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We passed a truck containing the Channel 11 News team. Great. They'd manage to get a good shot of the goblin bodies before they were all cleaned up. No matter how hard we tried, it seemed the media were able to get in everyplace we wanted to keep them out of. It wasn't that I didn't appreciate freedom of speech, but responsible journalists seemed a rare breed, and we'd seen the pages of far too many tabloids and exploitation-TV shows over the past year.
I heard Chase swear under his breath.
Iris cleared her throat. "I know you'd like to see things like this stay under wraps, and I understand. But once those first portals were opened, both humans and Fae threw their fates together again. News will travel, and like it or not, the bad side of the Fae will have to be acknowledged, just as the rotten apples of the human world are exposed. Goblins killed a policeman, and they were killed in return. How is that any different than a shoot-out with a gangbanger hyped up on crack who gets mowed down by the cops?"
"I'm just worried this will give the groups like Freedom's Angels more license to go out and commit hate crimes. The only good Fae is a dead one, in their eyes. They're fanatics and bigots—a dangerous combination." Chase paused, leaning against the building next to us. James Street was on a fairly steep grade, like many of Seattle's streets, and I could tell he was out of breath.
As he and Iris continued their debate, I began to notice an odd feeling. It was almost as if someone was watching us. I turned around. On the opposite side of the street was an open-air parking garage. Without thinking, I crossed the street and stood at the entrance, searching the lot for whoever was spying on us.
And there I saw him. Them. Two men and a woman, standing by a red BMW. The woman was exquisite, a vision of flowing long hair, black as the night, with olive skin and almond-shaped eyes as green as liquid emeralds. She was wearing a flowing lemon chiffon gown.
One of the men was tall and lean; he looked almost Fae, with pale blond hair smoothed back in a short shag. His face was craggy and gaunt, but his eyes burned with a strange fire, and I realized I couldn't place their color.
When I looked at the second man, my heart skipped a beat, and it wasn't because he was oh so riveting. Power emanated off him in waves, and I instinctively looked around for a place to hide. This man was trouble with a capital T.
And yet… I couldn't look away. Tall and stocky, he was bald, and his eyes were so dark that I could dive in and never find the bottom. Dressed in a suit that looked expensive and yet old-world, he turned to face me, and a slow smile spread across his face.
The woman said something to him, pressing his arm with her hand, then stood back as he began to walk toward me, the other two following at a distance.
My heart pounding with the alarms that raged through the back of my mind, I tried to move but could only stand frozen. As he slowly approached, the urge to run began to disappear, and I couldn't take my eyes off his face. He glanced around at the rest of the parking lot. Midday, it was full, and people were hurrying by, to and from their cars. They seemed to take no notice of us.
He stopped about three feet from me and casually shook out a cigarette and lit up. The scent of tobacco and cloves made me cough, but below it was another fragrance that set me on edge.
"The name's Karvanak. I know who you are, of course, but why don't you introduce yourself anyway?" An accent filtered through his words. I tried to place it, but the fragrance of his cologne was interfering with my ability to focus.
And then I knew who he was. The bald man smelled of orange and jasmine and sweet vanilla, slightly rancid. I was facing the Raksasa.
Chapter Twenty
Cripes and double cripes.
I tried to shake myself free of the lethargy that had come over me, managing to stumble back a few steps. Was he planning to kill me right here, in broad daylight with at least a dozen witnesses?
"Don't get your panties in a wad," he said. "I'm not going to gut you here. Not yet? he added, curling his lip into an unpleasant smile.
"Stay where you are," I warned him, fingering the horn in my pocket. No way in hell did I have the strength to fight a demon right now—especially a greater demon—so if it came to blows, I'd have to rely heavily on my new little buddy. "What do you want?"
"I can think of several things," he said, running his eyes over me lightly. "I doubt you'd like any of them, but then again, I don't give a fuck what you want, so that wouldn't matter, would it?"
I forced myself to remain calm, taking slow, deep breaths. I couldn't allow him to throw me off my equilibrium, or he'd have the advantage. Hell, he had the advantage as it was.
I had to alert Delilah and the others without putting them in danger.
"Just tell me what you want." I forced myself to stare into his eyes, shielding as best as I could. Raksasas were masters of illusion and charm. If I could remember that, maybe I could resist his traps.
He took a long drag on the cigarette and blew the smoke directly in my face. I coughed, my lungs burning. With a short bark of laughter, he motioned toward the others, and they began to move in our direction.
What now? I could break and run, but demons were like wild animals. If I acted like prey, I'd become his quarry. Just then, I felt someone standing at my back. I glanced over my shoulder to see Morio. He pressed one hand against my lower back, and I could feel his energy seeping into mine, calming me and giving me an anchor.
At that moment, the woman and other man joined us. Karvanak didn't even glance at them.
"Meet Jassamin and Vanzir, my associates." The demon's attention was focused on me, but his eyes flickered toward Morio, and he looked mildly disconcerted. "You have something we want, Ms. D'Artigo. A gem… a very beautiful gem. Or if you don't have it. you know where it is. The sooner you cooperate with us, the better off you'll be. I'm prepared to make it worth your while, should you choose to play it smart and change sides. I guarantee you'll be much happier if we aren't at odds."
"Change sides? Team up with the likes of you? How stupid do you think we are?" I jerked as Morio prodded me in the back with one finger. Calm… I had to remain calm. I took a long, shuddering breath and let it out slowly.
"Talk it over with your family. And friends. We can accomplish this smoothly—in a win-win situation—if you accept our offer. Or we can do it the hard way, if you ignore us. The choice is yours." He glanced across the street, where Chase, Delilah, and Iris were watching us, eyes wide. "You have more than yourself to think about, Ms. D'Artigo. Best to remember that. We'll be in touch."
Without another word, he turned and—followed by the djinn—sauntered back toward his car. Vanzir paused, staring at me with an intensity that made me feel like I was looking into a dizzying void.
