Forget About Midnight (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #9)(75)

It all made me a little more wary and somewhat respectful of Briggs and his team. They were improving their weapons and, evidently, also their lockup. Now if he could just stop getting his men killed, he would really be onto something.

“Demons are more involved in government activity than you would think. I should’ve known better. I should’ve checked first.” Falon had drifted back over to the door where he looked it over with a scrutinizing glare.

“Shoulda. Coulda. Woulda,” I quipped, and that glare landed on me. This was going to be fun. Maybe I should try to be helpful. “So even with the power we both have, we can’t get out of here?”

Falon rolled his eyes up toward the ceiling as if praying for patience. “You don’t know how wards work, do you? A ward is a door, a lock, a barrier. Whatever. It’s pure magic, breakable only by the demon who made it or those with greater power. Like an angel or a demon more powerful than the one who made it.”

“Great. So now we’re roommates until Briggs comes back. That’s swell.” I never moved from my place on the bed, leaning against the wall. Falon was doing a good job of taking up space, pacing the small room. What else could I do but watch?

Falon paced over the broken chair, kicking pieces each time he passed through. Then he stopped all of a sudden. “I swear, every time I help you out, I pay a price.”

I scoffed, wishing I had something heavy to throw at him. “I didn’t ask for your help.” The atmosphere grew thick with frustration. A showdown with Falon was not on my to-do list, much as I might enjoy it. So I scrutinized his attire, seeking a way to lighten the mood. “You’re looking especially trendy tonight. Have you been reading GQ magazine?”

The long-sleeved, grey, V-neck shirt he wore combined with dark pants that fit him to perfection actually did give him a fashion magazine appearance. His short, fair hair was styled, looking more silver toned than usual. Falon was such an odd creature. Visually, he was quite intriguing with those eyes and the confident set to his mouth. I didn’t know a lot of angels, but they were so beautiful. Indescribable really.

Falon returned my observance with his own clever little remark. “No need. I’m naturally appealing to the eye. Have you been reading The Walking Dead? You’ve got this corpse thing going on. I won’t lie. It’s frightful.”

A smirk tugged at my lips. Well, at least I would be entertained while I waited. I wondered how long it would take us to go from flinging verbal barbs to psi balls.

“Well, this is going to get weird fast,” I said with a sigh.

The silence that fell was indeed awkward and growing more so by the minute. I was starting to wish he’d never thought to drop in and spring me. But he wanted my help with Shya, and as much as I disliked Falon, we now had something in common. We both wanted to keep that demon from manipulating us further.

“So,” I broke the silence before it could become painful. “What are our options as far as Shya is concerned?”

Falon stopped moving about in restless impatience. He scooped a chair leg off the floor and spun it in one hand. It moved between his fingers with ease. I didn’t doubt that he could turn that thing into a deadly weapon. However, if it came my way, I’d stuff it in a place he would never recover from.

“Well, we could bind his power, like he did to Lilah. He’s resourceful enough to find a fast way out of that though. I think our best bet might be to trap him by binding him to an object. It won’t be easy, but it is possible.” The chair leg stopped in his hand, and he pointed it at me. “Something like that amulet would work.”

My hand went to the black onyx stone hanging around my neck. It had been a gift from Lena, spelled to enable me to keep my wolf after I died. I didn’t need the amulet anymore, but it now held sentimental value.

“No way, not this.”

“It was just an example. Relax. You’re so uptight these days.”

“I’m not uptight,” I protested.

Falon gave a half shrug. “Just completely insane.”

I flopped down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. It was hard to concentrate on forming a plan to deal with Shya with the entity whispering in my ear. Besides, Briggs was my current priority. Giving him to Shya to get rid of my demon mark wouldn’t keep Shya off my back for long, not as long as he was determined to have control of the vampires and wolves.

Making any kind of move against Shya would be potential suicide. If it didn’t work, he’d make me sorry I’d tried anything. If it did work, there would always be the chance that he’d escape whatever we did to him. I racked my brain, finding my thoughts too muddled to think clearly.

“Why did you even work with Shya if you’re just going to bail out on him now?” I asked with genuine curiosity. “What’s your story, Falon?”

Getting information out of him was like pounding my head against the wall: painful and pointless. Still, we were stuck here. I might as well try to learn something about him while I had the chance. He was a constant surprise, as unpredictable as they came. The info Veryl’s files had on him had been basic and minimal. Naturally, I wanted to know more.

Falon was quiet for so long I took it as his refusal to share. Then he surprised me by saying, “To you it may have appeared that I was working with him. Did you ever consider that I may have had other reasons to get close to Shya?”