Page 67 of Demon Heart: The Complete Series

ROMAN

X avier got us across the rooftops unnoticed, clearing pretty wide gaps with ease. Thank God for that. Thank God we didn’t have to be down there in that shit show.

Talk about a miracle.

So many buildings were on fire, particularly around Shaftesbury Avenue and the adjoining streets close to my flat. The flames were spreading quickly, damage and debris everywhere between the clashing bodies.

People packed the streets. Dead or fighting, throwing magic at each other, hurling bottles and knives and bricks and churning up a sea of chaos.

All because of the queen. I heard her name either celebrated or cursed.

Look what you’ve done, Your Majesty…

Xavier got us onto my building’s roof, then climbed down to the street door into my building on the corner of Old Compton Street and Frith Street above a convenience store.

The front of the store was boarded up, the owner, Mr. Cole, hopefully safe and secure inside.

Or not in there at all. The violence hadn’t quite reached this street yet, but seemed ready to spill into it at any moment.

Having lost my keys, I used Skele in the lock, dashed up the stairs, only to find the door into my flat open.

A man stood in my hallway, dressed in black, a balaclava hiding most his face. “Finally.” Synth ignited between his fingers.

Witch. Great.

A glance behind him into my living room told me Darcy wasn’t here.

“Who the fuck are you?” I demanded, Xavier bristling beside me.

“I work for Her Majesty, Queen Margarite. Witch Queen of the?—”

The queen? Whoopee. “Spare me. What are you doing here?”

“To deliver you a message. You took your time coming home.”

“Busy life.”

His exposed mouth drew up into a snarl. “Shagging demons must really pack your calendar.”

“Funny. Get to the point.”

“Tell the demon to fuck off.”

“He stays. My flat, my rules. And really, you have no choice but to deliver Her Majesty’s message, so stop gunning for authority. Out with it.”

A blazing, angry stare. “I don’t know who you think you are, but the bloom is off the rose. The queen told us all about you. Her Shadow, the man she trusted more than anyone. Even more than her own family. She really put you on a pedestal and look how you repay her glorious kindness.”

I didn’t remember her kindness being glorious. “You’re boring me. And whatever happened to secret identities?”

“You shat on them. Did you suck King Basile’s cock before you let him live?”

Hilarious. “Of course I did. Had myself a blast.”

“Dirty, dirty bastard.”

“Darcy?” I called just to see if I’d get a response.

Nothing.

That seemed to please Knob Head. “Now we can get to the message.”

Finally.

“Her Majesty wishes me to inform you that Darcy the rat is now in her company. He is her prisoner at Nightingale Castle. If you value his little life, come face up to what you’ve done.”

My hands balled into fists. “Into kidnapping helpless rats now, is she?”

“Talking rats.”

“I know what he is.”

A smirk. “You heard what I said, Roman. Go to the castle, leave this vile demon behind. You’re done with him.”

Xavier growled. “I don’t think so, witch.”

The intruder’s Synth flared as he backed away. “Don’t even try it. I’ll floor you. I’ll fucking floor you.”

I looked behind me, listened for any other movement. “You’re alone, aren’t you?”

“You have to come with me to the castle.”

“Says who?”

From the way his throat bobbed, and the sickly sheen of desperation in his face, I knew he was merely the messenger. Queen Margarite didn’t give a fuck what happened to him after he fulfilled his role.

My turn to smirk. “Poor little messenger. Nothing but the runt of her litter.”

“I’m… I’m more than that…”

And you’re shitting bricks. “Right. Yeah. Silly me. You look like such a bad arse.”

He stuffed a hand into his left pocket, fiddling with something.

Sending a notification to the queen? Good. I hoped so. I really, really hoped she knew I was on my way.

Without warning, I moved, galvanized by an upsurge of adrenaline. Dagger out, then in his neck, his artery destroyed, blood gushing everywhere. Everything so cold, so by the numbers, his body on my floor bleeding out.

“Roman?”

I hurried into my bedroom, knocking back some Synth pills. Finding myself some fresh black clothes, I dressed quickly. Slipped on some fingerless gloves, contemplated my journey north.

Man, it would take a while to get up there. It’d be the early hours of the morning by the time we reached the castle. Possibly sunrise.

“Roman?” the demon spoke again from behind me.

“Yeah?”

“Can you slow down a moment?”

“What for?” I checked the street from my window—still empty of violence.

“Can you look at me?”

“Why?”

“Please look at me.”

I looked at him, the gorgeous yet frazzled demon. There was worry written on his face, the prettiness of his icy blue eyes reminding me of my hopes for a new life.

I tore my gaze away. “Please don’t.”

“What?”

“Don’t make me stop. If I stop, I’ll cry again. I can’t be crying. I need my fire to save my friend.”

“And then what?”

“I don’t know.” Kill the queen, get taken out doing so. “I just want my bestie safe.”

“I’m worried about you.”

“Don’t be. It’s a long journey. I can rest on the way.”

That meant the world to hear. He worried about me? He cared?

It made my toes tingle.

“And what about Butterfly?”

“Fuck him. Darcy is my priority.”

I was surprised we hadn’t encountered him yet.

“Can I hug you?” Xavier moved closer.

“We don’t have time for this.” But I didn’t say no.

“Only for half a minute.”

Closer, closer. Too close, not close enough, my eyes brimming with tears again.

Exactly what I didn’t want. But I let him come to me, wrap those arms around me and pull me into his chest. I buried my face into it, letting out another cry.

Nothing too dramatic, yet enough of a release to clear some of the anguish.

Grandma used to say tears could be cathartic. I never understood that until recently, and I hated how privy I now was to that feeling.

“I’m not supposed to be like this.”

Xavier kissed the top of my head. “These are new days.”

Before we got into a deeper conversation, I broke out of his hold. “Thanks.”

“You are welcome.”

I patted him on the arm, then found a jacket. “What about you?”

Man, his hug gave me such a boost. They really were powerful things.

“What do you mean?”

“Clothing.”

“I’m fine.”

“You sure? My boots might fit.”

“I don’t need them.”

“Okay. So…”

He waited for me to follow up, never taking that icy hot stare off me.

“Car,” I said, swallowing hard. “We need to get a car. Shame there’s no plane for us to steal.” Nightingale Castle sat close to the Scottish border, meaning a painfully long drive.

“Do you want to try for a plane?” Xavier asked.

“Too complicated.”

He nodded. “After we clear central London, we’ll find a vehicle. Whenever you’re ready, we’ll get back to the rooftops.”

“Thank you.”

“Not a problem.”

“I don’t know how I’d do this without you.” I didn’t mean to sound so weak.

“I’m here for you. You helped me, I help you, and we figure out the rest later.”

I want to kiss you so badly. “And hope Butterfly doesn’t sense you.”

“I’ll break his pretty jaw.”

“I’m glad I’ll have front row seats.”

He smiled. “What about the body?”

As painful as this was to admit, I said, “The flat will probably burn to the ground within the hour.”

“Oh, Roman.”

I shrugged, though it didn’t temper the sadness at losing my little sanctuary.

My poor home. Man, I loved it so much.

“I wish I’d appreciated it more,” I said.

“Roman…”

Don’t fall apart!

I cleared my throat. “If it survives, I’ll be amazed. But, before we go, let me grab some food and make a flask of chamomile tea for the journey.”

Xavier tensed, his nostrils flaring.

Not a good sign. “What’s wrong?”

His eyes narrowed, head turning to face the door. “Lemon Drop.”

“Huh?”

“He said Lemon Drop,” a woman’s voice responded from my front door.

Tanith strode into the hallway in a long white coat and those stylish black boots I’d seen her wearing before. There were black lines across her fair, freckled skin, her auburn curls kind of thirsty-looking, and she looked in dire need of sleep.

I guess being hit with a nasty magical poison designed to actually kill would take its toll.

Nice coat, though.

Three men dressed in silver appeared behind her, the stench of lemons rife.

Xavier staggered back, Lemon Drop a concoction able to bring him to his knees.

“Run,” he said.

I snarled at him. “Don’t be stupid.”

“As if I would let you run,” Tanith cut in, drawing a gun. She barely registered the dead body on the floor. “Impressive jaunt across the rooftops, Xavier. I can only dream of being so agile.”

I put myself between them. “We’re not in the mood for your shit.”

She would not be laying a finger on him.

“You did something to me,” the snake demon responded. “Not the poison. Something else. I wasn’t here for a moment. I was… I…” She struggled, baring her teeth as if it hurt. “Time. You took me back in time. Your poison sent me back to the present. I think.”

Because she’d ‘died,’ she’d slipped back through to her correct place in this time.

“It doesn’t matter.” Tanith’s finger rested on the trigger. “This ends here.”

She fired as I released a Synth beam. She ducked, the bullet just missing my left foot. The red energy hit one of her minions in the face. He wailed, crashing down the stairs. The other two went after him.

The snake demon hissed at me, popping off another shot. She hit the lightshade above my head, then tried to shoot Xavier.

I fired Synth at her, then cast a diversion spell on Xavier, thanks to the freshly swallowed Synth pills.

Tanith held off shooting, blinking rapidly. “What… Where… Where is he?”

The two men returned, axes at the ready.

“Get out of my flat,” I demanded.

Her fury locked onto me. “You can’t protect him. You can’t stop this.”

“Can’t stop you opening the lake? I think I can. Now get the fuck out of here.”

I didn’t give her a chance to fire that gun again. I hit her hand with Synth, sending the gun spinning out of reach.

“You—”

Propelled by magic, my dagger skewered one guy in the heart, killing him instantly.

The other got a beam to his face like his friend downstairs.

Tanith shifted into her part-serpent form, snakes hissing in her hair as if Medusa just stepped out of mythology and into my flat. Deadly fangs protruding from her mouth dripped with venom. A forked tongue flickered at the air.

“Ismael will be free. I will make Xavier use The Word.”

I rushed her, going for an uppercut. She spun out of my trajectory, bearing down on me with those killer fangs. I rolled across the floor, sliding in the messenger’s blood, barely avoiding her follow up kick.

“Just die!” she screamed. “Why did you have to get involved?”

I leaped back to my feet. “Can’t help myself.”

Commotion downstairs, the breaking of glass, the booming voices of rioters.

Oh, shit.

“What the fuck?” a man yelled.

“They dead?” another responded.

“Who cares.”

Thundering footsteps followed, the two men charging into my flat. Faces smeared with dirt and blood, clothes in a terrible state, menace in their smirks.

“What’s going on here?” one of them asked, brandishing a cricket bat wrapped in barbed wire.

Tanith hissed at him, grabbing him before he could give his weapon a swing. She sank her fangs into his neck, the poison cutting off his rising scream. Black lines spread across his face, his skin quickly turning a shade of gray before he fell down dead.

In the meantime, as the other guy went at the demon with a broken bottle, I went for the gun, scooped it up, and popped off three shots into Tanith’s torso, then a fourth in her head. Her skull exploded, stopping her from biting the second man.

“Fuck!” the man cried.

Tanith’s body hit the floor, the mess in my flat heartbreaking.

Damn this!

“Thanks for?—”

I put a bullet between the man’s eyes. Fuck him. Fuck him for coming here, for being part of the horror on the streets. He came into my flat to rob, to hurt, to wreck my sanctuary further.

I dropped the gun, panting as I watched the carnage before me. Tanith’s body vanished half a minute later.

“Roman?”

Xavier moved behind me, slightly wheezy. He touched my shoulder.

I jolted, hands shaking. “We have to go. You’re covered in blood.”

“Are you okay?” I met his hand.

“Yes. Are you?”

“I just want Darcy back.” I charged into my bedroom, quickly changing again, the tremors in my hands spreading through my body.

“Take a moment to calm down,” Xavier said from the bedroom doorway.

I drew a deep breath, more chaotic voices spreading into the street below. More sounds of the nightmare situation heading for my precious home.

This was it. My flat was lost.

But Darcy wouldn’t be.

“I’ve taken too many moments,” I said. “Let’s go.”