I could do this. Take this hit and save Ben.
It was no different than taking a bullet in the line of duty.
This was my choice. Maybe even the choice the seer and witch had known I’d have to make. And I was making it.
“Oh, Delaney, how you spin and twist. So very prettily.”
I was back to wishing for my TASER again.
Bathin folded his hands in front of him, thick fingers slotting neatly in place. “You don’t have to work so hard to convince yourself. You made your decision the moment I brought you here. See?” he said to Dad. “I told you she’d come around to see things my way. You underestimated her.”
“I have never underestimated any of my daughters.” Dad raised a hand and rubbed at the back of his neck, then shook his head. “Give us a moment, Bath, you owe me.”
To my utter astonishment, Bathin nodded, gave me a wink, and then moved out of the range of my vision.
He might be standing right there listening to us and I’d never know since I couldn’t move my head to look around. But Dad’s gaze followed him, somewhere off behind my right shoulder, and he seemed satisfied with where the demon had taken himself off to.
“He owes you something?” I asked.
Dad shrugged. “We’ve been together for over a year. All we’ve had to do to pass the time is talk. He’s…he’s not quite like most of the demons I’ve met. That doesn’t in any way mean I trust him. But he is unusual among his kind.”
“Would you let him into Ordinary if he asked?”
“And have to clean up after the messes he’d continually make?” He chuckled, a dry sound I had forgotten and missed. “I’m not a masochist.”
“So, here’s what I can tell you: don’t trust him. Always question his good will. He’s not a trickster, not like Crow, or Odin, or the others. Not defined by his power like a god, not bound to his nature like a creature. All demons can be bound and controlled. All demons can be used by those who wield dark magic, blood magic, shadow rituals. Demons and gods do not suffer one another’s company, he is right about that. Many other creatures won’t suffer the company of a demon either.
“I can’t tell you what losing your soul will feel like, honey. I don’t know what it will do to you. I was dying when I gave him mine, so it was painless, a relief. And in all the time we’ve been locked here together, he hasn’t caused me pain I couldn’t bear.
“But this I can tell you. He can’t be killed, not easily or without a price. He can be bound and contained, again there is a price. A sacrifice. There are rites. Talk to Rossi. He knows. He has books, ancient things, spells that will lash a demon down and hold them for eternity. But you must retrieve your soul before you bind him, Delaney. Living without it, living with your soul at the whim of a darkness like him will also come at a price you will pay every second of every day.”
I expected to see Bathin again. Expected him to want to stop my dad from telling me all the things he knew about demons. Specifically how to take him down. But he didn’t show up.
“There are rumors of how to steal a soul away from a demon. I’ve never put my hand on any of those things, but the books, the old books would give you a place to start. I know you can find a way. If not you, then Myra. She’s always had a head for these kinds of puzzles.”
“She loves you,” I said. “She misses you. She loves the books you left to her. It makes her proud to know you believed she should have them.”
He smiled and I could almost feel the warmth of his love on my skin. “Good. That’s good. And Jean?”
“Misses you like crazy. She loves you too. She’s dating a baker.”
His smile turned into a grin. “She’s always had a thing for men who work with their hands. Is she happy?”
“She loves the job so much. You know how she’s always sort of rolled with whatever has come her way. The dating thing…I’ve never seen her so mixed up over someone. Mixed up in a good way. And he’s a great guy. I know he cares for her.”
“Tell her I love her and I approve of whatever makes her heart happy. Tell them both that. Myra and Jean.”
“I will.”
“And you? Are you happy?”
I felt the blush rush to my cheeks. “Ryder and I are dating.”
“Ryder Bailey? It’s about time you two came around.” He nodded. “I approve. I’ve always liked that boy. Always thought you two made a good team.”
“Thanks, Dad.” I exhaled, feeling a sort of loose happiness from hearing that. I knew he had liked Ryder, but there was something comforting hearing it directly from him.”
“I like the work too, both policing and bridging, but filling your shoes has been…hard. I’ve made some dumb decisions. Bad mistakes.”
“I’ve made my share.”
“Not like this.”
“Is Ordinary still standing?”
“Yes. But people have died on my watch. People who I should have kept safe.”
“People died on my watch too, Delaney. There is a limit to what you can do, what any of us can do,” he said gently.
“You are the law and the bridge for power, but you aren’t a god who can bend the world to your desires. You aren’t a creature who has influence over a man’s thoughts, or the flow of time. You’re human, Delaney. Maybe a bit more than, but human just the same. There are events beyond your control. A whole wide universe of them.”
“I know.” And I did. I didn’t like it, but I understood my limitations compared to so many who stayed here in my sleepy little beach town.
“Are you sure I can’t talk you out of this?” he asked. “You are giving away your soul.”
“Ben was beaten. Kidnapped. Lavius broke his bond to Jame and nearly killed Jame. Before that, he murdered another vampire, and we’re pretty sure he killed four vampire hunters who had rolled through town. He…” This part wasn’t going to be pretty. “He sent a zombie vampire to run Jean over with a car.”
“What?” Dad yelled. And that I could feel. His fury hot and stinging as if it were my own deep in my gut. “Who the hell is Lavius? How does he know our town? What does he want?”
“He’s a vampire as old as Rossi. Turned at the same time. He wants something Rossi has. Look, Dad. Jean’s fine. She broke her arm and twisted her ankle. Bed rest and a cast, and she’s going to be okay. But I can’t….”
My voice gave out on me, caught up on a mix of grief and anger that clogged all sound.
“You’re not going to try to kill him, are you Delaney? A vampire that old isn’t something you are equipped to deal with. Promise me you’re not going to try to kill him.”
I wasn’t going to make promises I couldn’t keep. “Rossi is first in the kill-him line. I’ve never seen him so angry. Lavius hurt Ben, and you know Ben is…”
“…his son. Yes. Yes, of course.” He was silent a moment. “I’ve seen Rossi kill. Have you?”
“No.”
“It will change what you think of him.”
I huffed out a choked laugh. “That’s been happening an awful lot lately. I think I can take it.”
“I wish….” His eyes clouded and sorrow settled into the shadows of his face. “If I could have stayed with you, with all of you, you know I would have.”
“I know, Dad. We know.”
“I didn’t…it wasn’t suicide. I don’t know how I lost control, but believe me when I say I was trying to come home, honey. I never meant to leave you all so soon.”
“We know. We know.”
“Isn’t this sweet?” Bathin was back, standing beside Dad even though I hadn’t seen him approach.
I hated that smug smile on his face. I wanted to smack it off of him.
“You’ve had your private time,” he continued. “Now we seal our deals. Delaney Reed, I swear to release your father, Robert Reed’s soul unto the afterlife he has chosen, and grant you one wish in exchange for your soul. Is that acceptable?”
“Yes.”
Something thrummed, like a great bass st
ring being strummed somewhere in the universe, rolling out one note, deep and long and eternal.
“Name the favor.”
“You will find Ben Rossi and return him to Ordinary, alone and alive, in as complete health physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually as he is found before midnight tonight. You’ll bring him to Jame Wolfe and give him to him freely into his open arms with no deals or bindings, contracts, or debts outstanding.”
His pupils, which had been wide before were now so dark, they swallowed up all of the green of his eyes except for the faintest halo ring. He licked his bottom lip once, catching it in his teeth, then nodded. “Yes.”
A second note plucked and joined the first in strange harmony that seemed wrong at first and then slid into something not pleasant, but intriguing.
“Say goodbye to your father, Delaney.”
I turned my gaze to Dad.
He stepped forward, arms out, and I wanted to hug him, to feel him so much, a small sob escaped me.
Bathin tsked, and suddenly I was free. I could move.
Dad’s eyebrows rose and he smiled. I launched myself at him, and he wrapped his strong arms around me, his left hand shifting up so he could press his wide palm against the back of my head and press my face to his chest, holding me tight, familiar and right.
“I love you so much,” he said. “I’m proud of you. Of all of you. I always will be. Remember at every end is a beginning. Remember that. Ends are only the beginning.”
“I love you too,” I said. It seemed to be the only thing I could say. Over and over again as my heart soared and broke, caught between joy and sorrow, loss and love.
I squeezed him as tight as I could, memorizing his presence, the dimensions of him, the scents of something deep like cedar, coffee, and tobacco.
I never wanted to let him go. Never wanted to leave the warmth and protection of his arms.
“That’s all,” Bathin said quietly as if he were in a library and didn’t want to disturb anyone. “That’s all I can do, Robert. I’m sorry.”
“You promised me,” he said to Bathin. “Our deal.”
“I have never broken my word. I will not break it now.”
Something about that seemed to put a brief, wild hope in Dad’s eyes.
“Delaney. I love—”
He was gone, the air in front of me empty and cold, without even a lingering hint of his scent, of his presence.
I pressed my hands against my face to wipe at my tears, and tried to pull it together. My heart felt like it was made of rice paper that was being squeezed tighter and tighter into a painful crumpled ball.
Bathin strolled over to stand next to me, so close, our shoulders brushed. “I can take that pain away, Delaney Reed. It is a small solace, but one you will know.”
He pivoted so that he stood in front of me, dark eyes inches from my own, breath close enough I could feel it on my cheek, could smell the slight cinnamon of his words.
“His soul has gone on to the afterlife of his choosing. As we agreed. And now yours is mine. As we agreed.”
He didn’t touch me. Not a finger. He simply held my gaze. I thought I could look away, turn away from him.
“Yes, you could.” He waited.
There would be a price to pay if I backed out on our deal.
“Yes, there would.” He was apparently reading my mind.
Jerk.
His eyes glittered with something like delight and I hated him for it. Before I could stop myself, before I could even register what I was going to do, I wound my fist back and punched him in the face.
His head jerked back and he grunted.
I knew how to throw a punch.
He stumbled back two steps, his hand over his nose. And then he laughed. Laughed. It was loud and deep and full of dark joy.
“You punched me! You punched me in the face! Oh, you Reeds. Always so surprising!” He was still laughing, squeezing the words out between bouts of glee.
“You took my father’s soul, you dick. You used it as some kind of a bullshit bargain for over a year. I should do more than punch you.”
He pulled his hand away and glanced at his palm, looking for blood or whatever passed as blood for demons. He nodded as he dabbed at his nose one more time. “I took his soul, true. But the deal we agreed upon was very real. There have been no demons in Ordinary in the time since his death.”
“There have never been any demons in Ordinary!” Yes, I was yelling.
He narrowed his eyes. “That is not…true. And not what I meant, exactly. You do know that the vampire who has penetrated your borders isn’t doing it on his own, isn’t getting his own hands dirty.”
My fingers automatically flickered up to the bite on my neck. He watched, and nodded.
“Yes, he attacked you–outside of Ordinary. But the other attacks, inside? How do you think he has been facilitating that?”
I’d assumed he was using vampires, or humans, or some kind of blood magic. But I knew, then, that moment, what Bathin was getting at.
“Demons?”
“We come in every shape, every size. We are very difficult to detect. We possess bodies of humans, of creatures, animals, inanimate objects. We are, in every way, an invisible army. Infinitely mobile, undetected and destructive. Who can say how many of your friends, family, have been possessed? Who can say how many mortals filling the stores, the streets, the beaches are possessed?”
I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry. It made sense in a way few things had lately. Ryder’s boss Frank, was he possessed? The vampire hunters? Sven? The hit-and-run zombie vampire?
“I thought you just said there were no demons in Ordinary.”
“No demons in their own form. No demons under full power. No demons who were not beneath their own control. No demons who were beneath anyone’s control. I will admit there were some…issues in my guarantee.”
“Issues?” I was back to yelling. It didn’t seem to bother him one bit.
“The vampire? Lavius is very old. And….” He scowled. “He has powers I was not aware of. Once I had taken your father’s soul, he insisted we remain trapped here. His idea, not mine. It limited my ability to follow through on every level of my commitment. That vampire.”
A flicker of hatred so hot it left a burning impression behind my eyelids flashed over his face, as if for a moment, he had been nothing but fire and pain and anger. “That vampire nearly caused me to break my word. I find it…unacceptable.”
He didn’t like Lavius. He might even hate him. I wanted to take comfort in that, to hope that if he had to be the possessor of my soul that he would at least be the enemy of my enemy and all that.
“Now, you have given me your word. I will have your soul. As we agreed. I will not be denied.”
This time it wasn’t a burning flash of hatred filling his eyes. It was fire, hot and hypnotic, rising from his entire body, shaping him, changing him as he strode the few steps toward me again.
When he stopped he was three times as large as he had just been, his legs bent at the knees and powerfully thick, his chest bare and brutally muscled, his neck thick enough to support his head and the massive ebony horns that curled like a ram’s downward along the sides of his face to either side of his shoulders.
Fire licked over every inch of his skin, rattled and hissed like electric snakes dripping down his blackened horns and lit his eyes to a bloody red.
The demon’s true form.
“Very dramatic,” I said.
He paused, half a step closer to me. “Dramatic?”
I waved a finger. “Do you think that shape frightens me? Do you think seeing a creature in a natural state is something that would make me swoon?”
“I…it is imposing. I am imposing.”
“Not sure I agree. You’re the first demon I’ve ever met, so I have nothing to compare you to. But trust me, buddy.” And here I dropped my eyes to between his legs, where he wore a carefully twisted loincloth of some kind. I shook my head. “I’ve s
een better.”
His chuckle was low and slow and licked somewhere deep down inside me. I didn’t like it. Didn’t like that he could touch me in those deep places. In the places where no one else could touch, where no one else could find me.
In my soul.
“I see,” he said. “I knew I was trading up. Your father is a complex and interesting man. You must know that. His soul at my disposal, even though he was dead…that was an exquisite thing.” He took a step closer to me, and another.
I could move. I thought I could move. I just didn’t seem to have the energy to do anything more than stare at him as he advanced on me with hunger and need so clearly evident in every movement, in the glint of darkness in his eyes.
It wasn’t the physical beauty of his body that held me so still. It was the beauty of his power.
Demons were from the underworld, yes. Demons were not to be trusted, and like he’d taken the time to explain to me, they were easily used, natural to betrayal, selfish, cruel.
They were chaos. But just like the gods who walked our beaches, just like the creatures—many who had reputations of being bloodthirsty monsters, boogiemen, evil—demons could not be painted with one brush.
Rossi didn’t let all the vampires in the world live in Ordinary for a reason. A lot of them were horrible people. Same thing applied to demons.
While I would never trust a demon, I knew they were not, could not all be horrifying evil.
There was no denying I was drawn to Bathin. No denying that my father’s soul had seemed whole, unharmed, though that could have been some sort of trickery.
And there was no denying my father and the demon seemed to have come to some sort of understanding between them, that was not jailor and jailed, and not friends. It was, if I had to put a name to it, more like they respected each other’s nature and reason for the contract they had entered into.
That last thing Dad had said to him, that Bathin had a promise to keep, floated to the front of my brain. I wondered what that was all about.
“Delaney.”
All thoughts froze and fell away like brittle snow on the wind.