The Demon's Song - By Kendra Leigh Castle Page 0,47
the rooftops. This place was beautiful and strange, and full of people besides. They walked beneath the gaslights that lined the streets as though there were nothing unusual about it at all, most as pale and gorgeous as the place they inhabited.
A lot of the people, Sofia finally realized, were looking at her.
“Damn it, Phenex, what is this?”
The voice that sliced through the air was more of a snarl. Sofia turned her head to see Justin bearing down on them, his red eyes glowing. He looked—and sounded—furious. Sofia watched him approach, noticing that Phenex kept his hands protectively on her shoulders when she tried to step back.
Some of the vampires—they had to be vampires—wandering around were grabbing friends to get closer and watch. Justin’s shouting had attracted a crowd.
The vampire king stopped only a couple of feet away from her, dressed smartly in an all-black suit and tie. He looked as if he wanted to bite someone as his eyes moved from Phenex to Sofia, and back again.
“She can’t be here.”
“She has to be here,” Phenex replied, and though his voice was calm, Sofia could hear the steel running beneath it. He had no intention of losing this fight. Though neither, from the looks of things, did Justin.
“No. I put up with a lot of the shit you and your brothers do, Phenex, but this is beyond—”
“Belial is behind the problems at the club,” Phenex said, smoothly cutting Justin off. “He paid us a visit just a little while ago. I’m going to suggest you worry more about that than one small human invading your space. Sofia has nowhere else to go until this is taken care of.”
Justin had gone very still. He stared for a few seconds, then cursed viciously. “Damn it, where is Uriel? We should have been warned about this! I don’t care if this doesn’t threaten the Balance, it threatens us! It’s important!”
“The archangels have their own priorities. You know that,” Phenex said. In response, Justin tipped back his head and made a sound of complete frustration. Sofia tried to cling to the fact that it was a reassuringly human reaction, even in the middle of all these things and people that had nothing to do with humanity.
“Okay,” Justin finally said, glaring off into the distance. “Just this once. She stays. With you. At all times, Phenex.”
“She is perfectly capable of understanding instructions,” Sofia said. That drew Justin’s eyes to her, and he looked irritated for a brief instant before relenting.
“Yes, I see you are. Okay, then, Sofia, here’s the deal. This city, my city, is full of the kinds of creatures you only read about. Vampires, werewolves, witches and warlocks, a handful of Fae. We’re here because this is a safe place, away from humankind. Safe for us. That doesn’t make it safe for you. If you wander off by yourself, I can’t guarantee nothing will happen to you. There are rules here, and offenders are dealt with, but that’s not necessarily going to stop someone who decides you look like an entertaining target. Stay with Phenex.”
Sofia nodded, relieved that this hurdle, at least, had been passed. “I can do that.” The gentle squeeze Phenex gave her shoulders was reassuring. Still, as fascinating as this all was, she didn’t think she was going to be able to forget that she wasn’t exactly welcome here. And there were other issues—her job, for one thing. She was supposed to work for the next two days. And her parents… God, her mother was going to freak out if she couldn’t get hold of her, and they talked pretty regularly. But naturally, her cell phone was in her purse. Which had been left at the apartment, along with everything but the clothes on her back. At least Phenex had said he’d get someone to bring her stuff…she hoped. But this couldn’t last long.
“Justin,” Sofia said just as he began to turn away. He stopped and looked at her, one eyebrow raised.
“I appreciate the help. Really. But when can I go back to my life?”
His expression wasn’t reassuring. Not at all. “When we manage to kill another Fallen, apparently. It shouldn’t be long before Belial shows his face again, now that he knows we know. I just hope we’re not too busy fighting his horde when he does.” He shook his head. “We’ve had three vampires killed just in the past week, all near entrances to the basement. Four bitten humans, one serious enough to have to go to the