Demons Amongst Us (The Book of Demons Saga #2) (6 page)

“So you
must have used a key,” AnnaBeth said. 

Alex, Sam, and Balt
hazar shared another knowing glance that was  quickly caught by the woman sitting across the table from them.

“I see you have been told of this as well,” AnnaBeth said, again eliciting chattering whispers
from the women sitting beside her.  Alex was growing extremely tired of this.

“Forgive them,” AnnaBeth
said to Alex, catching onto her irritation, “they are only discussing the implications amongst themselves.”

“That’s ok,”
Alex said, her gaze shifting between the sisters as they settled down, “I guess.”

“Now,”
AnnaBeth said, turning her eyes onto Balthazar, “How is it you have come to our world?”

“I am unaware of that fact as well,” Balthazar said.

“No matter,” AnnaBeth said, waving her hand, “we shall sort all of that out shortly.  It is a very small matter for Alexandra to recall her memories.  Have you had any peculiar dreams as of late Alexandra?”

That
struck a chord with Alex, and the answer was written all over her face.  She had told Sam a little about the dreams that she was beginning to realize were not normal, but as Balthazar looked curiously at her she felt slightly guilty that she had not divulged that information to him. 

“I see,”
AnnaBeth said, “those are symptoms.”

“Symptoms?” Alex said, her forehead scrunching up as her eyes returned to the sisters.

“You have not learned to properly harness your powers,” AnnaBeth said, a small amount of guilt creeping into her voice.  “That is our fault I am afraid.  And unfortunately they are wreaking havoc on your aura.  The dreams are an outlet for the need to use those powers in your waking life.  If left as is, you will eventually die from the dreams.”

“You will ensure that does not happen,” Balthazar said, the threat clear in his voice and
an ever so slight glimpse of hiss deep concern showing in his eyes.

“Of course,
” AnnaBeth said, trying to relax the demon lord.  She was pleased to see the amount of affection he had for her.  “We are here now, and we will teach you how to properly use the powers you possess.”

“What exac
tly are these powers?” Alex asked.  She had felt her powers, had been told how strong and important they were, but she still didn’t know exactly what they were.

“You are so very special, Alexandra,” AnnaBeth said.  She reached across the table, as if hoping to grab Alex’s hand, but the gesture went unfulfilled.  “You have been chosen amongst us all, to protect us.  You alone can tap into the omniscient force th
at rules us all.  Your powers are immense and indefinite, limited only by your own will, and training, of course.”

Alex sat quietly at the table, letting the weight of this revelation fall fully onto her.  It was a huge responsibility, and she was only sure of one thing, that she was not at all prepared to receive this information, much less act on it.

“Now,” AnnaBeth said, perking up, the seriousness vanishing and being replaced with that perpetually cheery smile, “we must return to the world of demons.”

“So, you know how?” Alex said, perking up.  Her eyes darting around to everyone seated at the table.

“But of course,” AnnaBeth said, “we will use a key.”

“But there are no more,” Sam said, his brows furrowed. Once again, the women broke into chattering whispers.

“Ok, seriously,” Alex burst out, glaring at the sisters and effectively cutting off their secret conversation.  “You have got to stop doing that.”

“Apologies, Alexandra,” AnnaBeth said, looking only briefly at her before turning to Sam, “No more keys you say?  Wherever did you hear such a thing?”

Sam hesitated to answer
, looking at Balthazar and Alex.

“You ma
y as well tell them,” Alex said, throwing her hands in the air.

“You indeed should,” AnnaBeth said, lo
oking expectantly at the trio across the table.

“A woman named Pani came to the house earlier,” Sam began to explain.

“A half-breed,” Balthazar said.  The disdain was clear in his voice, and Alex couldn’t help but feel a slight sting at the insult.  She wondered if he would feel that way about all half-breeds, such as one her and him might one day have.  She quickly squashed those thoughts, realizing their relationship was nowhere near that level.

“In this world?” AnnaBeth asked, looking at Balthazar, a fierce seriousness o
vertaking her expression. 

“Yes,” Balthazar said with a slight nod.

AnnaBeth turned to one of two sisters on her right side, spoke a few words in their peculiar language and turned back to Alex, Sam, and Balthazar.  Her expression brightened again, and the two sisters rose from their seats and left the room. 

“You are correct to dislike her so, Lo
rd Balthazar,” AnnaBeth said. “We will take care of her.”

“Wait,” Alex said,
“What do you mean ‘take care of her’?”

“Alexandra,” AnnaBeth said, “it is our duty to protect you, and we will do
whatever it takes to do that.”

“You didn’t
answer my question,” Alex said, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned back in the chair, glaring at AnnaBeth. 

“Now is
not the time,” AnnaBeth said. “We must concentrate our efforts on returning.  Which means we must procure a key.”

“Do you know where one exists?” Balthazar asked, ignoring Alexandra’s pouting.  He could sense her displeasure, but he also knew
she would quickly get over it.  Her emotions flipped so quickly through her.

“Of course,”
AnnaBeth said.  She glanced at the remaining sister, who pulled a small book from her pocket that looked eerily like the big book they had been reading from.  She quickly flipped through the pages of the book, finding the one she was looking for and showing it to Balthazar.  “Does this look familiar to you?”

The recognition immediately hit Balthazar.  He had never seen the
article that was drawn on the page in person, but he had seen many depictions of it.  The item had at one time been part of the crown jewels of the Devas.

“It is Devasi,” B
althazar said, “the royal pendant of the Sultana.”

“Yes,” AnnaBeth said, with a rather pleased smile, “and it is a key between our worlds.”

Sam and Alex sat, slack jawed and wide eyed looking at the picture. 

“You’ve got to be kidding me,”
Alex said, looking at Sam, who was mirroring her dismayed expression.

“Nope,” AnnaBeth said happily, “all you have to do is retrieve this item and we can all return.”

“Oh, well,” Sam said, throwing his hands in the air, “we may as well give that dream up now.”

“I do not understand,” Balthazar said, looking at Alex with confusion
settling on his brow.

“There is no way we are going to be able to get that,” Alex said, shaking her head,
as she pointed a finger at the picture.

“
Why ever not?” Balthazar asked with a cocked eyebrow.

“That’s the Ho
pe Diamond,” Sam said. “We aren’t getting anywhere near that.”

“It’s the most famous piece of jewelry in the world,” Alex said as she glared back at Balthazar, who didn’t seem to understand the problem with obtaining the item.

“So,” he
said, cocking an eyebrow.

“So,” Alex said, taking in a deep breath and preparing her next line of arguments, “it’s held in the Smithsonian.”

“So,” Balthazar said, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back in the chair.

“So,” Alex said,
letting out a heavy sigh of annoyance, “it is probably the most secure place on the planet.”

“So,” Balthazar said, tilting his head.  Alex
rolled her eyes with an exasperated huff.

“So, we are never going to get it,” Alex nearly yelled at him.

Balthazar unfolded his arms with a sigh.  He could tell his fun was over, and he would need to get serious.  He was afforded so few opportunities to play, he would have to learn to reign his antics in so as not to offend his intended.

“Alexandra,” he said, taking her hands
in his and trying to get her to look at him.  She played coy, avoiding his gaze.  He hooked a finger under her chin, turning her eyes to him.  “You forget who I am.”

“Oh trust me,” Alex said with a sarcastic smirk, “I haven’t forgotten who you are.”

“Then you should know,” Balthazar said, “your human defenses cannot stop someone like myself.”

“He’s right, Alexandra,” AnnaBeth said, butting into the conversation.  She was rather enjoying the interaction between the two, as was evident by the smirk on her face.

“Sam,” Alex said, looking at him and hoping he would back her on this.

“He’s got a point Alex,” Sam said with a shrug, immediately regretting going against his friend as she glared daggers at him.

“Look,” she said, “I want to go back as much as anyone here, but this is just ridiculous.  And I’m not sure I feel comfortable stealing anyway, even if we could get our hands on it.”

“We aren’t stealing anything,” Balthazar said indignantly.

“Oh,” Alex said, “I suppose we are just going to borrow it then?”

“Of course not,” Balthazar said, “I am going to retrieve what rightfully belongs in the crown jewels of my people, and as the Lord Sultan, is my personal property.”

Alex opened her mouth to respond, but quickly shut it when she realized he made a very good point. 

“Ok,” Alex said, finally finding her words and forming another argument, “even if that is the case, we still aren’t going to be able to get anywhere near the Smithsonian without causing a riot.  You’re going to stick out like a sore thumb.”

“There is a rather simple cure for that,” AnnaBeth spoke up.

“Of course there is,” Alex said, tossing her hands in the air.  She was beginning to feel like the only sane person in the room.  “What would that be?”

“You can cement the bond between you two, and Lord Balthazar should be able to easily morph into human form,” AnnaBeth replied.  That certainly got the demon lord’s attention and he sat up slightly taller in the chair.

“How?” he demanded.

“Oh,” AnnaMarie said, a peculiar smirk curling on her lips, “you don’t know.”

“How?” Alex asked her eyes narrowing on the sister that had remained silent until now.

“Sister,” AnnaBeth chastised her sister, before turning back to Alex.  “You must continue the course of action that began the bond in the first place.”

Alex looked quizzically from AnnaBeth to AnnaMarie, who still had that
damnable smirk plastered on her face.

“I’m not sure what that is,” Alex said, looking over at Balthazar, who was
also clearly unaware of what they were talking about.

“
Well,” AnnaBeth said delicately, folding her fingers together on the table.  She thought for a moment, trying to pick her words carefully.  “It is a rather pleasurable course of action…”

She let her words trail off with a wiggle in her eyebrows,
hoping that Alex would pick up on it without her having to explicitly say so.  Unfortunately the meaning was lost on Alex.  The smirk that had grown on Balthazar’s face, however, told her that he had caught her meaning.  He leaned over, whispering into Alexandra’s ear. 

“As if,” she shrieked, her face turning the most brilliant shade of red.
 

“If we must,” Balthazar said, a much too pleased grin, and a shrug of his shoulders. 

“Not happening,” Alex said with a huff, crossing her arms.  “We are just going to have to find another way.”

Balthazar couldn’t hide his slight disappointment, as he had
wanted to continue their more intimate moments for quite some time.  But he could see Alex was simply not ready for such things yet, and he certainly wouldn’t push the issue.  He would wait until she was ready to take that step, wanting nothing more than to give her pleasure, and realizing her anxiety would certainly hinder that. 

“This would be the best way,” AnnaBeth began to argue, “and we do not have a great deal of time.”

“She is not prepared for such a thing,” Balthazar said firmly, “that is the end of the issue.”

A
lex gave Balthazar a small nod of appreciation.  It warmed her heart that he would be so sensitive to her needs. 

“Very well,” AnnaBeth said, slightly diminished, “Then we will need to think of another way.”

The only thing going through Alexandra’s mind was how this was never going to work.  Granted, they had made it to Washington D.C.
without Balthazar causing a panic, but that didn’t mean they weren’t going to get caught.  The first thing they decided was they would need to case the museum.  In all Alexandra’s wildest dreams, she never would have imagined herself casing anything, much less the Smithsonian.  She peered up at Balthazar as they made their way down the promenade of buildings that made up the Smithsonian museum complex.  His hands were crammed firmly into the pockets of the hoodie that covered his inhuman ears, and his eyes were hidden by large black sunglasses.  She could see he was clearly uncomfortable.