Lilith Saintcrow - Working for the Devil

The hover circled slightly, and began to drift downward toward Jace's mansion.

"Um, Danny?" Jace called. "You may want to come take a look at this."

I hauled myself up, and the little girl pushed her blanket off and shimmied down from her seat. She held her small perfect hand up. "Can I come, too?" She wore a short white babydoll nightie, and her chubby feet were bare. I fought the urge to pick her up off the hover's cold metal deck.

"Okay," I said, and took her hand. It was warm in mine—a demon's touch.

Like Japhrimel's. Was he dead? Or had Santino's men taken him? What could they do to him? Was he injured?

I made my way up to the front, holding the girl's hand. "What's up?" I peered out the front window.

"Take a look." Jace glanced up at me. "How's the kid doing?"

"She seems okay," I replied.

Below us, the familiar blocky outlines of Jace's mansion grew larger as the hover slowly dropped. On the wide marble expanse of courtyard in front, two sleek limohovers crouched, and four police cruisers.

"Fuck me," I breathed, forgetting the child's small hand in mine. "What the hell?"

"I was hoping you could tell me," Jace said. "I'm incorporated and operating under codes, so I'm fairly sure they're not here to roust me ."

" Sekhmet sa'es ." I was too tired to come up with a good plan. "No chance they're here for you, Eddie."

"'Course not, unless they'd like to arrest Gabe for fucking almost dying," he said, with no apparent growl in his voice. He must be exhausted. "What do we do, Danny?"

I wish they would stop nominating me as the idea man , I thought. "Nothing else to do," I said. "Drift on down and land, but keep the motor running until we're sure we won't need it. Jace, can I have a commlink?"

"Of course," he said. "What do you want me to do, Danny?"

"Stay here with the kid," I answered, glancing down at Eve. The little girl looked up at me, as if I were the only person in the hover. "If they take me, get the kid somewhere safe and wait for me to show up."

Jace swung out of his chair, not even bothering to argue with me. I felt a weary relief. Was it normal to feel this way? So tired, but unable to sleep.

No sleep. Not until I finished this game. And it was a game, I'd been pushed from square to square all along.

I took the child back into the hold and settled her back into the chair, tucking the blanket around her again. When I finished, Jace was standing by a crate of supplies, a strange expression on his face. His hair curled into a halo, drenched in ice water and then dried in climate control. I probably didn't look very good either.

"What?"

"Nothing," he said. "Let me find a commlink."

Eddie piloted the hover down. We landed with a thump. "Sorry," he called back. I slipped the commlink in my ear, settled my wrinkled coat on my shoulders, made sure my knives were easy in their sheaths. My right hand ached deeply, all the way down to the bone. If I were still human, I might be maimed.

I knelt down in front of Eve, who watched me with Doreen's eyes. "I've got to go talk to whoever this is," I told her. "You stay with Jace until I get back, okay?"

She nodded. "It will be all right, Danny. My daddy says so," she said, her clear piping voice oddly adult.

"Great," I answered grimly, and stood up. The ground swayed underfoot, or maybe it was just me. "Jace, I want you to promise. Promise you'll take care of her if I—"

He shrugged. "You know I will, Danny. Go on, get this over with." His blue eyes skittered over to the girl, back up to me.

I nodded, then Eddie popped the side hatch. I hopped down to the marble, almost losing my balance. The heat hammered at me, Nuevo Rio back to its old, bad, sunny self. I wish I was home , I thought suddenly, and that surprised me, too. I hadn't felt like Saint City was home for a good two or three years.

One of the limohovers opened its side hatch. A set of steps folded down.

I swallowed. I had a fair idea of what could be waiting in there.

I strode across the burning white marble and toward the sleek black hovers, trying to keep my shoulders straight and wishing I wasn't dirty, bloody, air-dried, and so close to crying my throat ached keeping it all in.

The inside of the limo-hover was done in all different shades of red. Crimson, cardinal, burgundy, magenta, carmine, lobster—I blinked, stepping onto plush carpet at the top of the stairs. The air swirled with the smell of demon , smoky musk, and I took a deep breath. It was as if I hadn't been breathing until now. Whatever demons used for air, this hover was full of it.

That's why she smells familiar , I realized with no real surprise. She smells like him. Like Lucifer .

The Prince of Hell lounged elegantly on a huge circular red-velvet couch, his booted feet crushing the velvet. I gave the surroundings a tired glance—wet bar, tinted windows, doors probably leading to a bathroom and a private bedroom. There was a sunken tub in one corner, bubbling and frothing with a clear viscous fluid that didn't look even remotely like water.

Lucifer's golden hair burned among the redness. He was dressed, of course, all in black silk, loose elegant pants and a long-sleeved, Chinese-collared shirt. The walls were done to look like expensive red damask wallpaper, and heavy velvet drapes muffled every sound.

I swallowed. "The decor sucks," I said, too tired for any bowing and scraping. I cradled my right hand in my left—it was really starting to throb as adrenaline wore off.

"Good afternoon to you, too," Lucifer replied, his voice stroking and tapping at my ears. A thrill like old tired fire ran through me—I was too exhausted to really respond to him. If I'd had any more energy I would have been worried about it. "Have you brought me the Egg?"

"Nope," I said. "But Santino's dead. And you didn't really want me to bring you the Egg anyway, that was Japhrimel's job. Looks like he did it, because you're out of Hell and feeling frisky."

Lucifer held up one elegant golden hand. I could look at his face now, without my eyes blinking and watering. His smell folded over me, teased at my hair, permeated my clothes. My bones rang with his nearness, a vibrating electricity that made me want to go to my knees. I fought the urge.

A fine golden chain wrapped around his beautifully manicured fingers. "The once-demon Japhrimel brought me this," he said, twirling a diamond-glittering oval on the chain. The hum of Power filled the air. I couldn't look directly at the glittering thing, it hurt even my eyes.

My throat was desert-dry. "So that's what that was." Santino had thrown the Egg at Japhrimel, to fend him off.

"Indeed. Vardimal managed to unlock a fraction of the Egg's power and threw it at Tierce Japhrimel. The only thing that could possibly hurt my Eldest—because it is mine , and therefore dangerous to my line. Any demon would be grieviously injured by it. Except, of course, myself. I am the Prince." Lucifer sounded amused. He cocked his golden head. "Where is the child, Dante Valentine?"

I shrugged. "That's what you were after all the time, wasn't it? Doreen's kid. The Androgyne. You let Santino alone until he did what you couldn't, and now you have everything."

"The sedayeen was never more than a template, Dante. The Egg contains my genetic codex, and pure Power. It is a mark of my reign and a useful tool."

"You knew the whole time. You knew . You just couldn't afford to have anyone else know Santino had done what you couldn't, so you had to find a human to do the dirty work. And all that tripe about the Egg being broken—" I shook my head, a lump in my throat. My voice sounded husky and harsh next to his smooth persuasive tones.