the demon untold power and strength, it would be the closest it would ever get to Heaven.
I was a Trueborn, and in the giant pecking order of things, this Upper Level demon was a declawed cat compared to me.
The shadow ball pulsed and then collapsed into a fine dust of unspent power. “What are you?” he gasped.
“The official roof police,” I retorted. “And you and I are going to have a little chat.”
4
“You foolish, idiotic human,” the demon sneered. “I’m—”
“Not very observant and uncreative? We’ve already established that and it’s time to move on.” I pressed the throat-level dagger against his skin, and I think the demon stopped breathing. “Answer my questions, and maybe I won’t impale you to the roof through your throat.”
The demon glared at me, silent.
I smiled back at him. “Are you working with Bael?”
There was a slight flaring of the demon’s nostrils, but he remained quiet.
“You’re going to want to play along and do so quickly, because I have the patience of a hungry toddler and a severe problem with impulsivity. I don’t think before I act. Are you working with Bael?”
His lips peeled back in a snarl, revealing jagged sharklike teeth, and I wondered if he had a little Nightcrawler in him. “Bael isn’t topside.”
“Bull. Poopy. Yeah, he is. I’ve seen him with my own two eyeballs, and he’s been spotted in this very area of town. Try again.”
He growled.
I rolled my eyes. “You do realize that unless you have helpful information, you’re going to be dead before you can find a breath mint.” I paused. “And you need one. Stat. Because your breath is kicking.”
“Aren’t you a cute little thing,” he snapped back. “Well, not so little. I think your ass is crushing my diaphragm.”
“That’s my knee, you idiot, and that’s not going to be the only thing that gets crushed.” To drive home the point, I slid my knee down his stomach, stopping just below the belt. “Tell me where Bael is.”
The demon stared up at me for a moment and then he laughed—deep belly laughs that shook me. “You stupid cow—”
I flipped the dagger at his throat so that it was handle down and swung my fist into the side of his head, cutting off his words. Wet warmth sprayed against my palm. “Didn’t your mommy demon teach you if you don’t have anything nice to say, shut the Hell up?”
He cursed as I pressed the other dagger harder into his chest, tearing the fine material of his shirt. “You’re...obviously out of...your mind if you think...I’m going to say crap about Bael. I’m not afraid of death.”
“But you’re afraid of Bael?”
“If you know anything about Bael, then you know that was about seven different levels of a stupid question.”
“Do you think he can do worse to you than I can?” Anger flared, and the need to dominate got the best of me as I leaned down so that we were eye level. I knew I shouldn’t do it. It was wrong for a hundred different reasons, but I let just the tiniest bit of my grace spark. The corners of my vision, which were usually shadowy and dark, flipped bright white. “Because I’m here to tell you that he can’t.”
His eyes widened, and when he spoke, there was a mixture of horror and awe in his voice. “You’re it. You’re the nephilim.”
I reigned the grace back in, and the white light faded. “First off, the term nephilim is so outdated, and second, you have been talking to Bael, because—”
“If it was common knowledge that one of your kind was in the city, you’d already be dead.” His eyes went half-mast, and a lazy smile crossed his swirling orange-and-black face. “Or worse. Right? Is it true? What they say about your kind and mine?”
My lip curled as I stared at him. He looked near orgasmic, and that was more than a little disturbing. “Is what true?”
“That if a demon eats you—”
I shifted, digging my knee into his groin. He shouted in pain, withering under me. “Yeah, I’m just going to stop you right there. Tell me where—”
“It wasn’t Bael that...” He dragged in a deep breath, gasping through the pain. “It wasn’t Bael who told me about you, you stupid cu—”
Punching him again, this time in the jaw, I made sure the dagger handle got in on the action. “That better have been the word cutie that was about to come out of your mouth.”
After spitting out blood and possibly a tooth, the