Page 12

Our group was down a Wild Hunt team, but it was still large, what with all the Demons. So when we suddenly appeared in a Phuket alley, we attracted more attention than I would have liked. Someone even screamed. Thai people were used to the paranormal, but the sudden appearance of a huge group, like a bunch of aliens beamed onto Earth, would mess with anyone.

“Shit,” Kill said. “Should I go after her?”

“Nah.” I went to the alley mouth and peered across the street at our target. “In light of all the Angel shit circulating the Internet, I doubt that will cause much of a stir.”

Killian snorted. “Valid.”

“What is that establishment?” Raza peered over our shoulders.

“You don't know how to read Thai?” I smirked at him. “But this is your territory, isn't it?”

Raza leaned closer and whispered in my ear, “Are you going to be a naughty girl all night?”

A shiver ran down my spine. “Have you . . . did you pick that up from Daxon?”

Raza's eyes narrowed. “I don't need advice on how to tease my wife.”

I rolled my eyes forward. “It's a bar. From the looks of it, a dive bar.”

“My favorite kind,” Kill said. “I assume this guy will have cameras watching the place. So, we gotta be careful.”

“We can't lalek in,” Star said from his lean against the alley wall to our right.

“And we can't glamour ourselves,” Sullivan said.

“Neither can we,” Melissa said.

“We can go in, disguised as tourists,” Star glanced at his Guard. “Stagger our entrance. And after we apprehend the Demon, the rest of you can come in and handle any vampire hunters we find.”

“Sounds good to me,” I said.

“Agreed,” Sullivan said.

The vexes nodded.

So, it was down to Demons and Fairies.

I closed my eyes and summoned my glamour magic, changing my appearance to that of a blonde in a tank top and shorts. Killian went with short brown hair and a slim build, his swords hidden under the glamour of a Hawaiian shirt and board shorts.

Kill looked at Raza. “You gotta change, Bro.”

“I already look human.”

“You use that look all the time. What if the Demon recognizes you?”

“He won't.”

“Raza, do not jeopardize this mission again,” I whispered. “Change.”

“Into what, mo shíorghrá?”

“Something plain. We need to blend in, not cause a riot.”

Raza smirked. “Fine.”

“Fucking vanity.” Killian shook his head.

Raza's gorgeous form shifted into something moderately plainer.

“No.” I folded my arms.

“Look at her.” Kill waved at me. “Seren has even made a blonde college girl look common. You gotta tone it down, Beast Bro.”

Raza sighed and tried again. This time, he went with a much shorter man with longish brown hair pulled back in a ponytail and a forgettable face. “How about this?”

“That works.” Kill took my hand. “Let's go.”

“At least five minutes between entrances,” Star said to his people. Then he stepped out of the alley.

Suddenly, he was a short, blond man with a beer belly and a baseball cap. He looked around the same age as our glamours. Perfect. It seemed that the King of Hell had no problem with discarding vanity for the sake of a mission.

Kill and I led the way across the street, weaving between foot and vehicle traffic. Then we went into the bar together, as a group of four.

The glaring lights and noise of Phuket altered once we passed the entrance. Not that it was quiet in the bar. It was merely another type and level of sound. This was more conversation than honking. The lights, though still peppered with neon like the ones on the street, were much dimmer, allowing for assignations in the dark booths. A combination of sweat, alcohol, and sex scented the air. Not my favorite perfume.

Killian and I led the way to the bar, where we hopped up on stools and looked for the bartender as if that were the only thing that interested us. It took only a few seconds for a Thai man to appear, grinning.

“Whatchu like?” he asked.

I ordered something fruity, then left it to the men, letting my gaze wander the room. I didn't rush, just swiveled on my stool as if bored. I clocked three cameras and two suspicious doors. There was a corridor, its entrance strewn with a beaded curtain, but I saw a woman go through and enter the first door on the left, giving me a glimpse of the universal symbol for the ladies’ room on the swinging door. I'd check on that later, but I was pretty sure that area was clear. No one wanted their office next to the bathrooms.

With my elbows behind me on the counter, I kicked my feet and continued to check out the bar. A waitress went through one of the suspicious doors, briefly exposing a bustling kitchen. That left one door unknown. I waited, but no one approached it.

“Back wall, to the right,” I said.

“Yup. I agree,” Star said.

“You're waiting for us, right?” Sal said into our earpieces.

“Yup,” Killian drawled. Then he extended it into, “You were right. Looks like a fun place.”

The bartender set our drinks down. The guys had gone with beers, so that was just a matter of popping tops. Mine, however, had an entire fruit salad in it.

“Oh, wow!” I exclaimed. “That's beautiful. Thank you.”

“You very welcome.” The bartender inclined his head. “You want tab?”

“Sure,” Kill said. “Put us all on one together.”

I grinned, thinking, If things go poorly, or even if they go well, that might become one hell of a tab.

I sipped my drink, made yum sounds, and ignored the bar for a while. The men did that half-turn thing you do on bar stools when you don't want anyone coming up behind you. But they also clicked their bottles together. Hopefully, it was enough for us to pass as normal tourists.

Then we waited.

The rest of our team trickled in. They ordered drinks and sat down, sprinkling themselves around the bar so that we covered the entire room. At last, we were ready to go in.

We could have simply rushed the door. But as we prepared to do that, I said, “Let me go in first. Invisible.”

“Not alone,” Raza said.

I looked at him.

He cursed.

“I gotta pee,” I announced and jumped off my stool.

I sauntered to the beaded corridor, past drunk patrons who eyed me like a snack, and then into the ladies’ room. Luckily, it was empty. I went into a stall, cloaked myself in invisibility, and left. Slowly, I opened the door just enough to slip through, then eyed the beaded curtain.

“Shit,” I muttered.

That's when I remembered I could lalek. I could have smacked myself on the forehead. Why hadn't I just laleked to that door from the bathroom stall? Well, at least this way, I could take a peek through the beads and make sure my destination was clear. Laleking into a spot already inhabited would be disastrous.

No one was near the door. The spot had been notably vacant the entire time we'd been there.

Concentrating on the door, I started to summon my Demon magic but then thought better of it. Laleking used Fire while laruking used Air. A breeze would call less attention than a rain of embers in a dark bar. I stepped back so I wouldn't mess with the beads and laruked to the door.

I appeared next to the suspicious door and paused. No one noticed me. I hoped that went for whoever was behind the door too. Still hidden by my glamour, I tried the handle and wasn't surprised to find it locked. No biggie. With the combination of my Fey, Demon, and Angel powers, I was strong enough to break the handle. With a little snick, the knob gave way.

Even more slowly than I had exited the bathroom, I opened the door. A crack, then a little more. When nothing happened, I opened in further. Finally, the space was wide enough for me to slip through. I went in and quickly shut the door behind me.

Before me was a set of stairs. The noise of the bar dulled to a general thudding, conversations vanishing. I waited, listening and reaching out with my senses. I felt the Demons in the bar but no one else. This didn't surprise me either. I had already sent my psychic feelers out and hadn't sensed a Demon past that door. But that didn't mean he wasn't there. A hakhil—a type of Demon ward—would hide anyone's aura. It had hidden mine once.

So, I carefully climbed the stairs, testing each one for creaking before putting my full weight upon it. Like a mouse, I made it to the top. To another door.

Making silent, invisible, and yet expressive faces of annoyance, I reached for the handle. This time, I needed to be quiet and quick. If our Demon was hiding under a hakhil, it would take something substantial to break through it. I could do it with Light and maybe even Darkness, but it would be noticeable. Very noticeable. So I wanted as much of an advantage as possible.

I slowly turned the handle until it snicked, then opened the door with a jerk. While I opened it, I flung a hand forward, feeling for a hakhil. Sure enough, I hit gold. My hand smacked into an impenetrable Demon shield. Powerful Demons, such as Lords, could break hakhils. And I was the most powerful Demon in all the worlds. Yeah, all right, I was just a little Demon. Still, I feel like that counts. Better yet, I was the Light-Bringer.

With a blast of Anu's Light, I brought the hakhil down, the blinding flash sparking across the invisible dome to define it even as it died. My magic and the explosion created by the destroyed hakhil sent an energy blast outward. I didn't have to confirm in my comm device that I was in. They'd know. Everyone within a mile radius would know that something had happened.

A cramped room lurked within the hakhil, full of computer screens, a desk, and a Demon. The screens featured views of the bar, the desk held only a laptop, and the Demon sat before that laptop. Average in appearance, with short dark hair and watery blue eyes, his skin was dark enough that he wouldn't immediately stand out on a Thai street. He looked up and gaped at me.

I normally enjoy slipping in a witty line during a situation like this. Something appropriate to the target. In this case, maybe, “It looks like drinks are on the house tonight.” Something like that. But I wanted to secure this guy before he laleked away. So I didn't waste time on words, just grabbed him and slapped some Sayadi cuffs (courtesy of Star) on the guy. The cuffs, used by Star's crew back when they were Demon hunters, were similar to hellchains in that they repressed magic. In particular, Demon magic, but they'd work on anything, even my Light and Darkness.

The Demon's wide-eyed stare went from me to the handcuffs, and back.

With my target apprehended, I could spend a moment on the niceties.

“No one messes with my people.” I hauled him to his feet. “And guess what, Demon? They're all my people.” Into my comm device, I said, “Got him. Star, I'll meet you in Hell. Oh, and bring my guys, would ya?”

And then I laleked my prisoner to Hell.