out air? Rachel and I are on a roll!” Jenks gyrated his hips and a silver dust sifted down like a living sunbeam to make the speaker crackle. “Yahoo, baby!”
Trent gestured to the hall, and I went. Quen had given up trying to fix the door and had propped it against the wall. People had clustered in the hall, and I cringed at the thought of going through them. Worse, Landon was far too happy for this to be a good thing. “I made a mistake, didn’t I.”
“Not necessarily.” Trent grimaced at the click of a camera. “I think I owe you a favor or three.”
“You were listening? You heard?” I said, embarrassed at my fiery rant.
“Why do you think I’m here?” His eyes were on the hall as he led me into the crush.
To stop my lips from flapping, I thought as Mac tried to get Landon to sit down. I’d made a mistake. It was in Landon’s satisfaction and Trent’s tight brow. But I couldn’t see it.
“Zack, sit down!” Landon barked as he settled himself, and I spun. Al was following us, still looking like that kid.
“I’m not your lackey,” Al said, and Landon paled when Al removed his sunglasses to show his red goat-slitted eyes. I shuddered at Al’s chuckle as his form misted, thickened, and changed back to his usual smoked-glass, nasty-grin, lace-and-crushed-green-velvet self.
Al put a finger to his thick lips and made a shhhh sound that chilled me even more.
“Sure,” Mac said faintly, agreeing to stay silent about a demon being in his studio.
The tech hammered on the glass. He was pointing to the mic, and Mac scrambled for it, his smooth professional voice filling in the gap as he put on his headphones.
Al strode out before us, and in the hall, people scattered like roaches panicking in the light.
Trent allowed himself a brief moment of gloating, his hand on the small of my back as we hesitated on the broken threshold. “It’s almost worth the cost to know where his loyalties are,” he said, then pushed me into the hall.
Quen quirked an eyebrow at me as I went by, and the fear I’d done something wrong strengthened. But for God’s sake, I was sick of Landon dragging Trent through the mud.
“Sa’han Landon,” Mac said as we entered the now empty hall, and Trent stiffened at the elven term of respect given to the distasteful man, “would I be correct in assuming from Ms. Morgan’s words that this was a power struggle between the elves and the demons?”
“Rache is right. Landon is a hack,” Jenks said, his voice coming from the hall speaker. “He couldn’t reinstate the lines if he tried. He used the coven and enclave like a fairy’s ass wipe.”
“Jenks!” I shouted, hearing his laughter like wind chimes through the speaker a bare instant before his wing rasp sounded by my ear.
“I’m just sayin’ what you won’t,” he complained, but I breathed easier when we got to the upper lobby overlooking the street lobby below. Lucy’s loud song about spiders and water spouts rose up unseen and my shoulders eased. Ellasbeth’s voice twined beautifully with hers, and I looked over the edge to see Ray and Lucy in their little sunbonnets and dresses. Ellasbeth was in a tasteful pantsuit, her purse matching the diaper bag at her feet. Of course it would.
“And he is a fairy’s moss wipe,” Jenks said, then dropped down, angling for them.
“Ah, strong-minded little girls,” Al said contentedly. “Nothing better in this world or the next. Excuse me.”
“Al,” Trent warned, and the demon winked as he took the curving stairs.
“Jenks! Jenks!” Lucy’s song cut off midphrase, and then her voice rose in question. “Aunt Rachel? Aunt Ra-a-a-a-a-chel!”
“That is so sweet,” I whispered, jerking at Lucy’s sudden earsplitting, delighted squeal.
“Allie!” Lucy screamed, struggling to get off Ellasbeth’s lap and run to the demon. “Mommy, let me go. Let go-o-o-o-o!”
Trent’s grip on my arm spasmed, but it was at the word mommy, not at Al, his arms now open wide in invitation as he stood at the bottom of the stairs. Ellasbeth fought with Lucy for a heartbeat, and then, her expression twisted in uncertainty, she let go. The toddler ran to Al, but it was hard to tell who was more delighted as Al scooped Lucy up and threw her into the air to catch her.
Jenks tentatively alighted on Ray’s outstretched hand, and the smaller girl beamed. A