Blood Trinity (Belador #1)(16)

All she had to do was hand him the Birrn. To do that, she’d have to blind the thing.

The demon roared and pounded the last few steps across the parking lot, then jumped up to the loading dock. Now up to full size, his head just cleared the fifteen-foot-high opening left by the wrecked loading door.

The inked designs continued down one half of his body, but now she could see the shapes better. The scrolled lines were a Celtic weave …

What the …?

Birrns were Nigerian in origin. There shouldn’t be anything Celtic on him.

On the other hand, there were millions of demons from all over the world. Sometimes things weren’t listed, and as she’d learned the hard way, many research websites sucked.

Not wanting to think about that, she had to stop him from getting too close so she could set up for her attack. Birrn demons were dangerous, but stupid.

Best of all, they hated to be mocked.

“You don’t even know why you were sent here, do you? Poor little bait demon.” She laughed sarcastically, slowly moving up to sit, then sliding forward until she was on her knees. He’d think she was acting submissive.

Must have worked.

He stopped to answer, probably because he couldn’t walk and think at the same time. “Do, too.”

“Yeah, right.” She rolled her eyes. “If you knew, you’d say. But you don’t. Forget I even asked. I didn’t mean to insult your lack of intelligence.”

“I do too know.” The demon sounded as though he was going to pout, which would be funny if not for the jagged teeth and claws curving out of thick fingers.

“Awww, don’t feel bad, little demon.” She softened her voice to one she’d use with a three-year-old. “Nobody expects a Birrn to know why they do anything. You’re only a gofer demon for someone else.” She smiled good-naturedly, keeping his attention on her face and not the subtle movement of her hand to her dagger.

Blind a Birrn and he was at your mercy.

His horns dropped low over his eyes when he frowned. “I do know. Looking for the Alterant.”

Those words jolted her. Who was after her?

More to the point, why were they after her?

“Who sent you?”

When he shook his head, she raced through what had happened and how she’d ended up here. “Did you … know that I’d find the other Cresyl?”

Smiling seemed to be his yes, so she took his smirk as an affirmative. “Did you put a spell on the Cresyls?”

“No.”

“Your master did.”

He puffed up with pride and nodded.

Feeding his ego was working, so she stroked it again. “Okay, that’s impressive, but the female Cresyl didn’t eat the human. She made the death look like a beast attack, but I doubt your master’s spell could have made her do that. Killing the human that way was clever. Had to be the Cresyl’s idea, right?”

“No. My master’s.”

That’s what she needed. If he’d tell her that, then Sen should be able to squeeze the same confession out of him. Plus the Birrn had said he was here looking for the Alterant, which confirmed someone was targeting her. Definitely not paranoid. “How’d you know to grab the two male witches to get me to come here?”

The demon’s mouth opened, then he shook his head. “No more talking.”

“But we’re getting to know each other. Who’s your boss?” She rocked back on her heels like a runner at the start line. Except she was preparing to go for his eyes instead of sprinting and hoped she hadn’t underestimated his power or overestimated hers.

He bent his head back and bellowed an unearthly howl that slammed from wall to wall, echoing through the building. Birrn demons also liked to posture. When he faced her again, his eyes glowed, red embers with yellow centers. He raised his hands and murmured words she could barely hear.

Time was up. She hoped that what she’d read about blinding a Birrn was more than some urban legend. She took three steps and leaped into the air.

Something invisible grabbed her body in midair and held her ten feet off the ground.

No one had told her a Birrn could do this.

She better not find out Tzader and Quinn knew.

Getting caught in the demon’s power wasn’t ideal, but she didn’t think he’d eat her if he was supposed to deliver her alive to someone else. If that happened, she’d meet his master … who wanted an Alterant for what?

She hoped Parcheesi, but since she couldn’t play …

The demon flipped her back and forth like he was shaking a toy. Then her body started floating toward him.

Oh, come on. …

She tried to use her telekinesis to drop a chunk of the ceiling on his head.

For once nothing happened.

She called to Tzader telepathically.

No response.

He had her powers blocked … This was bad. Very bad. The scent of burned rubber filled her nostrils. Could there not be one single demon who didn’t stink?

The demon’s power was filling the warehouse, closing in on her.

Not looking good for the home team.

Her only hope was to distract him. “Oh, I see. You just don’t know who your master is. He won’t tell you, huh? Sucks to be you. And I hope you just made up the part about looking for an Alterant. Because I’m not one.”