Blood Trinity (Belador #1)(40)

“With who?”

“Everybody if I don’t find out who sent the demons.”

“Who’d you piss off this time?”

“I didn’t do anything.” Other than being born an Alterant. “But a demon mauled a human. The body’s in the morgue and word is going to be out by tomorrow morning, if it takes even that long. If I don’t come up with evidence to prove the demon mauled that human, everyone’s first default will be that an Alterant did it. Not a good thing for me. You got anything on the attack or not?”

“Why would a Cresyl attack a human and not eat the body?”

She wanted to choke him and his game of twenty questions. But then, she hadn’t mentioned that it was the Cresyl who’d killed the human. Grady definitely had information. “That’s what I’m trying to find out. It’s tied to the Birrn, I think.”

“That don’t make sense.” Wrinkles on Grady’s face piled together in a frown. “Cresyls belong to a German practicing dark arts and the Birrn to Nigerian black majik. What makes you think they’re connected?”

He probably knew why and was testing to see how much information she had. “I’ll share if you do. Got information or not?”

“Maybe.”

He could be the most obstinate of ghouls, but he was one of the better preternatural informants because of that annoying trait. Hoping to nudge him along, she bluffed, “If you can’t help me, just say so.”

“Didn’t say that, but I still don’t see why you’re in a jam, ’less you got mouthy with somebody. That I’d understand.”

I will not let you bait me. But Grady had that look, the one that said he wouldn’t budge until he got his questions satisfied. “Things have gotten a little more difficult for me than normal over the past eight weeks since those nine Beladors were killed in North Carolina.”

“By that Alterant?” Grady floated off the sidewalk.

“Yes. Get back over here,” she hissed at him.

“Oh. Didn’t realize I drifted.” His flickering form moved back as though blown gently, but there wasn’t a breeze to be had. His gaze puckered with concern. “That ain’t right to come after you every time another one shifts into a beast.”

“True, but we’re in the minority with that opinion.” What was it going to take to move this along?

“How much you know about that Birrn killed this morning?” he asked.

She flexed her jaw muscles. Patience. “Give me a break tonight, Grady. I got a lot to do and not much time.”

“You wouldn’t be so wound up if you did something other than work at night. Maybe found you a nice young man to give you a—”

“Grady!”

“—back rub.” He pulled off a look of mock despair a Catholic mother would be proud of. “Not much chance of that happening when you can’t even get a date.”

“I’m not wound up.” Yet. “And I can get a date, old man.”

“Better an old man than an old maid. Who dates a woman that lives underground like a mole and has weirdos for friends?” His lips stretched into a dog-happy grin. No sense of urgency at all—a luxury of the not-entirely-dead, which Evalle couldn’t afford.

“You have a twisted sense of humor, Grady, but I wouldn’t call you a weirdo.”

“Was talkin’ ‘bout Tazer and Quill, those two goons you hang out with.”

“His name’s Tzader. Z! The T’s silent and it’s Quinn, not Quill. He and Quinn are not weirdos or goons.” She tapped her foot. “Can we move this along?”

“And that thing you call a pet—”

“Grady!” She no longer felt guilty about her surprise for him. “Back to my demon problem. Please, for the love of Macha.”

“Which you still haven’t explained,” he interjected. “I’m surprised those two goons aren’t here helping you.” The irritating rascal didn’t take a breath. “But you don’t need them or anyone else. Some hard tail come at you, he’d end up with his ass booted into next week.”

She was glad one person, even if he was dead, had faith in her ability to defend herself.

Grady scratched at his beard. “But that’s another reason you can’t get a date. Men want a sweet woman, not some Amazon what’s gonna kick their butts.”

How did he always manage to run so far off track? “We are not discussing my love life—”

“That’s for sure. Nothin’ to discuss.” Grady’s bushy eyebrows lifted in an all-knowing way as he nodded.

“If you don’t stick to the topic, I’m going to someone else.” Evalle wiped a bead of sweat from her brow with the back of her hand, prepared to dicker. “I’m out of time. You ready to shake?”

“No free nothings.”

“Like that ever changes? Here’s my deal. We’ll shake if you agree to share everything you know about the Cresyls and Birrn who were here in the Atlanta area over the past forty-eight hours,” she said, spelling out the specifics.

He acted like he considered it, but they both knew he wouldn’t walk away. “You got it.”

She pulled her thumb free from her jeans pocket and extended her hand. Due to fear that too much power shared would alter the normal state of a Nightstalker, VIPER rules forbade an agent from shaking for more than ten seconds without special dispensation. A rare exemption she’d seen allowed only once when national security had been at stake.