Kingdom of Lies (Imp Series Book 7) (11 page)

His eyes narrowed as he moved the container safely out of the way. “New household member?” He nodded at Terrelle.

“Yep. She’s helping me out with something. We’re looking for a demon.” I described Pouchain and saw by the twist of anger on the gate guardian’s face that we’d hit pay dirt.

“Luck demons.” He glared at me, as if the whole thing were my fault. “I had him, actually had my hands around his scrawny neck right before the piano fell on my head.”

I checked my snort of laughter, trying to turn it into a cough. “And then?”

“He got away while I was untangling myself from the ebony and ivory. Nasty piece of work had the nerve to come through the gate in his demon form then change into a human female right in front of me.”

The gate guardian went on about how he didn’t get any respect, and the fact that Seattle was the most difficult gate to guard. I let him ramble for a bit. The guy was lonely, and his success rate was pretty poor when it came to catching demons. It was a wonder Gregory hadn’t replaced him. The angel didn’t usually tolerate such ineptitude.

“So what day did Pouchain cross?” I interrupted when I’d finally had enough of his bitching and moaning.

“Tuesday.”

“What day is it today?” I always lost track of time when I was in Hel. Actually, I would have lost track of time here, too, if it weren’t for my handy-dandy smartphone.

“Thursday.”

Terrelle piped up. “Wait.
Two
days ago?”

I turned to her. It had to be important if she was risking the gate guardian’s attention by speaking.

“My intel says that Pouchain crossed the gates five days ago with the—” she caught herself. “With someone else.”

The gate guardian popped a piece of sweet-and-sour pork into his mouth, speaking as he chewed. “Tuesday. Could have been another demon with him, though. The high-level ones will sometimes activate the gate then another will slip through behind them. I’m more concerned about catching the ones who can activate than the Lows they let through.”

Two days. The elf had two days’ head start on us, and I had no idea where he’d gone. Motioning to Terrelle, I thanked the gate guardian and left.

“I’m not wrong,” she muttered. “I’m never wrong. Five days, not two. Five.”

Oh for fuck sake. “Two, five, it doesn’t matter. We’ve got to locate Swifty the elf, and I’m thinking there’s two options to pursue. One: was he here to sell the gem? If so, I can dig around and see what high-level demons are here and track him through potential purchasers. Two: is he keeping the gem? If that’s the case, then why is he here? The elves haven’t crossed the gates in over two-million years. Why now?”

“Maybe he’s trying to score those Nirvana tickets?”

The Noodle had a sense of humor. Who would have thought?

Neither of those options seemed an easy way to track an elf, so I opted for another method. The shop clerk pointed at the ‘no shoes, no service’ sign as we walked into the convenience store. I didn’t intend on requesting any service, but I told him we were buying shoes and had Terrelle pick out two pairs from the cheapy flip-flop selection. I grabbed what I’d come for, plus a bag of chips and a six-pack of beer, then ran for the exit. The clerk shouted but didn’t give chase.

I was sitting on a bench, halfway through the bag of chips by the time Terrelle caught up with me.

“That man tried to detain me pending police arrival.” She huffed and plopped herself down beside me. “Next time give a girl a bit of a heads-up.”

“You should have known. I don’t have any money with me, and it’s not like the guy was going to take a fireball gem or a ball of yarn for payment.”

“Here.” She handed me a pair of flip-flops.

Damn. I was totally impressed. She’d gotten away
and
managed to shoplift footwear. The Noodle was good.

I slipped them on and showed her the paper I’d stolen.

“Man hit by bus Tuesday evening declines treatment after miraculous recovery.” She squinted at the grainy picture someone had taken with their cell phone seconds before the victim dashed off. “That’s our elf.”

“Yep. And there’s this.” I handed her today’s paper.

“Security tightened at SeaTac after a man dressed as an elf jumped the checkpoint barriers and evaded TSA agents in a chase through terminal C.” She shook her head slowly. “Why wouldn’t he just create a gate? Elves do that all the time to move about Hel.”

“Not all elves can,” I explained. “And their magic doesn’t work quite as well here as it does in Hel. Even if he could, the transport would leave an energy signature that might catch an angel’s attention. We’ve already established that Swifty doesn’t want the angels to know he’s here.”

Terrelle chuckled. “Wanna bet he barfed on the plane?”

“Probably wet his pants too.” And argued with the flight attendant about the lack of hot peanuts and complimentary wine.

We knew the date and rough time, but not the location. I grabbed the other item I’d stolen and began to dial Wyatt then hesitated. I hadn’t spoken to him in nearly three weeks, and it was probably best to let that comatose dog lie. So I dialed Nyalla instead.

She was a bit confused as to why I was in Seattle calling from a strange cell phone number but quickly fired up the laptop. For a girl who’d been released from slavery in Hel less than two years ago, she’d caught on fast. And she seemed to have inherited the same amazingly intuitive grasp of technology as her brother.

“There’s a lot of flights out of that terminal,” she warned. “And I think I’ll narrow it down to within one hour of his breach of security. He wouldn’t want to be hanging out in terminal C too long with everyone looking for him.”

Dallas, Chicago, Boston, Denver, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles.

“See if there’s a Judith Melbourne on any of those flights,” Terrelle shouted at the phone, the concept of speakerphone mics totally escaping her.

“Who’s that?” I asked as Nyalla typed in the background.

“Pouchain’s human name. I’m wondering if an elf would know enough about human travel to navigate the airport and evade security. He had to have help.”

And have arranged for a fake ID and tickets. Dude may have jumped the line at security, but there was no way they were going to let him on a plane without a ticket. And I was beginning to think Terrelle was my new best friend. “Do you think he could have caught a connecting flight? Crap, he could be anywhere.”

“No.” She squinted in thought. “Trying to sneak onto two planes and get around security isn’t easy. A demon who knew the human world and didn’t mind getting smacked around by the cops, yes. An elf trying to remain undetected, no. Especially since he has no idea what’s going on in this world. The guy got hit by a bus within hours of crossing the gates, for fuck sake.”

“She’s right,” Nyalla chimed in. “The first week I was here from Hel, I was terrified to leave the house without someone with me. Phones, computers, cars. I couldn’t operate the toaster. Even if the elf knew English and spent some time preparing for life here, the reality of it is going to be disorienting.”

I remembered Nyalla’s fear and confusion, how she relied on all of us to get her around safely. They were right. Swifty needed his demon guide for more than just a stealthy passage through the gates.

“Ugh!” I heard Nyalla slam a fist on the table and winced. “I can’t access the passenger lists. I’ll call Wyatt—”

“No!” Terrelle jumped at my shout. I’d gotten the hint months ago. Continuing to hound Wyatt for his help would only be embarrassing. I’d been pretty lax in my pursuit of some sins, but this was one instance where pride governed my decisions.

“Okay.” Nyalla spoke as though she thought I would explode through the cellular network. “I’ll try calling, claiming I’m Judith Melbourne’s sister checking on her flight. Any idea of which one I should start with? They’re all with two airlines, and I doubt I can keep making inquiries about different flights without sounding like a nut case.”

“You’ll get some customer service center with a hundred reps in Cyberalgeria or something,” I told her. “Hang up and call back. You won’t get the same rep twice.”

“Got it. Do I call you back on this number?”

I stared down at the stolen phone, wondering how long I had before the owner cut off service. “Sure. If I don’t hear from you in an hour, I’ll call back from a pre-paid.”

Terrelle was staring at the phone as I disconnected. “They’re a lot smaller than they were the last time I was here.”

“That’s what she said,” I joked. “So, Dallas, Chicago, Boston, Denver, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, or Los Angeles? Which should we try first?”

“I thought we were going to wait for your friend to get back to us with information.”

“Nope.” An hour shouldn’t be wasted, especially when it meant this elf would have extra time to hide in a world with seven-billion people.

She sighed, placing a hand on my arm. “Sacramento. I hope this time I don’t puke.”

D
allas, Chicago, Boston, Denver, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles.

Time had gotten away from me, and Terrelle and I had been to Sacramento, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Salt Lake City before I realized the stolen phone was dead and Nyalla was due to have called several hours ago. In addition to our planned destinations, we also journeyed to Tokyo, Manali, and a one-street town called Toad Hop. I kid you not, Toad Hop.

“Boston by way of Dallas.” Nyalla was breathless, like she’d been out jogging.

Time was critical, so I made another decision. “Can you call Gregory on my speed dial and tell him I need a taxi from Salt Lake City airport to Logan International?”

There was a moment of silence then Nyalla giggled. “Because you know he won’t yell at me like he would if
you
called and asked him directly?”

Yes. Exactly. “Tell him I’ll owe him a favor. Or I’ll give him a blow job. Either one. His choice.”

I knew what his choice would be, but you can’t fault a girl for trying, especially when that girl is a demon.

Terrelle tilted her head and did the blink thing at me. “Who is Gregory? Does he own a private plane?”

“No, he has wings. And he’s much better at the teleportation thing than I am.” He was also much better at getting information out of humans without resorting to violence. One word from him and TSA would be spilling state secrets while kneeling before him. Not that I faulted the humans. One word from him and I was pretty much doing the same.

“Wings?”

Anything else Terrelle was about to say was choked off in a gurgled gasp as my beloved appeared. I threw myself into his arms in spite of his scowl. Damn, I’d missed this guy. A few days in Hel and I felt like we’d been apart a century.

“This is Terrelle.” I pointed at the demon. “She’s my newest household member, and she’s helping me track down an elf.”

He took a deep breath and sent a less hostile expression to Terrelle than the one I’d been subjected to. Didn’t matter. He still had his arms tight around me, no matter how irritated he was at being called to haul me across the country.

“Elf? Shouldn’t you be looking in Hel instead of in a Boston airport?”

I told him the whole story—gem, underground portion of Eresh, and all.

“Come here.” He motioned to Terrelle.

The demon looked like she was about to wet her pants. I could see she was thinking that walking to Boston would be a better alternative.

“Immunity,” I reminded her. “Just don’t kill anyone and you’ll be good to go.”

In a flash, all three of us were at the airport in Boston. Rain pounded against the huge glass windows, and I narrowly avoided a family of five who were intent on mowing down anyone in their path to the baggage claim.

“I guess you want me to help you question the humans?” Gregory’s voice felt warm and seductive.

I leaned against him, reaching my spirit-self out so I could touch more than his physical self. “If you wouldn’t mind.”

I felt the rumble of his laugh against my cheek as his hand stroked my hair. “Normally I would mind, but I’ve missed you, and I have some catching up of my own to do. It’s in my best interests to wrap this up as quickly as possible so I can take you home.”

Terrelle was staring at us with an expression of absolute astonishment. I knew there’d been rumors in Hel of my relationship with an angel, but no one believed them beyond my household. After two-and-a-half-million years, after the bloody war that had fractured the angelic host in half, it did seem improbable that two such opposite beings would find love together.

But impossible things did happen.

“Get a move on, big guy.” I pulled back and slapped Gregory on the ass, more for the shock value to Terrelle than for any sexual stimulation on the angel’s part.

Gregory let my assault upon his person go without comment or retaliation and led me to the security guard. He worked his mojo with a narcotic cloud of blue, and I gave the description of both the elf and the demon accompanying him. After questioning five humans, we finally struck gold. One had been told an amusing story when he’d started his shift of a couple arguing near the exits. Evidently, their fight had reached the level of volume and tone that the guards had thought about intervening. They didn’t, because it was far more entertaining to watch a demon in female human form punch a skinny guy who looked like he’d just come from a Renaissance fair or cosplay at a fantasy convention.

They’d been arguing about whether to take the train or rent a car and drive to their final destination. The elf won, and they got on the shuttle to the Amtrak station. I composed my face into what I hoped was ‘adorable kitten’ and waited.

“I’m assuming the widened eyes and squished up mouth are your way of entreating me to take you to the train station and help you question the humans. Either that or you’re constipated.”

“I’m not constipated.” I resumed The Look. Gregory shook his head and motioned both Terrelle and me over.

Terrelle puked a whole lot less this trip. Either she was getting used to this mode of transportation or there was nothing left in her stomach to throw up. I ignored her dry heaves and focused on the sirens and flashing lights whizzing by.