hard to see, but it would have required pitch blackness for her to stop staring.

  The club was in the middle of the worst neighborhood in the city. Its patrons were clearly not local. The costumes were sophisticated, expensive, and, for the most part, barely there. The most common theme ran along the same lines as Ash’s and Lyre’s new outfits but way less conservative. Piper swallowed hard as her gaze flicked from skimpy leather to heavy chains to corsets, ribbons, lace, and fishnet. Hair in every unnatural shade was styled in every extreme. A couple dressed in matching costumes like slightly menacing koi fish swayed together. The masked faces of the dancers swam through the pulsating light, anonymous and mysterious.

  Maybe it was the masks or maybe it was the club, but lack of inhibition was as much a theme as the red and blue lights. There was everything short of intercourse going on around her. When she passed a woman in tight red strips of material and a cat mask sandwiched suggestively between two men, Piper forced her gaze to Ash’s back and kept it there, thankful for the mask hiding her expression.

  Ash led them straight to the bar, stopping beside a girl wearing a black and purple corset, purple panties, thigh-high fishnets, and a dragonfly mask. Piper resisted the urge to cover her ears with her hands; her head was going to split from the blaring music.

  She looked toward the stage for distraction. It was a long raised strip draped in black and red velvet, highlighted by circling spotlights. There were three silver poles and three gyrating dancers. The dancers were wearing almost nothing except their masks. Lyre watched with interest. She rolled her eyes.

  As her gaze travelled away, a man sauntered past her and her jaw dropped.

  His mask was superb, stylized like a white lynx face, but the furred ears that poked through his hair were swiveling to follow sounds and the long, swishing white tail behind him was as real as his legs, which ended in paws. He was unmistakably a daemon.

  She stared openmouthed, then jerked her gaze across the faces of the nearest dancers. They didn’t look shocked or fearful. They were staring, yes, but with keen interest and obvious attraction. Without the slightest sign of self-consciousness, the daemon insinuated himself onto the dance floor and was immediately surrounded by a group of hip-swaying girls. One stroked his ear suggestively. Piper swallowed hard. He was either a daemon who’d gotten real creative with his glamour, or he was a neko daemon and wasn’t bothering with a glamour at all. He was a lot less mutant-looking than the sphinx, but his alienness was unmistakable.

  Breathing a little too fast, she surveyed the club again more carefully. Neko-boy wasn’t the only daemon there; most of them were in varying stages of un-glamour. One, no doubt an Overworld daemon like the neko, had done herself up like some sort of gold and blue fairy, wings included. Others were more subtle, scattered at random throughout the crowds of humans, but all of them were receiving triple the attention of the opposite sex.

  What the hell was going on with this place? Daemons did not walk around without glamour. They just didn’t.

  Someone tapped her shoulder. Piper turned and her heart skipped. The man’s glossy black mask was gorgeously done but frighteningly realistic. It seemed to be a part of his face, the planes of it curving over his forehead and cheekbones to form a countenance that was both feline and reptilian. The mask cut in at the hollows of his cheeks to reveal tantalizing strips of defined jaw line. Elegant, curved horns swept back from the sides to cover his ears.

  She blinked and realized the dragon-masked man was Ash.

  Heat rushed into her face and she was doubly glad of her own mask. He gestured for her to follow him. Hoping he hadn’t noticed her shocked staring, she fell into step behind him. How could she not have recognized him?

  Giving Lyre a whack in the back of the head to get his attention off the pole dancers, Ash led the way a partially hidden door in the far corner of the club, guarded by two masked bouncers who nodded amiably at Ash as he went through.

  Stairs spiraled down, lit by recessed red lights. Ash pushed open a door at the bottom and the sudden change took Piper by surprise. A brightly lit, business-like hall stretched in front of them, leading to a posh, professional sitting room that would have looked right at home in a Consulate.

  Ash stopped in the center of the room and pushed his mask on top of his head. “They’re letting Lilith know we’re here. She should join us in a minute.”

  Pushing his mask up as well, Lyre wandered over to a chair and sat. He had a vague, punch-drunk sort of expression on his face. Probably reliving his walk across the lust-crazed dance floor.

  Piper exhaled slowly. “So what’s with the daemons here?” she asked.

  Ash shrugged. “Sometimes it’s liberating to be who you are.”

  “Plus the female attention,” Lyre said dreamily. “Some humans love that sort of stuff.”

  “But . . .” She frowned at him. “Didn’t you say daemons don’t show off their true shapes because we’ll
never believe you’re human again?”

  “The daemons here don’t want people thinking they’re humans,” he told her. “They want attention, not anonymity.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “Have you ever gone around this club with no glamour?”

  He flashed her a grin. “No. I can get all the attention I want without cheating.”

  “How is not using glamour cheating?”

  “Lyre is less attractive with his glamour,” Ash said unexpectedly. “By our standards, I should say.”

  Piper blinked in surprise.

  Lyre looked amazed too. “Do mine ears deceive me, Ash? Did you just say you’re attracted to me?”

  “Your ears deceive you.”

  Piper snorted. “You must be pretty lust-drunk, Lyre. You’re flirting with the wrong gender now.”

  He blinked, then looked a little embarrassed. “Uh . . . yeah, maybe.” He gave his head a little shake and stood again. With a languid stretch, he minced over to Piper’s side and slid a hand across her stomach, curving it over her opposite hip. He leaned against her side and grinned as he put his lips to her ear.

  “They say dancing is like sex with clothes on,” he purred. “I think we should try it.”

  With an exasperated huff, Piper yanked out of his grip, stumbling in her haste. Ash caught her arm and pulled her up, and somehow she ended up leaning against him. She blinked at him, caught off guard. He looked a little surprised too.

  Lyre let out a sudden growl. “Back off, Ash.”

  Insulted at his possessive tone, Piper turned toward the incubus—and took a shocked step back into Ash. Lyre’s eyes had gone black. Totally black. He’d shaded in five seconds flat!

  “Um, Lyre?” she whispered.

  He bared his teeth, his attention on Ash. “Back off,” he snarled.

  Ash slowly raised his hands and deliberately settled them on Piper’s waist. A low rumble, a growl almost below the level of hearing, vibrated through his chest. With her heart pounding in her throat, she craned her neck for a glimpse of his face. Shit. Ash’s eyes had gone black too—even faster than Lyre’s.

  Breathing deep and fighting for calm, she tried to ease away from Ash, but his hands tightened like vices and pulled her back into him. Lyre’s jaw went tight. What the hell was going on? Why had both of them completely lost their heads at the exact same moment?

  Lyre’s mouth twisted in a snarl. “Let go of her,” he said, biting off each word. For a second, Piper thought he was regaining some sense. Then he added, “I claimed her first.”

  The blood drained out of her head. Oh, this was bad. If it hadn’t been Ash holding her, she would have put a boot between his legs—but she didn’t want to die tonight.

  The draconian slid one arm around her waist, trapping her with his iron strength. His other hand cupped her throat, tipping her head back. She resisted the instinct to fight him as he forced the submissive, exposed-throat position on her. Fighting back would only inflame his instinct to dominate her. He put his nose to her hair and inhaled with his eyes closed—before those black eyes snapped open to lock on Lyre in a scorching stare both challenging and mocking.

  Lyre snarled at the taunt and stepped aggressively forward until he was pressed against Piper’s front and right in Ash’s face. Piper gasped, caught between them and fully aware of the danger of her situation. Her two companions, who under normal circumstances would’ve jumped to her protection, were now the greatest threats to her safety. That’s what happened when daemons shaded, when instinct took over. Unpredictable was an understatement. If the violence simmering between them erupted, chances were they would forget entirely about the all-too-breakable girl in their way.

  “Um,” she tried again, keeping her voice assertive but neutral. “Guys? You’re both my friends and everything, but I don’t belong to either of you. You both need to back off.”

  Slowly, like spotlights shifting, the two daemons focused on her. Her breath caught as she met Lyre’s black stare. It was a wolf’s stare, predatory and merciless, lacking in the light of higher consciousness that separated humans from animals. She swallowed hard.

  “Lyre,” she whispered. “Please.”

  His empty stare held, unchanging.

  Ash was perfectly still, his hand still warm against her throat, a deadly chokehold one flex of his fingers away. His arm around her waist suddenly tightened. “Bitch,” he hissed.

  The air sizzled. Ash flicked his hand out, and with a mini-concussion, Lyre was blown backward off his feet. Before Piper could react, Ash released her and whirled around.

  “Lilith, you jealous, scheming bitch,” he rasped, his voice guttural, “I’m going to rip out your heart.”

  A silvery laugh rang through the room. Piper spun around.

  With a smile playing about her full lips, the young woman leaned casually against the doorframe. She was gorgeous. She put sunsets and the northern lights to shame. Her amber-brown eyes were huge and magnetic, her long pale blonde hair luxurious. Her figure was flawless. She wore jeans and a simple white blouse that showed little skin but enhanced every perfect curve.

  Staring at the girl, Piper felt her self-esteem crash and burn.

  “I was merely having a little fun, my lovely dragon.” Her smile was so radiant and guileless that Piper had the sudden urge to apologize.

  “That was no game,” Ash growled. “We could have killed her.”

  Lyre stalked forward to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Ash. Piper found herself standing behind them, mentally struggling to catch up.

  “Aphrodisia isn’t a toy,” the incubus snarled. “And we never use it on our own kind.”

  Lilith tilted her head and her eyes flickered to ebony and back. Ash and Lyre both stiffened and stepped forward in unison before jerking themselves back. Ash made a hideous low-pitched snarl that no human throat could have produced.

  “Do that again and you won’t like what happens next,” he threatened.

  Piper took a deep breath as she finally understood. Lilith had hit Ash and Lyre with her succubus magic, which, as the opposite of incubus aphrodisia, only worked on men. That’s why they’d gotten all competitive over Piper out of the blue. Since it had evolved as a weapon against humans, aphrodisia didn’t work well on daemons, but when used fast and hard, it spurred a reaction far more dangerous than a lustful human.

  “Can’t you forgive a girl her curiosity?” Lilith pressed one hand contritely to her chest. “You’ve never brought a lady friend to my club before. I was merely interested in whose partner she was.” Her head tilted again as her gaze drifted to Piper. “But it seems she stands between you, claimed by neither. How . . . daring.”

  “I don’t belong to anyone,” Piper snapped, surging into motion. She strode around the two daemons and planted herself in front of them, arms folded. “And if you mess with them again, you’ll regret it.”

  The succubus threw her head back in another bell-tone laugh. “A human girl protecting you?” She covered her mouth with a hand, stifling another laugh. “How the mighty have fallen. Do you fear me so much, Dragon?”

  “I don’t make mistakes twice.”

  Lilith smiled like they were all best friends. “We’ll see.” She straightened and gestured to the sofas. “Shall we sit? May I offer you any refreshments?”

  Lyre turned without a word and thumped down on the nearest sofa. His jaw flexed back and forth. Piper grudgingly turned her back on Lilith. Ash gave her a ghost of a smile, his gray stare reassuringly normal. She smiled back, trying to say without words that she had his back as much as he protected hers. He sat beside Lyre, and since Piper didn’t want to sit on the same sofa as Lilith, she perched on the armrest beside him.

  The succubus glided to the sofa and perched primly on the edge. She appraised the three of them with a mysterious little smile.

  “I see my charms are not what you came to appreciate,” she said with a self-deprecating giggle that had a bit of an edge. Her gaze drifted across Piper and back to A
sh. “So then . . .” Her head tilted to one side and she smiled like a cobra about to strike. “What might I do for you?”

  CHAPTER 10

  “WE’RE looking for information,” Ash supplied.

  Lilith’s face brightened with interest. She tapped a finger against her bottom lip. “What sort?”

  “A renegade group of haemons.”

  “Oh? Is that all you can tell me?”

  Ash was silent. Piper bit her tongue, determined to let him do what he did best.

  “Would this be related to . . . a certain notorious lodestone that is presently missing?”

  “Maybe.”

  She pursed her lips and smoothed her blouse over her chest. Piper scowled. Lilith couldn’t go twenty seconds without somehow drawing attention to her assets.

  “Ash, my dearest, you didn’t fall to temptation, did you?” For the first time, genuine emotion infected the succubus as her perfect forehead wrinkled. “No one can help you if . . .”

  “I didn’t steal it.”

  “But the rumors—”

  “Are wrong.”

  “That makes no difference.” Lilith leaned forward. “Your name even now is being whispered in the darkest corners of the Underworld. Samael himself believes you’re guilty.”

  Piper inhaled sharply. Samael was the head of the Hades family and the very daemon who was supposed to have returned the Sahar to the Ra family.

  “That is why I must find this haemon group,” Ash said, his voice soft, intense. “They are the thieves. I must prove their guilt to clear my name—before it’s too late.”

  Lilith bit her bottom lip. “Even that may not save you.”

  “I know.”

  “But you must try,” she said with a nod. “This would be the Gaians you’re asking of, correct?”

  “Yes,” Ash said, relaxing slightly.