Page 12 of The Demon’s Due (Bedeviled #5)

I was about to kick her back when I clued in. “Sachie formed a connection with Burning Eddie, but she shouldn’t go alone, and it’s not like Darsh or Silas can leave.”

Darsh shot me “the look” at the same time as Michael did. Good for him for learning it.

“Both of you stop it right now.” I shook my head.

“I say that respectfully but face facts. I’m the only eyewitness to the ritual, and I might spot something in one of Eddie’s books that no one else would pick up on.

This is me taking time off from active duty and recovering.

How bad could it possibly be when I have one of the most deadly people I know around me? ”

The director tightened the top part of her pen. “You’re assuming this demon is going to cooperate.”

“He did give me a hat,” Sachie said. “And signed my cast. We’re summer camp besties.”

“That’s irrelevant, Saito,” Michael admonished her. She fixed the pen. “What if he senses that Aviva is a half shedim and isn’t happy about it?”

“Then I’ll dazzle him with my winning personality.” I met her glower with a grin. “And throw a Prime at him.”

Silas laughed out loud.

Ezra blinked. “Oh. No. He and I didn’t exactly start off on the right foot.”

Michael smirked and spread her hands wide. “Then it’s settled. Aviva stays. The other directors and I will put our best minds on the Luce and?—”

“It’s because Eddie’s horses hate Ezra,” Silas said. “They go out of their way to kick him.”

Darsh’s shoulders shook.

“Thank you for clarifying that,” Ezra said tightly.

“Charm his horses and he’ll love you,” Silas said.

Ezra looked doubtful, and my heart sank. He wouldn’t agree if his presence put me or Sachie in danger, but I couldn’t sit back when I’d helped kick all of this into motion.

Michael and the other directors could assign every Maccabee in existence to the Luce problem, but I was investigating as well.

“I’m going to follow your advice, Director, and take some time off to recover,” I said.

She threw her pen at me.

I caught it. “Handing over hostages? You know better than that.”

“Give it back, you horrible child.”

“I suck as a daughter but as an operative…?”

She drummed her fingers on the table, her lips pursed. “You and Ezra may accompany Sachie,” she said at last.

I tossed the pen back.

The Prime looked faintly ill. “Giddy up.”

Things moved quickly after that.

Darsh got word that some human residents were fleeing their formerly desirable vamp-controlled neighborhoods. Trad officers had shown up to assist with the panicked families, but things were beginning to get out of control.

“Continue the stepped-up patrolling, especially in the neighborhood around the rift,” the director said.

I bit the inside of my cheek. With Cécile dead, Darsh was now the senior member of the squad. I hoped Rukhsana was rotting in the worst circle of demon hell.

Well, most of you does , Cherry said. You still feel sorry for her, but keep telling yourself she deserves what she got. Maybe you’ll eventually believe it .

Michael sailed out the door, already on the phone to Chief Constable Keira Davis, head of the Trad police force, arranging for officers who’d been trained to stake vamps to team up with Maccabees.

Darsh and Silas were right behind her.

“You get to visit a demon lair. You’re welcome,” Sachie said to me.

“Yeah, that was pretty smooth of you.” I frowned. “I didn’t know Trad officers were taught to stake vamps. How do they practice?”

“Mannequins. Very few of them have actual experience.” She paused, looking grim. “And are still around to tell the tale.”

“Olivier?”

“He trained. I trained him more.”

“He’ll volunteer for this duty, then.”

“Not just volunteer,” Sachie said. “Olivier told me yesterday that he’d offer to head up a squad if it came to this. He was excited.” She spoke in a grumpy, disgusted tone, but it was followed by this faraway, almost dreamy look.

I snorted at her expression, doing my damnedest not to imagine their training sessions.

No wonder Sach was torn about his participation.

It was hard enough for Maccabees to stake vampires and come away uninjured, and we had magic of our own. That said, Detective Olivier Desmond was smart, experienced, and capable.

I didn’t offer a platitude that Olivier would be okay, but I did squeeze Sachie’s hand. “Stay here. Help him. Ezra and I will visit Burning Eddie on our own.”

She stood up. “No. I have the strongest relationship with that shedim and the best shot at accessing his library.” She scooped up her notebook and pencil. “Ezra, can you charter a jet for tonight? Regular flights will take too long.”

“Sure, but it would be faster to portal through the Hell.” Ezra could create portals only because he drew on the shedim magic infused in the yacht. Since it wasn’t a Prime ability, he had to use the Hell as a transit point.

“I’m not sure we should,” I said. “I’m not particularly excited about running into Delacroix and a ton of potentially freaked-out vamps.”

“I’ll leave it up to the two of you.” He headed for the door. “I have to go downstairs and see if my phone still works.”

Sach and I debated the pros and cons of going through the Copper Hell. Ezra would be swarmed by his staff, though that would still be faster than a plane. But what if we encountered a baby vamp infected by the Luce?

Or worse, what if I was wrong about shedim magic being exempt from the Luce and the portals went sideways while we were using them?

Besides, my gut was telling me not to give Delacroix the heads-up about this journey, so how could we get to Burning Eddie quickly and discreetly?

Once Sachie and I made our decision, I casually changed the subject. “Is Silas still staying with Darsh?”

“As far as I know, but I’m betting he’s still in the guest room.” Sachie shook her head. “Another thing that sucks right now.”

My chest tightened. The twisted connection between Fintan (aka the Ashbishop, aka Silas’s best friend before he turned him into that vampire) and Patrin threatened to derail my friends’ happiness before it had a chance to take root.

After everything life had thrown at them, if two people deserved to find joy in each other’s arms, it was them.

Ezra returned. “I cracked my phone’s screen, but it works. Am I chartering a plane or opening a portal?

“Are you sure we have to go via the yacht?” I said. “You may not need to anymore now that you’re powered up.”

He raised his eyebrows. “You want me to draw on you again?”

“Your portal-making happens because you draw on Delacroix’s magic in the Hell’s security system.

It’s why you can’t go from point A to point B unless you travel through the yacht.

Well, the thrall is tied to my blood. Does it use my shedim magic?

” I spread my hands wide. “If it does, maybe you can create portals without the Hell as a transit point. It’s worth a shot, right? ”

Anything to delay my reunion with Daddy Dearest.