Speak of the Devil

CHAPTER 23

I was nervous enough about poking my head up aboveground—and about going another round with Shae—that I was able to keep myself from thinking about Brian and what my life would be like without him. The Morgan Kingsley solution to postbreakup blues: Do something that risks arrest and a possible life sentence, or even a gruesome death.

We got lucky with the parking situation and didn’t have to walk more than half a block before we arrived at Shae’s doorstep. I was conscious of the curious glances of various passersby, but I pretended not to be. If I’d had Barbie’s confidence, perhaps I would have winked and flirted and given people a “Wouldn’t you like to know” smirk. However, acting is a glorified form of lying, and, as we’ve already established, lying is not one of my strengths. I had to spend most of my concentration pretending not to be as nervous and generally twitchy as I felt.

The demon who had previously inhabited Tommy Brewster’s body had been a big fan of The Seven Deadlies, having formed an agreement with Shae to provide him with good breeding stock as he tried to increase the genetic diversity in the lab-bred hosts. The good thing about this was that Tommy/Raphael was a card-carrying member, and was therefore able to bring me in as a guest with no fuss.

When we asked for Shae, we were told she was inside the club, keeping an eye on her domain. That translated into “If you want her, go find her, because I’m too lazy to page her.” I would have made an issue out of it—I didn’t want to set foot past the safe and tame lobby area—but Raphael slung an arm around my shoulders and directed me to the set of doors that led to the bar and dance floor. I elbowed him in the ribs, and he took the hint and let his arm drop back to his side.

As is typical of nightclubs, the music playing in the heart of The Seven Deadlies was loud enough to do permanent damage to my eardrums. I winced as soon as I stepped through the door and had to resist the urge to cover my ears with my hands. Tonight’s theme seemed to be tuneless techno with a heavy enough bass to make the floor vibrate like an earthquake with each beat.

The place was also dark as a cave, giving people an illusion of privacy as they clustered at standing-room-only tables around the dance floor or sat at the bar.

The delay in putting together my disguise meant that we’d arrived considerably later than we’d planned, so the dance floor was already packed with dancers, many of whom had the impossibly good looks of your typical demon host. The only place I could think of that I’d want to be less than here was prison.

Raphael cut a path for us through the crowd toward the bar. It wasn’t hard to spot our quarry. Shae probably couldn’t manage looking inconspicuous even wearing Goodwill rejects and camouflage paint. However, she obviously had no objection to attracting attention, and she always managed to look drop-dead gorgeous even when wearing the most outrageous outfits.

To my chagrin, her outfit tonight was also a suit and tie. However, that was where the similarity ended. Her suit was of pristine white, the better to show off the night-black color of her skin. And there was plenty of skin showing—the jacket was a flaring, one-button number, and she wore nothing beneath it but the neon blue tie that dangled between her breasts. She had to be using some of that double-stick fashion tape to hold the lapels in place; otherwise she’d be flashing the crowd every time she made the slightest move.

Shae was engaged in a shouted conversation with the bartender when she caught sight of us plowing our way toward her. Her eyes darted quickly between Raphael and me, and I didn’t think my disguise fooled her for even a fraction of a second. She said something to the bartender, then came to meet us halfway. The crowd parted for her automatically, even those with their backs to her stepping out of the way as if there were some force field that surrounded her.

“You two make a lovely couple,” Shae said when she reached us, flashing us her sharklike smile. Her teeth were as dazzling white as her suit, whiter than teeth had any right to be, and I wondered if that was the effect of tooth whitener or if they were all caps.

As usual, she’d managed to get under my skin almost immediately. It was a unique skill of hers.

“Can we talk in private?” Raphael asked.

She gave us another of those cool, appraising looks, and though she was being coy, I was certain she’d want to talk to us. The last time I’d come to her for information, I’d been asking questions about Tommy Brewster, and she’d told me enough to help me figure out what his demon’s mission was on the Mortal Plain. I’m sure she was surprised—and intrigued—to see us together. The plan was to dangle information about our alliance as bait in our attempt to get her to cough up anything she might know about a demon who was out to get me. Raphael, with his superior lying skills, would do most, if not all, of the talking.

“Sounds like fun,” she agreed with another shark smile.

Shae took us through a key-carded door marked Employees Only and led us to her office, which was decorated almost entirely in black and silver. If the idea was to make visitors feel cold and unwelcome, the design was perfect. Shae looked perfectly at home there.

“I’ve missed seeing you at my club, Tommy,” Shae said as she took a seat behind her desk. Her smile turned sly. “And I have a number of girls lined up who would meet your requirements perfectly.”

I gritted my teeth to keep myself from saying anything scathing. I didn’t think Shae was evil, precisely, but she certainly wasn’t one of the good guys, and if she had any morals or cared about anyone, I’d yet to see evidence of it. A mercenary to her core.

“That won’t be necessary,” Raphael said. “I’m not Tommy’s original demon.”

My jaw dropped, and I turned to gape at him. This had not been part of the script. “What are you doing?” I hissed, my hands clutching the cold metal arms of my chair.

Raphael spared me a mocking look. “You know me. I don’t have the patience for slow, tactful interrogations.” Then he turned back to Shae, who was making a visible effort not to look as interested and eager as she obviously was. For a woman in the information business, this bombshell had to be insanely valuable.

“We’re here looking for information about a demon who seems to hold a monumental grudge against Morgan.”

I groaned and covered my eyes. This was the problem with carrying out any plan involving Raphael— he had a tendency to ignore the script altogether and do things his way. I tried to comfort myself with the knowledge that, as distasteful as his way often turned out to be, it usually worked.

Shae cocked her head, smiling politely. “And why would I be willing to share this information with you? If I have it.”

“Because despite how much you enjoy watching the goings-on in Hell, you yourself are not overly fond of pain.”

The smile vanished, and she sat forward, menace flashing in her eyes. “You dare to come to my club and threaten me?” I got the feeling this was an experience she most definitely was not used to.

Raphael laughed. “Indeed.”

“Get out!” she ordered, jumping to her feet and pointing imperiously at the door.

“Oh, sit down,” Raphael said with a wave of impatience. “You don’t think I’d come in here with threats and not be prepared to back them up, do you?”

Her lips pulled away from her teeth in a snarl. “I don’t know who you are, but—”

“Well, let me clear that up for you right now. My name is Raphael. Do you begin to understand?”

“What the hell?” I asked, once again looking at Raphael like he was crazy. His identity was supposed to be a state secret.

Shae’s indignation had disappeared abruptly, replaced by wariness. “There are many demons named Raphael,” she said cautiously.

This time it was Raphael’s smile that was sharklike. “I’ll give you three guesses just which Raphael I might be. The first two don’t count.”

The starch went out of Shae’s spine, and she sagged back down to her chair. The whites of her eyes were startlingly bright in the dark of her face, and before she hid her hands under the desk, I could see that they were shaking.

Raphael turned to me, still smiling. “As you may know, I’ve established a certain … reputation for myself among my people.”

Yeah, I’d noticed that. But I wasn’t about to acknowledge that his reputation as a ruthless bastard might come in handy.

He turned his attention back to Shae, and she cringed. “Let me list all the ways you can earn yourself some quality time alone with me,” he said. “You could mention my true identity to anyone, human or demon. I could find anyone, human or demon, tailing me or otherwise paying too much attention to me. Regardless of whether it was you who set them on me or not. My host could die—again, regardless of your responsibility in that death.” He leaned forward in his chair, his eyes glinting. “Or you could fail to answer our questions with complete and total honesty.”

Shae swallowed hard, and there was a sheen of sweat on her face. I had never imagined I’d see the day when Shae was actually scared of someone.

“Do you need me to describe what I would do to you before I burned you to death, and how long it would take for me to do it all?” Raphael asked in a pleasant voice as he relaxed back into his chair. “Or are you content to let your imagination fill in the details?”

“What do you want to know?” she asked. Her voice was breathy and shaken, and I almost felt sorry for her.

“You’ve forgotten my question already?” he mocked with a cluck of his tongue.

She raised her chin. I think she was trying to look defiant, but it wasn’t working. “I don’t know of anyone in particular who bears that kind of a grudge against Morgan.”

“That isn’t the answer I was hoping for.” Raphael’s voice was a menacing purr that made the back of my neck prickle.

Shae swallowed hard. “I’m telling the truth,” she said, and I, for one, believed her.

Raphael sighed in mock regret. “I’m disappointed in you, Shae. I was under the impression that you were at least moderately intelligent.”

Scared as she obviously was, there was still a glint of anger in Shae’s eyes. “I can’t give you information that doesn’t exist, and I’m not stupid enough to make up a bullshit answer. I know of no demon who has shown any particular interest in harming Morgan. That doesn’t mean one doesn’t exist, or even that one doesn’t spend time in my club, just that whoever it is hasn’t spoken about it.”

I didn’t think Raphael was going to accept Shae’s word, and I wondered what I would do if he tried to follow through on his threat. I couldn’t just stand aside and watch him torture her—I had no desire to see for myself why he had such a fearsome reputation—but I didn’t see how I could stop him. I didn’t even have my Taser with me, since we’d known I’d have to check it at the door if I brought it.

“I’m still not pleased with your answer,” Raphael said warningly, “but I’ll move on to the next question. Has anyone asked you to recommend someone who could falsify photographs convincingly—and discreetly?”

Shae looked almost relieved by the question. “Yeah. But this, uh, client never said anything about being after Morgan. He paid well, so I didn’t ask any questions. Besides, it didn’t seem like that big a deal.”

Raphael snorted. “You know as well as I that if it weren’t a big deal, he wouldn’t have needed your help. Now tell me everything you know about this demon.”

“Sure. He goes by the name Tim Simms, but that’s his host’s name. The demon’s name is Abraham.”

“What is it with you demons and the Biblical names?” I muttered under my breath.

Raphael looked at me and raised one eyebrow. “It’s not that they’re Biblical names, it’s that they’re old names. Most of us are far too old to have names like Tyler or Austin.” He turned his attention back to Shae. “Go on. I’m fascinated.”

“He hasn’t been in for at least a month, but he used to be a regular. He was legal, and his host was tall, blond, and bland.”

“While this information is interesting, it’s not helpful.”

Shae shrugged. “How can I know what’s helpful? You haven’t told me what you want, other than that you’re looking for someone who has a grudge against Morgan. As far as I know, this guy didn’t even know who Morgan was, much less have a grudge …” Her voice trailed off, and her eyebrows drew together in puzzlement.

“You’ve remembered something important?” Raphael nudged when she didn’t say anything.

She looked doubtful. “I don’t know if it has any bearing on what you want.”

“Let me be the judge of that.”

“Okay. Abraham did have one hell of a grudge, but it wasn’t against Morgan. The reason he wanted a reference for someone who could doctor the photo was that he planned to use it to get some demon friend of his declared rogue. I don’t know how it was supposed to do that, and like I said, I didn’t ask too many questions. He did seem really excited by whatever his plan was. I got the impression he’d been building up to this revenge for a long time. And I mean a long time for a demon, which is a lot longer than a long time for a human, if you know what I mean.”

Raphael looked grim. “I do, indeed.”

The look on his face told me he’d made something more out of this information than I had. How did Abraham’s grudge against Maguire’s demon translate into a beef with me?

“You’ve been very helpful,” Raphael said with a cruel twist of his lips that might have been a smile. “If you should see Abraham again, or if you should hear anything about where he might be—or who his current host might be, since I suspect he’s changed—you will let me know.”

“Of course.”

“And you’ll remember all the things that could happen to earn you a date with me.”

Shae actually shuddered, and she looked at her desktop instead of at Raphael. “I’ll remember. You’ll have no trouble from me.”

“No, I didn’t think so,” he murmured, then gestured for me to stand. “We’ll see ourselves out.”

Shae, still fascinated by her desk, merely nodded.