Page 64
“Ren?”
My gaze sliced to Jaz.
“My bag.”
“Lock yourself in the bathroom,” I said again, and she hustled to the room Rune pointed to and shut herself in. I heard the lock engage a moment later. I turned back to the demon. “You touch her and I’ll fucking kill you.”
“Big talk for a little fox.” He flashed his teeth. “You have no idea what I’m capable of.”
“I don’t care. You hurt her. I will find a way to end you.” I strode out the door.
The smell of Jasmine’s blood hit me as we got into the elevator. It was mixed with Rune’s scent, and my already hostile fox lost his mind. “You’re bleeding.” I grabbed the front of the shirt she was wearing, about to yank it open.
She gripped it tighter at the front, her eyes widening. “Ren,” she snapped.
I spun on Rune who leaned against the elevator wall. “What the fuck did you do to her.”
“He did nothing. I did it to myself,” Jaz said, bringing my attention back to her.
“What?” There was too much danger here, too many unknowns, and my protective instincts were off the charts. Add in whatever the fuck this was, and I was close to losing it completely. That’s when I spotted the blood soaking through the white shirt she had around her body, at her stomach, her upper arms. “What the fuck did you do, Jasmine?” I growled.
She frowned at me. “A poltergeist of this strength requires extra measures. Protection glyphs.”
“You carved them into your skin?” I said in disbelief.
“They’re not deep, and it’s nothing Else’s balm can’t heal. I’ve done this before several times.”
“You carved up your own skin,” I said, my breathing weird, heavy. She should never do that. Never suffer that. She was perfect and clean and good. Only monsters like me carved up their own skin, only those who deserved it. “That’s not right. You shouldn’t…you shouldn’t do that.”
She studied me. “You’ve seen Willow cut herself hundreds of times.”
Jasmine looked genuinely puzzled, and I realized how I sounded. Like an overprotective mate. I needed to calm the fuck down. Being here with all these demons was fucking with me, that’s all this was. “I just saw the blood and reacted. Sorry.”
Rune chuckled behind me, and it was hard, but I ignored the asshole.
The elevator stopped with a ding, but the doors didn’t open.
“We rigged it this way. Didn’t want anyone on the fourth floor who wasn’t supposed to be there,” Rune said. “Whenever you’re ready, lovely, say the word and I’ll open the doors.”
“Oh, I thought there’d be somewhere I could…” Her face darkened.
She’d mixed up some of her oil in the apartment, which meant she needed to strip off and cover herself in it like she did when she was with me. I’d take that fucking demon’s eyes out before I let him see her like that.
She removed her sigil necklace and cuffs and put them in her bag. “I’m going to need you both to turn around, please, gentlemen. I need some privacy.”
Rune arched a brow but did as she asked. “So what am I missing out on?”
I turned my back as well but kept him in my periphery. If he so much as peeked, I’d kill him.
“I need to cover myself in the oil I made upstairs, so the spirit can’t possess me,” she said as the scent of the oil intensified in the small space. Which meant it was warming against her skin.
Rune groaned. “So you’re telling me, you’re behind me, naked, and rubbing oil all over your body?”
“Yes.”
He made a purring sound. “All glistening and slippery?”
“Um…”
