Page 28 of Demon Loved (The Witches of Mingus Mountain #5)

Perhaps the one with the turret, if for no other reason than it seemed slightly more architecturally interesting than the other, and if he had to start somewhere, he might as well begin with the one that would be more of a challenge to draw.

He had only taken a few steps in that direction, however, when the door to the big white house opened and Levi McAllister emerged.

Belshegar froze. Every instinct was telling him to flee, even though he knew doing so would make him look much more guilty than standing his ground and acting as if he had every right to be there.

Besides, Levi had caught sight of him and lifted his hand in a wave, and Belshegar could do little else but wave back.

It’s fine, he told himself. Levi McAllister knows why you like to come up here and sketch. In fact, he practically gave you permission. You have nothing to worry about.

He wished he could tell that to the human heart beating within his breast, for it had sped up more than he would have liked.

By that point, Levi was only a few feet away, so Belshegar managed to smile at the other man as he approached.

“Back to sketching?” the man who wasn’t quite a man asked, and Belshegar nodded.

“It’s cooler today, so I thought it would be good to spend more time outdoors.”

At least that wasn’t a lie. The temperatures had remained much more comfortable, and he could practically sense the arrival of autumn now — not so surprising, considering that October was only a few days off.

“Yes, it sounds as if we’re going to have a run of good weather,” Levi agreed.

However, he didn’t follow up that comment with a casual “goodbye” or “have a nice day,” but instead remained standing there, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly, as if in speculation.

A thrill of unease went through Belshegar, even as he told himself there was no reason to be so on edge. He didn’t know the other man well at all, so he couldn’t pretend to be an expert in his shifts in expression or how he reacted to certain comments.

But then he smiled…although the expression wasn’t much more than a lift of his lips. It certainly didn’t reach his eyes.

“I think,” he said slowly, “that you and I have much to discuss. Why don’t you come inside, and we can have a little talk?”

It was framed as a friendly request, but Belshegar knew it wasn’t. Once again, he sensed the power rippling out from the other man, an energy that was very different from what he could feel when he was around ordinary witches and warlocks.

Levi McAllister was anything but ordinary.

Perhaps he could try to make excuses, or try to pretend that he didn’t understand the need for a private conversation, but he had a feeling he wouldn’t get very far with that sort of maneuvering.

No, he’d been fairly caught.

“Very well,” he said.

Hayley McAllister didn’t appear to be at home, and Belshegar could only be grateful for that.

And while Levi appeared to be cordial enough as he invited his guest to take a seat on the living room sofa and asked if he wanted any water or lemonade or iced tea, it was clear enough that he wasn’t going to allow his visitor to leave until he had the answers he wanted.

Water sounded like a good idea, considering how dry his human throat felt right then, so Belshegar requested a glass.

Levi went into the kitchen to fetch it, and for one desperate moment, Belshegar considered leaping up from the couch and making a run for the door.

If he’d been in his own body, he could have simply disappeared outright, but again, he feared that using his powers in such a way might do something to alter or even ruin the disguise the voice had given him, since doing so required much more magic than simply summoning a new shirt or a pair of hiking boots.

So he remained where he was, and a moment later, Levi reappeared with a glass of water in each hand. Something about his expression was almost satisfied, as if he’d set up his brief errand in the kitchen as a sort of test.

It seemed Belshegar had passed.

Levi set down one of the glasses in front of him and then took a seat in one of the chairs that faced the sofa. “So…what are you, exactly? You don’t feel quite like Loc.”

When had the two unearthly beings met? They lived with different clans in different states, so Belshegar didn’t see why there had been any reason for their paths to have crossed.

But although he didn’t know the whole story, he did know the past few years had been rather tumultuous for the New Mexico and Arizona witch clans, and perhaps they had worked together at some point.

“I am not like him,” Belshegar said calmly. “He is a demon lord, someone who held sway over many others. I am Belshegar. I am…myself.”

Levi smiled, and again, it seemed as if he was pleased that his guest hadn’t tried to lie about who he was or pretend he didn’t know what the other man was talking about. “And who is…yourself?”

“Some have referred to me as a demon, but that is not what I am. I suppose it is easy shorthand for humans who have no concept of how many planes of existence there truly are, and how many other beings inhabit them.”

“Well, that’s true enough,” Levi replied. “At the same time, it’s not exactly usual that someone like you would have any business on this plane. So I must ask…what precisely are you doing in Jerome?”

Although he stopped there, Belshegar got the distinct impression that Levi would have liked to follow up the one question with yet another.

And what are you doing with my daughter?

He swallowed. It had already been hard enough to conceal who he was and dance around the truth, simply because lying was not part of his nature, and he had to work at it.

And hate himself the whole time.

Rather than reply right away, he reached for the glass of water Levi had provided and took a swallow. It helped his dry throat somewhat, but Belshegar thought he would only be truly comfortable once he was away from this place…and the piercing stare of Levi McAllister’s cool blue eyes.

Levi’s next question was an unexpected one. “Are you being coerced?”

Belshegar sat up a little straighter. Could he answer honestly?

Perhaps. As long as he didn’t say who was doing the coercing, at any rate.

Because if he could somehow make Levi understand the truth of his situation, then perhaps the other man would be able to come up with a way to get him out from under the voice’s thumb.

“I — ”

“So you are,” Levi cut in. His tone was mild, but a flicker of anger still showed in his eyes. “That is…unfortunate. May I ask what you are being forced to do?”

Belshegar shifted on the sofa. It was comfortable enough, he supposed, and yet he wished with all his might that he could get out of there.

For some reason, his gaze moved upward.

Could the voice hear what they were saying?

Levi must have noticed, because he said quietly, “This house is warded…and protected by my powers as well. Nothing that happens here can be detected by anyone else, no matter how powerful the being attempting such an intrusion might be.”

Those words were something of a relief, and yet Belshegar couldn’t help wondering how true they actually were.

Although he didn’t doubt that Levi was certainly powerful enough to repel any magical intrusions from a mortal user of magic, did that apply to someone as powerful as the voice, a being who had a seat on the Council?

“I fear that those whose bidding I must do are not precisely human.”

For some reason, Levi didn’t look too perturbed by his guest’s statement.

He also reached over to pick up his glass of water, although he didn’t drink right away, instead saying, “Just because they aren’t human doesn’t mean they’re innately more powerful.

I’ve lived among mortals for nearly thirty years, and yet they still continue to surprise me. ”

“I want to believe you,” Belshegar replied.

Levi didn’t blink. “You should.”

A brief silence fell. Both men drank some water — probably because they couldn’t think of what else to do — and it became clear to Belshegar that Levi was waiting for him to respond, and seemed content to remain quiet until his guest found the courage to speak.

What could he say, though?

The truth, of course.

Those words echoed in his mind, and he realized they were correct. It seemed that Levi was trying to offer some form of help, and Belshegar would be foolish to refuse it.

“Several artifacts are being held in Jerome by your prima, ” he said. “The voice told me they were here, but it was unable to provide an exact location — I assume because of whatever warding spells might have been placed upon them.”

“You assume correctly.”

Levi still appeared relaxed enough, but Belshegar had noticed the way he’d sat up a little straighter when the artifacts were mentioned.

So…not quite as casual as he appeared.

But at least now it seemed clear that the wards Angela and Connor — and most likely Levi as well — had placed to conceal the treasures the voice desired were so effective that not even the voice had been able to pierce that powerful magic to discover their location.

“Who is this voice?” Levi asked.

“A member of the Council, I assume.”

The other man’s head tilted to one side. “And what is this Council? Do they function like the clan elders here in Jerome?”

Belshegar couldn’t say for certain, since he knew nothing about the McAllister elders. Brianna certainly wouldn’t have mentioned them, not when she was doing her best to conceal her witch nature from everyone around her who wasn’t also a witch.

“Possibly,” he replied, then sent a curious glance at the other man. “The Council sits above many planes of existence, and has many powerful beings who have roles in ensuring its rules are followed. You are not originally from Earth, so how is it you have never heard of them?”

To his surprise, Levi smiled. “My case is an unusual one. I had consciousness of a sort, but no form, no true reality. It was then that Zoe Sandoval’s magic ensnared me and brought me to this plane.

I was nearly shapeless when I arrived, and a horror she fled from.

It was only after several days that I became the man you see before you now.

” A pause, and he still appeared somewhat amused as he looked down at himself.

“Well, a much younger version, I suppose. But because I had no true existence before I came here, there is very little for me to remember.”

Odd, and yet Belshegar knew there were other consciousnesses like Levi’s out there, beings who one day might take shape and form, but who for now were little more than energy with just a bit of self-awareness.

No wonder he had never heard of the Council.

“However,” Levi continued, his voice turning brisk, “something about this doesn’t feel quite right.

I’ll admit I don’t know anything of this Council of yours, and yet it seems to me that a body so worried about the behavior of those who also exist on other planes shouldn’t be concerned with corporeal objects like the artifacts currently in Connor and Angela’s keeping. ”

Belshegar had to admit the other man had a point. However, he knew better than to analyze the Council’s motivations, not when they operated on such a higher plane than his.

“I cannot say,” he replied. A weak response, but the only one he felt he could possibly give. “I never had any dealings with them before now, so I have no real frame of reference.”

For a moment, Levi was silent. “This is something I will need to discuss with Angela and Connor — and the other two elders. It’s possible they’ll see something I can’t.”

Alarm went through him. The other man’s tone had been casual enough, but Belshegar wondered if Levi knew what he was truly saying. To simply reveal his existence, just like that?

“I will explain the situation to them,” Levi said, a note of understanding now in his tone. “You don’t need to worry that they’ll make you leave. I’ll vouch for you.”

Belshegar wanted to believe that.

But….

“Even though — ”he began, and Levi smiled again.

“Yes, even though you’re seeing my daughter.”

While he’d never been on a rollercoaster, Belshegar thought the ebb and flow of his emotions during this conversation must be something like that — worry, then relief…then worry all over again.

He found his voice. “Brianna told you?”

“No,” Levi replied at once. “She doesn’t discuss her private life with us very much…

well, not until things get serious, which hasn’t happened very often.

But her mother told me she’s sounded happier when she’s talked to her on the phone these past few days…

and I saw the way you were looking at her when she was performing at the folk festival on Saturday.

It seemed clear to me that something was going on between you two, even if I couldn’t say for sure exactly what it was. ”

So many thoughts were passing through Belshegar’s mind, he wasn’t quite sure where to start. Somehow he found his voice, though, and said, “You’re not going to forbid me to see her, when you know what I am?”

Now Levi chuckled — but not in a scornful way. No, it seemed more that he was laughing at himself.

“Considering who I am and where I came from, that would make me quite the hypocrite, wouldn’t it?”

It was an angle Belshegar hadn’t considered, but he supposed he could see why Levi might think that. “So…I have your permission to continue to see her?”

“She’s a grown woman who can make her own choices,” Levi replied. “She certainly doesn’t need my permission — or her mother’s — when it comes to her private life. However….”

The words trailed off, as if Levi wasn’t quite sure what he should say next.

“However?” Belshegar prompted.

Those blue eyes were suddenly sharp as lasers.

“If you hurt her…if you’re only amusing yourself while you’re here…then I’ll make sure you have justice, whether on this plane or the next.”