His words drew the baleful glare of the creature. It sniffed and then stretched its mouth into a grin. “A shining one. What a treat. It would appear reports of your extinction were false.”
“What’s he talking about?” I asked turning to Rafe.
“Not now,” he murmured.
I glared at him. I didn’t like secrets I wasn’t privy to. The good doctor and I would need to have a talk later on.
The daemon laughed. “Does the bitch not know what you are? Not that it matters. Your kind never did have the nerve to stop us before.”
I waited for Rafe to defend himself, but he remained silent. I drew the beast’s attention back to me. “I don’t give a shit what he is. I asked you a question. Who are you?”
“Death.”
I kicked the daemon in its tiny balls. It bellowed and thrashed.
I tsked him. “Next time I ask you a question, answer it. While my friend here might be the nonviolent type, I promise you, I am anything but.”
The daemon wheezed. “I shall delight in hearing your screams when I free myself and take you as your cowardly lover looks on.”
“First off, he’s not my lover,” I said stiffly. “And secondly, I asked you a fucking question, now answer it!” I punctuated my demand with a hard shot to the creature’s ribs.
After the creature’s bellowed died down, I asked again nicely. “What’s your name?”
With a glare I found entertaining, the daemon spoke. “I am known as Akrza. And by capturing me, you have signed your death warrant.”
“I’m so scared,” I said theatrically as I pretended to shake. I leaned in closer to the daemon and said in a low voice. “Now Akrza, you’re going to tell me what you’re doing here.”
“Or else what?” the creature said with a smirk. “My ribs have already healed. So do your worst.”
I slid my dagger from its sheath and stroked its sharp edge, the skin of my finger slicing open. “Oh, I know how quickly you heal which is why I’m going to enjoy fucking you with this,” I said with a nasty smile. “And if you still don’t answer, I start cutting pieces off, starting with your puny dick.”
A tug on my arm sent me stumbling after Rafe, who with the gig almost up, was no longer even attempting to hide the fact he wasn’t human. He towed me along with more strength than I liked.
“What are you doing?” he hissed when he finally stopped and faced me.
I met his agitated gaze with my calm one. “Getting answers. If you can’t handle it, then leave. Don’t worry, I don’t intend to kill it. Well, at least not until after you’ve run some tests on it.”
“But threatening him with-.” He couldn’t say it and I smiled coldly.
“Fucking him with a dagger? Listen here, I don’t know what you are, but from the clues Akrza has dropped, I’d say your kind are the nonviolent type. That’s fine. You want to lie down and die for your morals, go ahead. The daemon isn’t going to spill his secrets because we smother him in kindness.” Rafe’s lips tightened but I forged ahead. “So yes, I’m going to threaten and even follow through with something it will understand. Extreme pain. I’m not afraid of getting my hands dirty, not when it means possibly saving millions of lives.”
Rafe’s face creased in puzzlement. “What are you talking about? It’s just one daemon. And a contained one at that.”
I snorted. “If only. I don’t have time to get into it right now, but let me inform you that war is coming, and unless we do something, the prognosis for life isn’t looking too good. Now stay or go, I don’t care, but I will do what’s necessary to protect my kind and those that feed us.”
I pulled out of his grasp and stalked back to the daemon, my mood black. I brandished my knife and with a smile to make a human wet his pants, slid the sharp point down the center of the daemons’ chest right down to the shriveled root of its cock.
It swallowed. I grinned. “Where were we? Oh, yes, you were going to tell me why you were here? And while you’re at it, I want to know when the invasion is coming.”
The beast chuckled, a rattily and rusty sound. “Much as I’d like to watch the shining one squirm as you torture me, I have nothing to hide. You might kill me, but I am just the advance scout, paving the way for the army that comes.”
I heard Rafe’s intake of breath. “When will it happen?”
The daemon flicked a forked tongue in my direction and its eyes glowed. “Soon. The planets are moving into place and the barrier between our worlds thins.”
“I don’t suppose there is a way to stop it?” I knew it was a futile question, but I had to ask.
The beast laughed. “You cannot stop us, for we are Legion. As soon as the worlds align, the march will begin and victory will be ours.”
“I hate to break it to you, but we won’t be lying down for the invasion. As a matter of fact, with your help, we’re going to find out just how many ways there are to kill you and your kind.”
“I’ve given you all the aid you’re going to receive,” grunted the beast before biting off its tongue.
I’ll admit, it shocked me, not the fact the creature had so calmly removed a part of his body or the blood spurting from the daemon’s mouth, but the way the tongue twitched and moved on the floor. Eeew!
Rafe rushed forward to stop the gush of blood, but I walked away knowing the daemon had bested us. Suicide-a fanatical move to prevent us from learning something.
Too late. In a moment of insight, I discovered what I need to know.
I just wish it was better news.
I’d just finished typing up my report in my office when Rafe stalked in, still dressed in his leathers. I yawned, the long night catching up with me as the sun struggled to rise.
“Can this wait?” I asked as I stood up. “I’m bushed.”
“Why didn’t you tell me the daemons were planning to invade Earth?” He bristled as he crossed his arms and glared at me.
Once again I cursed my stupidity in falling for his false geek exterior. The man exuded masculinity. “Why do you think I brought you along with me on the hunt? The plan was to dazzle you with a new creature to dissect and slowly divulge their plans for invading Earth. But wait, you’re not human and you already knew about them. Imagine that, you also lied to me.”
He shifted uncomfortably. “I didn’t exactly lie. I just omitted certain facts.”
I snorted. “Whatever. You can leave now. You got what you came for.”
“I’m not ready to go yet. There’s much we need to discuss.”
My temper flared. “No there’s not. I’m done making you, whatever you are, privy to our affairs. You can go tell whomever you’re truly working for what you’ve learned and then go hide your heads in a hole.”
Rafe’s breath whistled out of him, his frustration clear. “My people don’t believe in violence.”
“Well, bully for you. I guess I should count myself lucky you came to my rescue earlier then. That was you with the sword right?”
He nodded. “It was necessary to save your life.”
“Ooh, lucky me.” And had he not seemed so reluctant about doing it, I might have even perceived it as hot. No one ever came to my rescue, except the queen that one time. Now, I came to everyone else’s rescue. Screw the knights in shining armor. This beauty of the night came to your rescue with pointed fangs and skin tight leather, then as a thank you, sucked your blood in payment.
“It’s not easy for my kind to take a life or even injure another, no matter how heinous they are.”
“No, of course not,” I taunted. “You and so many others would rather sit on your high fucking horses and look down on those of us willing to dirty our hands. Then condemn us even as you reap the benefits.”
He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “It’s not like that.”