Wicked Bite (Night Rebel #2)(31)

“I’m coming with you,” I said, my tone daring Ian to argue.

He only curled an arm around me while reaching out to Ashael with his other hand. “Shall we?”

“We shall,” Ashael said, taking Ian’s hand and lightly placing his other one on my back.

As soon as he did, everything blurred. If I didn’t throw up from all this teleporting, I’d be amazed. Moments later, I blinked as bright sunshine met my eyes.

We were now on a balcony overlooking a densely packed city. I had no idea which city until I saw the snow-coated peak of a tall, very distinctive mountain in the distance. Wait . . . that couldn’t be. But the curved roofs culminating in unique points on many of the buildings in the city confirmed it.

“Mount Fuji,” I murmured in astonishment. Ashael had teleported us all the way from Pennsylvania to Japan in seconds.

The balcony had a shoji that was ajar. I pushed the paper-and-wood door aside to reveal a traditional Japanese tea room with a low ceiling, no furniture, and only an alcove with a calligraphy scroll for decoration. Ashael sat on the floor where the sun’s rays couldn’t reach him.

“Come,” he said. “Join me.”

I could think of a thousand reasons why a tea party with a demon wasn’t a good idea, but I removed my shoes, nudging Ian to do the same. Another shoji opened and a lovely Asian woman with long black hair came forward with slippers. “Thank you,” Ian said in Japanese. After we put the slippers on, we sat on the floor near Ashael.

“Safe to speak freely?” Ian asked, switching to English.

Ashael smiled at the woman, who set a platter with steaming teacups in front of him. That also broke from the formal tea ritual, but maybe Ashael wasn’t a formal guy. “Yes. Mao and her family have been loyal to me for seven generations.”

“Good enough,” Ian said. “I need passage to Yonah’s house.”

Ashael’s teacup had been halfway to his mouth. At that, he set it down and stared at Ian until my other nature lunged against her bars hard enough to darken my vision. She knew a death threat when she saw one.

Ian laced his fingers in mine. The simple gesture grounded me. Stay down, I ordered my other half. I’ve got this.

When my vision cleared, I saw Ashael smile thinly at our clasped hands. “You were wise to bring her with you. Otherwise, you’d already be dead for saying that name to me.”

“I know you have to disown Yonah,” Ian replied coolly. “Can’t have it getting out that you’re still friendly with the most wanted bloke in the demon world, can you?”

“Careful,” Ashael replied in that dangerously smooth voice. “You’ve already used up almost all the goodwill you purchased.”

Ian leaned forward. “You might not trust me, but you see what she is, so you know you can trust her. If she betrayed you over Yonah, you’d betray her to other vampires.” A humorless smile edged Ian’s mouth. “Just like the nuclear deterrent, no one fancies mutually assured destruction.”

Ashael let out a short laugh. “I see you are no less bold for someone who has supposedly settled down.”

“I’m married, not settled down,” Ian countered, raising my hand to kiss it. “Never had someone take me higher, in fact.”

My eyes began to sting. Ian might not remember what we’d had together, but when he said things like that . . . it felt the same. And despite knowing better, I’d missed that feeling so much, I wanted to dive into it until I drowned.

That’s why I continued to study the teacup Mao placed before me. Ashael didn’t need to see what I felt for Ian in my eyes. With luck, the demon would take my lowered gaze as shyness.

“Even if I did know how to contact Yonah,” Ashael said after a long pause, “why would I risk doing so for you?”

I glanced up in time to see Ian’s smile. “Because you hate Dagon, yet you can’t kill him. Demons get right nasty when one of you murders your own, and Dagon’s too powerful for you to send a regular vampire or ghoul after him. But she and I can kill him. More angry demons aren’t going to frighten us; we’ve already got a bounty on our heads. Best of all, our only price is a meeting with Yonah.”

Now, I met Ashael’s gaze so he could see the cold purpose in mine. “We’ll put Dagon in the ground, I promise you.”

A thin smile stretched Ashael’s mouth. “I believe you . . . Ariel.”

Shock exploded in me. Only two people had known that Ariel was my real name: Tenoch, my long-dead sire, and pre-memory-loss Ian. Now, that number had just jumped to three.





Chapter 17


It took all my control to keep my features frozen in their bland mask. “What a good guess. You’d be a hit at a carnival. Care to try for my height and weight next?”

Ashael laughed, reminding me that few things unsettled me as much as a demon finding me amusing. Unbidden, memories strafed my mind. Blood coating my skin. My voice gone from screaming. Something wet and heavy spilling from my gutted midsection before coiling like scarlet snakes beside me . . .

I blinked, banishing the memory of that torture and murder before hundreds more came to replace it. Dagon had used my ability to resurrect as the foundation for his own worship, claiming he’d been the one to raise me from the dead. For the first two decades of my life, I’d believed him. He’d murdered me over and over to gain power for himself, and I’d worshipped him for it.