Jenna Black: Speak of the Devil

Adam’s jerky nod confirmed the identity of my would-be roommate.

“Trouble in paradise?” I asked, and I couldn’t help the nasty edge that had slipped into my voice. I don’t think I was ever going to get over my disgust at Saul’s possession of poor Dick.

Anger glinted in Adam’s eyes, but he answered mildly enough. “The three of us cannot continue living together indefinitely, and I’d be happy to foot the bill for his rent.”

Saul had been staying with Adam and Dom ever since his return to the Mortal Plain, but I supposed it was an awkward arrangement. After all, Adam and Saul had been lovers once, but Adam had clearly chosen Dom over Saul.

I shook my head. “You can’t seriously believe I’m willing to share my apartment with Saul.” True, Saul wasn’t to blame for the council’s decision to summon him into Dick, but far be it from me to be rational. I couldn’t help holding it against Saul, whether it was his fault or not.

“You need the money, don’t you? Besides, it wouldn’t hurt for you and Lugh to have a bodyguard, and this would be a way to arrange it without it looking suspicious.”

“I don’t need a bodyguard!” I protested, and felt a sense of déjà vu. This was beginning to sound like my argument with Brian.

“Are you sure about that?”

I didn’t answer, because, of course, I wasn’t sure. Unlike most demon hosts, I’ve retained full control of my body while being possessed. With some practice, and with the help of extenuating circumstances, I’d learned how to let Lugh take control, letting him use his demon strength and healing ability to defend me when necessary. However, now that I’d finally learned to do it at will, I’d discovered that nothing comes without a price.

I’d been sick as a dog for about three days after the last time I’d let Lugh take over. The experience left me less than anxious to let him in again, so in reality, a demon bodyguard wasn’t a bad idea at all. But talk about cramping my style!

“Have you forgotten you’re not the only one who has a boyfriend?” I asked.

Adam rolled his eyes. “I’m sure you could work something out if you wanted to.” The muscles in his jaw twitched, and his lips pressed tightly together. He was keeping his temper under control, but just barely.

“You’re probably right, but I don’t want to.” Okay, I bought into both of Adam’s arguments—that I needed the money and that a bodyguard could be useful. But Saul was pretty much a complete stranger to me, and whether it was fair of me or not, I already had a pretty bad impression of him. How could I share my small, cramped apartment with the guy?

I expected Adam to let go of the reins of his temper and yell at me. I’m a pro at bringing out the worst in him. But instead, he bowed his head and his shoulders slumped.

“So you won’t do it for yourself,” he said, speaking to the tabletop instead of me, “and I know you won’t do it for me .” He raised his eyes to mine, and I could see how much this conversation was costing him. “Would you do it for Dominic?”

I blinked in surprise. “For Dominic? Why is he having a problem with Saul? I thought the two of them were great friends.”

Adam let out a mournful sigh. “As far as Dom’s concerned, they are. But I’ve known Saul a long time. I told you, we’ve been friends since we came to the Mortal Plain. And I can clearly see that what he feels for Dom is more than just friendship.”

“Oh.” I couldn’t think of anything more to add.

“Dom doesn’t seem to have picked up on it yet, but he will eventually. And when he does, things are going to get even more … awkward than they are now.”

I shook my head. “So why doesn’t Saul get his own place?”

“He will, but it’s going to take time. Remember, he’s a man with no identity. No Social Security number, no driver’s license, no ID … You get the idea. I’m working on fixing that, but in case you’ve forgotten, I’m a cop. If I don’t tread carefully, I’ll get myself into a hell of a lot of trouble.”

I snorted. “Since when do you ‘tread carefully’? I can’t even begin to count the number of laws you’ve broken since I’ve known you.”

He nodded. “In controlled circumstances, where I’m taking action myself. Not in circumstances where I have to rely on others to keep their mouths shut. I can’t manufacture an identity for Saul all by myself, but I have to be very, very careful who I approach. So it’s taking longer than I’d hoped.”

I might not like Adam much, but I did like Dom, and I certainly didn’t want him to get stuck in the middle when he figured out that Saul wanted more than friendship. But despite all the rational arguments for why I should take him in, I just couldn’t do it.

“Ask Andy,” I said, shaking my head. “He’s got a spare room in his apartment, and he’s not exactly raking in the bucks, either.”

Andy is my brother. He has twice been the host for the demon Raphael, Lugh’s youngest brother—once voluntarily, and once very much not so. Recently, Raphael had released Andy by taking a new host. Both Andy and I were struggling with guilt, since we’d allowed Raphael to take over another, very much unwilling host. Andy had been reclusive and sullen ever since Raphael took his new host, so I wasn’t surprised when Adam told me he’d already asked and been refused.

“I suppose I could ask Brian,” Adam said doubtfully. “But there’d be nothing in it for him, and he’s not as … involved as you are.”

I sighed. “Give me a couple of days to think about it, okay?” I couldn’t believe those words were leaving my mouth, but it was too late to take them back.

Adam echoed my sigh. “Thanks.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but Adam held up his hand to stop me.

“I know you haven’t agreed to anything,” he said. “I’m just thanking you for at least thinking about it.” He smiled, making the laugh lines around his eyes crinkle. “Why don’t you come over for dinner tonight? You can get acquainted with Saul a bit and get a good meal in your belly.” He pushed his mug away, having drunk at most two sips of the coffee. “And get some decent coffee in your system.”

I had never yet found the will to refuse a home-cooked meal from Dominic, and today was no exception. My mouth started watering at the offer, and there was no way I could settle for ramen noodles with that kind of temptation.

I hadn’t seen Saul since we’d summoned him to the Mortal Plain, a little more than a week ago. His host was a successful product of Dougal’s eugenics program in Houston—Dougal’s idea of success being a host with superhuman capabilities and the mental capacity of a turnip. The Houston facility had managed to breed an amazing ability into its lab-created hosts: the ability to shape-shift.

No, I don’t mean these Houston hosts can turn into werewolves. But when a demon possesses one of these hosts, it can rearrange and restructure the host’s appearance. The bad guys had used this ability to change Dick into a replica of a human being they had murdered.

I knew Saul had been working on changing his host’s appearance. It wouldn’t do for him to continue looking like Devon Brewster III, who, as far as the authorities knew, was on the loose somewhere with a rogue demon in residence. So when I knocked on Adam’s door and a complete stranger answered, my mind knew this had to be Saul. But my instinctive paranoia made me back hastily away anyway.

Saul hadn’t gone for the stereotypical drop-dead gorgeous look of your standard demon host, but he wasn’t painful to look at, either. He had made himself both taller and leaner than Brewster, and banished the signs of middle age. If I hadn’t known better, I’d have put him somewhere in his late twenties. He’d squared off Brewster’s jaw, changed the color of his eyes from blue to hazel, accentuated his cheekbones, and given him a substantially larger nose. He’d also changed the salt-and-pepper hair to pure pepper, though that might have come from a bottle. All in all, I’d say there was nothing about him that even remotely resembled the previous appearance of his host.