Betrayed (32 page)

“Man-whore,” Kim said.

“A proud card-carrying member,” he said absentmindedly, his eyes on another girl. “And I don’t apologize for it.”

Kim, Izzy and I laughed. Remy and Bran didn’t seem to be aware of our conversation. They were busy studying the bouncers at the entrance. One with a head like an egg was tal and barrel chested. After our encounter with Valafar’s men, I didn’t feel like dealing with overgrown demons. A quick psi scan indicated he was human. In his hand was a weapon scanner. The stuff we carried could set off alarms louder than the sirens at a fire station, but glamour should take care of the guard and prevent that.

“What’s the plan?” I asked, looking at Bran.

Bran pul ed out a colorless, smooth stone from his pocket. He turned it over in his hand and from his pocket. He turned it over in his hand and frowned as though something about it made him uneasy. “We’re going to use this to persuade Lottius to help us.”

I looked from the stone to his face. “What is it?”

“A harmless gel infused with salt crystals.

Hellgel.
When placed inside a demon, the salt leaches out slowly, making them very sick.”

“Can it be removed?”

“Yes, but there won’t be any need to. The dosage in this one isn’t lethal. The difference is Lottius doesn’t know that.” He pushed it back in his pocket and beckoned the others closer. “We have to split to make the plan work. We’l meet back here in exactly ten minutes. Walk, run, teleport, I don’t care.

This tree is our rendezvous point.” He nodded at Remy. “You and Sykes guard the entrance from the inside. Anything out of the ordinary, let us know. The girls come with me. Once we locate Lottius, Lil, you lock on her psi and lure her away from her friends to the bathroom. Izzy and Kim,” the girls nodded,

“Lottius knows Lil, not you two. Wait for her in the bathroom and take her down.”

“What if there’re girls in the bathroom?” Izzy asked.

“Lil wil clear it and make sure no one goes in.” Bran looked at me. “Stay in contact with them and the guys. You’l be our eyes. If anything goes wrong, they’l let you know and you’l inform Kim or Izzy.”

“Do

we

teleport

Lottius

here

for

interrogation?” Kim asked.

“No. I’l join you in the bathroom. What I plan wil take about a minute. Questions?”

“Do we stay afterwards?” Sykes asked.

We groaned.

Bran ignored Sykes. “We’l probably need to teleport through two or three places before we head home just in case someone is fol owing.” He nodded toward the entrance. “Let’s go.”

Eyes fol owed us as we passed the people waiting in line, or maybe paranoia kicked in and I imagined it. No demons, I noted.

“Back of the line,” the egg-headed bouncer bel owed when we reached him.

“VIP passes,” Bran said, showing him the gold tickets.

The man scowled, looking us over. He was probably thinking our lack of piercings and tats didn’t exactly go with the Goth-like outfits.

Let us in now,
I projected in his head.
No
security checks either.

He stepped back and waved us in.

Inside, techno-music pulsed through the air while dry-ice smoke coiled and hugged the floor like Lazari. Strobe lights streaked red, green, and gold, cutting through the dancers hopping and grinding on the floor. My amulet warmed up against my chest and the Kris vibrated in its sheath, but the flashing lights camouflaged the glow from the blade. I fol owed Bran to the left, circling the large dance floor. When I glanced back, Remy and Sykes lounged by the entrance trying to blend in.

A zombie-looking girl wearing heavy black make-up bumped into me and frowned. She probably felt the hard edge of my swords. Someone grabbed her arm and they lunged into the frenzied sweaty bodies gyrating to the rhythm. Like a shield, Bran stayed close to me. People were everywhere—

at the seating areas downstairs, on the balcony upstairs, and at the bar, which seemed to take up an entire wal . To the right was Lottius’ corner, but she wasn’t there.

Bran communicated with Izzy and Kim. Al I caught was Izzy’s response—
Okay, we’ll be back
—

then the two girls took off, hands pumping the air as they imitated the rave dance everyone was doing.

They headed toward the section of the floor closer to Lottius’ table. We went in the opposite direction. I listened to thoughts.

She’s on the dance floor,
Izzy telepathed us, coming from behind us.
Kim is keeping an eye on
her. Follow me.

Lottius, flawless skin, delicate features, and gorgeous, was your typical Nosferatu. She wore a white mini-skirt and a matching tube top, her lips and nails blood red, hair teased to showcase the Moira-inspired dye job. It must kil her father to see her imitate a Cardinal Guardian.

Within ten minutes, I zapped her and lured her away from her friends. Standing outside the bathroom, I listened to more thoughts and turned clubbers away before they even started toward the doors. Bran said he needed a minute. My watch said a minute and fifteen seconds had passed.

a minute and fifteen seconds had passed.

“Want to dance?” a voice asked from behind me.

Go away.
I didn’t bother to look at the guy, my eyes vol eying between the door and my watch. A minute and twenty seconds.

More dancers approached the bathroom.

Annoyance washed over me. At this pace, girls would relieve themselves on the dance floor without understanding why. A minute and thirty. What was taking Bran so long?

Are they done?
Remy telepathed.

Something in his voice set off alarms in my head.
Not yet. What is it?

Two demons just walked in,
Remy said.

So? This place is crawling with them.
I glamoured more girls. One minute and forty-five seconds.

No, these ones are huge and in custom-made suits,
Sykes added.
They walk like they own
the damn place. Might be Lottius’ people.

Huge. Suits. My heart skipped a beat.
Does
one of them have long curly hair and wear diamond
studs?

Yes,
Remy answered.

How did you know?
Sykes added.

They’re Valafar’s men. Keep an eye on
them. I’m going in to see what’s keeping Bran and
the others.
I raced toward the bathroom, bumping into dancers headed in the same direction.
You
don’t want to use the bathroom, not when your
favorite song is playing.
They turned and went back to the dance floor. I unlocked the door, slipped inside, and pul ed out my dagger.

Just in case someone had the key, I pointed the dagger at the door and sealed it. It would take a demolition bal or a police battering ram to bring it down.

At first, I didn’t hear anything. The bathroom was spacious and curved to the left. A sharp cry fol owed by curses bounced off the metal ic grey stal wal s. Heart hammering in my chest, my hand tightened on the hilt as I approached the curve.

“I’ve already told you I don’t know anything, you bastard,” a girl screamed.

Lottius. I recognized her annoying screech.

“The location of the mortal combat and where your people are meeting with Zedekiah or this goes inside you,” Bran snarled.

“You can slice me open as often as you want, but it won’t make a difference.” Hysterical laughter fol owed. “I can’t give you what I don’t know.” Frowning, I peered around the corner, and my eyes widened at the scene. Izzy and Kim held Lottius down beside a sink while Bran paced in front of her, occasional y moving back to avoid the tip of her boots as she tried to kick him. Blood dripped on the Nosferatu’s bare arms and down her legs to her high-heeled boots. Both her white mini-skirt and top had red spots, and bloody smudges caked her face though there were no visible wounds.

“My father wil hunt you down for this and suck you dry,” she sneered, showing the two pearly fangs where her canines should be.

I shivered. Nosferatus gave me the heebeegeebees.

Bran looked at his watch and cursed. Taking a step forward, he flung his right hand across her stomach and she moaned. I gulped when a gash appeared and blood dripped out. He tried to push the
hellgel
inside the wound with his left hand with little success and cursed.

little success and cursed.

The girl bared her teeth and snarled in agony, the sound bouncing off the wal s and fil ing me with revulsion. Kim and Izzy winced, but there was no sympathy on their faces. I couldn’t see Bran’s expression but his frustration was palpable. It seemed weird that I felt sorry for her when she had ordered her minions to break my bones.

I opened my mouth to stop him when he made another cut, but then I realized something.

Lottius’ skin healed so fast it closed as soon as he made the incision.

“We can do this al night, Llyr,” Lottius bragged, her expression defiant. “I’ve been taught to withstand pain, and my superior body wil not let you poison me.”

“Maybe Lil can help,” Kim suggested.

Bran paused and pondered the question then shook his head. “No. She’s not ready for something like this.”

His high-handedness was becoming real y annoying. I stepped out from behind my hiding place.

“I’m here and ready.”

He whipped around. “What are doing in here?

You’re supposed to keep an eye—”

“I know,” I said with a sigh, too tired of his over-protectiveness. “Just tel me what to do, so we can get out of here. Valafar’s men are in the club, and it won’t be long before they find us. Remember, they want her, too.” I moved closer and studied Lottius, who cringed from me like I was the devil’s spawn.

“Keep her away from me,” Lottius screeched.

Her amethyst eyes stayed glued to my dagger. “I don’t want to die.”

I stared at Bran but asked, “How can I help, Kim?”

“Freeze her, and her ability to heal herself freezes, too,” she explained. “In theory, it’s supposed to with most demons. Don’t know if it wil work on Nosferatu.”

Bran’s eyes narrowed. It was obvious he hated me being involved, but it was time he stopped shielding me from things. He wanted the salt in her body, and I’d put it in myself just so we get this over with.

Pushing the dagger in its sheath, I ignored Lottius’ plea and trapped her psi.
Don’t move.

She froze, though her amethyst eyes darted around and bloody tears dripped from the corners.

Izzy and Kim stepped away from her.

“Now,” I told Bran.

He leaned forward and made an incision across her stomach with a pocket knife. The wound started to close but at a much slower rate. He pushed the gel in and held it down until only a smal cut remained then he removed his finger. The skin closed, not leaving a scar. For a moment, there was a bump under Lottius skin, and then it disappeared.

I released her and stepped back.

Lottius jerked, her hand going to her stomach.

“No. Get it out of me.” She kneaded her flesh frantical y. “It’s going to poison me.”

“Not for forty-eight hours,” Bran said in a hard voice. “The salt wil leach out slowly. You’l feel uncomfortable, gassy, but after two days, the chil s and the sweats kick in. Another forty-eight hours and the convulsions start. By the end of the week, you’l be in so much pain you won’t be able to use your powers. That gives you four to five days to find where your people are meeting Zedekiah and the location of the mortal combat. Leave a message for me at Paladin Hotel & Suites in North Las Vegas. The room is registered under the name Damien. I’l check with the hotel every day, starting tomorrow.” Loud banging came from the bathroom door. “The sooner you give us what we want, the faster I’l remove that poison.”

The pounding at the door grew louder.

Lottius glared at him with hatred. “I’l make you pay for this, Llyr. Al of you.” She pointed at us.

Bran smirked. “After what you did to us behind that bar, count yourself lucky I didn’t vanquish you tonight. Give us what we want and the crystal comes out. Don’t and you’re going to die a slow, painful death.” The sound of wood splitting fil ed the air. Bran nodded at us. “Looks like her rescuers are here. Let’s go.”

The security and a flurry of girls rushed inside the bathroom. Bran glamoured them, and we walked out without anyone realizing we’d been inside. Luckily, Valafar’s men were nowhere near the bathroom.

“Where are they?” I asked Remy and Sykes when we joined them.

Sykes nodded toward the balcony. I fol owed Sykes nodded toward the balcony. I fol owed his gaze. The two demons from the al ey walked down the stairs, their eyes scanning the crowd.

“They make bad look good,” Sykes added with a tinge of envy.

I shook my head at the things he found cool.

We took off toward the entrance. Within seconds, we were outside the club. No one fol owed us.

“You got her to talk?” Remy asked.

“No. She didn’t know where Zedekiah is,” Bran said, “but we got the gel inside her. Whether she delivers is another story. Ready to head home?”

“No clubbing?” Sykes asked, looking around.

Everyone shook their head. “It’s been one hel of a night, so I’l play nice. Next time we stay. And I’l hold al of you to it.”

We teleported to several different places, even looped a few, before heading home.

***

I woke up the next morning to yel s. Frowning, I checked my watch. Nine o’clock. The voices rose again. I recognized Grampa, Cardinal Seth, Aunt Janel e….

What were they doing in our house so early on a Saturday morning? I angled my head and frowned. I recognized the voice of the chairman of the High Council, Kim’s father. He never came to our house. Not since we moved in.

Rol ing over, I jumped off the bed and moved toward the door to eavesdrop. The words were jumbled as several people talked at once. I turned the handle, opened it wide enough to peek out. I had a clear view of the dining room table. Al the Cardinals, including Bran, Kim’s father, and Mrs. D, sat around the table.