A Darker Past (The Darker Agency #2)(76)

“I came for an update,” Valefar said, fingering a handful of my bed sheets. “How can you sleep on this? It’s like burlap.”

I dived forward and slapped his hand away. “Could you not paw my things? Like, especially my bed. It’s creepy.”

He stood and fixed his gaze on me, and all the breath left my lungs. The air turned colder when he got that expression. Dark and threatening. “I’m technically pawing my things. You belong to me. And what belongs to you belongs to me.”

I didn’t correct him.

“Now, update? Word on the street is that you’ve been a busy little beaver traipsing in places you ought not to be.”

Oh craps. Was that why he was here? Because Lucifer sent him to get the box back? I launched into defensive mode. “I know it looks bad, what we did, but I swear we have a plan.”

“You’re playing with a dangerous lineup. You understand that, correct?”

I nodded.

“And you are aware that the sand in the hourglass has almost run its course, yes?”

Another nod.

“Then I leave you to it. I will inform Lucifer that you are on track and, despite the somewhat murky appearance of your actions, I will vouch for you. But be warned… I won’t step in should Lucifer decide he’s unhappy with your methods.”

It felt like a ten-ton weight lifted from my shoulders, and I let out a breath.

Valefar shook his head. “Why do you act so surprised? Did I not tell you I watch out for my own?”

He’d tricked me into fifty-five years of service, and I trusted him about as far as I could toss him, but for a demon, he was as honorable as they came—which wasn’t saying a hell of a lot. “Thank you,” I said. “And thank you for—”

His eyes flashed red, and before I could finish, he lunged at me.





Chapter Thirty-One


“Never,” he whispered in my ear, “thank a demon.”

My heart pounded against my ribs, and all I could do was nod.

“To thank them is to acknowledge that they’ve done something for you. If they’ve done something for you, then they are within rights to request something in return.”

I found my voice. “What—then, what do you want?”

He stepped away. Downstairs, the bell over the front door chimed. Mom was back.

“I have no need to request anything further from you. I have all that I need.” He bowed and disappeared in a plume of inky black smoke, his voice lingering. “Be safe, Jessie Darker.”

“You ready to do this?” Mom said from the doorway a few moments later.

I swallowed and turned, heart still jack hammering. “I’m—yeah.” There was no reason to tell her about Val dropping by. “Gonna tell me what your little side trip was all about?”

She shrugged and tossed me my jacket. Well, it was Dad’s actually. He’d given it to me when I was younger, and I’d been wearing it ever since. “I told you before. I was just securing a little extra insurance.”

The wicked grin on her face told me I should be worried.

Like, very worried.

Sadly, I was kind of excited.

…

“Déjà vu,” I said, stuffing both hands into my pockets. The three of us were standing in the Archway again. There was a slight breeze, and the flames on the candles around the altar flickered. The spell Cassidy planned to use on the box had never existed, so we were back to square one.

“What’s the plan?” Cassidy asked. She was eyeing the box, and it was making me nervous.

Mom noticed, too. She fixed a challenging gaze on the witch, daring her to make a move. “We summon the demon.”

“And?”

“And, what?” Mom snapped. “You’ve left us no choice. We either hand over the box and hope to hell you can trap him, or we prepare for a shitload of bloodshed, starting with ours.”

Cassidy didn’t respond. Instead, she faced the altar and knelt for a moment, lips moving in a silent prayer. When she was finished, she stood and nodded to Mom. “A blessing. For success.”

Blessing my half-demonic ass. She’d probably just cursed us. But there was nothing we could do. It was go time.

Mom held tight to the box and in a booming voice, yelled, “Gressil!” The sound bounced off the trees. In the darkness loomed an eerie disturbance to the peaceful illusion of the Archway.

His laugh came before he did. “I was beginning to wonder,” he said seconds before the appearance of thick purple smoke, followed by his body taking solid form. This time he wasn’t alone. A second form wavered for a moment before becoming solid. Kendra looked scared, but in one piece.

Cassidy took a step forward, but Mom yanked her back. She stepped in front of the woman and placed the box on the ground. “The prison.”

Gressil laughed. He wrapped his fingers around Kendra’s arm and fixed his gaze on Cassidy. “You did well.” A single shove and Kendra came flying forward into her mother’s arms as Gressil bent down to retrieve the box.

Cassidy gave Kendra a quick squeeze, but instead of pushing her out of harm’s way, held tight. Shoulders squared, she took a step toward the demon, dragging her daughter along. “And?”

The demon chuckled and held out his hand, upturned and extended toward Cassidy. One minute his palm was empty, the next there was a small piece of glass. It looked like a piece of the mirror that he’d been trapped in.