Мишель Роуэн - Angel with Attitude

“Shh.”

Reggie slowly crawled up the steps to the stage. The key lay four feet away from where Julian stood talking to the mayor. The last couple of demons, and one angry-looking biker faery started to drift away.

“Mayor Vaille,” Julian began. “Great one, I’m so, so sorry. I can’t tell you how much I wanted to make this work.”

“Maybe you were fooled. The key is a phony?”

Julian looked appalled by the suggestion, then thoughtful, then sheepish . . . and then back to being appalled. “No, it’s real. I can feel its power.”

“Then what you are saying is that you are a failure.”

He opened his mouth, then closed it. “No. I will figure out why it’s not working. Then I’ll open the doorway and go in myself. Once it’s open we can enter at our whim. It doesn’t need to be tonight.”

The mayor sighed. “But it would have been so cool for the party.”

“Another party, then.”

“Perhaps we should have waited for Nathaniel. He may have been a great assistance to us in this matter.”

Julian laughed. “Nathaniel is a fool. He’s the true failure. Such power at his grasp and he refuses to use it to his full potential. Such a waste. Especially now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Nathaniel has turned soft. He’s at the head office right now answering for his many shortcomings. The next time you see him, I doubt you’ll even recognize him. No”—he smiled—“I greatly anticipate seeing what they’ll do to him.”

The mayor shifted position on his chaise and yawned.

“Yes,” Julian continued with a gleam in his eye, “aside from his continual failure at tempting, he has allowed himself to be manipulated and seduced by his current assignment. And you know very well that is against the rules.”

The mayor smiled a bright fan of sharp teeth. “I came up with that rule myself. Originally it was only a little inside joke at the head office, but it seems to have stuck. And let me guess, he broke my rule with the fallen one he was with earlier? The one you have tied up as we speak?”

“Yes.”

The mayor grimaced. “But she was so . . . trampy. All that fake red hair, and the inch of makeup. Those large, unruly breasts. She didn’t seem that enticing to me.”

Julian shook his head. “That was only a glamour. Underneath she is as pure, as good, and as beautiful as any fallen angel I’ve ever seen.”

Aw, Val thought. That was actually kind of sweet.

“That is why I will take great pleasure eviscerating her. The screams of anguish I shall coax from her beautiful lips will be music to my ears.”

Not sweet.

The mayor chuckled. “So our boy Nathaniel finally indulged himself with a fallen one, did he? Good for him.”

“Good for him?” Julian huffed. “I bend over backward with this key and he gets a ‘good for him’?”

“This was only an amusement to me, anyhow. And I am no longer amused. Perhaps I’ll go plan my next party.” He looked thoughtful. “Though, another band next time. Today’s was somewhat . . . lacking. Their version of ‘La Bamba’ was so weak. I may have them vanquished for displeasing me.”

Julian just stared at the mayor blankly as he was all but dismissed from his presence. Val noticed with a sinking feeling that Reggie had finally reached the top step and was panting hard from the exertion. Then he darted across the stage toward the discarded key, picked it up gently between his little yellow teeth just as Julian turned around.

Reggie froze in place.

“I think I will try a couple more times,” Julian said.

The mayor sighed. “If only the key came with an instruction manual.”

“Yes, if only.” Julian glanced down to where he’d thrown the key. It was gone. His eyes widened and he scanned the area, but before his gaze could rest on the galloping rat, Val saw

Lisa rise up next to her and step out from behind their hiding place. She reached out a hand to stop the girl, but it was too late.

“Hey,” Lisa said. “Remember me, you little bastard?”

All Val could do was watch helplessly as Lisa stepped out fully from behind the bar. Julian stared at her also, the key momentarily forgotten.

“However could I forget?”

Lisa smiled.

“I’m pleased to see you.”

“Are you? And why’s that?”

“Because now I not only have one fallen one waiting in the wings for me to take out my frustrations on, I have a backup. Which is good since I’m extremely frustrated.”

Instead of cowering at the intensity of his slightly wordy threat, Lisa took a few steps closer to the stage. “Come and get me.”

Julian grinned, then leapt off the stage.

“Excellent.” The mayor clapped his flippers. “At last, some decent entertainment!”

Reggie finally reached Val and she took the key from between his teeth. The chain was long gone so she slid it under her tank top and into her bra for safekeeping. She picked Reggie up and stared at Lisa, who was standing in front of the extremely frustrated blond demon.

What could she do to help her?

There was too much to lose if she did something stupid. Well, stupider than normal, anyhow.

Too much. She had the key. Her only hope now was to go back to Lloyd and hope he had the power to open a portal for her to get back home.

“If anything goes wrong here,” Lisa had said only moments ago. “Promise me you won’t look back. That you’ll just run.”

Val had promised. But it still didn’t make it any easier.

Keeping as low to the ground as she could, she ran back to the mansion’s doorway and slipped inside. Turning her head one last time, she saw Julian standing only inches away from the girl who seemed so small and delicate in front of him. So brave. So foolish. But Val wasn’t going to let Lisa’s sacrifice go to waste.

“We’re out of here,” she told Reggie.

“Not a moment too soon.”

The key would only work for a fallen one? In that case, only a matter of minutes remained before Val could put the last two months behind her once and for all. Everything would be the way it was supposed to be. Barlow and herself officially out of danger’s way. A perfect ending.

She felt the tears on her cheeks. Yeah, really perfect. But she wouldn’t think about that right now.

Focus. Have to focus.

She turned the next corner and skidded to a halt.

Nathaniel leaned against the wall, smoking a cigarette.

Val’s mouth dropped open.

He smiled. “Miss me?”

She just stared at him. “Nathaniel, is it really you? I thought . . . that you were . . .”

“In trouble?”

“Well, yeah.”

He shrugged.

She exhaled deeply, feeling a huge weight lift from her shoulders, leaving behind a giddy lightness. “I didn’t know what happened to you. But you’re here. You’re okay. And you look .

. .” She smiled at him. “You look great.”

“Thanks.” He flicked his cigarette away.

She moved closer to him. “I was so worried. But I should have known you’d handle yourself just fine. Now, we’re getting out of here. I’ll explain everything later.”

Nathaniel glanced at Reggie, then back at Val. “Where are we going?”

“Home. And we’re going, like, now. Come on.” She reached for his hand, but he pulled away and crossed his arms.

“Aren’t you going to command me to come with you?”

“Huh?”

His eyes narrowed. “Command me. Like the well-trained puppy you’re used to. Or perhaps you’d prefer to force me to tell you the truth?”

Val blinked. “We don’t have time for this—”

“Did you happen to know that every time you commanded me to do something it caused me pain? And you want to know something? I don’t care too much for pain, angel.”