Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Syke
Working five day shifts was tedious. By Wednesday, I was climbing out of my skin and chain-smoking like a chimney to give myself some kind of relief from the gnawing hunger.
Otis wouldn’t let me smoke inside the building, so I stood in the alley beside it, letting the cool wind chill me to my bones. Demons ran cold, and it was almost comforting to be wrapped in the weather’s icy embrace.
“A little birdy told the archdemon that you ashed a human,” a voice whispered from beside me. I barely held onto my startled response, instead puffing out a cloud of smoke and turning.
Vander was a demon, an incubus to be exact. It was a rough designation to have below, but definitely one of the more favored up here in the mortal realm. I’d say we were friends, or perhaps good acquaintances.
“Did the little birdy have wings and a superiority complex?” Fucking Allison. I should have known she wouldn’t be able to keep her mouth shut.
Vander stole my cigarette and inhaled deeply before popping it back between my lips.
“Yep. She told her boss, who told our boss.” Vander worked as an assistant for the archdemon, which seemed to involve having “conversations” that weren’t supposed to happen.
Vander was powerful in his own right, so sending him out to liaise worked in everyone’s favor.
“But at least she didn’t narc to the CVPD. ”
If the human forces got involved, everything would get a little more complicated, purely for the optics.
“And what does Mohan have to say about it?” The archdemon didn’t give a fuck about wiping humans from existence. There were factual, historical accounts of him decimating whole villages for fun, but we played a more political game these days, so he’d have to do something. Probably.
Vander shrugged. “He’s sure you had a good reason.”
“Is the fact that he was going to rape and murder another human a good reason?” It was a genuine question, because you could never be sure. We weren’t vigilantes. Humans did what humans did, and we didn’t interfere.
Grimacing, Vander shook his head. “Probably not.”
“Would the human victim being my lover be a good reason?”
This time, Vander looked at me sharply. Revenge and crimes of passion were far more understandable than righteous good to our kind. “I would think so…”
I gave him a sharp-toothed smile. “Then there’s your answer.”
“I’d expect a visit from the arches.”
I held back the groan until Vander was completely gone. This complicated things yet again.
This was why I didn’t go out of my way to help people. There was some truth in the road to hell being paved with good intentions, and I was not going back to hell, so the human better get on board with being my lover or lying her ass off, because if I was going back below, she was coming with me.
Stubbing out my cigarette on the brick wall, I climbed the fire escape once more. It went against the grain to trust anyone, let alone a human, so the fact that my punishment hinged on her ability to lie to the archdemon was not reassuring.
I found Ilyas standing on the small balcony, facing the sun.
Gargoyles were nocturnal by nature, but their kind had adapted to living in the daylight, even if it made them a little more lethargic—not that lethargy was a sensation that Ilyas would ever let himself feel.
His face was as expressive as the brick wall opposite us right now, which told me that he was deep in thought.
His phone was in his fist, so I assumed the offending thought was transmitted from there.
“You good, brother?” I asked softly, and he turned his head toward me in that disconcerting way that was usually associated with owls and poltergeists.
“Just flight business,” he grumbled and followed me back inside the building.
“Still on your ass about mating one of the French gargoyles and popping out little purebred babies?”
He grunted. “There’s a ball that I’m supposed to attend—or else.”
“Or else what?”
He shrugged, but I knew the key of his flight could make his life miserable. He already did.
The human was at the desk where the hotline phones rang, and Louis was sitting beside her, spinning in the chair repeatedly while she took a call. He had on the second headset, so whatever the issue was on the other end of the call wasn’t all that urgent.
“I understand, ma’am. Sirens have rules regarding using their voices on humans, and that rule is strictly enforced.
It seems more likely that your son is actually trying to introduce you to his girlfriend, and that she hasn’t lured him into the relationship at forty-two.
This could really be a blessing. Perhaps he could move out of the house now? ” She sounded hopeful for the woman.
Louis snorted a laugh but quickly covered it with a cough.
“That’s your prerogative, ma’am. If you’re worried, I can give you the number for their human liaison. Okay, do you have a pen?”
Fuck, I was so happy I didn’t have to take those calls anymore.
I only ever did hotline work when everyone else was out, and that was still too much.
I had no time for stupid people and even less for the bigoted, small-minded sheep that sometimes called the Creature Crisis Hotline.
Of the seventy-two operator complaints we got last year, I’d been the cause of fifty-six.
The human seemed to be born to it, because no matter how much her eyes rolled at the words of the woman on the other end of the line, her voice remained pleasantly neutral, helpful even, like she really did want this woman’s middle-aged son to be happy and move out of home with a nice siren.
When she hung up, she huffed out a sigh. “I wouldn’t want to be that lady’s daughter-in-law.” She stood up and stretched, her pale, cream-colored blouse pulling tightly across her breasts. She had nice tits. Maybe the lie that she was my lover wouldn’t be so unbelievable after all.
“Hu—Hailey,” I began, correcting myself. “Do you remember that small issue we had when you smashed the teapot?” I kept my voice calm and light. “Well, it has gotten back to the archdemon, and he is not happy. I’m going to need you to lie for me.”
She blinked at me. Twice. Really slowly. “You want me to lie to an archdemon? What would I have to say?”
“That we’re lovers.”
Her full lips parted. Pretty lips and pretty tits. Definitely not out of the realm of possibility that we would be fucking.
Louis leaned forward onto the table. “You can’t ask her to lie to the archdemon. He’ll smell the lie a million miles away.”
That was true. You couldn’t really lie to either of the celestial races, but Archdemon Mohan really wouldn’t care if she was telling the truth or not. She just had to convince the archangel she was telling the truth.
“And Michael.”
Ilyas swore softly beneath his breath, and Hailey’s eyes went impossibly wider. “You want me to lie to both Archdemon Mohan and Archangel Michael?” Her skin paled. Yeah, that might be a problem.
“It’s that, or I get sent back to hell for killing a piece of shit human.” The irony of that would be bittersweet.
“I can’t lie to Archangel Michael,” Hailey protested.
“And I can’t go back to hell for doing something good.” Even the word tasted gross on my tongue. “If you don’t think you can lie, then there’s a surefire way of fixing that.”
“What?” Louis asked, and Ilyas rumbled, “Syke…”
“Hailey and I actually fuck, then it wouldn’t be a lie, would it?”
Hailey slowly blinked at me again. “That seems like a very convoluted way to get laid.” Her cheeks flushed, and I could taste her thoughts on the air. I gave her the cocky grin that made humans weak in the knees, and it had the desired effect.
I put my hands flat on her desk and leaned forward into her space.
She very bravely didn’t lean away, and my smile morphed into one that was more natural.
I liked a courageous human. “I haven’t had to manipulate my way into someone’s bed…
ever. Not in the hundreds of years that I’ve been walking the mortal realm.
” Straightening, I ran my tongue over my teeth. “The decision is yours.”
I could feel her turmoil. She wasn’t exactly frightened, and there was a fair wave of lust pouring off her at the thought. The guilt was a surprise though. Was it guilt that she’d put me in this position?
As I delved deeper into her emotions, I realized her and the orc had consummated their bond. “Eric could also be involved. The more the merrier, in my opinion. It would be enjoyable for all involved.”
A waft of jealous rage came from Louis, and that did surprise me. I didn’t realize that my friend was interested in the pair like that.
I raised an eyebrow. “We could make it a team bonding exercise,” I quipped, and he stood.
“You’re being a dick, Syke,” Louis growled.
I raised an eyebrow. “I’m always a dick, Louie.”
“I won’t let you talk her into something she doesn’t want to do.”
He got up in my face, and it was only because I had a lot of respect for the fleabag that I didn’t put him on his ass.
“You’re the one who said she couldn’t lie to the arches.
What do you want to happen, Louis? Do you want me to go back to hell?
Has our friendship meant so little over the years that you’ll just throw me away? ”
That was probably a little mean, and as his expression twisted into frustration, I knew I was being cruel. I rolled my eyes at him. He always felt so much. “It’s okay. I know that’s not what you meant. I’m open to other solutions, however, if anyone has any ideas.”
Otis appeared in the doorway, and I groaned internally. He was stealthy for such a big bastard. There was no way he’d be on board with the plan. Still, I sat on the edge of the desk and explained everything again, starting at the beginning.
By the time I was done, Otis was already shaking his head. “No.”
Hailey stood, smoothing down her skirt. “With all due respect, Otis, it isn’t up to you.” She looked me dead in the eye, a feat for a human. “I’ll do it. I have to tell Eric, but I owe you one, and there are worse ways to repay a demon than possibly mediocre sex.”
I reared back like she’d punched me in the nose. “Mediocre? Mediocre? Human, you will be ruined for every other being in this realm by the time I’m done. You’ll be talking about the orgasms I give you on your deathbed.”
“Hailey—” Otis started, and she held up her hand.
“I’ve made my decision. I’ll meet you at your apartment tonight at nine,” she told me, then she picked up her purse and strode out of the office toward the elevator.
For the first time in decades, I was surprised.