Elven Blood (Imp Book 3) (7 page)

“None taken.” I had an idea.

“Could you have your Aunt do this at Wyatt’s house? Haagenti is really starting to focus on him and I’d at least like him to be safe inside his own home.”

“But that means you couldn’t get in either, Sam,” she protested. “There’s no exception, and it’s not an easy ritual. I couldn’t exactly call my Aunt to dispel it each night and re–do it in the morning. The wall would need to stay in place until you were confident that Wyatt was safe.”

Sheesh. Gregory was right. I really needed to take care of this problem once and for all. I’d eventually need to pay the piper. I was hoping that would be later. Like after–Wyatt–had–died–of–old–age later.

“I’ve got something in the works that will put this whole thing to rest once and for all,” I told her, thinking that this elf better come through for me. “Until then, I really need something to protect Wyatt when I’m not around. This wall would be awesome. I’ll deal with the bother for now. It will only be temporary.”

“Okay.” Michelle was skeptical. “I’ll have to arrange for my aunt to come down.”

“Can you fly her in from Jamaica? Maybe get her here first thing tomorrow?”

Michelle sighed. “We’re Haitian, Sam. I keep telling you this. And my aunt lives in Ellicott City. She immigrated thirty years ago.”

“Even better! She can drive down early, and we can have an invisible wall around Wyatt’s house by lunchtime. I’ll even pick up hot wings for us to eat.” I frowned, wondering if Haitian people ate hot wings. I think I saw Michelle eat them once.

“Normally I doubt I could get her here with so little notice, but if I tell her she’s doing a favor for Satan, she’ll probably drop everything.”

Uh,oh. Favor? She’d expect one in return. And I wasn’t sure what kind of favor a Haitian priestess would want.

“What will I owe her for this invisible wall?” I asked suspiciously.

Michelle looked surprised. “She didn’t charge
me
anything, but I am her niece. I can ask her how much. Is there a certain amount you don’t want to go over? I mean, you’ve got a lot of money, Sam, and this does seem kind of important. Especially if the demons are focusing on Wyatt now.”

“It’s not money I’m worried about.”

“Umm,” Michelle nodded knowingly. “I’ll ask. Who knows with her. Maybe she’ll want you to help her with something?”

Or get something for her. I left for home with Michelle’s assurances that she’d call me later tonight to finalize arrangements. It would be such a relief to have Wyatt somewhat protected, especially if I was going to be away meeting with an elf lord and then at a Ruling Council meeting. This way he could hole up in his house and wait out any demon attack until I returned. Or shoot at them from the safety of his home. It would be a real pain, being effectively banned from his house, but with any luck I’d take care of this elf job and have Haagenti off our backs in a week, tops.

I walked in my front door to see Leethu still sprawled on the couch, with several empty vodka bottles on the floor. She’d managed to find my secret stash of good stuff too. Between booze and entertainment, Leethu was proving to be a rather expensive houseguest.

“Ni–ni, you’re home.” She jumped up from the couch and ran to me. I felt a moment of guilt. She was truly glad to see me after being stuck in my house alone all day. I could hardly begrudge her my best vodka. Poor thing.

“Look what I brought you.” I handed Leethu a stack of naughty magazines. They weren’t the cheap ones either. I told her to not trash them because I’d like to peruse them myself at a later date. I was sure Wyatt would be interested too. Then I set up my laptop and found a hard core S&M chat room and banished her to the upstairs to entertain herself while I made my call to Dar. Leethu seemed clueless, but I got the feeling she was shrewder than she let on. I wasn’t sure how much I wanted her to know of my business at this point, how much to trust her. I’m sure she knew Haagenti was after me, and she knew I was the Iblis, but it was better to keep the details away from her until I could gauge whether or not she’d be likely to betray me. I waited a few moments to make sure she was engrossed in her activities then called Dar.

“So am I still deep in shit?” I asked him as soon as he picked up.

“Oh yeah. Haagenti is not going to give up on this one. You really should come back here and let him beat the holy fuck out of you for a few centuries. The longer you stay away, the worse he gets.”

“I can’t Dar,” I protested. “I’ve got these stupid Iblis duties, and while I’d be happy to shirk them, I won’t be happy to never see my human friends again. They’d all be dead by the time Haagenti is finished with me.”

“They’re going to be dead soon anyway,” Dar warned. “If you come back, at least they’ll live out their normal life expectancies. I can’t imagine why, but I know you care about that sort of thing. I’m guessing you’d rather they live happily to a ripe old age and never see you again, than watch them be eviscerated right in front of you.”

I winced. He was right. But I still wasn’t going to let Haagenti get his hands on me if I could help it.

“I need you to do some research for me,” I asked, changing to a less violent topic. “First, I need to know if sorcerers or anyone can remove a demon energy signature from a corpse. Like a kind of cleansing.”

“Why in the world would someone do that?”

“I have no idea. Can you just see if anyone has ever heard of it before?”

“Sure. Anything else?”

“Do you know any old ones? I need to find out anything on the angel’s Ruling Council that I can. Anything is helpful, but specifically the names, titles, responsibilities, and strengths of the members.”

Dar laughed. “Mal, I know everyone. How dare you doubt my social reach?”

Dar called me “Mal Cogita,” which he claims means “bad fuck” in Spanish. I’d been hoping to ask someone if that was true, because Dar often inflated his knowledge, but I hadn’t had time.

“Of course I can find that out, but even so, any information I get is going to be really old. Like almost three million years old. I’m sure the original angels are dead by now.”

“I don’t think so. They don’t die like we do. The one I deal with was in the war, and I know he’s got brothers just as old who are probably on the council too.”

“Still, they may rotate members. Or maybe they vote on them. I really can’t see how dated information is going to be helpful.”

“It will better than nothing, which is what I’ve got now. Besides, knowing who they were during the wars, what their titles were, will help. Even if they’ve swapped out council members, they’re probably similar in power and skills.”

“Okay. I’ll do what I can,” Dar replied.

“But don’t ask Ahriman,” I added as an afterthought. I’d not responded to his breeding petition. Although I intended to decline, I was hoping to keep him warm on the back burner as a kind of emergency, desperation, get–out–of–jail–free card. Under the protection of Ahriman’s wing, no one would fuck with me. But the price would be high.

Dar snorted. “Ahriman? He wouldn’t give me the time of day!” Dar paused then continued, his tone thoughtful. “Although I do think he is a bit obsessed with you, Mal. There is a rumor he presented a breeding contract to you, and he does seem to keep close tabs on your situation.”

“He has petitioned me.. I wonder if I hint that I may accept, if he’d pressure Haagenti to back off.”

A shout of laughter filled the room. “Mal, you idiot. You’ve been hanging out with humans too long. I’m willing to bet that Ahriman is spurring Haagenti on. Just think for a moment, Haagenti grabs you, tortures you mercilessly, and Ahriman swoops in to save the day. If you didn’t jump at his proposal right away, he knows you’re reluctant. What better way to overcome reluctance than to orchestrate a kidnapping. Desperate and in pain, you’d leap at the chance to take him up on his offer. In fact, he could substantially change the terms in his favor and you’d probably still accept at that point. Ahriman isn’t one to take rejection lightly. Or stalling. He gets what he wants.”

Shit. I’d never even thought about that. Maybe Ahriman was behind this whole thing with Haagenti. It would explain Haagenti’s over–the–top reaction, and his persistence, as well as his deep pockets in trying to haul me back. Now I was even more reluctant to return. Torture from Haagenti I might be able to face, Ahriman I couldn’t. He was too strong, and I wouldn’t put it past him to force me unwilling.

“Crap, that puts a wrinkle in something else,” I told Dar. “I need to meet with an elf lord. Taullian in Cyelle. It’s by the Western Red Forest over where we grew up. The Columbia gate puts me near, but it’s west of Cyelle.”

“Yeah, from that gate you’d either need to go through the Elven kingdom of Li and into Cyelle, or skirt the edge of Li in the demon lands to the Maugan swamp, and the Cyelle border. But the problem is going to be the gate. Haagenti knows you’re partial to that gate and he has it watched constantly. Your only chance would be to dash through and into Li before they nab you.”

“That high lord hates my guts.”

“You could come in by Klee,” Dar suggested. “I don’t think Haagenti has anyone watching that gate.”

“Uh, no. That’s through four different elf kingdoms, and every single one of them would be happy to see me dead. Haagenti’s torture would be like a spa day by comparison.” Besides, to get to that gate, I’d need to fly to Mogadishu, and I didn’t think there was quick and easy air travel there right now.

“There’s no way you’ll make it past the Seattle gate either, the one that comes out in Dis. No way. That gate is wall–to–wall demons. You’ll just need to find another entrance.”

I sighed. There was another gate: the elf gate on the C&O canal towpath. But that came out into another high lord’s lands, and even though we were on decent terms, elves didn’t take kindly to trespass. There was always a cost if you were caught on their lands. I was going to have to risk it though. Just as soon as I was sure Wyatt was safe.

Mulling over the best way to go through three elven kingdoms without offending anyone or being snatched up by demons, I ended my call and headed out to meet Candy. Korean food and the company of a good friend would put everything in perspective. And if that didn’t do it, hot wings and a night curled up in Wyatt’s arms would.

5

M
ichelle’s aunt appeared to be in her sixties, a voluminous woman in a voluminous bright–blue dress. She glared at me, clearly disappointed.

“This is no Satan,” she announced. I felt rather ashamed, as if I’d defrauded her. “This is not even a Loa. She is a minor servant of Eshu of the Yoruba. She is of no use to me.”

She’d insisted that her wall needed to be constructed at night, and had raced up from Ellicott City in her sporty little BMW convertible. I’d had to interrupt my girlfriend time with Candy and hot–foot it back to meet her at Wyatt’s house. I probably didn’t look too impressive, standing beside Wyatt’s old truck holding a bag of hot wings.

“I am the Ha–satan, the Iblis,” I assured her weakly. “I can show you the sword.”

She scowled. “I care not for your weapons. That horse you have mounted is not even an initiate. Why would you choose her?”

I glanced over at Michelle, silently beseeching her for clarification. I wasn’t on a horse at the moment, and I wasn’t sure exactly who this initiate was that the woman referred to. Did she mean Piper or Diablo? And who was this “her”? All my horses were male.

“She means the human whose form you are in. Your “horse”. She is wondering why you would possess someone who is not a worshipper. Normally a spirit only possesses those who are initiated into the religion and who are willing vessels.”

I turned back to the aunt. “I can Own anyone I choose. Anyone I find interesting. I don’t need their permission, and they don’t need to worship me.” Although that would be really cool. I’d never had anyone worship me before.

Her dark eyes were uncomfortably intense. “But you do not Own this horse you ride. A symbiosis such as this is only possible with permission.”

“Can you build this wall, or not?” I asked. I wasn’t about to get into a discussion of the terms and conditions surrounding my Owning the human known as Samantha Martin. It was complicated, and strange, not something I discussed with anyone, let alone some unknown priestess.

Wyatt had come out at this point, and the aunt turned her attention to him, her face clearly approving.

“Is this the young man seeking protection?” she asked. Without waiting for an answer, she turned to Michelle. “I will do this for you and your young man. Not for this servant of Eshu.”

Michelle shot me an uncomfortable glance. “He’s not my young man, Auntie. He’s Sam’s boyfriend.”

The piercing eyes returned to me. “Greedy,” she pronounced. Yep, that was an understatement. “I will not do this thing for you.”

“I’ll pay you,” I pleaded.

“Please?” Michelle intervened. “Wyatt is my friend, and I want him to be safe.”

“All right,” the aunt muttered. “But that little crossroads demon has to go away and leave me to work in peace.”

Wyatt walked closer, while the aunt slandered me.

“I really don’t want this thing,” he told me. “I can take care of myself. You don’t need to do this.”

“Weak, paltry spirits who cannot even protect their own against the lowest of demons. . .” the aunt raised her voice.

“You do need this, Wyatt,” I assured him. “What if one comes after you when you’re in the shower, or taking a shit? You can’t have your gun loaded and ready at every moment. This will give you a safe place, and buy you some time if one attacks.”

“If she stopped cowering under a rock, like vermin, and actually confronted those who would threaten her. . .” the aunt shouted to be heard over our conversation.

“Okay,” Wyatt conceded. “But I hate the idea that you can’t come inside my house. Leethu is in yours, and now you can’t come into mine. Where can we be together?”

“The barn,” I suggested. “The Eastside Tavern?”

“Coward. Miserable, worthless coward, undeserving of the attention of the god she serves.”

“Fine!” I shouted back. “I got it. The neighbors two miles away don’t need to hear this.”