out how, because no one in their right mind would use demons to trap another demon,” I pointed out.
He gave me a tolerant look. “Not all demons are bad.”
Technically true. Nechtan, a demonic imp I’d first befriended a couple thousand years ago, was a sweet creature who’d been abused by his crueler brethren. But Nechtan was the exception, not the rule.
“Even if you happen to know a non-evil demon here, this town reeks of several demons. Not one.”
“A few live here,” Ian agreed. “Some lower-level demons moved in after humans abandoned the place decades ago, when the coal tunnels beneath it caught fire and couldn’t be put out. But most scorned living in and around a coal mine.”
That, I believed. Demons liked to live large, which wasn’t difficult for a species with supernatural abilities, eons of longevity, and absolutely no morals.
“Demons also have a secret safe house to shelter renegade demons, among others,” Ian went on. “I know the proprietor of such an establishment. He’s powerful enough to do our spell, but while I don’t know where he is, I know a demon who should.”
“What would push the demon culture’s boundaries enough to make some go into hiding?” Then again, I probably didn’t want to know. I had enough horrors to fill my nightmares as it was.
“Usually, it’s as simple as being different,” Ian replied, adding in a jaded tone. “You of all people should know how most species are prone to criminalizing that.”
I did. Vampires usually slaughtered cross-species people like me as soon as our existence became known. Fearmongering had also led to magic being outlawed when long ago, enough vampires claimed that those with magic were plotting to enslave their non-magic brethren. They’d had no proof, but it didn’t matter. Magic was declared illegal and all vampires caught practicing it were executed. From that brutal purge, the council, Law Guardians, and Enforcers had been born. I only joined their ranks to use the access my job gave me to secretly help the people abused by these laws. Did Ian remember that?
Even if he didn’t, I’d agreed to let fate decide what he remembered, so all I said was, “Do you trust the demon you’re coming here to see?”
“I trust that he’ll regret it if he betrays me,” he replied with casual lethalness. “He doesn’t know the extent of my abilities. You can’t reveal your abilities to him, either. That’s why you’re staying with the car while I go into town.”
“Oh, sure,” I said. “I was just thinking I needed to get my nails done.”
My sarcasm only made him grin. “Sometimes, my personal business will cause me to leave at a moment’s notice, and you can’t expect to be chained to my hip every moment, can you?”
Ohhh, the vindictive shit! I’d make him pay for throwing up my own words to me. But first . . . “Enjoy all the personal time you want, after I go with you to meet this demon.”
“Not going to happen, luv. One of this demon’s abilities is seeing the source of people’s magic. If you come, he’ll spot your half-demigod nature before you can say hallo.”
And word was already circulating about me. Tenoch warned me this would happen if anyone saw what I was and lived to talk about it. Dagon’s survival was coming back to bite me in yet another way. But I still wasn’t going to let Ian walk alone into a town full of demons just to stop one more person from learning my secret.
“I’ll stay out of sight, then.”
“Yes, by staying here,” he replied in a steely tone. “If there’s trouble I can’t handle, I’ll send up a magic flare. You’ll be more than close enough to see it and come running.”
He wasn’t going to be dissuaded. Fine. I’d stop arguing. “Very well, then.”
He gave me a jaunty smile as he got out of the car. “Should only take a few hours.”
I watched him walk down a road with cracks big enough to allow brownish overgrowth to infiltrate the asphalt. Then he turned right at what had probably once been the main street of town. When he was out of sight, I continued to remain in the car . . . for another five minutes.
Then I got out and streaked after him. He must have lost his mind along with most of his memory if he thought I’d stay back the whole time.
Even with the sulfur stench and the fainter smell of burning coal, Ian’s scent was easy to