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Exactly fifteen minutes later, Shax showed up at the black sedan idling in the motel parking lot. The dark-haired heavy waited beside the car.
“You cost me twenty bucks, motherfucker,” he said.
“Which one are you?” Shax asked.
“Orax.”
The demon yanked the bag out of Shax’s hand and opened the door.
“Hey, be careful.”
In reply, the demon swung the bag at his head. Shax ducked, and the bag sailed over his head and landed in a puddle of slush six feet behind him.
“Fuck you.”
Okay, that’s how this would be. Shax got into the car while Orax loaded his soaked bag into the trunk. There was a bloodstain in the middle of the back seat, probably from the man he had watched them abduct.
Aeshma sat behind the driver, her other bodyguard. The duke noticed where his gaze lingered.
“I needed his help, too,” she said, looking pointedly at the bloodstain. “Navigating these modern accounting systems takes a special talent, which, unfortunately, I do not possess.”
Shax swallowed, knowing what she wanted him to ask. He hated giving it to her, but he must play along for now.
“What happened to him?”
Aeshma held her hand palm up with her fingers spread. A crackling ball of blue and purple flame burst into existence, and a sulfurous smell filled the sedan.
“Ashes to ashes, pet.”
She closed her hand, extinguishing the flames. Orax climbed into the car, and the other, Asag, he presumed, put the car in drive.
It was one thing to make a promise to Kheone to find the Duke. It was quite another to come face-to-face with her. In the end, a perverse desire to undermine any plans Aeshma was cooking up overruled his flight or fight response. If he could pass along any details of her plans to Kheone, the angels might run a spike into Aeshma’s scheme. The fact that if he left the city, he would also leave Kheone had absolutely nothing to do with his decision. Really.
A smile touched her lips, sugar laced with venom, and hunger darkened her eyes.
“I am glad you made the right choice,” Aeshma said. “I’ve missed you. My current horde is unimaginative at best, and not one of them is nearly as pretty as you. My stay in Kansas City just got much better.”
He returned her smile, suppressing the skin-crawling disgust he felt.
“As long as your hotel is better than that dump, so has mine.”
“You think I would settle for anything other than the best?”
“Of course not, Your Grace.”
Aeshma reached into the expensive leather purse on her other side and pulled out a small flask. She offered it to Shax.
“Have a drink. Then we’ll discuss business.”
Shax considered the flask, unable to hide his suspicion. Even odds she’d poisoned it.
“Oh, come on. Why would I offer you a job only to poison you?” she asked, her smile slipping a fraction. Aeshma took a sip from the flask. “There. I certainly wouldn’t poison myself.”
Out of options, Shax took the flask. She would, in fact, poison herself if she had the antidote. But Aeshma, unlike the other Dukes, usually needed a reason to kill someone, especially someone who might be useful to her. As far as he knew, he hadn’t given her one. He was probably safe.
He was going to need this. Shax raised the flask.
“To Your Grace.”
Aeshma took the flask back from him.
“You know, all this ‘Your Grace’ shit gets old after a while. Call me Aeshma when we’re alone. You always used to.”
In Hell, Lucifer had enforced his freedoms, bought with thousands of years of loyal service and other favors. Without the Prince, all bets were off. Aeshma had extended a serious olive branch. Shax grabbed hold of it.
“Thank you, Aeshma. Now, would you care to tell me why I’m here?”
“You still look good, Shax,” she said, not answering his question. She would get to it when she was in the mood.
“As do you, Aeshma. Haven’t aged a day.” Vanity, thy name is Aeshma. Some things had not changed.
She preened under his attention, a wide smile gracing her lush lips. Shax toed a careful line. They had worked together, occasionally, when Lucifer had no other use for him. Although he and the duke shared a penchant for using sex to get what they wanted, he did not want to be pulled so far into her sphere of influence he could never escape. He would have to work against Aeshma every minute of every day in order to make that happen.
The duke’s look turned calculating. “I have a proposal for you.”
His flattery worked. Shax forced his body to relax, dropping his shoulders and releasing all of his tension. Every fiber of his being told him danger awaited but running now would be far more perilous.
“What could you possibly need from me?”
“With Hinndal gone, I find myself in need of a new spy. Although you can’t turn invisible as he could, a demon disguised as a pussy cat might be almost as good.”
A sly grin drew her red lips up into a beguiling smile. She put emphasis on the word pussy, giving away where her mind had wandered, and the gutter was a level or two above that.
“I can’t drop everything because you can’t keep track of your minions.” Shax was pushing it, but if he gave in too easily, she would suspect his motives.
“Do you now?” Her voice was sweet, too sweet. “Figured out how to communicate with Lucifer? Some other miraculous feat I should be aware of?”
He held up his hands in defeat. It was a token protest, anyway.
“You caught me. I don’t have anywhere to be, nothing to do. I’m having the time of my life doing jack shit. Forgive me for trying to keep it that way.”
Better thought lazy than be suspected of betrayal. He hoped to ditch the only assignment left to him. After their recent encounters, killing Kheone for Lucifer was the last thing he wanted to do. He did not allow his mind to linger on the things he did want to do to her, with her.
Aeshma’s giggles brought him back to reality. Chills ran up and down his spine, replacing the heat the simple thought of Kheone conjured.
“Poor Shaxie. Just when you thought you were free and clear, old obligations come calling. Sorry to rain on your parade, but I have need of your talents. The Gate is gone, and I’m the last duke standing, so I get to call the shots. Do well in my service, and I’ll make it worth your while. Money, whores, food, drink, drugs. You can have anything you want.”
Her voice dropped into a husky thrum, lingering on the anything, imbuing it with as much meaning as her pouty lips and heaving breasts could. That was what he’d been waiting for. Aeshma was desperate. She needed him. He steeled his face into bland acceptance and let her get the win, even though she had no authority to give him what he truly wanted.
“Fine. How can I be of service, Your Grace?”
She smiled wickedly at him and licked her lips. Another reason he did not want to be here. Aeshma was invariably looking to get him in her bed. Keeping her hands off him was going to take some finesse. He might miss the power of being a demon, but he did not miss the politics.
And he didn’t miss the feeling of drowning in despair and corruption, poisoning his soul over and over with every kill he made on Lucifer’s behalf.
“Hinndal was spying on a gathering of angels in the city for me. I need you to take over. My other source has become somewhat...unreliable of late.”
He kept his muscles relaxed as his brain kicked into high gear. Irony was coming home to roost. She wanted him to spy on the angels who wanted him to spy on her. Jesus. Forget mortals being fools. Shax was at the top of the list.
Something else caught his attention. Aeshma had a source. Who? If she had another shifter, he wouldn’t be sitting here having a nice, civil conversation with her. Could be a what, not a who. Maybe an eavesdropping spell gone wonky. Or they had mastered some of the newer technology and placed a fancy bug in the building. Whatever it was, Aeshma wasn’t pleased. So now she wanted him.
“I can do that. When do you want me to start?”
“First thing in the morning should suffice. Hinndal disappeared a few days ago, and I know those angels are up to something.” Pot meet kettle. “You need to find out what it is. I’d rather not leave Kansas City, but I will if need be. I like it here.”
Here was his opportunity to put his amazing spy skills to work and pretend he knew nothing.
“Great. Where are they?” Shax asked.
“Hurst University. Have you run across it yet?” she asked, her voice all too innocent.
He shook his head. “As I said, passing through.”
Aeshma smiled, a feral thing one step removed from a threat.
“I’ll give you directions tomorrow. Use your discretion, but report to me immediately upon your return. If I am not in my room, I have one of these damned devices.” She pulled out a cell phone and wiggled it in front of him. “Orax will give you the number.”
The car stopped.
“We’re here,” Asag said.
She got out and opened the door for the duke. Shax retrieved his bag from the trunk. At least it no longer dripped.
He stared up at the hotel’s ritzy Art Deco facade. Definitely an improvement from his one-star digs of late. If only the company he kept was better, like, in any way possible. He would rather sleep next to an alligator than here with the demons, but Aeshma hadn’t given him much of a choice. Run and be hunted or join them.
“Is there anything else I need to know?”
There was a whole Goddamned mountain she was not telling him, but he could not tip his hand yet. Perhaps she believed she was sending him into a trap. Or she hoped he would get himself killed by something he didn’t expect because she withheld vital information. Both scenarios were as likely as her request taken at face value. Good thing he already had an in with the angels.
Aeshma did not answer, cold cunning in her eyes, the feral grin still plastered on her red lips. She typed something into the phone.
“I have three suites on the top floor, and there’s a spare bed for you. Let’s get you a key, and then you can get some sleep. Unless you’d rather do something else?”
Her voice held the faintest hint of seduction. This was not the first time Aeshma had tried to lure him into her bed. It wouldn’t be the last, either. Shax shook his head.
“I would hate for fatigue to lead to my discovery, Your Grace. Sleeping in a decent bed for once would be nice.”
“Pity.”
A flash of anger lit her face, and she strode into the lobby, forcing him to follow. He would have to tread carefully.
Compared to the rest of the clientele, he was vastly underdressed. His ratty jeans, frayed t-shirt, and worn duffle full of his worldly possessions screamed he did not belong. Only his fine, well-kept leather jacket and the woman he accompanied prevented the doorman from calling security.
The young woman at the desk watched them like a hawk. She wore what seemed at first glance to be a pleasant smile. Shax knew the look well. It was the look humans always got when confronted with someone or something they knew could eat them alive. Their hindbrains told them to look as non-threatening as possible, to be as submissive as possible, to avoid a confrontation they had no hope of winning.
“Good evening...” Aeshma let her gaze linger for a few seconds too long on the clerk’s name tag, conveniently located above her right breast. “Nina. I’m afraid we need another room key for 2004.”
“Of, of course, Your Grace.”
Nina looked half-relieved to focus her gaze on the computer, avoiding Aeshma’s gaze. The clerk tapped away, her fingers moving rapidly and hitting the keys harder than necessary. Sweat beaded at her brow. Shax had a few ideas of what must have put the fear of Aeshma in the hotel staff, none of them pretty.
The clerk grabbed a key card and ran it through the little machine. Fingers trembling, she offered the key to Aeshma.
“There you go. Is there anything else I can do for you, Your Grace?”
The young woman impressed Shax, keeping her voice smooth, polite even. Aeshma gave her a toothy grin as she allowed her fingers to graze those of the clerk. When Nina flinched from the contact, the grin only widened. Bastard enjoyed torturing random humans, even those doing their best to help her. Shax needed to keep that in mind. No matter how far back their relationship went, no matter how often they had worked together, Aeshma was a demon. Her entire purpose was to torture and be tortured. Since she much preferred the former, she held onto whatever power she could with an iron fist. And with Lucifer locked in Hell, the duke thought she had all the power.
“That will be all, pet,” she said, saccharine dripping off the words. “This is my friend, Mr. Shaxie. Please extend him the same courtesies you do me.”
“Yes, of course. Welcome, Mr. Shaxie.”
Shax rolled his eyes. Now every employee of this Godforsaken hotel would call him by that awful nickname. There was no taking it back, and he certainly didn’t blame poor Nina. She would be lucky to still be alive when Aeshma and her demon horde finally checked out.
“Thank you, Nina,” was all he said.
They followed Asag to the elevators. She punched the button for the top floor. Of course, Aeshma would have the penthouse suite.
The duke pulled out her phone and tapped on it in the miasma of silence filling the elevator. When the doors opened, the fug of deadly intentions followed them down the hall. Aeshma handed the key card to him, her fingers lingering on his. Cold dread washed through him.
“Are you certain you don’t want company?” she purred.
He pulled the card away gently. One did not offend a Duke of Hell without considering the consequences.
“You know my rules about mixing business with pleasure, Your Grace,” Shax said. He never had sex with anyone he worked for. Not anymore, and he made sure word spread.
“A girl can dream.” Another pretty pout graced her red-painted lips. “Perhaps I might change your mind.”
Shax gave her a bone. “Perhaps.”
Duke Aeshma sashayed down the hall. He swiped the key card and ducked into his room before she changed her mind. Shax leaned against the wall, his heart rate slowly returning to normal. He was in such deep trouble, and what he was going to do next would probably mean his head on a silver platter should anyone find out.
He tossed his bag into the closet and pulled out the silver coin in his pocket. Kheone needed to know what had happened. Closing his hand around the coin, he whispered her name, the feel of it on his tongue causing his heart to race once again, for an entirely different reason.