Storm and Fury(44)

“You can get some rest and I can start looking for Misha—”

“Look for him where?” Zayne faced me then, brows raised. “Do you know how big this city is? How many people live in it? How many people work here and don’t live here?” He fired off the questions at a rapid pace. “Do you know where demons hang out? Where you can typically find one?”

“Well, no, but—”

“There’s no but, Trinity. You have no idea where to go.” He shoved a hand through his hair, then clasped the back of his neck. “Look, I said I would help you look for Misha, and I will. I don’t make promises I don’t keep, but we’re going to be smart about this, Trinity. We don’t know if the demon that took Misha knows what you are, but if that demon does, he’s going to be looking for you.”

“Good,” I snapped. “That makes my job so much easier, because this time, I will use my grace.”

“You’re not leaving this place without me, and if you attempt it, I’ll know.”

My eyes widened. “I’m a prisoner now?”

“You’re a guest who will use common sense,” he shot back. “So, you can feel like a prisoner or you can feel like a well-rested guest. Either way, I’m sleeping, because I’m going to need some sleep before we do what we’re going to do this evening.”

“And what is that?” Frustrated, I crossed my arms. “Do each other’s hair and try out face masks?”

“Oh, will you braid my hair for me?” He lowered his hand and it closed into a fist at his side. He looked like he wanted to throttle me, and I knew I was being annoying, but this demon had Misha and I was supposed to take an afternoon siesta?

“Do you know what it feels like to know someone is in danger and to just stand by and do nothing?” I asked, feeling my throat thicken. “Do you?”

Zayne’s expression softened as he stepped toward me. “Yes, I do know, Trinity. I know what it’s like to be forced to watch someone you care about be hurt and be completely unable to do anything about it.”

I snapped my mouth shut as his words got past my irritation.

“We may think we know each other, and I know you’ve heard stuff about me, but you don’t know me. You don’t know what I’ve experienced and what I haven’t,” he continued. “Just like I don’t know all that you’ve been through. But what I do know about you is that you’re strong and you’re tough, and you’re loyal. And I also know you’re smart enough to realize that both of us need to be well rested so that we’re prepared for anything.”

I drew in a shaky breath, closing my eyes against the sudden burn of tears. “You’re right,” I admitted, pushing the tears back down. “And I’m...I’m sorry. I’m just...”

“You’re worried.” His voice was closer, and when I opened my eyes, he was not even a foot from me. I had no idea how he could move so quietly. I saw him lift his hand and catch a strand of my hair that had fallen forward. He tucked it behind my ear, his hand lingering. “I understand, Trinity. I really do.”

My body took control. Closing my eyes, I pressed my cheek against his warm palm. I shouldn’t do that. I knew that, but there was something soothing about his touch, comforting. It was as if he was built simply for that, and that was a weird feeling to have.

“You are tired,” he said. “Just rest for a couple of hours.”

“Do I look that bad?” I asked.

“No. You look perfect.”

I opened my eyes, and my gaze was snared by his. Something darkly possessive flickered across his face before he dropped his hand and took a step back.

Feeling off-kilter, I folded my arms over my chest. “Okay. So, we sleep and then...?”

“I know a person, and I can’t believe I’m even considering this, but if anyone knows where Bael could be, it’ll be him. He should be around by this evening. He doesn’t exactly keep a normal schedule.”

“Who is he? Another Warden?”

Zayne laughed again, the sound without much humor. “No. He’s not a Warden. He’s probably the biggest pain in my ass that has ever existed.” Zayne paused. “Which means you’ll probably get along with him.”





21


I came awake with a gasp, jerking upright and coming face-to-face with Peanut...

Who was blowing on my face.

“What are you doing?” I asked, heart thumping.

“Making sure you aren’t dead.” He drifted to the other side of the bed. “Guess what?”

“What?” I shoved a chunk of hair out of my face as an unseen weight settled on my shoulders. I knew what that feeling meant. “Demons,” I whispered, shoving the thick blanket off me and swinging my legs off the bed. “There are demons nearby.”

“What?” Peanut screeched.

Launching off the bed, I raced to the bedroom door and threw it open. My bare feet skidded over the cool cement floors as I scanned the room for Zayne. I saw a rather large, still shape on the couch and I hurried around it.

Zayne was asleep on his back, his head turned toward the back of the couch. One arm was under his head and the other hand rested in a loose fist on his chest.

His bare chest.

The gray blanket had pooled around his lean hips, and I really hoped he was not completely naked under there. I wouldn’t think that he would be, considering that I was here, but most Wardens slept in their true form. It was how they got their deepest sleep, so it was strange to see Zayne sleeping like this.

“Zayne,” I said, voice thick was sleep. “Wake up.”

He didn’t move.

I reached for him, gently touching his shoulder. There was an odd static charge that radiated up my fingers and made no sense. “Zayne—”

He moved so fast that I didn’t even know what was happening until I was on my back and he was above me, one hand planted on my shoulder, pressing me down into the thick cushions of the couch. My wide-eyed gaze swung to his face, and I saw that his pupils were vertical.

“Jesus,” I gasped, frozen.

It seemed to take a moment for him to recognize me and realize that he had me pinned underneath him. The pupils were first to shift back to normal, human-looking eyes. “Trinity, what are you doing?”

“What am I doing?” I blinked once and then twice. “You’re asking me what I’m doing when you just flipped me in midair?”

“Yes.” He was still above me, but his hand came off my shoulder, landing in the cushion next to my head. “I was asleep.”

“I know.” I dared to glance down and saw that he wasn’t nude, thank baby gargoyles everywhere. He was wearing what appeared to be gray sweatpants. “I tried to wake you up. I called your name, but you didn’t respond.”

“Sorry,” he grunted. “Not used to people being here.”

“I can tell.”

“What time is it?” He looked toward the kitchen. “It’s only four, Trinity. You should still be asleep.”

“I know, but I woke up.” I kept my arms still at my sides. “I sensed demons. It woke me up.”

“I don’t feel them.” His head cocked, and several strands of golden hair fell across his cheek.

“I’m more sensitive to them,” I explained. “I can usually sense them minutes before a Warden does, and I can feel them now. There are demons here, Zayne. Not in your apartment but close. Probably outside, on the streets or—”

“They probably are outside on the streets,” he interrupted with a sigh.

“Okay. Then we need to get up and go—”

“There are demons everywhere here,” he said, his eyes meeting mine. Well, only one eye. His hair shielded the other. “Probably just Fiends out walking around. They’re the only ones active in the day, usually in the late afternoon.”

“And we’re still lying here because...?”

“Fiends are relatively harmless, Trinity. All they do is mess around with electronics and crap. They don’t really bother humans.”

I knew that Fiends were somewhat harmless and that they appeared as human as he and I unless you looked really closely at their eyes. Light reflected off them weirdly. Fiends were pretty much why Murphy’s Law existed. If everything went wrong for you in one day—your car breaking down, stoplights out of service, your favorite coffee shop closed and your office without power—a Fiend was most likely behind it.

“You don’t...hunt them?” I asked, confused.

He didn’t answer for a long moment. “I used to hunt demons indiscriminately, no matter what they were guilty of.”

“Isn’t that kind of your job as a Warden?”

“Yeah.”

When he said nothing else, all I could do was stare at him and wonder what in the Hell had I gotten myself into. No wonder he wasn’t the clan leader. How could he be when he didn’t hunt Fiends? And I couldn’t forget he’d worked with demons before. But his clan appeared to trust him, at least enough to allow me to stay with him even knowing what I was.

“You’re a strange Warden,” I whispered.

One side of his lips kicked up. “And you’re just...strange.”