I watched him walk over to where a group ofdemons had gathered near the steps of the bar before resting myhands on the side of the truck. I pulled myself into the back tojoin the only three human friends I’d made since leaving my home. Ididn’t have any anger or resentment anymore over being taken frommy family. I wouldn’t have met Kobal otherwise, and if Lucifercouldn’t be stopped, things would get a whole lot worse foreveryone in the world over the coming years. Maybe there wassomething I could do to help keep that from happening.
I still wasn’t entirely sure what thatsomething would be though.
“Sleep well?” I asked as I settled into thetruck bed near Hawk. None of us had been sleeping much sincestarting this journey, but Hawk had been having a real hard time ofit for the past couple of weeks. I suspected it was part of thereason he’d been more short-tempered recently.
“Well as I could with my stalker overthere.” Hawk thrust his thumb over his shoulder at Sarah, the smallblonde woman who had joined our numbers after we’d arrived here.She and Hawk had had a thing a couple of weeks ago, and since thenshe’d become a constant presence around him. “She watched me allnight.”
“Maybe you should talk to her,” Isuggested.
“I already tried. She won’t listen, andfrankly, it’s freaking me out to have her watching me while Isleep.”
That would freak me out too, but I couldn’thelp feel sorry for her as even now she stood watching him. “Shemust still believe your little fling meant more than it did.”
Hawk lowered his gun to look at me. “Goinginto it, she was the one who said it was only going to be aone-time thing, which I was fine with. I’m not exactly ready to betied down, unless it’s in the fun way—”
“Gross,” Erin griped, and my nose wrinkledat the mental image his words conjured. Vargas chuckled as hestretched his legs out before him.
“Instead of telling me she wasn’t lookingfor anything,” Hawk continued, “she should have told me it would bea one-time thing and I’d have a more loyal shadow than my ownfollowing me around after.”
Erin rolled her eyes. “I knowwaytoomuch about your sex life.”
“What sex life?” Hawk retorted. “My new tailover there has effectively chased away any other possibilities. Atfirst it was flattering. I mean, I know I’m unforgettable—” Thisstatement caused me to snort, Erin to stick her finger in her mouthwhile making a gagging noise, and Vargas to laugh out loud. Hawkignored us as he continued speaking. “—but now she’s bordering onboiling rabbit crazy here.”
“What?” I blurted.
“It was a movie I saw years ago. This womanwent all nuts and boiled her boyfriend’s pet rabbit, or maybe itwas his kid’s, I don’t remember, but she boiled it alive or someshit.”
“Okay, we’re eating some of the rabbitsaround here, but let’s keep her away from them beforehand,” Erinmurmured. “No one is boiling a bunny alive while I’m around.”
I had to agree. “Maybe I should try talkingto her?” I suggested.
“Not today,” Kobal said, arriving at my sidebefore Hawk could respond. Kobal’s seconds-in-command, Corson andBale, stopped behind him. “It’s time for us to head inside, andI’ve asked Morax and Verin to speak with the girl. Are you fourready?”
“Yes.” I rose to my feet and rested my handon the side of the truck in order to jump out. Kobal grabbed mywaist and lifted me out effortlessly. Stepping closer to him, Icast my voice low so the others couldn’t hear what I had to say aswe walked toward the bar. “Why are you having Morax and Verinintervene?”
“Because her behavior must stop.”
I frowned at him. Kobal had little tolerancefor anything human-drama related, and what little tolerance he didhave had only started to accumulate since he’d met me. I may bepart angel and demon, but I was also part human, and I’d beenraised as a human. I didn’t have the aloof detachment demons and,from what I’d been told, angels had. Emotions were a big part ofme.
There were still times Kobal had no idea howto handle me, but he’d gotten better since we’d first cometogether. He didn’t do well where other’s feelings were concerned,as he never held anything back and was often brutally honest. I’dnever seen him intervene in human relationships in such a waybefore.
“I didn’t realize you’d noticed,” Isaid.
“I think everyone in camp has noticed.”
I looked back at Sarah as she followed ustoward the bar from fifty feet away. “But what difference does itmake to you?”
He glanced down at me before focusing on thebar once more. “The humans in our camp must be as disciplined asthe demons. Her behavior is out of line and will not betolerated.”
Had he dodged my question? It was aperfectly reasonable response, but I felt he was holding somethingback from me. “I’m never in line,” I said.
“You’re different,” he replied crisply.
The demons standing on the stairs leadinginto the bar bowed their heads to Kobal and me as we passed them. Ipaused outside as Kobal pushed the door open for me. The time forquestioning him was now over.
Stepping into the shadowy interior, I barelynoticed the worn carpet as we climbed the stairs toward the mainbarroom where music already played on the piano. The fun neverstopped in the flesh-collecting skelleins’ world of never-endingpartying, alcohol, and riddles. Kobal had said that the skelleinscould be unrelenting in their viciousness, but I’d yet to see it,thankfully.
The walking skeletons had unnerved me in thebeginning. After being around them for a while, their merrypersonalities, cheerful hats, flowers, jewelry, ties, and otherassorted accessories they used to mark what sex they were and tomake them stand apart from each other made them seem harmless andfun. I still wanted nothing to do with pissing one of them off,never mind all of them, as they tended to take their payment out ofthe flesh of their victims. Literally.
