Мишель Роуэн - Angel with Attitude

“Just watch me.”

He shifted again. Nervously. “We should definitely find poor Lisa. And rescue her. It is the right and noble thing to do.”

“See?” Val braved a smile. “Now you’re talking.”

The faeries stopped and opened a door, and the two of them disappeared inside with their struggling prisoner. Val waited with her back pressed against the wall, barely breathing, until the door reopened and the faeries exited, shutting the door behind them. They began walking in the opposite direction to Val but then one of them stopped and turned his head a little as if he sensed something. She stopped breathing completely and crushed herself up against the wall, hoping the loud banging of her heart wouldn’t give her away. After a long moment, the faery continued to walk away.

“Whew,” Reggie breathed. “That was a close one.”

With her back still against the wall, Val slid along until she reached the closed door, freezing at every little sound, even if it was just her stomach telling her that a brownie and three piña coladas did not meet all of her daily dietary needs. Then she wrapped her hand around the handle and turned it, expecting it to be locked and surprised that it wasn’t. It turned easily and she pushed it open a crack to peer inside.

It was a bedroom, large and ornate with a great round bed in the middle. The room was in shadow, but she could see that Lisa was on the bed, tied up and helpless. She looked over her shoulder to check if anyone was coming down the hallway but she and Reggie were completely alone. She slipped into the room and silently closed the door behind her.

“Lisa,” she whispered. The girl’s shoulders tensed. Her hands were tightly tied behind her back and attached to her feet with the same piece of rope.

Val searched the darkened room with a sweeping glance. Was someone waiting in the shadows just for the opportunity to jump out at her? That would be just her luck. She thought she’d probably deserve it with how careless she was being.

But the room was empty other than Lisa, Val, and the shivering rat on her shoulder. This was a demon party meant for the darkest, nastiest creatures around. No one would expect there to be a rescue attempt. Lisa wasn’t anything more to them than a mild diversion, probably on par with a tasty, but quickly forgotten hors d’oeuvre.

When Val got to the bed she reached out a hand to touch Lisa’s shoulder. The girl jumped and tried to scramble farther away.

“It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you,” Val whispered. “I’m here to help you.”

She made a mournful sound, muffled from the gag in her mouth. Val tried to untie it but Lisa cringed farther away from her.

Val frowned. “It’s me. I’m not going to hurt you.”

The scared look in the girl’s eyes didn’t go away. Val couldn’t understand it. They’d just met a short time ago when Lisa tried to drive Nathaniel’s gonads into his throat. Didn’t she remember?

Oh. Val looked down at herself. Right. The glamour. Forgot about that.

Not that the high heeled boots or the corset had gotten any more comfortable, but she hadn’t been staring at herself in the mirror every five minutes, so she’d nearly forgotten what she looked like.

“It’s me, Valerie. We met earlier. Nathaniel, remember? I’m a fallen one, too?”

Lisa looked confused.

“This is just a glamour, so don’t worry, okay?” Val continued. “I’m here to help you. Now hold still so I can get this thing off your mouth.”

She reached out with her long, sharp red fingernails, but this time Lisa didn’t move, though she did look scared. Val worked on the knot for a moment—it was pretty tight—and finally got it loose enough to pull it away from the girl’s mouth.

Lisa swallowed a couple of times. “My hands.”

It took Val longer to get those knots untied and she ended up breaking a nail in the process.

She didn’t usually have long nails, but she could now see why breaking one could make you mad—it just ruined the whole look.

“Are you okay?”

“No.” She still seemed confused. “Why do you look like that?”

Val looked down at her cleavage, then back at Lisa. “Um, Happy Halloween?”

Lisa just stared at her.

Val shifted her feet nervously. “I needed to get in here and I couldn’t let them see who I really am. This is temporary.”

“You looked better the other way.”

“I agree,” Reggie said from Val’s shoulder. “Although I don’t mind the twins.”

“Twins?”

“Yes, your two round and beautiful”—his whiskers twitched—“eyes. Yes, your eyes are lovely.”

Lisa frowned. “Your familiar is talking.”

“He’s not my familiar. Although, I think he’s getting a bit too familiar, truth be told.”

“Lisa, gorgeous, it’s me. Reggie.”

She fixed him with a blank look.

“From the motel?”

“Oh . . .” She nodded slowly. “Right. The rat from the motel. I remember you now.”

“See?” Reggie said proudly. “I’m unforgettable.”

“Why are you helping me?” Lisa asked.

Val shrugged. “Why wouldn’t I help you?”

She gingerly rubbed her rope-burned wrists. “I didn’t expect this. You’re putting yourself in danger.”

“Seems to be what I do these days.” Val didn’t say it as a particularly good thing.

“But I tried to barbecue your boyfriend earlier,” A grin pulled at Lisa’s mouth. “If I get the chance I might try again.”

“He’s not my boyfriend.”

“Seriously?” She raised an eyebrow. “The way he was looking at you—”

Val held up a hand to stop her. “So I’ve been told. But it doesn’t mean anything. Maybe he just tends to stare off in the distance and sometimes that distance is me. I don’t know. What I do know is he isn’t my boyfriend.”

She shook her head. “I don’t understand why he brought you here, to the Underworld. It goes against all the demon rules.”

Val sighed. “I’ll tell you if you really want to know, but not here. Let’s go . . . somewhere that isn’t here and we’ll chat, okay?”

“Deal.”

Val grabbed Lisa’s hand to help her off the bed, snatched her boots from the floor, and they moved toward the door. Val pressed her ear to it. Reggie pressed his ear to it.

“Hear anything?” she asked him.

“Nope.”

She opened the door and looked out. Nobody was there. She beckoned for Lisa to follow her quickly and quietly down the hallway.

“Okay,” Lisa whispered. “What’s up with you and Nathaniel?”

“He’s my guide to the Underworld. That’s all.”

Lisa looked at her curiously. “How did you manage to convince a demon to be your guide?”

“I summoned him.” They turned a corner. The carpeting was red and plush and the walls were lined with generic, but expensive-looking oil pointings in gilded frames.

“That’s it?”

“Pretty much.”

“Doesn’t sound like something a demon would appreciate. Being forced to take orders from a fallen angel.” She paused. “He hasn’t tried to get away from you?”

“No,” Val answered immediately.

“That’s very strange.”

Val shot her a look. “He has to do what I command him to. It’s part of the summoning spell.

He’s bound to me. Whether he wants to be or not.”

Reggie snickered but didn’t say anything.

“That’s very industrious. Summoning a demon,” Lisa said. “And you’re only just fallen?”

“Two months.” Val was quickly growing weary of this inquisition.

“Two months without being tempted?”

“Nathaniel’s also my Tempter.” After a moment, she added, “So far unsuccessful.”

She nodded. “I heard that about him. His complete failure at being a demon.”