Jenna Black - The Devil You Know

“It didn’t work,” Andy said. “And they figured that like your biological father, you were incapable of hosting. That’s how Raphael knew you’d be a very different sort of host for Lugh.”

I frowned. “But if I’m so resistant to possession, how’d Lugh manage to get in?”

“Because he’s not just any demon,” Adam answered. “We aren’t all created equal. There’s a reason Lugh’s line is the royal one. So he was powerful enough to get in, but not powerful enough to take over.”

That certainly seemed to make sense, but something still eluded me. “I know once this all sinks in I’m going to have a nervous breakdown about it. But why is it some kind of deep, dark secret? Why does Raphael care if you tell us?” I directed the question to Andy, but once again it was Adam who answered, his voice grim.

“Because he knows exactly what happened at The Healing Circle. Hell, he might even be the one who gave the orders. And it’s something he knows damn well Lugh won’t like.”

Andy nodded. “Like I told you before, he’s got some personal loyalty to Lugh and doesn’t want him killed. But that doesn’t mean he feels compelled to uphold Lugh’s ideals and protect the human race.”

A long, uncomfortable silence filled the room as we thought about that. Then Adam said what I suspect we were all thinking.

“I guess it’s time to have a long talk with ‘Dr. Neely.’”

Andy closed his eyes, and his hands clenched even more tightly around the edge of the bed. I finally found the will to go to him, to put a hand on his shoulder and squeeze.

“We won’t let him hurt you,” I promised, hoping I was up to keeping that promise.

Andy jerked away from me. “Coming from a woman who’d have let her demon friend torture me, that isn’t very comforting.”

“I told you she was bluffing,” Adam scoffed. “Why do you think I felt the need to listen at the door?”

“She wasn’t bluffing,” Andy said in a flat voice.

I wished like hell I could contradict him.

Keeping Brian in the dark about what was going on was getting harder. He’d managed to keep his questions to a bare minimum so far, but I knew if he sensed an opening, he’d take full advantage. He wasn’t a trial lawyer, but I suspect he has the skill set for one. When he starts asking questions, he tends to learn far more than you mean to reveal.

Which meant I really didn’t want to meet with “Dr. Neely” in my apartment. I couldn’t imagine any explanation I could give Brian that would satisfy his curiosity. Nor could I imagine how we’d keep him from overhearing things he didn’t need to hear. Not unless we tied him up in the closet. I’d threatened both Andy and Brian with violence. I wasn’t going to do it again. Ever.

After my conversation with Andy and Adam, I went to my own room and locked the door behind me. Then I dragged my cell phone into the closet—call me paranoid—and closed that door after me, too. I didn’t exactly have Dr. Neely on speed-dial, but I called The Healing Circle and got semi-lucky. He was actually in his office to take my call.

“Why, Morgan!” he said when I’d identified myself. “What a pleasant surprise.”

“I’ll bet,” I muttered. “You and I need to have a conversation.”

“I’m always delighted to talk to you. You’re like a sister to me, you know.”

“Why don’t you shove it up your—” I shut myself up at the last moment. Like Adam, Raphael really got a kick out of getting a rise out of me. The last thing I wanted to do was give him what he wanted.

He chuckled. “You and Lugh are well suited. I can usually get him cursing me within a couple of sentences, too.”

“And that’s your goal in life?”

“Let’s just say I’m much more successful that way than if I try to win his approval.”

I felt an unaccustomed tug of pity. I knew what it was like to abandon all hope of winning approval from your family. Was he such a bastard because he couldn’t win approval, or was it the other way around?

I shook the pity off. Yeah, my whole dysfunctional family thing made me bitchy; it didn’t make me into the kind of person who tortured innocent bystanders. “Do you feel even slightly bad for what you did to Andy and Brian?”

I expected a glib answer, but instead he seemed to think the question over. “Not really,” he said finally. “If I were human, I probably would, but I’m a demon. I did what I had to do under the circumstances. I may not be as noble as my sainted brother, but I’m not a monster, either. It was never anything personal.”

“Just like your desire to kill Andy now isn’t personal?”

“Don’t tell him this, but I have no desire to kill him. I’m under orders to do it, but there are advantages to being the king’s brother. No one’s going to ride me too hard if I don’t get around to it. I have nothing to gain by killing him, and I’m quite secure in the knowledge that he won’t tell you anything I don’t want you to know.”

Only because he didn’t know I’d sic Adam on my own brother. Perhaps I should examine my own moral compass a little more closely before I started taking potshots at Raphael’s.

“So what is it you’d like to talk about?” Raphael asked.

“It’s not something we can do on the phone.”

“All right. I’ll come to your apartment later.”

“No. It doesn’t matter what you say—I don’t trust you around Andy.”

“You cut me to the quick.”

“I wish.” We definitely needed privacy for this conversation. And I knew the perfect place, even though I wasn’t overly anxious to set foot in it again myself. “Adam White is kind of acting like my bodyguard while Der Jäger is after me.”

“That’s hardly a permanent solution. You and Lugh are going to have to do something about him. I can’t help you without blowing my cover.”

I knew exactly what he meant, but it wasn’t something I wanted to think about right now. If I could lure Der Jäger into some kind of a trap and then let Lugh take over, we probably stood a chance against him if only because of the element of surprise. But there were too many holes in the plan.

“Let me worry about Der Jäger for the moment. That’s not what I want to talk to you about.”

“Uh-oh.”

“Meet me at Adam’s house at”—I looked at my watch—“nine tonight.”

“And speaking of blowing my cover…Adam and I are on different sides of this little conflict, in case you’ve forgotten. I can’t just go drop in on him for a chat.”

“You’ll find an excuse.”

“I’d have an excuse if Andy were there. In all honesty, I can’t take a legitimate shot at him in your apartment. I’d have to get by the security guard, and I believe there are security cameras in the elevator. Not to mention killing him might be noisy and attract a lot of attention. If I attacked him at Adam’s place, the only significant witness would be Adam himself, and I can handle him. It would make a damn good excuse.”

Yeah, and it would give him a damn good chance of getting to Andy if that’s what he really wanted. “I guess you didn’t get my subtle hint—I don’t want you anywhere near Andy. That’s why I didn’t want you to come to the apartment.”

“Yes, I got the hint. I’m just ignoring it. I give you my word I will not harm your brother. We’ll figure out a good way to make my fake plan fail.”

Did I trust Raphael’s word? Hell no! But as long as we were prepared for him, we should be able to keep Andy safe. I hoped. I wasn’t looking forward to hearing what Andy thought of me for volunteering him as bait.

“All right, then,” I said. “I’ll see you at Adam’s at nine.”