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To use my witch magick, I’d have to drop the mantle. Dropping the mantle would make me vulnerable to great harm. I decided to try what I usually tried, which was to talk my way out of this situation first.

“Is that how ya treat one of yer own?” I asked, letting him assume I thought he was human. “I’m glad I never let my ex-demon-hunter-husband talk me into joining yer affiliation.”

“If anyone tries anything, I will slit his throat.”

“Yeah, sure. We all believe ya. And once he’s dead, one of us will slit yers. There will blood everywhere and dead bodies and...” I stopped and shrugged. “What would be the point? All I want is to talk to yer pregnant mistress.”

“The demon queen isn’t here and you know it,” the man said, drawing a thin bloody line across Rasmus’s neck.

Moving too quickly might cause the man to increase the pressure. Rasmus had hold of the man’s arm but couldn’t seem to move the knife safely away. The man had to be something supernatural.

I flicked my hand in their direction. “If ya keep on like ya’re doing, ya’re going to kill yer shield. Trust me, ya’re not going to want to do that because Conn will dismember ya before ya can blink.”

“If you value this man’s life, you will do as I ask.”

“I do value his life,” I said as casually as I could. “But he’s one of yer own kind. He’s a demon hunter. He’s been my hostage until now. I was planning to use him as a bargaining tool.”

“He’s no demon hunter. He’s a coward in hiding from his true self.”

“Well, that’s an interesting take on things. I didn’t know that about Rasmus. Can ya explain it to me?” I asked.

Mulan chose that moment to bust through the doors in her party dress and kick-ass knee boots. In her hands was a wooden staff decorated in symbols that glowed. She’d somehow hid the weapon in that tiny dress with holes, and for a moment I was lost in wondering where in the world she’d stashed it.

Like an Asian action heroine, Mulan scanned the room before her gaze landed on Conn, who gave her a full-sharp-toothed smile. Her lined eyes narrowed to slits in her face as she stared back at him. I would have loved to watch them angry flirt with each other, but I had other concerns.

“This man is a guardian,nota demon hunter,” the man said.

I snorted. “Well, he believes he’s a demon hunter. Someone must have convinced him that he was,” I argued once I was paying attention to the dire situation again. “I kidnapped him because I believed he was a hunter out to trick me. Feel free to enlighten me if I was wrong.”

“Your job was to find the demon queen. She’s been missing for weeks.”

I held out both hands palm up. “Well, what in bloody hell do ya think I’ve been doing? Why do ya think I came here? I was in the process of searching for her. But what’s that to ya? The demon hunters were the ones who hired me.”

Lilith was here. I felt it because Conn felt her. His demon magick could connect with any demon he chose. The problem lay in what it took for him to get to the point of it working. For whatever reason, The Dagda hadn’t made it a foolproof thing. But we both felt Lilith clearly. We felt her fear. Not much made a demon afraid.

“Are ya a demon hunter?” I asked.

“No. I am a guardian. You know what I am.”

I tilted my head and stared. Then I looked over at Conn. “What’s a guardian?”

“I have no idea,” Conn said in his low growly voice.

The compelled demon hunters surged up the stairs and out of the elevator like zombies. They moved glassy eyed into the area. The man with a knife to Rasmus’s throat had to move to avoid the horde crushing in on him and Rasmus.

Amidst the chaos of demon hunter zombies, Ramus managed to push the knife away. Both his hands were cut and bleeding. He fell to the floor and tried to roll out of reach.

Conn streaked through the demon hunter zombies like a bowling ball knocking down pins. Before I could blink, he had the man by the throat. The curved knife fell to the floor.

Conn expanded his demon form until the man dangled in the air.

Mulan stomped over to me. “Can you do something about these moaning people? I can’t pay attention to what’s happening.”

I shook my head. “No, I can’t use my regular magick while wearing Conn’s energy mantle. It doesn’t work that way. I only use this to fight demons.”

Mulan snorted. “Next time I get bigger cut of profit.”

The Wu Shaman shook her weapon in the air, which I noted had twenty or more tiny turtle shells hanging from the top. She murmured in her secret language, shook it again, and then she banged it on the floor. All the demon hunter zombies fell down and did not get back up. I even heard snoring.