''Guess so. Looks like the wedding's over!''
He snorted. ''Right. Let's get you to the safe zone!''
''Sure,'' I said. I felt giddy. Almost invincible, actually, but even if bullets might bounce off me,
I was pretty sure they wouldn't do the dress any good. Priorities. ''Hey, didn't you notice all the
cool stuff going on? Supernatural stuff all over the place?''
''Lady,'' he said wearily, ''I've guarded the Rolling Stones. Trust me, you guys are amateurs.''
When the phalanx of guards closed in around me, it was like being in a moving tank of body
armor; I clutched the train of my dress well out of reach of their boots, and hustled along down
the path, up the steps, and into the narrow hallways I'd come through before. No staff were
smiling at me this time; they were probably busy toting up the damage charges. I hoped David's
black AmEx was up to the job.
My security detail arrowed me straight past Lewis and a group of Wardens all huddled together;
I tried to bail out to talk to them, but clearly that wasn't in the plans. No matter how loud I
yelled, we continued moving straight for the elevators. The guards broke up there, facing
outward in an arc while the guy in charge-Mr. Squishy Ear-took my elbow in one massive,
scarred hand and escorted me firmly across the threshold and into one of the lifts. He punched in
a key card, and away we went, just the two of us.
''Where's Cherise? My maid of honor?'' I asked.
''Cute little thing? 'Bout this high?'' He marked off a height just above the waistband of his
ripstop pants. ''Blond?''
''That's the one.''
''Yeah, she's already upstairs. We got her out ASAP. She wasn't any too happy about it. Said
she wanted to see you kick some ass.'' He sent me a sideways look that doubted my ass-kicking
abilities. Sucker.
I smiled sweetly. ''Not in these shoes. They're rentals.''
The elevator lurched and came to a stop, and when my bodyguard came to alert, I held out a
hand and launched myself up into the aetheric, searching for trouble. A Sentinel was in the
woodwork, trying to short-circuit the brakes and snap the cable. Nice. I didn't even have to act;
the Wardens and the Djinn swarmed in a golden blur, smothering the unfortunate enemy
combatant. I smiled serenely at the guard, who looked tense and prone to frowns, and leaned
against the polished wood of the elevator wall. ''So,'' I said, as the lift trembled and started up
again. ''Rolling Stones, eh? Crazy?''
''Hard to believe, I know''-he shrugged-''but I gotta say, lady, in the crazy sweepstakes, you
and your wedding are coming up fast.''
''I wouldn't bet against us.''
The doors dinged at the penthouse level, and I strolled majestically out into the foyer. More
bodyguards, equally grim and serious looking. I wasn't asked for ID; apparently, the dress was a
big tip-off.
I went into the suite, walked straight to the bar, and poured myself a stiff, two-fingered shot of
tequila. No lime, no salt, none of the party trappings. This was about serious alcohol, delivered in
its purest form at maximum impact. It was like getting slapped with an agave cactus; I gasped
and bent over the bar, tingling all over.
''Wow,'' Cherise said, watching me. ''It's like Brides Gone Wild. Impressive.''
I held out my arms, she ran into them, and we hugged. ''Glad you're okay,'' she whispered. ''I
was so scared. . . .''
''I wasn't,'' Kevin said. He was stretched out on my nice beige jacquard sofa, ruining a perfectly
good tuxedo and getting his nicely polished shoes all over the fabric. Unlike Lewis and David,
he wasn't improved by formal wear. He looked like a hoodlum who'd mugged a groomsman. ''I
was betting you'd be barbecued.''
''Asshole,'' Cherise said. It sounded like she meant it for a change, and Kevin's perpetual slouch
straightened a little. ''Her wedding just got blown all to hell. You could at least not be a total
wad about it. For once.''
He sat up completely, brushed the hair out of his eyes, and looked a little less smug. ''Sorry,'' he
said, and almost meant it. ''I mean, I knew it was going to come out the way you wanted it to.
You wanted to draw the Sentinels out; you did it. Most of them got obliterated, right?''
''I don't know,'' I said. ''The plan was to force them out in the open so we could identify them.
That seems to be working pretty well.''
''It wasn't just the wedding,'' Kevin said. ''All the shiny pieces were here, right? Ashan? The
Oracles?''
Yeah, as if I'd actually planned that part. ''Sure. The better to get them to step out and show
themselves. ''
''So you got him. The old guy.'' He meant Bad Bob. I didn't answer. I poured another shot glass
of tequila and downed it.
''You might want to leave,'' I said. ''Because this isn't over.''
Both Kevin and Cherise looked taken aback, looking around at the calm, orderly luxury of the
penthouse. Out at sea, the storms were dissipating; there was still tension in the tectonic plates,
but it was being bled off in harmless ways by the Earth Wardens. The Ma'at were all over the
whole balancing problem. It all looked . . . calm.
''Leave,'' I said, even more softly. I poured two shot glasses and put the bottle aside. ''Go
now.''
Kevin grabbed Cherise's hand and dragged her, still protesting, toward the door. I didn't raise
my head to watch them go. I stayed focused on the silvery glitter of the alcohol in crystal, and
when I heard the door click shut, I said, ''You might as well show yourself. I know you're
here.'' I could feel his presence now. I couldn't believe how it felt-how cold, how empty.
I heard the chuckle, and it was so familiar, so damned familiar it burned. I tried hard not to
shudder, tried to keep my head up and my back straight. ''Tequila, '' Bad Bob said. ''Always
thought you were a scotch girl, Jo.''
''I am,'' I said. ''But I remember you always had a taste for the stuff.'' I took a shot glass and
turned, holding it out.
Sure enough, on the other side of the room, Bad Bob stood watching me. He was wearing a
tuxedo, too, or half of one, anyway; the pants were formal, the shirt untucked, the tie loosened.
No coat. His suspenders were in a garish rainbow that brought to mind the early oeuvre of Robin
Williams.
''Like it?'' He snapped the suspenders with his thumbs. ''Thought I'd help you celebrate the
happy day. And it's a happy day, isn't it? You and David, all cozy and bound up together, till
death do you part.'' Bad Bob grinned, all teeth and crazy blue eyes. ''I'll take that drink now.''
I levitated it across to him. He laughed and snatched it out of the air, threw it back, and blew the
shot glass into powder in midair with a random burst of power.
''You know what I am, don't you?'' he asked. He continued to grin, relentless as a shark, and
ambled slowly around the room, poking and touching things at random. ''You know why I'm so
set on getting you.''
''I know,'' I said. ''I've killed three of you so far.''
That snapped his head around fast, and the grin turned bloody in its intensity. ''Don't flatter
yourself,'' he said. ''You used our own against us twice. That doesn't even count. Any fool
Warden could have done it. But the last-ah, the last one was special. She was mine.''
''I didn't think the Demons had family.''
''I didn't say she was family; I said she was mine. I created her; I cultivated her. I set her on you.
And you stood there and watched her die.'' His smile twitched insanely. ''Poetic justice, I