Hot Demon in the City (Latter Day Demons Book 1) (30 page)

My guess as to the damage proved correct; nothing but a huge crater remained of Claudia's vineyard.

"Are you well?" Klancy, who'd sunk his lengthy claws into the ground to keep from being thrown farther back, ended up beside me.

"I'm okay," I sighed before dropping my forehead onto the grass. "How many did we lose?" At that moment, I prayed that Watson was still alive.

"Many," Klancy replied. "I must go and see who survived; that will be an easier task than counting the dead."

"Kory and Lexsi?" I mumbled.

"No sign of them."

"Fuck."

"Agreed."

I had no energy left, but found some well of strength to hold me upright. It took three trips to transport the living back to Lexsi's house; Watson wasn't among those I hauled.

Davis was wounded; Thomas better off. Mason tended Davis while two other vampires assisted Klancy in setting a few broken bones.

One of Tibby's cousins didn't make it back, either.

"What happened?" Farin wandered into the kitchen, which had become a temporary hospital. She was dressed in a robe and pajamas—somehow, she'd been exhausted enough to sleep. I was grateful for even that small miracle.

The full moon still held sway over every shifter in the house; that's why Tibby's rat squeaked once and leapt into Farin's arms. I'd never seen anyone kiss a rat before, but Farin had her mouth all over Tibby's head. Somehow, with the other events of the night, it seemed perfectly normal.

Watson is gone.

I sighed.

I'd lost three good friends during the night, but now wasn't the time to grieve. I had to help Klancy and the others put wounded werewolves back together. Common sense demanded it. I'd never felt less like doing anything of the kind in my life.

The early-morning news was filled with images of the fires in San Francisco, burning out of control until the miracle happened. I knew it was Lexsi's work, and still didn't understand how she'd done it.

The fires went out, one by one, as if set to a timer. Blink, blink, blink. That's how they died.

Some news stations claimed to have footage of a fifteen-foot, winged creature rising from a city street after the last fire died. Nothing could be proven, however—their cameras only recorded a huge fireball, because it burned too brightly for their equipment to record properly.

I knew it was Lexsi, who held all the fire from all the buildings about her, or possibly
in
her as well. As I said, I didn't understand how she'd done it.

The news then switched to the crater in Sonoma County, where authorities claimed a meteorite had struck Earth, destroying one vineyard and part of another. Authorities had blocked the area from unauthorized visitors, so there were no images on the news.

That crater had also been caused by Lexsi.

Had she known that Kory was taken down? Is that why she'd done it?

I had no answers and holes in my heart.

Chapter 20

Lexsi

Kory's unconscious body covered mine at the center of the crater I'd created. Overhead, a few stars winked in a brightening sky.

Dawn was coming.

If I could muster the strength, there was one more thing I wanted to do. Perhaps I'd dreamed it while unconscious.

I only knew I had to do something or he'd die—the real James Rome, Jr., who didn't look like the real James Rome, Jr.

"Kory?" I brushed dark hair off his face. Like me, he was naked. Our fires had seen to that. Mine, though, had been more intense than any Thifilathi could ever lay claim to.

The ranos cannon blast meant to kill Kory had almost reached his Thifilathi when I sent the fire I held flying. Thankfully, it had kept him from dying.

"Mmmm?" Kory buried his face against my breast.

"We have to go to LA," I said. "To Rescue Jamie Rome. The real one."

"Don't want to."

"I know." I traced his left ear with a finger.

"God, Lexsi, you smell good."

"I smell like fire," I sighed.

"My favorite." He snuggled closer.

"Come on, let's get this done, then we can go to bed."

"Your bed?"

"If that's what you want."

"Yeah. Where are we going again?" He still hadn't opened his eyes.

"To LA."

"Okay. Will you take us?"

"Yes. You can sleep on the way."

"That'll take two seconds."

"You can sleep for two seconds. Then you have to help me get Jamie Rome back to Aunt Bree's house."

"Okay."

* * *

James Rome, Jr., looking emaciated and in his late twenties, was chained and gagged in Laurel's closet. We'd walked right through the spell a warlock created to keep him hidden from the authorities who'd searched the house.

I had no idea how long Jamie had been there, but Kory was awake enough by then to allow his smaller Thifilathi to break the chains and toss Jamie Rome over his shoulder.

"I'm burning the house," I told Kory. "Go ahead and take him. He needs food and water."

Kory nodded and skipped away with his burden.

I studied Laurel's closet for a few moments. She'd left designer shoes and gowns behind, in addition to jewelry and who knew what else.

After all, if you have a warlock in your employ, it would be nothing to get in and out whenever you wanted something. The police stationed outside would never know.

Becoming Thifilatha, I blasted the closet with fire. Fine dresses and scarves burned quickly. Skipping to other rooms in the house, I set fires in those, too. I didn't intend for anything to survive.

Fuck you, Laurel Rome
, I sent to her.
Fuck you, your warlock and that pretender you say is your husband. Pray now that I never get my hands on you, because you will surely regret it
.

Sirens were sounding at the foot of the hill by the time I skipped away. Behind me, the roof of the Rome mansion caved in with a thunderous crash.

* * *

The house was dark and quiet when I arrived. Jamie Rome, after getting water and a sandwich, had been put to bed on a living-room sofa. On the floor nearby, two werewolves snored softly.

The house was full and sleeping.

"Here." Kory, still naked, held out a glass of milk and a sandwich. His plate of food was sitting on the island.

"We can eat this in bed, then go to sleep," I suggested.

"I'm all for it," he agreed. "Should we wake Anita and let her know we're back?"

"No—let her sleep. We'll tell her in the morning."

"It is morning."

"Tomorrow morning."

"Oh. That morning."

"Yeah."

"Come on, onion, let's go to bed."

Epilogue

Peru

Laurel Rome

"She's still alive," I shouted.

"I agree," Deris said, casually examining his fingernails. "And so are you. I assure you, we'll get around her. Daris confirmed the hit on the Thifilathi, so he's gone."

"What caused the blast at the end?" I demanded. I was incensed that the warlock wasn't taking me seriously. The threat that bitch had placed in my mind—I wanted to blast her with the weapon his sister, Daris, had given me.

She'd said it would kill anything. I wanted Lexsi Silver dead for threatening me. I no longer cared that Granger wanted her for himself.

"A mundane weapon caused that blast, what else could it be?" Deris sighed. "I'm sure it was something they carried in with them—you saw the ball of fire appear at the center, didn't you? I'm sure it was a weapon of last resort, when they saw they were losing the battle."

"We were only watching the live feed, which was cut off when everything exploded," I argued. "We weren't there."

"Look, we're going to make you rich beyond your wildest imaginings, Dervil and I," Deris' eyes narrowed as he glared at me. "All you have to do is sit back and look beautiful. Our business is about to take off."

"That's fine, but I warn you," I shook a finger at him. "If I see her, she's dead."

The End

Lexsi and Kory's tale will continue in
A Demon's Work is Never Done
.