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Keenan rumbled a low growl against her neck. “Don’t remind me. I want him out in the open. But I don’t want him near you.”
“I know, but—” Khloé blinked. “Wow, that really does feel like a butterfly’s trapped up here, flapping its wings.” She pressed down on the spot. “I can’t feel it with my fingers when I touch my scalp, though. Oh, wait, it stopped.”
“Because the tripwire is now in place,” said Ella. “Now I just need to rebuild the shield around your brain.”
Again, magick jolted through Khloé’s head and unsettled her demon, but the entity again put up no resistance. Khloé leaned back against Keenan and ate her ice-cream, not really tasting it. Finally, the crackling sensations faded.
Ella smiled and said, “All done. If anyone tries slipping into your dream, you’ll wake immediately.”
Feeling fidgety and jumpy, Khloé let out a long breath. “Thank you, Ella. I know it’s a long shot, but is there anything you can do to fight the infection?”
“I already asked her during our drive here; it can’t be done,” said Levi, his tone heavy with regret.
“Only pure life can destroy that sort of darkness,” said Ella.
Khloé sighed, not particularly surprised by the answer. “I don’t suppose you know any angels, do you?”
The incantor shook her head. “No, sorry. I’ve never come across one. They provide their services to many preternatural creatures—for a price, of course—but they’re less likely to work with demons. Hey, Lucifer was once an angel. Maybe he could help.”
“He gradually lost his power to heal after eons of living in hell,” Khloé told her. “He’s been whining about it ever since, according to my grandmother.”
“He probably wouldn’t have helped you anyway,” said Keenan, resting his chin on her shoulder. “He doesn’t involve himself in Earth matters—they apparently bore him.”
“I think most things bore him, with the exception of Asher,” said Khloé. The Devil seemed to have a genuine fondness for her little cousin. But then, Asher could win anyone over. His dimply smiles could melt even the hardest heart.
“Lou’s currently trying to convince Harper and Knox to allow him to ‘mentor’ Asher,” groused Levi. “Lou feels that, as the boy’s honorary uncle, he’d be the best choice.”
Khloé shook her head, and her demon rolled its eyes. “Unreal.”
“A whole lot of power lives in that child—I sensed it when I first saw him—so it’s unsurprising that the Devil would want to be around him,” said Ella. “Lucifer would no doubt try to use him for his own purposes.”
“Neither Knox nor Harper would allow that to happen,” Levi stated.
Damn right they wouldn’t. Lou was darkly powerful, yes, but he wasn’t the most powerful entity in existence or even the cruelest. There were far worse things in hell than Lucifer—he’d just made a home for himself there and brought some order to it.
Just then, Keenan’s phone began to chime. He dug it out of his pocket and stood. “I’ll be right back.” He headed to the kitchen to take the call.
Looking at Levi, Ella tilted her head. “On another note, how’s the kid you asked me to spell?”
“Fine, from what we’ve seen,” replied the sentinel. “He and his mother are being watched at all times.”
Khloé pursed her lips, wondering if they were referring to Thea and Lane. She didn’t ask, unsure if Keenan would have to deal with some blowback for telling her lair business.
A tickle built in the back of her throat. She coughed and sat up straighter, patting her chest hard.
Ella shot her a look full of regret. “I’m sorry that there’s nothing I can do about the infection.”
So did Khloé. Like yesterday, she felt tired and drained. Her throat was still dry and sore, and her chest still ached like a mother.
“I hate that I can’t help in some way,” added Ella.
“Thankfully, we won’t need your help,” said Keenan, crossing to the sofa. He looked down at Khloé, his eyes gleaming. “We have ourselves an angel.”
*
Anticipation riding every muscle in his body, Keenan strode inside Knox’s office with Khloé just a step behind him. He inclined his head at Larkin, who was lounging on the sofa, but most of Keenan’s attention was on the tall, ethereal male in the center of the room who was glaring at the Prime.
Keenan’s entity watched the angel very closely, like a predator focused on potential prey—it would pounce for sure if the angel refused to help them, but Keenan didn’t believe it would come to that. The angel would bluster and frown at the prospect of working with demons, but he’d be attracted by the promise of payment—mostly because having money allowed them to give more help and support to charities. Although they were stationed on Earth, they could earn a permanent place up above if they did enough good deeds, but that could take eons.
