Touch of the Angel (Demons of Infernum, #3) (3 page)

“Not just that.” Belpheg let out a delighted-sounding laugh. “The man whose essence you absorbed is no ordinary angel. And I happen to know that he has three brothers.”

“You learned all this from his life essence alone?” Asmodeus hadn’t even known that was possible.

Belpheg’s gaze flickered, but he didn’t answer. “You must go after these brothers next. We can likely alter their gifts. Once you track them down and absorb what skills they have, you’ll have the twelve you need to become indestructible.”

Okaay.
“I hate to point out the obvious, but I know nothing about this man. How am I supposed to find his brothers?”

“They work as bounty hunters. You’ll be able to find them.”

Angel bounty hunters? Unusual. Asmodeus gave a bewildered shake of his head. “How do you know all this?”

“Who would’ve imagined it? Such a strong essence.” After a long moment, the dark fae’s gaze narrowed in on Asmodeus, as if he’d just remembered his presence. “I don’t have to impress upon you the importance of doing this quietly, do I? The last thing we need is the Council finding us.”

Asmodeus shifted in his spot. Should he inform Belpheg of his little slip last week with one of the mercenaries he employed? He’d mentioned just how much he would like to bring the Council down, and that he might have found a way to do it. In his defense, he had consumed several glasses of wine beforehand.

No, he wouldn’t mention it. Something told him he’d be better off not to. Besides, it was probably of no consequence.

“Of course not. I would never reveal you to the Council or anyone else.”

“I know you won’t,” Belpheg said harshly, “since you swore a blood oath.”

That was true. Swearing a blood oath bound a demon to his word. If he tried to speak Belpheg’s name to anyone else, he would be rendered mute.

Belpheg stroked his chin, apparently lost in thought. “This is fortuitous indeed. Once you absorb their abilities, I’ll have everything I need.”

Something about his words caused a tremor in Asmodeus’s spine. “Everything
you
need? For what?”

“I want to act quickly. You have until the day before the March equinox to absorb their abilities.”

“But...but that’s less than six weeks away.”

“You can do it. Besides,” Belpheg continued almost absently, “I don’t know how much longer I can wait.”

The dark fae was speaking in riddles. “I don’t understand any of this.”

Belpheg stilled and raked Asmodeus with a scalding gaze that made him break out into an involuntary shiver. “You do what I’ve told you, because just as I gave you those abilities, I can take them away. You have until the day before the equinox. Do you understand
that
?”

Asmodeus gritted his teeth, fighting the urge to snap at the dark fae. “Yes.”

What choice did he have? Now that he’d gotten a taste of what it meant to be powerful, he couldn’t go back to being nothing. He
wouldn’t
.

He would never be weak again.

Chapter Two

One Month Later...

Eros was probably the tamest Otherworlder bar in all of New York City, but still a place for the perpetually wasted. So it seemed fitting that Ronin be here tonight since he’d been drunk for the last month straight.

He lifted his half-empty glass of whiskey from the worn beige tile of the bar top, knocking it back in one deep swallow. The fiery liquid slid down his throat and settled in the pit of his stomach.

“Not that I’m complaining,” said the voice to his right, “but dude, you sure have been coming here a lot lately. I’ll deny it if you repeat this to Keegan or Taeg, but you’re starting to give me a run for my money.”

Ronin turned toward Dagan, blinking until his younger brother’s face came into focus. Seemed like he got drunk a lot faster lately. Ever since...well, since the incident. He healed slower, too, which maybe had something to do with it.

“Not much else to do,” Ronin said.

“True.” Dagan saluted him with his own glass before taking a big gulp.

It had been close to two months since any of them had last gotten a gig from the Elden Council. Practically a record, and it made him wonder if demons were all of a sudden starting to behave themselves. If so, that was bad on many levels. One of them being that he needed the distraction of tracking down a bad guy. As it was, the owner of Eros could probably afford to redecorate the whole place with the money he and Dagan had dropped here in the past few months. Not that it needed it. With its beige tiled walls, the bar might have appeared institutional. But the dim lighting, modern decorations, and the red leather covering the barstools and booths gave it an edgy feel.

Ronin rolled his glass between his palms. “Maybe I should get a job.”

“You mean a
human
job?” Dagan’s eyes widened and he shuddered in mock horror. He motioned to the bartender for refills. “You don’t need a job.”

That was true, financially speaking. Bounty-hunting for the Council was a pretty lucrative gig. Even if he never worked again, he had enough money to comfortably support himself for the rest of his life. As long as he spent his money wisely, that was.

“What you need, my man,” Dagan added, “is to get laid more often.”

It
had
been a while, by his normal standards.
One month, two days, and twenty-three hours.

An image of Amara popped back into his head. The sad, resigned way she’d looked when she told him he was too decent for her. The heady scent of what he now knew was her natural allure, calling to him. Where was she now? He’d searched for her throughout the past month, but to no avail. She hadn’t returned to Opiate, smart girl that she was. The club had a strict rule against sex demons feeding on the premises. Bad for business and all. And in a city this size, the odds of finding her were pretty slim.

Right after the incident, his brothers had wanted to go after her. They’d tried to coerce her description out of him so they could track her down. It wasn’t until after Ronin reminded them that the succubus had committed no crime that they let the matter drop. While the Council prohibited killing, it didn’t view it as murder for a species to do what was in its nature to survive. Besides, he was the one who’d stupidly let himself get trapped.

Shit.
He didn’t want to be thinking about this right now. Or ever. She’d almost killed him. When the bouncer had found him unconscious in the storeroom and called Keegan, the man told his brother he was dead. He’d almost given Keegan a heart attack. If it hadn’t been for some quick thinking by Cresso, their incubus friend who worked as a scientist for a lab funded by the Elden Council, he would be six feet under right now. Thankfully, Cresso had long been working on a way for succubi and incubi to mate without killing their partners. While he still hadn’t found a cure, he’d had the great idea of combining some of the chemicals he’d developed with the restorative properties of Keegan’s blood. That was enough to kick-start Ronin’s own healing ability.

Yeah, he’d survived, but he wasn’t the same as before. He was slower. Weaker. A natural side effect of losing some of his life essence to a sex demon.

Ronin shook his head, forcing the unwanted memories away. “Maybe you’re right.”

Dagan nodded. “Of course I am. Look around you, brother. There are tons of women here, and I’m sure at least one of them would be willing to knock boots with your ugly ass.”

Ronin halfheartedly snickered. Not that he had an overabundance of ego, but he knew he wasn’t ugly. “You’ve probably already banged half of them.”

Dagan examined the occupants of the room before shrugging nonchalantly. “Yeah, probably.”

The bartender, a beautiful fae with black waist-length hair, slid two fresh glasses of whiskey in front of them. Ronin accepted his with a nod and lifted it to his lips, then froze at the sound of the familiar voice behind him.

“Well, well, thought we’d find you two here. Glad to see we weren’t wrong.”

Ronin spun the barstool around to face his oldest brother, Keegan. Taeg, the second-oldest, stood right by his side, wearing one of his trademark smartass
T-shirts. This one said
You’re Pretty When I’m Drunk.
“What the devil are you two doing out?”

Dagan pulled a face. “Yeah, do your
mommies
know you’re here?”

“Fuck off.” Keegan simultaneously punched Dagan in the arm while motioning the bartender for a drink. “Brynn insisted we go out tonight.”

Taeg gave Keegan a good-natured shove. “Yeah, something about you crowding her.”

“I’m surprised you agreed to leave her alone in her condition,” Ronin said.

Keegan’s wife, Brynn, was nine months pregnant, and she was so big she could barely walk.

“Maya’s with her.” Taeg referred to his fiancée, the fierce but petite human who’d tried to kill him when they’d first met. He reached over Ronin’s shoulder to accept the glass from the bartender.

The bartender started to turn away, but Dagan grabbed her hand. “Sweetheart, when are you going to realize that I’m perfect for you?”

She snorted and yanked her hand back. “Sorry, honey, I have far too much respect for myself.”

Ronin stifled a laugh as she sauntered off. Dagan had been trying to get into her good graces—okay, her pants—for the past several weeks, but she was one of the few who weren’t biting.

Taeg wasn’t as nice about it, though. He laughed while he pulled up an empty barstool. “Better luck next time, Chuck.”

“Piss off. You’re just jealous ’cause you’ve had to sleep with the same woman for months.”

Taeg smirked at Dagan’s comment but didn’t reply. He didn’t need to. They all knew how happy their brother was with Maya. Happier than they’d ever seen him.

Damn, but he envied Keegan and Taeg sometimes. They had family. Women who loved them. All he had was a new apartment and his slutty little brother as a roommate.

Keegan snatched a barstool from a guy who rose and walked away, then sat on it. His brow furrowed as he rested an elbow on the counter. “When was the last time the four of us hung out together?”

Ronin thought about it. “Can’t remember.”

“Me either,” Taeg said quietly.

That earned them a moment of silence. So many things had changed in this past year. Mostly for the better, but Ronin missed times like this. Hell, he wouldn’t even mind seeing one of Keeg’s and Taeg’s legendary squabbles right now.

Keegan nodded toward Ronin. “How’s the new apartment?”

“Fine. Wish the balcony was bigger, but then I got spoiled by your massive terrace.”

A couple of weeks ago Ronin had used a good chunk of his savings from his previous bounty-hunter gigs to buy a place in the same building as Brynn’s and Keegan’s spacious penthouse apartment. Four floors down, it was only half the size, but that was more than enough for him and Dagan. They each had their own master suite, and the rooms were far enough apart they couldn’t hear each other from inside.

“I think you could fit all our residences from Infernum into Keegan’s apartment.” Dagan took a swig from his glass. “Things sure have changed, haven’t they?”

“No shit,” Keegan said.

Ronin gave Keegan a pointed look. “Yeah, you’re going to be someone’s
dad
.”

Taeg chuckled. “Scary how they let anyone have kids.”

All kidding aside, Keegan was going to be a great father, not that any of them would ever be mushy enough to tell him so. But he was a natural leader and determined to do everything the complete opposite of how their own father had done it. That alone pretty much guaranteed him
Father of the Year
status, at least as far as most demons went.

“Hmm.” Taeg scratched his chin. “Maybe me and Maya should get a place in your building, too. Her apartment is smaller than we’d like.”

“No way,” Keegan said. “The Village is close enough.”

“Ha. You know you miss me being around all the time.”

Keegan sobered and his eyes lowered to the bar top. “If we don’t get some work soon, we may be forced to reevaluate our living situation altogether.”

A dark cloud settled over them at the truth of Keegan’s words. The Council had granted the four of them permission to relocate to New York City because there were plenty of fugitives to be apprehended in this dimension. If that died down, there was always the possibility one or all of them would be ordered back to Infernum. That would be disastrous for Keegan and Taeg, who’d no doubt go on the lam before giving up their women, and Ronin knew he and Dagan sure as hell didn’t want to be split from their brothers.

They needed an assignment. Sooner rather than later.

Taeg dispelled the tension by leaning against the bar. “Have you thought up a name for the baby yet? ’Cause I’m thinking Taeg is a good one. Taegina if it’s a girl.”

Keegan snorted out a laugh. “You wish.”

Ronin stared into his glass of whiskey, tuning out his brothers’ banter. He’d be the first to admit he was off his game. Whether due to the possible consequences of their lack of work, the aftereffects of the incident with the succubus, or to the ongoing changes in all their lifestyles, who knew? But something had to give. He couldn’t stay in this slump for much longer. He needed to
do
something.

Ronin dragged his barstool back and rose to his feet. His brothers cut off their speech and turned in his direction.

“Where are you going?” Keegan asked.

“Bathroom.” He turned and headed toward the restrooms located to the left of the bar, zigzagging his way through the crowd. It was busier than usual for a Tuesday night. Hell, maybe all the demons in New York were concentrating on drinking now instead of committing crimes. Would explain the recent lack of work.

A big, burly demon with an angry scar on one side of his face edged away from his friends too quickly for Ronin to avoid barreling into him.

“Sorry,” Ronin said. He tried to sidestep the demon, but the guy must have been in as bad a mood as he was, because he blocked his way.

“You ran into me, asshole.”

Ronin stared him down. “And I said I was sorry. What’s your problem?”

The demon rose to his full height, a full inch or two taller than Ronin—which said a lot since, at four inches over six feet, Ronin was no midget.

“
You’re
my problem.”

Once upon a time, Ronin would have used his calming energy on him. Though the use of powers on other patrons was prohibited inside Eros, he had a feeling the owner would be more than willing to overlook someone trying to promote harmony. But that particular ability didn’t seem to work anymore.

One more reminder of how badly he’d fucked up that night at Opiate.

“Yeah?” he said in a deceptively mild voice. “So what are you going to do about it?”

The demon motioned to his buddies, who closed in around him. “I think we’re gonna have to teach you some manners. How’s that sound?”

Sounded good. Screw harmony. He was itching for a fight. His fingers grazed the hilt of the dagger he always carried strapped to the small of his back. He left it in place. Didn’t need it with these losers.

Ronin brought his hands to his sides, clenching them into fists while he bared his teeth at the demons. “Bring it.”

One of the demons growled.

Ronin tensed, preparing to strike.

“What’s going on here?”

Damn it.
Leave it to Keegan to go and spoil all his fun. Then again, it was probably payback for the million times he’d stopped his big brother from throwing down.

“None of your fucking business,” the scarred demon sneered at him. “Unless you want some of what he’s getting, too?”

“Huh.” Keegan pretended to think about it. “Sounds good to me.”

“Yeah, me too.”

Ronin bit back a groan when Taeg stepped up to his other side, flanked by their youngest brother. If there was one thing they could all be counted on, it was to stand up for one another. Whether wanted or not.

“Hell yeah, I’m in,” Dagan said.

The demons tensed and gave each other wary glances, apparently weighing the wisdom of going three-on-four with him and his brothers. They were saved from the necessity of a reply by the arrival of Giorgio, one of the bar’s bouncers.

“Guys, you know there’s no violence on the premises,” he said. “If you want to let loose, you need to take it outside.”

The scarred demon averted his eyes. “Forget it, we were about to go to another bar anyway.”

Giorgio nodded and stepped to the side, waiting for them to pass him by.

“You got lucky. This time,” the demon snarled at Ronin. “Don’t expect the same next time I see you.”

“Looking forward to it,” Ronin said evenly.

With one last menacing snarl, the demon and his friends retreated.

Ronin turned as one with his brothers and watched them go.

Keegan waited until they were out of sight before turning back to him. “You okay?”

“Fine,” he snapped.

Taeg shook his head, and muttered, “Can’t believe you used to be the calm, rational one.”

“That was before he fucked that succubus,” Dagan said.

Ronin tensed, irritation springing up inside him. Usually, none of his brothers mentioned the incident; they knew it, and the resulting loss of his calming ability was a major sore spot for him. “I told you to never bring that up aga—”