I climbed closer and closer to that peak, begging my invisible assailant with my mind, not to stop. Oh Hades no, never stop but to finish me off. To let me reach that elusive peak that was oh-so close but still just out of reach. Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew what was happening was wrong and so very dangerous but the rational part of my brain was being beaten down by the pleasure seeking slut-monkey of my emotional side and I rode the cavalcade of intense feelings with only a tiny feeling of latent guilt. My rational side mumbled something about paying the price later but the slut-monkey quickly and easily sledgehammered my wimpy conscience into silence. The whole thing felt entirely too good to be bad. Didn’t it?
Finally, screaming at the top of my lungs, I tumbled over that elusive climax with a final thrust of my body. The fiery climax convulsed me for what felt like several minutes before finally subsiding into a pleasant feeling of warmth all over my body and a soft, satisfied throbbing.
I lay shuddering and panting on the filthy floor of the elevator until feeling returned to my legs. As the doors slid open I felt my ghost lover bend over me one last time. Soft lips touched my ear and words whispered against my sensitive skin, “Until later, lovely Astra.” And then he was gone. The fog in my brain filtered slowly away as the elevator doors slid to full open position.
It took me a few seconds to realize that I was looking up into a couple of worried-looking sets of eyes. Two of the other tenants of the building were standing out in the hallway, looking down at me sprawled on the filthy floor.
I started to push myself up and, looking down, realized that at least I was still fully dressed, if a bit rumpled.
The taller of the two men reached for my hand as I struggled against rubbery limbs. “Are you all right? Have you been attacked?”
I looked up at him and…amazingly…I laughed, my body still shuddering with pleasure. “You might say that.”
Looking even more concerned, the second man reached to help me to my feet by placing a hand under my arm. “Should we call for the unplanned injury crew?”
I shook my head and gently extracted my arms from their well-meaning grasp. “No. I’m fine, I was just feeling a bit…ill. I’ll be fine once I get a chance to sit.”
The taller man, who I now noticed had longish, curly black hair and the most amazing hazel eyes with long lashes, reached as if to steady me and I realized I was still wobbly on my legs. “Can we help you get somewhere? You don’t look at all well.”
I laughed again, causing the two men to frown at me as if I were emotionally unstable…which in a way I was. “No, really. I’m feeling fine now. Thanks though…for your help
and
your concern.”
The taller man extended a large hand with soft, curling black hair on the back of it. In my current, heightened condition the hair seemed to sparkle softly, like dew. “My name is Ralph Peters. If you need something…anything…please feel free to ask. I’m in 13C.”
The smaller man extended his hand and I took it. “I’m Ralph’s partner, Bob Gleason. Ditto on the help.” He smiled and his warm, nondescript brown eyes sparkled. “Anytime.”
I thanked the two men and wobbled toward my office. I could feel their gaze on my back all the way to my door. I entered my office and closed the door behind me with a sigh of relief, leaning against it and closing my eyes. “Hades. What just happened to me?”
“Astra? Are you okay?”
My eyes flew open and locked onto Emo, my newly gorgeous partner and longtime friend. I was still trying to get used to seeing a drop-dead gorgeous royal devil instead of the squat, red version of my Emo that I’d practically grown up with. I had recently learned that although Emo had been born into the royal court of a royal father and a fallen angel mother, he’d been cursed as a young man by King Nerul, who was now, hopefully, dead, to look like one of the lesser devils. His real form had been restored to him upon Nerul’s death. This new Emo was disturbing to me on so many levels. But he was still my friend. And I needed a friend right at that moment.
I smiled at him and pushed away from the door. Reaching out for him, I gratefully allowed myself to be folded into his strong, lean, golden-skinned arms. “I’m fine now. I just felt a bit ill for a few minutes.”
I felt him tense in concern. “What can I do for you? Shall I call the unplanned injury crew?”
I laughed. “No. Nothing. I just want to sit for a few minutes.” I reluctantly pulled myself from his arms and dropped into the nearest chair. Then I looked up at him and smiled to ease his worried frown. “Have you had any luck with that stuff I asked you to do?”
Emo continued to stare at me for several seconds more, his midnight gaze seeming to pierce my mental barriers until I began to worry he’d read my recent ghostly attack there. My face started to burn and I looked down, hoping he hadn’t noticed.
Finally he sighed and moved around to sit behind his desk, where I assumed he’d been when I entered the office.
“The local coven is denying any involvement in this uprising. They refused to let me speak to the Supreme High Witch but they were quite adamant that the last thing they would want to do was get involved in a fight between the royals and the demons.”
I shook my head. “The king isn’t wrong. If he says they’re involved they
are
involved. King Dialle is many things but he isn’t careless, he has always kept a tight rein on the dark worlders.”
Emo nodded. “I agree. Word is the Supreme High Witch is ambitious and jealous of the attention the other dark worlders are getting. I’ve heard the rumors too that she wants to make a play for more power.” He paused and slanted me a look. I could tell he knew I wasn’t gonna like what he was going to say and braced myself. “I’ve been thinking. Maybe you should contact DD Raoul.”
I frowned. It had, of course, occurred to me that Raoul might be able to help me with the witches since he had been part of the coven for most of his life. But I was resisting bringing him into the current mess. He’d been having some personal issues recently and had requested personal leave to work through them.
“I was hoping to avoid that.”
“I know. But if he can give us some information it might save us several days of trying to pull it out of a very resistant coven.”
I sighed. I knew Emo was right but that didn’t make my decision any easier. “I’ll think about it. I know I should do it but I really hate to bother him right now.”
Emo simply shrugged. “As for the demons, the king’s information has been confirmed. I have an…acquaintance in the demon court. He confirms that Alcott plans to capture and put to death hundreds of humans in a show of strength to help them break out from under the devils’ control. They are counting on the royals being averse to publicity and having the humans all riled up against them.”
“But you heard nothing about the Supreme High Witch being behind it?”
Emo shrugged again. “All I have are rumors. But the rumors I heard tell me that she’s involved somehow.”
I nodded and sat, thinking. After a minute I realized I had no choice. Sighing, I stood up. “I’ll go see DD Raoul. I don’t see any way around it.”
“Okay boss. Good luck.” His blacker than night eyes sparkled up at me and his beautiful lips curved up just the tiniest bit at the corners. The smile was very intimate and caused me to tingle in places I didn’t want tingling ever again this close to my office. I couldn’t help noticing, however, that his bottom lip was just the yummiest bit plumper than the top one. I found myself wanting to chew gently on that yummy lower lip and almost gasped aloud with shock. I just wasn’t used to having these thoughts about my friend and partner. I finally tore my gaze away and turned toward the door. I could have sworn I heard chuckling behind me.
A thought occurred and I jerked around to look at him. Eying him with my fiercest, most suspicious gaze I asked, “What were you doing just before I came into this office?”
Emo narrowed his gorgeous almond shaped eyes at me and laughed. “Why?”
“Just answer the question.”
He laughed again and the eyes sparkled with mischief and something…more. “I was filing. What else would I be doing?”
I narrowed my own green orbs at him and cast my eyes around his office. Not a single piece of paper lay across the top of his desk or anywhere else for that matter. Emo had always been almost compulsive about keeping his desk neat. I decided it was possible he could have been filing but…
I didn’t believe him. Damn!
I continued to stare at him but he just laughed and shook his head, black ringlets swirling around a darkly whiskered face with a square jaw. “Whatever you’re thinking I didn’t do it.”
Holy shit!
“
What
didn’t you do, Emo?”
The grin on his face widened. “Go talk to Raoul, Astra.”
With a final glare I left and took the damn stairs down to the parking level.
* * * * *
Raoul was in his backyard, on his knees digging in the dirt of what looked like an herb garden. Having never dug in the dirt in my life, my first thought was that Raoul had gone over into his happy place and would be lost to retrieval.
He heard my approach and looked up, sexy brown eyes narrowing as he smiled in welcome. “My day is looking up.” He stood and turned toward me, brushing dirt-coated hands on his soft, gray pants. “How’s my favorite demon hunter?” He walked over and put his arms around me, careful not to touch me with his hands.
I wasn’t sure how to react to the hug. Although Raoul and I had moved into the realm of comfortable with each other, maybe even close to friendship, over the last couple of years of working together, we’d never before shown any kind of outward affection toward each other. I stood with my hands at my sides for a few beats and then placed them uncomfortably on his back, patting him. It came across as clumsy and insincere.
When he finally stepped back he gave me a wry look. “I’m afraid to ask why you’re here.”
I grinned. “You should be.”
He nodded. “Let’s go inside, I could use something cool to drink.”
I followed him into his place, which was light and cool and filled with natural fibers and potted plants. It looked like a girl’s place.
He caught me looking around and smiled. “I know, it looks like a woman should live here right?”
When I shrugged my shoulders he laughed. “People tell me that all the time.” He looked around. “I guess, in my line of work, everything’s so dark, it soothes me to come home to light colors and natural things.”
“That makes sense.”
He nodded. Moving into an abbreviated food service area, he washed his hands and then pulled two cold tubes from a small refrigerated unit and handed one to me. I pulled open the corner of the foil tube and took a sip. It tasted like fruit and stuff, very sweet but it felt cool and creamy in my mouth.
Raoul lowered his butt onto one of the tall stools at the counter and looked at me. “So, what can I do for you, Astra?”
I followed his lead. Dropping my own butt onto the stool next to him, I took another sip of my fruity concoction, stalling for time, before I answered him.
I stared at him for several beats, reluctant to ask for his help when I knew it would most likely drag him into my mess. But, like earlier, I couldn’t see any way around it so I took a deep breath and dived in. “King Dialle the First summoned me to his rooms to tell me that the demons are staging a revolt to try to win independence from the royals. He believes they will go after humans to create a stir, which the royals can’t afford.”
Raoul whistled softly. “I’ve been afraid of this happening. The royals have infiltrated the human way of life so completely it’s made them vulnerable. The demons do have some leverage if they can create fear and use it against the royals.”
I nodded and watched him. Raoul’s mind was very sharp and he’d been working in the Strange Deaths department of the police for over a decade. He knew his dark worlders. Suddenly he looked up at me. “What aren’t you telling me? Why are you coming to me with this?”
“The king has heard that the local coven is pulling the strings of the revolt.”
Raoul set his drink down with more emphasis than was strictly necessary. “That’s preposterous!”
“He’s not the only one who’s heard this.” I was praying he wouldn’t ask me who else had heard the rumor. I didn’t want him to know it was Emo.
His sharp, brown gaze locked onto mine and I felt myself wanting to look away. “Who else has told you this lie?”
Hades!
“That isn’t important…”
“To me it is.”
His normally calm face had become a storm cloud before my very eyes. His reaction seemed a bit extreme to me.
“Raoul, how well do you know your Supreme High Witch?”
It was his turn to stare at me. His light brown face had grown tight with anger, his lips pressed together into a thin, disapproving line. “I know her very well.”
“Then you would know if she had…shall we say…delusions of grandeur?”
Raoul just sat there staring at me, his face changing color from smooth light brown to a deep, mottled purple. I stared back, knowing that what I was asking him wasn’t going down well but not knowing what to do about it. If Raoul had information about the coven that would help me I had to get it from him. Human lives were at stake.
Finally he took a deep breath and stood up. “If I knew any such thing I wouldn’t tell you, Astra. Coven business must remain in the coven. It’s one of our strictest laws. Anyone who opens coven business to outsiders risks expulsion.” His angry gaze turned soft around the edges until it gained a pleading quality. “I can’t face expulsion now, Astra. I need my white witchcraft to survive.”
I reached for his hand, which was clenched into a sweaty knot on the countertop between us. “I understand that you’re dealing with some personal issues, Raoul. Believe me when I tell you I never wanted to bring any of this to you. But you’re part of the coven and I need your perspective, that’s all.”
He stared at me for a beat and then looked down at our hands, sighing. Turning his hand to clasp mine, he gave my hand a squeeze and then pulled his hand away. “What you are talking about is black witchcraft. My coven practices white witchcraft. There is no place for dark magic in our world.”