Torn(64)

My key.

I glanced up at Deacon, more than a little astounded by this levitation thing. “Go,” he said. “Just go.”

I didn’t hesitate. I fired the engine, kicked the bike into gear, and took off down the alley.

The demons rushed in, but so did Deacon, and he was enough of a badass that he cleared a path for me.

I gunned it forward and realized that Kiera was racing toward me in her car.

“Get out,” I yelled to her, waving my arms to signal her to reverse the hell out of there. “Just back off, now!”

She did, her eyes going wide with surprise. I raced past her, squeezing the bike in between the wall and her car, then careening around the corner and racing on toward freedom.

Rose, I figured, could stay with Rachel just a little while longer.

TWENTY-THREE

I circled the block, tempting fate and speeding tickets, then parked in front of the pub. I didn’t think the demons would go inside. For one, I didn’t think Deacon would let them. For another, I was pretty certain Lucas Johnson would defend his turf.

I couldn’t be certain, though, and that was my sister in there. And I wasn’t leaving her alone with a demon battle going on in the alley behind her.

I burst through the double doors so violently that all heads in the bar turned to look at me, Rachel and Rose included. I signaled to them to follow me, and they rushed to my side at a secluded table near the kitchen.

“Demons,” I said, keeping my voice low enough that the few late-afternoon patrons didn’t hear me. “In the alley.”

“Are they still out there?” Rachel asked, sidling closer to me.

“No.” The answer came from behind us, and I turned to find Deacon standing in the door to the kitchen. “It’s safe.”

Rachel looked between me and Deacon.

“Where’s Kiera?”

I shot Deacon a significant look, afraid that Kiera had seen Deacon, whom she knew only as a badass demon, toss me my key, and had drawn the wrong—or, technically, the right—conclusion. “I don’t know,” I said, my voice dark.

“Right,” Rachel said briskly. “You know what? I’m shutting the bar down early tonight anyway. I can take Rose home with me.”

I hesitated, then nodded. “Sure. Thanks. I just need to have a little chat with Deacon before you close up.”

She nodded stiffly. “Sure. No problem.”

Beside her, I saw Rose blink back tears. I wanted to rage and to scream and to beat Lucas Johnson to a bloody pulp. That, however, was nothing new. Instead, I pressed a kiss to the top of Rose’s head. “We’re going to be okay,” I said. “I promise.”

And my sister—my sweet, trusting sister—nodded. And didn’t say one word about all the promises I’d already broken.

I couldn’t think about that now. I’d made a promise to keep Rose safe, and I’d blown it in a big way. But maybe, just maybe, I could somehow make it all come out right in the end.

To do that, though, I needed to know who my allies were. And right then, I feared I’d messed up on that one big-time.

I pointed a finger at Deacon. “You. Outside. Now.”

I followed him back out to the alley. Not only did I want privacy, but I wanted to see for myself that the demon hordes had disappeared. They had. All I saw when we went out back was the dank filth of a dark alleyway, the afternoon light filtering through the dust like a curtain.

“They’re getting more aggressive,” Deacon said. “Stay with me, Lily. You and Rose. We need to make sure you’re safe.”

“Safe?” I repeated, my temper snapping. “Is that what you call it?”

He wore the dark glasses still, but he cocked his head, as if I were a curious animal in a zoo.

“Dammit, Deacon,” I said. “Do not fuck with me.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“You,” I said, slamming him against a brick wall and getting right in his face. Heat arced between us, and I hated myself for noticing it. For letting it weaken me. Because right then I needed to be strong. “You son of a bitch,” I said, my voice a low, vicious hum. “You want the Oris Clef. You’ve been looking for it all along. And I’m pretty sure you have the third relic, too.”

I realized then that my arm was burning, and glanced down, hoping to see that the tattoo was lit up, wishing that I could whip through the portal right then, right there, and retrieve the damn thing from wherever Deacon had hidden it.

The tat wasn’t lit, though, and I had no explanation why my arm was doing its skin-on-fire routine.

“I search only for the key to lock the gates, Lily. And you damn well know it.”