Demon's Grace

I remembered enough to show Ezra exactly where Oldavai's lair was. He wouldn't let me get close enough to the entrance though. He stopped me with a hand on my arm and ordered me to tell him in exact detail how to get there. I gave him directions as best I could.

"How long do you think this is going to take? I could just go now and forget meeting with Laci. I mean, if all I'm going to do is wrap a cage around him, well, I can do that."

Ezra raised an eyebrow at me. "Your new found confidence in your abilities astounds me. You will have no problem doing that quickly and effectively? Even while distracted by an incubus?"

I shrugged and looked away, "Well, in theory."

He laughed, "Mmm Hmm. Maybe you should practice."

"On who?!" I asked with surprise.

"A certain Icelander comes to mind," he said nonchalantly.

I bust out with a laugh! "Oh that's sweet, Ezra!"

As if talking about him conjured him, Taurin talked into our minds. 'Laci is requesting Dove's presence.'

I started and thought to myself, 'so soon'. Unfortunately, they both heard me. I really needed to practice shielding.

'No time like the present,' Taurin retorted.

'Where are you Taurin?' Ezra asked.

'Her lackeys found me at Zanzibar's, and request that Dove, and only Dove, meet her in the business district. The offices of Chrysalis Designs."

"Well Shhheeeesh." I gave Ezra a sideways look at my attempt to control my swearing.

He gave me a look of pity, "Good try." Then burst out with a short laugh and head shake.

'Tell her I'll get there as soon as I can. We're not too far.' I took off at a brisk walk, Ezra right beside me.

'It is not wise to go alone.'

I gave Ezra my own pointed look. 'Well, I seem to do a lot of unwise things. Don't I,' I said, making it into a statement. 'Anyway, knowing you two, you'll both be around the corner.'

Taurin contributed to the conversation, 'You're really going alone? You're right Ezra, she is insane already.'

Ezra ignored Taurin, 'You do many unwise things but, you are right, I will be there.'

'Make that two of us.' Taurin's tone rose in excitement, 'Even if she does come hunting for our blood.'

I stopped and looked at Ezra, "What does he mean?"

'He means that Laci likes to drink the blood of demons.'

My face registered surprise and I took a long blink, 'I thought vampires couldn't drink demon blood?'

'This one can,' Ezra said dryly.

'And enjoys it!' Taurin added happily.

I could almost see his smile at the thought of coming up against Laci. 'How long has she been a vampire?'

Ezra answered, 'If I remember correctly she was turned just over thirty years. She has quite the reputation with our kind.'

'Huh.' I continued walking. 'So, does she only drink from demons?'

'No,' Ezra said with finality.

I gave him a questioning look.

'You know I keep up with what is going on with different races.'

That was true. Probably why I always caught him reading all those supernatural magazines. As I passed a building I felt a gust of bone chilling wind and had one incredibly handsome Taurin jump in front me. His arms and kiss melted me and I simply responded in kind without a second thought. I barely registered Ezra walking pass us with a sigh of disgusted resignation.

CHAPTER 48

Taurin took my hand and practically skipped us to our destination. Once there I looked over the area and glimpsed the demons doing their own scan.

'Do either of you sense any other vampires?'

'Yes.' Ezra replied.

'A few on the roofs,' Taurin added. 'Not enough for us to worry about though. Go inside and enjoy your girl time.'

Ezra looked at me with his head cocked to the side, his face showing me no clue as to what he was thinking. I walked to him and softly kissed him, my fingers tangling in his black hair. He barely responded, except for his hand caressing down the line of my body. I pushed into his body.

'None for me, IshaDove?' Taurin asked humorously.

'No.' I didn't even look at him. I figured if I did that I would run to him and smother him with kisses. I walked into the building without a backwards glance or a 'be careful'. I knew I didn't have to worry about them, it was me I needed to worry about.

The building seemed empty, dead. Not the best choice of words. It was a modern office building with four floors. There was a piece of paper taped on the doors to the elevator. A big arrow done in red marker pointing up was drawn next to the number four. An outline of a butterfly balanced itself on the point of the arrow. I looked for the stairs and used them instead. I climbed slowly, wishing that I could be silent, but no one is silent enough for the dead, except maybe a demon.

The fourth floor had two sets of metal doors. One of them had a stylized butterfly etched on it. I deduced that I needed to go through door number one to see my prize. A yellow glow sparkled through the cut glass window that framed the entrance on either side. I felt like I was in a horror movie as I watched my hand reach for the door knob. Such a bad idea. It was wretched out of my grasp and I jumped to the side, knives at the ready.

"Please. Come in," a woman said impatiently.

She was just short of my height and stood with her hand on her hip. The other beckoned me inside, her long bright nails reflecting the light.

I stood warily and cautiously walked towards her retreating figure into the office. I watched her curly auburn hair sway across the middle of her back. The desk she leaned up against looked solid and imposing. Her black skirt inched provocatively up her thigh as she leaned forward.

"I'm Laci."

"Figured." I moved off to the side, away from the open entry. Behind her was a patio door and balcony that looked out into the city. Bright lights doted the night landscape.

"You're not much to look at."

"Thanks," I replied drily, tapping the flat of my knife on my right thigh.

She looked so very professional standing there in her crisp white shirt and black suit jacket. Her red high heels matched her nail polish. I didn't look anywhere near that professional in my jeans and stretchy black t shirt. My combat boots definitely didn't go with her theme.

"Well, let's get on to business. I do so love business." She looked down at her ebony desk and stroked a finger over the top of it. She turned her shrewd gaze back to me and I was pierced with the intense blue gaze from a pair of wide eyes. "I figured out what you want."

"You did huh." My tone still conveying my lack of humor.

She gave me a disgruntled snort, "A woman of few words. You'll never trap and subdue Oldavai that way."

I tempered my enthusiasm about the subject, "Do you know how to trap and subdue a demon?"

"No. But, I don't want you to trap and subdue Oldavai." She stalked towards me, every bit the sexy business woman.

I eyed her, "Then what do you want me to do to him?"

She got close enough that I put up a knife in her way. She stopped and gave me a fleeting amused look before she turned serious.

"I want you to kill him."

I cocked my head to the side, "I see."

We stood in silence for a moment and I stared at her eyes, even knowing I never should. She wasn't thinking about me though. I could see a lost expression on her face as she relived some memory. Then she smiled hard and focused back on me. Her expressive eyes lit up like blue neon. We spoke at the same time.

"Tell me what you know."

"You know he never actually fucks his prey."

It was such a vulgar word coming from her red lips and professional demeanor. I had a passing thought that maybe this was something similar to the way Ezra and Taurin thought of my swearing. I opened my mouth to reply, but she interrupted.

"You, he won't fuck." She pursed her lips and shook her head.

"Why, thank you. I'm glad he won't fuck me."

She walked back to the desk. "No. I think if you could get him, that actual bastard of a demon, to screw you that it would weaken him. At the very least, get you close enough to shove a sword in his decaying heart. I can't tell you any more except I know that he does not have sex with his victims. He's there, but he's not. It took me becoming a vampire to sense this, if not understand how he does it."

"Where are you going with all this?" I asked

"You silly demon hunter. You see, he is all over you. I can smell him. He is going to make you love him, if you don't already. You, you don't understand, but I do." She pointed to herself adamantly.

I shook my head in denial of her words that I loved him. I knew where the focus of Oldavai's magic was on me and it was definitely not its author, it was all Taurin. She turned around and looked down at the desk. Her hands spread as she leaned forward, her head bowed as if in deep contemplation. Then she whirled like a little girl and stared at me with determination.

"The minute you are within killing range he has you. You know, physical proximity is powerful for demons. You won't have time to kill, much less trap him."

"Have you tried to ki-" She interrupted my attempt to contribute to the conversation.

"Yes! And look at me, over thirty years ago, undead and still tied to him before I was a vampire! And he doesn't even acknowledge that I love him!"

Her voice shrilled and I stepped back closer to the door. I watched as the white of her skin cast a pale glow matching her eye's light. I figured she didn't even realize that she made no sense.

She visibly calmed herself. "He won't give you the chance to do anything. I didn't even have a warrant when I first met him, it was a dare, not even to kill him. You see, I love men. I call myself a connoisseur of men." She smiled sincerely at me and it changed her into something beautiful and touchable. Definitely preferable to the glowing, Oldavai hating vampire.

"But, Oldavai I ABHOR and absolutely love. His magic makes me different. Not that I wasn't different before." Her words ended in a deranged laugh.

I eyed her warily, "Are you sure his magic still lives in you?"

Her mood changed to serious within a second. "No. I have no idea if it's his magic or if I've loved him for so long that it's part of who I am."

"Do you have advice for me?" I asked cautiously, concerned that I would cause her to swing into some other unpredictable emotion.

"Yes." She hissed quietly. "You need every lucid second. You won't get a second chance and your first chance will be almost unobserved."

"Wh-"

"You're not listening! You won't want to do ANYTHING to hurt him. You will be so engrossed in loving him and sating his ego that the mere thought of trapping him will appall you! And that is WHY you must kill him. It takes less time. And... you can't take back death."

Laci dissolved into laughter again. "Well, in my case you can." I watched her laugh so hard she doubled over and wiped at her eyes. Blood marred the white perfection of her fingers. She continued between chuckles, "And I want him dead."

Laci moved fast, but I still felt the air at her movement. I turned just a moment behind her as she reached behind my back and pulled out my sword. My eyes widened at the grace of her airborne move to draw out my blade even as I spun defensively with my knives. And she was in heels, no less! She was now in front of the open doorway and gazing at the blade's metal. Turning it back and forth.

"You're fast. No one is as fast as Oldavai though." She said.

Laci looked at me with an admiring expression and a nod. Her face looked so innocent with her sincere smile on it. Blue eyes wide, as if she wanted me to see everything that was going on in her thoughts. Maybe she did, so I would understand better.

"I'm going to tell you a secret. And I have no idea why it's a secret. Maybe it has something to do with mental institutions, or maybe it's a way to control demon hunters."

I had a moment to be disgusted with the whole insanity issue that kept popping up around me before she lunged under my guard and shoved my own weapon up into my chest. I didn't even feel my grip loosen on my knives as I dropped to my knees. They clattered to the floor just before I did. Stuttering noises came out of my mouth as I looked up at her. Pain radiated everywhere and I fluttered my hands over the pommel of the sword sticking out of my body. She pressed one hand on my shoulder and whispered next to my ear.

"Shhhh. It's alright. Now pay attention."

Blackness moved in rapid flashes over my vision. Fire and ice welled up inside of me as I felt the demons respond to the irregularities of my thoughts and power. Their voices came to me, rapid and anxious, as if they talked underwater. Suddenly, Laci's neon blue eyes were in front of me and she demanded my attention with a stinging slap in the face.

"I sent for Oldavai, so listen! That sword is a part of you made manifest. You are the weapon, Dove. It cannot kill you. If you are not in tune with that part of yourself the sword will seem a thing unto itself. It's not! It's YOU! It will come to you at the merest thought and that gives you all the advantage you need."

My vision blurred her face as she shook my shoulders violently. When she started to whisper in my ear it sounded as if the words were echoing through an empty tunnel.

"Bring it into yourself, get up and kill my worst nightmare." She whirled and stood up so fast that I was struck with a moment of vertigo.

I slowly focused through my narrowing vision to the door and saw Oldavai standing there. Laci jumped in excitement, "Oldavai! I brought you a present. Do you like it?"

Her entire voice changed to someone who only wanted to please. Soft, hesitant, yet eager. At that moment my jumbled mind couldn't put together the two different Laci's. Did she betray me or not?

"What's wrong with her, my butterfly?" Asked a smooth, rolling voice.

"Oh, just vampire wiles. She'll be fine soon." She waved a hand in my direction nonchalantly. I wobbled on my knees. Was I drugged? No, I'd been stabbed... with my own fucking sword! My hands clumsily fumbled around my midsection. Nothing. There was nothing there! I gasped and looked back at the two of them.

He had what looked like a bruising grip on her chin. "It's not much of a gift if you destroy it first, Laci."

Unable to keep my gaze on them I lowered it and became enthralled with the smoke drifting lazily from the cigarette he held. Its scent wafted into my senses. I knew it was a clove cigarette by its coloring. Cloves. Ezra. A moment of lucidity. Where was Ezra? It past as my mind wavered. In fact, it felt like I had one too many drinks. They continued talking, but I didn't have the energy or ability to make out any words.

Eventually, I felt her hand graze just over the top of my hair, a fluttering movement. Her retreating steps bounced around strangely in my ears before they hit the carpet in the middle of the office. The cold floor reached up and touched the side of my face as the heavy night air from the patio door swept over from behind me.

Oldavai's beautiful golden eyes came directly into view. Was I laying down? I didn't remember doing that. I was so tired though, so it made sense. His velvety last words wrapped themselves around me as I reluctantly closed my eyes and was dragged into sleep.

"What a thoughtful gift my butterfly gave to me."

CHAPTER 49

I couldn't move. I felt groggy and heavy, in that half wakeful state where your body is paralyzed even though you know it's in your best interest to wake the fuck up. The dragon inside of me whirled, hissed, and did everything but eat its way out of me. It must have been that little monster that dragged me from the night inside my mind. The night that held talking razor blades protruding from my body and arms that were swords instead of functioning limbs. Laci told me I was the weapon and my nightmare played to her words.

My arms and hands decided to tingle themselves into awareness. My eyes opened fully and went from blurry to clear. My body finally caught up to my mind with the rattle of metal, and the feel of cold steel running with magic encircling my wrists. I cranked my head back and freaked at the sight of my wrists in handcuffs. The lines of runes snaked into my veins and into my arms scattering my magical abilities like a jigsaw as secure as the metal that trapped my hands. So not good. And I was naked. So very, very naked. Oh god, so not good! The dragon inside of me shrieked in fury and my scales started to smolder. I immediately reached out for Ezra.

Oldavai swooped on me in a flash. My chin was held fast in his strong fingers. "No! I want you here with me. All of you, with me."

He breathed on me and I caught the smell of rose mingled with other scents. I inhaled deeply and felt something rise inside of me. A fog that dulled and hid everything I could call on for my defense.

"And for you, you get the whole deal, Dove. You get it all. You and Laci can compare notes." He brought his face closer and licked his tongue across my lips. "Open up, sweet one."

And I did. No thoughts. No hesitation. He brought his lips to mine and expertly french kissed me. I felt goosebumps raise along my arms from the intensity of it. My eyes closed even as his stayed open. My heart sped up and I lifted myself off the bed to get closer to him.

He slowly pulled away and I reluctantly moved back to lay on the bed. "You'll do."

His fingers changed from a grip to a caress and moved down from my throat to land between my breasts. My breathing deepened and I felt my chest rise and fall just to feel the weight of his hand more securely.

"Now, tell me. Who actually handed you my warrant?"

His hands idly traced designs on my skin as he gave me the full weight of his golden gaze. I wanted to tell him everything, anything he asked of me would be his. It was wrong on some level, but I couldn't figure out why. I shook my head at the thought and let it fly away. I gave him a slight smile.

"Shorn."

His hand stopped moving and he looked at me steadily, seriously. "Shorn? He personally gave you my warrant? You saw Shorn?"

There was no way I could miss that he was upset, but I refused to placate him. Sometimes love needed to be hard. I licked my lips, wishing he would keep caressing me.

"Yes, I personally saw Shorn."

His palm moved over my nipples, slightly flirting with them over their surface. They beaded immediately and I closed my eyes in rapture.

"Tell me more, my sweet."

"We traded warrants. I needed a replacement." My eyes stayed close. As long as he continued to touch me I was content. But then he stopped. My eyes snapped open. His hand hovered over my right breast. I wanted that hand to fall and grope me. My eyes went to his face and he gave me a knowing smile.

"Keep talking, Dove. Who is we? Taurin?"

I licked my lips again. "No. Ezra."

At my words his face grew agitated and he shot off the bed to pace. I groaned and closed my eyes. "Ezra. Ezra!? You are with Ezra!? You're sure?"

I didn't want to, but I laughed and it was mocking. I couldn't help it. Yes, I wanted his body sitting next to mine, but to ask me if I was sure about the demon I lived with for seven months. You have got to be kidding. The conversation pushed me to remember something that I forgot. Something important. My face pursed up in concentration.

He stared. It was annoyance and alertness wrapped into one. "I see that I need to be more vigilant with you, my sweet."

He immediately sat down next to me and continued touching. My mind blanked and I was tuned into only him. Oldavai brought his face down until it barely rested on the mound of my breast. His breath warmed my skin and he brought his gold eyes to look at me.

"Do you want this?" His voice turned silky and I felt that I was the only one he cared about.

"Yes," I breathed out. "Please."