Akil’s old name, drawing out the inflections. That meant he’d known him back when Akil preferred that name. He’d known him a long time. And there I was thinking I’d introduced them the night Akil and I’d brought Stefan back from the netherworld.
“You turned him into liquid fire over Boston Gardens, Muse. He’s about as powerful as they get. Besides you, of course.”
Maybe Akil was King of Hell powerful? I grinned. “Naturally.” Best not to dwell on that. “So he could burn it out too?”
“Burn it out, turn it to steam, sprinkle it on his cereal. P-C-Thirty-Four won’t touch him.”
I knew it. Akil was faking it. Damn him. I so needed a bullshit filter between him and me. Jerry noticed my jaw lock. I flashed him a bright smile. “Thank you. You’ve been exceptionally helpful, as always.”
He beamed back. “I’m just a vet, but I aim to please.”
An idea stilled me. “Jerry, do you have any vials of the antidote?”
“Yeah, why?”
My smile peeked out, one sided. “You’ve just made my day.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
“M use, it’s Jenna. Where are you?”
I wedged my cellphone between my shoulder and chin, and shoved the PC34 antidote into my car’s glove compartment. “Outside Stone’s Throw. I have a meeting with Adam. Why?”
“Okay, wait there… I’ll be right over.” She hung up.
Shrugging my jacket on, I left my car and raked a gaze over the parking garage where I’d recently been bested by a Scorsi demon. Ryder would chew me out about that. It was a sloppy mistake, and it told me exactly what I’d suspected. My head wasn’t in the game. My mind was far, far away. If I was going to help Stefan, and Akil, and Boston, I needed to focus. Easier said than done.
Damn Akil to hell and back. What was he thinking? Had he really been caught? It didn’t feel right. Akil wasn’t mortal. He wasn’t human. He wasn’t a half blood. He was an immortal elemental chaos demon. Those guys didn’t just keel over. Jerry had told me Akil was different. He must want to be inside the Institute for some reason. Was it the half bloods? I had to get in there, and fast. Taking PC34 was the only way. Time wasn’t slowing down. Val was coming. Akil was up to something. I didn’t have the luxury of going into the Institute tooled up. Maybe I could burn it out of me, as Jerry had suggested, but the vial of the antidote he’d given me would have to suffice as my security. Then there was the issue of how my demon would react. My darker half naturally didn’t enjoy being repressed. What if subduing her, and then bringing her back, gave her enough mental leverage to finally take control?
Jenna jogged down the ramp, all long-legged grace and enforcer attitude. I leaned back against the fender and waited, wondering if she’d seen my brother lately. My beloved immortal brother, Val, had gone to town on Jenna, turning her into a minion—Akil’s word. My brother was a potent mix of immortal badass and lust on legs. He’d dropped me with one touch of his velvet wings. Unfortunately, Jenna wasn’t so lucky. He turned all of his netherworldly gifts, namely lust, on her and gleaned information about the Institute, me, and the Institute’s half bloods from her lips. Tough as she was, she had no defense against Val. As far as I knew, he still visited her. She’d admitted it all. She knew what she was, had offered to quit, but Adam had refused her resignation. Now, she fed everything about her encounters with Val back to Adam.
“I didn’t know who else to talk to…” Breathless, she stopped in front of me and dug her hands deep into her pockets, slouching her shoulders. Her lips drew into a stern line. “Something’s up with Ryder.”
“Is he hurt?”
“No, no, nothing like that. He’s acting differently… He’s quiet. He’s not talking with the team.”
I pursed my lips. Ryder wasn’t the talkative type, but what he did say was usually to the point. “Maybe he’s hurting. He should be.” He’d killed a little girl. He should be reevaluating a lot of things, one of them being his own guilt.
She smiled a soft, heartfelt smile, and I began to get the distinct impression this was personal. “He is, Muse. Since…that day, he’s been distant, cold.”
“He just shot Akil. Ryder and I aren’t exactly friends right now.”
“He was following orders.” Jenna held my stare, which meant looking down on me,