15. Malachi
Chapter 15
Malachi
There was an underground tunnel into In Extremis. It opened up in one of the back rooms, and only the halflings knew about it. Malachi parked his car outside the old butcher’s shop and led Luke inside.
Luke was understandably wary of walking through the old butcher’s shop, with its plastic partitions and chains hanging from the ceiling. It didn’t exactly inspire feelings of safety, but the halflings didn’t use it for anything. It was just a waypoint for the club. The less inviting it looked, the less likely humans were to come snooping around, so they left it looking horrifying to discourage visitors.
“Creepy,” Luke said, his fingers tightening around Malachi’s as he led him down the basement stairs. Across the empty concrete floor, there was a door that opened up into a narrow, brick tunnel. Rickety wooden stairs disappeared into pitch black, so Malachi used his phone’s light to illuminate the way. It didn’t add much light, but being able to see Malachi seemed to ease some of Luke’s anxiety.
Malachi’s laughter echoed off the narrow walls. “Don’t worry, treasure, I won’t let anything get you,” he promised, casting a smile over his shoulder.
At the end of the tunnel, they climbed up the steep, crooked steps, and Malachi put the code into the locked door.
“I’m sorry, was that six-six-six?” Luke asked as they spilled into a red-lit room.
Malachi snickered. “Yeah. We think we’re funny.”
He took Luke’s hand again, their rings clacking together, and he wondered whether he should suggest Luke take the guild ring off while he was in the club. He doubted Luke would appreciate it, so he refrained. No one would say anything, and if they did, Malachi would make them regret it.
The party was in full swing. Wolf was behind the bar, like always, and Talon and Alex were already in their usual booth.
Malachi glanced over his shoulder. Luke was staring around in awe, his eyes snagging on sight after sight.
“You good?” he asked. “Have I damaged your delicate sensibilities by bringing you here?”
Luke tore his eyes away from their surroundings and met Malachi’s gaze with an exasperated smile. “I’m fine. It’s… a lot, but I’m fine. Are they here?”
“Yeah, over there in the booth. You ready?”
With a fortifying breath, he nodded. “Yeah, let’s go.”
Alex was sitting on the outside of the booth and spotted them first, nudging Talon, who was turned sideways in the seat with his back to the brick wall. His dark eyes glittered in the flashing lights, like a crocodile waiting for the right prey to pass him by. They flitted briefly over Malachi—dismissively, as he already knew him—and lingered on Luke. On the scars and the ring on his finger.
“Where’d you come from?” Talon asked Malachi. “We didn’t see you come in.”
“Side entrance,” Malachi said.
Talon’s black eyes sharpened dangerously. “You brought a paladin through one of our secret entrances?”
Luke glanced at Malachi, who fought to keep his expression calm. He’d rather bite his own tongue off than show fear. If he did, Luke might react, and they couldn’t afford to get on Talon’s bad side. He was laid-back, as far as demons went, but Malachi had a feeling that patience wore especially thin around anything that might pose a threat to his human. It was a feeling Malachi understood.
“If anyone knew I was here, they’d probably kill me,” Luke said calmly. “Your secret’s safe with me. Admitting I knew where it was would mean admitting I’d been spending time with Malachi. Mutually assured destruction.”
Alex turned his head, whispering in Talon’s ear. Talon’s gaze fell to their interlocked fingers, and Malachi’s grip tightened.
“Wolf said you had news for us,” Talon said, apparently appeased. He gestured to the seat across the table from them. “Sit, let’s talk.”
Malachi slid across the booth and pulled Luke down after him, putting him across from Talon and Luke across from Alex. Talon flicked his fingers toward the bar, and a moment later Wolf appeared with a black bottle, two crystal glasses, and two bottles of water. It was a rare thing for Talon to share a drink with anyone who wasn’t his human.
Alex beamed. “Thanks, Wolf.”
Wolf studied Luke intently for a moment, from the scars on his jaw to the ring on his finger. His unblinking gaze lingered for long enough that Luke faltered, his spine twitching like he wasn’t sure whether to stiffen or curl inward, and fury swept through Malachi.
“Wolf,” he barked.
Wolf met his eyes, unflinching. He was even bigger than Luke. There wasn’t much that got a reaction from him, but Malachi would get one when he came across the table at him if he didn’t stop looking at Luke like that.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Wolf said.
“I know exactly what I’m doing,” Malachi replied, resting his hand on Luke’s thigh. “Did you say that to Talon when he set his eye on this one?” He jerked his head at Alex without looking. It probably wasn’t smart, but he wouldn’t let anyone make Luke feel self-conscious.
To his relief, Talon huffed out a laugh, exchanging an amused look with Wolf. “So feisty, even after they become demons.”
“Hey!” Malachi banged his fist on the table.
“Mal,” Luke said, grabbing his fist and dragging it under the table to unfurl his fingers. “Relax. It’s fine. Don’t get us kicked out before I’ve said what I came here to say.”
“With all the shit that goes down here, it’d take more than this one’s hot head to get you kicked out. And yes,” Wolf said to Malachi, unruffled, “I did say the same thing to Talon. I believe he gave me a similar response.” He inclined his head. “I’ll leave you to it.”
He left without another word, and Malachi relaxed, studying Luke’s profile until he was sure the man was okay.
“What’s going on, Malachi?” Talon asked, looking bored. He uncorked the bottle and poured the dark liquid into each glass. He slid one to Malachi and took the other for himself .
“Luke,” Malachi said, nudging his thigh under the table.
Luke glanced over at him, then at Talon, and finally settled on Alex, who straightened under the attention. “I was at HQ today. Things have been… tense there for a while.”
“Because of me?” Alex guessed, looking torn.
“Ah,” Luke hesitated, “frankly, yes. There’s been a lot of indecision about how to move forward with everything that happened. Many people have felt betrayed. There’s a lot of suspicion regarding the halflings now. And I heard a rumor today that Sloan is trying to get council approval to go after the halflings here.”
Talon’s expression didn’t change.
Alex gaped. “What? Why?”
Malachi said, “He thinks we have some grand plan to tempt their people away from the guild and sabotage them from within.”
Talon’s dark eyes flicked between them. “Do you?”
Malachi bristled. “Do I what?”
“Have some plan to sabotage them?”
Malachi’s hand tightened dangerously around the glass. “Are you fucking with me right now? Do you ?”
“No. But I’m not a halfling.”
Malachi scoffed. “To them you are.”
“That’s true,” Alex piped up. “Remember? I didn’t know you weren’t like the red-eyed halflings until you told me, Tal. We—the paladins, I mean—assumed that you were all the same, just that black eyes meant you were stronger somehow. Older, maybe.”
“To be fair, he is older,” Malachi said cheekily.
Talon cast him an unamused look. “What I did is unrelated,” he said. “I don’t have any kind of plan, but that doesn’t mean you don’t. Why else would you start circling this one?” He gestured with his glass toward Luke and took a sip.
Malachi’s jaw worked for a moment. Luke gently took his hand, turning it over on his leg and stroking his palm, from the heel to the tips of his fingers and back again.
“Because he’s mine,” Malachi said as Luke slowly drained the tension from his body.
Alex looked intrigued, but Talon scoffed.
“Fuck you,” Malachi said, but it was halfhearted. “Wasn’t it the same for you? Didn’t you lay eyes on this one and immediately want him all to yourself? Realize you’d do anything to keep him?”
Talon studied him dubiously for a moment and then looked at Alex. His midnight eyes softened, and Alex slowly smiled. It felt like Malachi and Luke were intruding on an intimate moment, the way they looked at each other. And then Talon leaned in, tipping his face up and pressing his lips to Alex’s temple, an action so at odds with everything Malachi knew about the sadistic, black-eyed leviathans.
“Fine,” Talon relented. “Yes, it was the same for me. I don’t know why. I saw the human; I wanted the human. Hell, I couldn’t stop until I had the human. You’re saying you felt the same way the first time you saw this one?”
“Yes. It doesn’t bode well for their paranoid theories about us having some plan, though. And if they move on the halflings here, it could be bad.”
Luke added, “It’s been decades since anyone was banished from the guild—for any reason. It’s certainly never happened because someone harbored feelings for a demon.”
Talon scowled, and Luke raised his free hand in surrender.
“I’m the last person in the world who would cast judgment over that. I’m just telling you what I’ve overheard. Hawk’s banishment upset a lot of people. They’re floundering, trying to rationalize a paladin choosing a demon over the guild, and it’s easier to cast the demons in the role of deceivers and tempters. But there is no plot. I know that. And I couldn’t sit by knowing that Hawk and the rest of you might be in danger because the paladins couldn’t deal with losing one member. I want you to be aware of what’s happening so you aren’t blindsided by an attack.”
Talon leaned back, stretching one arm out behind Alex and looking at Luke with something like begrudging respect. “We appreciate the warning.”
Alex reached into Talon’s leather jacket and came out with an ink pen, ignoring Talon’s look of amusement. He wrote something down on a napkin and slid it over to Luke.
“If you hear anything else, this is my number. Text or call, any time.”
Luke folded it with care and tucked it into his pocket. “Thanks, I’ll do that.”
Malachi gestured for Luke to stand, and Alex said, “Oh, hey, Morgan?”
Luke turned.
“Watch yourself. If you think they’re getting paranoid about losing me, imagine what they’d do if they found out about you and Malachi.”
Luke nodded grimly. “I know. It’s crossed my mind. Unfortunately, it’s a risk I have to take.” He leveled Malachi with a warm look. “I’m not giving him up.”
“And…” Alex hesitated, then forged on. “You’ve got some hard choices ahead. Having both… It’s not sustainable. One day you’ll have to choose. Or they’ll choose for you.”
Malachi frowned, his hand circling Luke’s wrist. He wouldn’t ask Luke to choose. He could have both for as long as he wanted. Malachi didn’t mind being Luke’s dirty little secret. It meant he was still Luke’s something , and they could be together whenever Luke wasn’t at the guild.
“I know,” Luke said solemnly. “It’s just not a decision I’m ready to make yet.”
Alex’s handsome face softened with sympathy. “Believe me, I understand.”
They said their goodbyes, and Malachi pushed Luke toward the VIP hall through which they’d entered. In the blood red light, Luke slowed, looking from closed door to closed door.
“What are all these rooms? Other secret tunnels?” he teased.
Malachi grinned. He’d love to show Luke, love to take him in one and play, but there was no way Luke was ready for all the toys hidden behind those doors.
“If you’re truly curious, you can come to my apartment,” he offered. “I have most of what they—no, that’s a lie. I have some of what they have here, and I’m certain you’d be more comfortable trying things out there than here.”
“Things? What kinds of things?”
Malachi looked down at his hand, still wrapped around Luke’s wrist. He imagined what it would look like wrapped in soft leather instead. Heat simmered under his skin at the very idea, and he tamped down on it. His human might not like the idea of being held down. It might trigger his fighting instincts. But they wouldn’t know until they tried, would they?
“Would you like to find out?”
Luke’s throat bobbed. “Will I like it?”
Honesty had served him well with Luke so far. He didn’t intend to change that any time soon. “You might. If you don’t, we don’t have to do it.” He stepped closer, kissing Luke’s neck, trailing his lips up his pulse point to the hinge of his unscarred jaw, and latched on, sucking just enough to tease. Hands slid around his body, pulling their bodies flush.
“Okay,” Luke said breathlessly. “Then take me home.”