Sweet Reckoning

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO MERCENARY

Kaidan reached for my car keys and took the driver’s seat. I sat next to him, fitting one of Jay’s ball caps on my head as Kai peeled out of the neighborhood. He looked down at the speedometer as if impressed.

“This little thing has some power.”

“Yeah, my dad probably had that in mind when he bought it.” It was sad to think that Dad had bought my car knowing I’d have to make an escape in it someday.

Kaidan did a double take at me in the hat. I wondered if I looked stupid, but then his red badge gave a widening pulse. He tore his eyes away and hit the gas harder, pressing me back into the seat. I was afraid to look at the speed as we merged onto Interstate 81.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

He shook his head, and when he spoke he sounded angry. “No idea. Deeper into these mountains, I suppose.”

I rubbed his shoulder to try and calm him.

“This is my fault,” he said. “I should have taken an earlier flight, then you would’ve been back at school. None of this would’ve happened.”

This was the peril of loving—wanting more time together, taking risks. I hated knowing we’d put ourselves in danger, but it was impossible to regret the time we’d had together.

“It was bound to go down eventually, Kai.”

“But it didn’t have to be now.” His hands went white as he gripped the wheel, and his jaw tightened. I felt sad for him because I knew he was going into this without any belief we would survive.

“We have to have hope,” I whispered.

As he opened his mouth to say something, his phone rang. My heart sped as he pulled it from his pocket.

We both glanced at the unknown Oregon number, and Kaidan cursed.

Pharzuph.

I stayed completely silent while he answered.

“Hallo.”

“It’s Pharzuph. This is my new number, so program it into your phone.”

A chill zapped up my spine.

“Yes, sir.”

“Are you in Atlanta?”

Kaidan glanced at me and I watched, holding my breath. It was still weird to hear Pharzuph speak with a young American voice.

“Not yet,” Kai said.

“Meet me at our former home tonight at nine p.m. I’m flying in, and we have some things to discuss.”

Kaidan cleared his throat. I watched the pulse jump in his neck.

“I’ll see you at nine o’clock, sir.”

“Don’t be late.” Pharzuph hung up.

Kaidan’s hand curled around the phone so hard I worried he’d crush it. “He sounds like a right prick. Even more than usual.”

“Oh, he’s obnoxious in this new body. You’re gonna want to beat the crap out of him the whole time.”

He huffed at that and almost smiled. I pried the phone from his hand and twined my fingers with his. We both held tight.

I turned in the seat to face him. “If we can manage to make it to Georgia without being seen together, I want to stay within a mile of the house to listen.”

“Anna—”

“No. You were the one who wanted us to stay together, so you need to let me do this. If anything happens to you, Kaidan, I swear I will show up there. And I will kill him.”

At the seriousness of my voice and words, his eyes slammed into mine.

“Keep talking like that, Anna Rowe, and I’ll have to pull this car over.”

I grinned. “No time for that. I’m gonna lie down and try to stay out of sight.”

I crawled into the backseat, earning a smack on the bottom as I went, and covered myself with a blanket I’d grabbed from Patti’s. At least this way, from the outside, Kaidan would appear to be alone in the car. His head turned long enough to run his hot gaze over me curled up on the small seat.

I reached up to poke his shoulder. “Eyes on the road, you.”

He obeyed, reaching for the radio. “Try to sleep.”

The odds were stacked against us. A year and a half ago I had held my hands up to the heavens and told them to deal me in, and they had. Now the prophecy was about to happen—this war on earth between the demons and their children—with me leading the way. My stomach was in knots.

I closed my eyes for Kaidan’s sake, and pretended to sleep.

Kaidan made the trip to Atlanta in seven hours, stopping once for gas. I was on edge, expecting to hear Kaidan shout, “Whisperer!” at any point, but he never did.

We stopped talking as we neared Atlanta, and Kaidan turned off the radio. When he pulled the car into a parking lot, I sat up and was surprised by our location. A Catholic church? I gave Kai a questioning look, and he signed to me, Legend says holy water does more than repel evil—it’s like poison to demons.

I raised my eyebrows. I liked this idea.

We silently entered the church, searching the skies and seeing nothing but summer clouds. Inside, it was cool, quiet, and empty. We saw the angel statue at the same time, holding a giant shell—the vessel for the holy water. Kaidan moved fast, filling an empty flask that he’d pulled from his pocket.

Someone is coming, he signed. Take out your knife. Quick.

We both pulled out our knives. I followed his lead, dunking the sharpened blade into the holy water, all the while feeling guilty for tainting the blessed liquid in such a way.

We rushed from the church just as footsteps sounded down a nearby hall. As we jumped into the car and sped from the lot, I looked back and saw a collared man with his guardian angel watching us go. In a gentle gesture, the priest made the sign of the cross in the air, as if blessing us. I lay down in the backseat and smiled.

Kaidan’s next stop was a rental car place. It was seven o’clock when we stood in the parking lot facing each other. We didn’t dare touch in case any whisperers were out. I tried to pour all my love and support for him through my eyes, and he let out a silent sigh before signing, Are you as hungry as I am?

I held back a laugh, and nodded. Now that he mentioned it, I was starved. We absolutely couldn’t eat together. It was time for us to separate until Pharzuph left. I was overcome with nervousness. Kaidan’s eyes gave the skies a last scan before he leaned forward for a quick, chaste peck on my lips.

I’ll be in touch once he’s gone, Kaidan signed.

I tried to hide my fears as I signed back, I’ll be nearby listening.

I hated the idea of him meeting with Pharzuph. What was his father planning? Did he really trust Kaidan, or was this a trap? Kaidan had his knives and the holy water, but those couldn’t contend with a gun if Pharzuph suddenly decided to shoot him, like Mammon had done to his son, Flynn, on the island.

Don’t worry, Kaidan signed.

I shook my head, slightly amused that he could read me so easily. Kaidan slowly stepped backward, and a painful pit opened in my gut. Taking his lead, I moved toward my car as well. With sad reluctance, we left each other. All I could do now was pray for the best. I’d be ready to jump into action if needed.

I grabbed dinner and then found somewhere to park in the Rowes’ old neighborhood. I stopped behind a grove of trees up the street, a place Pharzuph wouldn’t pass as he came in. I meditated, trying to calm the nerves that burned like acid. If anything happened to Kaidan . . .

No. I could not, would not, allow myself to think like that.

Deep, quiet breathing. Silence all around.

I pushed my supernatural hearing into Kaidan’s former house and searched around until I found him in his old room in the basement. I jumped at the sudden onslaught of ear-slamming music blaring from his sound system—his way of decompressing.

Through the trees spilled bright headlights coming up the street. I held my breath, and my heart rate kicked into overtime as the car pulled into the long driveway. Kai must have been listening, too, because the music’s volume went down a small fraction.

When the car’s headlights turned off, I could see nothing but the patch of trees separating me from the house. I had to rely solely on my extended hearing, which was my weakest sense, especially when I was nervous. I held the hilt in its case on my lap, ready to jump from the car and run to help Kaidan if necessary. With great concentration I kept my auditory sense surrounding Pharzuph, honing in on his footsteps.

My heart quickened again as Pharzuph began making his way down the stairs to the basement. A blast of chords and drums hit my ears when Kaidan’s door was opened. I stretched my hearing wider to encompass both of them.

“Shut this racket off,” Pharzuph demanded. As the music silenced, he muttered something about missing the days of wooing lovers with classical music and gentlemanly facades. I pictured him rubbing his temples like the drama king he was.

Apparently even demon parents suffered from the generation gap.

Kaidan’s voice sounded low and steady when he said, “Good to see you, Father. Excellent choice on your new host body.”

“Yes, it was,” Pharzuph agreed. I heard the crinkle of a folded paper opening. “You sign the estate paperwork tomorrow?”

“Yes, sir. In the morning.”

“Here is my new account information. You’ll receive your own funds from the life insurance and inheritance. Everything else needs to be transferred to me. If a penny is missing, I will know it.”

Kaidan’s voice sounded tight when he responded, “I understand.”

“Good.” It sounded like Pharzuph took a deep, sniffing breath. “Smells like old lust in here. You were always a good worker.”

My stomach turned.

A surprised pause filled the air. “Thank you, Father.”

“But things are not always as they appear, are they?” Pharzuph’s voice held a tone of challenging amusement.

Oh, crap.

“In what way?” Kaidan asked.

“Something’s not right.” Pharzuph began to move in slow, but confident, steps. It sounded like he was circling Kaidan. I could imagine him prowling, trying to intimidate his grown son. “I haven’t been able to put my finger on it. Ever since that summit when the damned angels showed up, we’ve been watching the daughter of Belial.”

Kaidan made a scoffing sound. “Her? No offense, Father, but I don’t see why an unremarkable Neph like the daughter of Belial would warrant such attention. I’ve worked with her. She’s excellent at her job, but on a personal level she’s rather . . . boring.”

Ouch.

“So you took no pleasure from your time with her?”

“Oh, I took my pleasure. I also got out of there as quickly as I could. She’s got zero personality unless she’s wasted.”

Double ouch. I knew he didn’t mean it, but the words still cut.

Pharzuph chuckled. “I know being with her was a chore, but it was necessary. She’s somehow been able to fly under the radar. Now we know for sure that she’s a threat.”

“A threat?” Kaidan laughed.

“You think this is funny?” His voice seemed to get closer to Kai. “You think I have time to joke around?”

“Of course not, but having spent a good bit of time with her, it seems preposterous. She cares about nothing except where she’ll find her next drink.”

“Then she’s fooled you well.” Pharzuph’s voice turned deadly, making goose bumps sprout on my arms. “That boring Neph who you think’s so benign was caught being affectionate with her human mother-figure this morning. We sent five Legionnaires to get more information, and the girl took out four of the spirits! She’s a mercenary of heaven.”

“Wha—? How is that possible?” Bravo, Kaidan—he sounded genuinely shocked and confused.

Pharzuph seemed to hesitate, then said with reluctance, “She’s somehow able to wield a Sword of Righteousness. Only angels of light have been able to do that.”

A beat passed before Kaidan said, “But . . . why would an angelic weapon allow her to use it? I’ve watched her lead souls astray, and I’ve banged her myself. She’s hardly angel material.”

“I . . . we don’t know.” It was the first time I’d ever heard a Duke sound less than confident. Defeated, even.

“Is it possible someone is trying to deceive all of you? Point you in the wrong direction? I mean, how do you know about the sword and the spirits she supposedly killed?”

Kaidan sounded so convincing, and it seemed like his father was buying it.

“One of them escaped.”

“I hope that spirit isn’t misleading you.”

“They’re too stupid to come up with something like that,” Pharzuph said. “Unless they’re being led by someone. But I haven’t seen a spirit that terrified since the Fall. We sent it down to Lord Lucifer for further questioning. He’ll get the truth out of it.”

I shivered as Pharzuph kept talking.

“We’ve got Legionnaires on the hunt for both her and her father. Belial’s been eluding us for a while now, so he’s definitely up to something.”

“I see you’re keeping several whisperers with you to keep an eye out. That’s good.”

“I’m not going to let that girl get in a sneak attack. The other Dukes and I are staying armed and ready. We’ll find her and hold an emergency summit to learn the truth and get rid of her once and for all, angels be damned.”

“What can I do to help?” Kaidan asked.

“Do you have her mobile number?”

“No.”

Pharzuph cursed. “Then search for her. If you find her, she becomes your prisoner and you’ll notify me immediately. Do whatever is necessary to keep her with you and get her to the location we choose for the summit. And most importantly, disarm her. Under no circumstances should she be allowed access to the Sword of Righteousness.”

“Of course. I’ll begin immediately. I have a few ideas where she might be.”

“Good.” His next words were spiked with coldness. “It’s in your best interest not to fail me in this endeavor. Do you understand?”

I felt the chill between them from a quarter mile away.

“I understand,” Kaidan said, his voice low and deadly.

Finally, Pharzuph spoke again. “I’m going to Marissa’s tonight, and I leave in the morning. My new duty station will be in New York City, so it’s time for me to get settled there. Don’t waste any time getting to work on your task.”

“Yes, sir, but . . . you’re going to Marissa’s, you say?”

He sounded confused, and it took me a second to realize why. Marissa would have no idea who this young guy was. Her underground trade was highly secretive.

Pharzuph chuckled. “Marissa is a special human. She knows about our kind. She’s expecting me, and can’t wait to get her claws into my new skin.”

I nearly vomited.

Kaidan cleared his throat. “She must be an exceptional woman if you’ve been able to trust her in such a way.”

“Exceptional, yes. And I still expect you to be at her service if she calls on you, regardless of whether or not we live here.”

“Of course, Father. Enjoy your evening. I’ll begin my search for the Neph straightaway.”

“If you need to involve the son of Melchom to help you, then do that. He has a lot of resources at his disposal on the West Coast.”

Blake. Oh, he would be involved, all right.

“Brilliant idea,” Kaidan said.

Nothing else was spoken. Just the sound of footsteps as they both walked from the room, up the stairs, and out the door. Pharzuph started his car and drove away.

I let out a silent breath, and I rolled the conversation around in my head, pondering all I’d learned and feeling proud of Kaidan.

Mercenary of heaven. Was that really how they saw me? A dangerous demon assassin? Actually, I kind of liked that image. I was determined to find a way to secure our safe futures. If only I felt like a merciless assassin.

Nerves zapped inside me. Kaidan couldn’t keep the demons waiting. They’d be expecting him to bring me in soon so they could “deal with me.” This was huge and it was happening so fast. I had no idea how we’d fight so many of them. Would more allies rise up at the sound of our battle cry? If not, we were throwing ourselves into the mouths of the lions with the sheer hope that we’d be able to keep their jaws from clamping shut. I’d been saved by a miracle once before, but it didn’t feel feasible to wish for that fate again. This time it had to be us. We had to fight.