Fallen Embers (Fallen Guardians #9)

Chapter 3

Chapter

Three

The following night, holed up in the soundproof office of Satire, Riley’s bar, Nia pressed her brow against the one-way window, watching the partying patrons.

It was close to nine p.m., and the place was packed with it being Christmas?—

God, Christmas!

She should have been celebrating and having fun with her friends. Instead, she was hiding like a hunted animal because of damn Kas!

Anxiety nipped at her that she hadn’t called work to explain her sudden disappearance. How could she tell her boss she’d gotten embroiled with a stalker, let alone a demon now obsessed with her because of her blood? She’d have to soon, or she’d lose her internship.

Teeth gritted, Nia rolled her shoulders to loosen the new tautness there. Her army general Saia had insisted she go through a self-defense routine that morning, something Nia hadn’t bothered to keep up with in the passing years.

She trudged the length of the office to where the desk took up space, watching the crowd jitter on the makeshift dance floor, wishing she could grab Saia and work out some of this restlessness. But that was out of the question, not when she had to stay safe. Ugh.

Riley had brought them to the bar with him after lunch. He wasn’t taking any chances, leaving them alone at the house.

“You’re pacing,” Saia murmured from behind her. Nia hadn’t heard her reenter the office.

“I’m so mad!” Nia pivoted to her friend. “Because of that dickhead mosquito’s need for my blood, now I must hide.”

Saia burst out laughing and curled up on the couch. “Anger is a good start. Just keep the dagger I gave you on you at all times. It’s made of iron. A little jabby jab in the heart and that skeeter can kiss his life goodbye.” She grabbed the remote and turned on the television in the corner.

Snorting out a laugh, Nia continued her pace-a-thon while her friend watched a rerun of some old sitcom. “You’ve become quite bloodthirsty since you mated.”

“I guess, but I learned the hard way. When this is all over, I’ll tell you mine and Riley’s story. The in-depth one this time, of how a demoness who wanted my mate dumped me at the gateway to Hell to die.”

Nia stumbled to a halt. “What?”

Saia rose and joined her at the one-way window. “Believe me, after that, I learned fast. Much as I hate it, I always try to stay in form, fighting-wise. Besides, Riley won’t let me slack off.” She scrunched her face.

“Wait, wait.” Nia shot up her hands. “Are you talking about the Hell where the evil dead go?”

“Yep.”

Her jaw nearly smacked her chest. Her friend was only a year younger than her twenty-five and was already a badass.

Saia’s cell beeped. She removed it from her pants pocket and glanced at a text. “It’s Zayn. He says he’ll crash at your place for a while and keep an eye on things.”

Nia nodded. Thank God for him. All three of Saia’s brothers were deadly demon hunters. While she didn’t have siblings, she loved the Sen-Grayson brothers as if they were her own. And Saia, like her sister. They’d clicked since they first met in kindergarten.

“So,” Saia murmured, eyes sparkling. “I’ve been thinking about something Riley mentioned last night. About Kas being glamoured?”

Nia slumped against the window and rubbed her hot face. “What about it?”

“Why not beat the schmuck at his own game?” Saia’s grin grew devilish. “ You get glamoured.”

Nia stilled. Then she shot upright. “I can do that?”

“Yep. You have nothing to lose except not to look like yourself for a little while.”

“God! Not to be in his sights? Yes, please.”

Saia nodded. “Okay, I called Riley. He’s on his way here.”

Right. No cell needed, not when soulmates possessed the gift of telepathy. Saia had explained it all.

Nia couldn’t even begin to contemplate an intimacy like that. Alas, she’d never know, not when she attracted the psycho types.

The door opened, and Riley strolled into the office. He cocked an eyebrow at Saia. “I don’t think you sighted the target. So, what are you up to, my mate?”

“Me? Nothing.” She laughed as he caressed her cheek with his knuckles.

The tender look they shared had Nia glancing out the window again. Her own longing for acceptance, for someone to love her unconditionally, squeezed her chest. All she drew were scumbags. Dates who saw dollar signs when they heard her name. And Kas, who wanted to drain her dry.

“What is it?” Riley asked, and Nia’s attention shifted to him.

“Remember what you said last night about using a glamour?” Saia rested her palms on his abs and filled him in on her suggestion.

He glanced at Nia. “Is that what you want?”

She nodded. “At this point, I’ll try anything. I’d change my hair color, but I doubt that would stop Kas. Please, just for a few days, so I can breathe.”

“A particular preference?” he asked.

“I don’t care, just different, please.”

“All right.” Riley crossed to her. “Shut your eyes.”

She did. His palms touched her temples. Warmth swept through her in a ripple from the top of her head to the tips of her toes before it vanished.

“Done.” He removed his hands.

At her friend’s soft gasp, Nia’s eyes snapped open, and she met Saia’s wide-eyed gawking. Her belly clenched. “Was that a good or bad gasp?”

“The mask is lovely, Nia,” she blurted. “But not as beautiful as you. I already miss your face.”

Okay, okay, she could deal with it. She didn’t care how she looked as long as it wasn’t her true self.

“I second Saia on that.” Zac, the bouncer and co-owner of Satire, entered the office. He slowed his steps and rubbed his shaven head, studying her for a moment. Yes, he knew about her stalker, too. “No matter what face you wear, you rock, Sunshine.” He grabbed a bunch of keys from the drawer and left.

Well, she’d withhold judgment until she saw herself. Nia hurried to the tiny, private bathroom attached to the office and gaped at her reflection in the mirror above the small sink.

Her black, waist-length hair, honey skin, and even her amber eyes were gone, replaced by a stranger with blonde hair, a fair complexion, and brown eyes.

Wow. So pale and flawless.

Even the shallow dimple in her chin had vanished, along with the several gold studs she wore in her left ear and the tiny one in her nose. Man, she already missed her piercings.

“I’m sooo not me. Even my mouth is thinner…” She peered closer, studying her narrower lips. “It’ll definitely trick Kas. If Niki were here, she would chortle her ass off at this new me.”

“Then she’d go after Kas with a dagger,” Saia added from behind her, having followed her to the bathroom.

“True.” Their other friend had a protective streak a mile long, but she was currently overseas, consoling her mother, who was going through yet another divorce.

Nia fingered her silky hair. The texture appeared finer and straighter than her natural wavy mane. “All I want is to go about my normal daily life and not worry if I’ll survive to see the next day.”

“It should work. If I hadn’t seen it, I wouldn’t have known it was you,” Saia said. “But you might have to explain to your boss who you are in this disguise.”

Crap, she hadn’t thought about that. Now, she’d have to call in sick. Something else she wanted to skewer Kas for!

With a deep exhale, she trailed Saia back into the office.

Riley turned from the one-way window and scratched his unshaven jaw, studying her. “It will only last two, maybe three days at most,” he told her. “A glamour that’s not self-formed has a shorter staying span. But I won’t need that much time to find and kill the demon.”

Nia nibbled her lower lip and nodded. If Saia could handle being at literal Hell’s gate and survive, then she needed to stop being a wuss. She straightened her shoulders and glanced at the jam-packed place.

There was only one way to find out if the mask worked. “I’m going to hang out at the bar with Zac and test this glamour.”

Saia slipped her arm through hers. “Yes, let’s go drink top-shelf booze while my hubby lays a trap for the bloodsucking mosquito.”

Nia huffed out a laugh as they walked out, and for the first time in days, her spirits rose a little. Maybe this would work.

Dammit. If one more drunken fool hits on me, I’m going to clobber him.

“No, I don’t want to dance! I’m with him.” For God’s sake! Nia flicked a thumb to Zac, who gave the drunk a narrowed-eyed stare. The guy scurried away.

“Do these donuts not understand a no means no? That I’m not going to change my mind ten minutes later?”

“Donut?” Zac’s bronze face split into a grin. He shook his shaven head and set another drink in front of her. “Fits. He probably has a huge hole in that brain.”

Nia scrunched her face, picked up the glass, and gulped down the chilled orange juice, minus vodka, for this round. She was alone since Saia had gone off to the office to answer a call from her father.

“Don’t worry. If that mofo comes in here, he’s dead,” Zac said, then he smirked. “Still can’t get used to seeing you like that, Sunshine.”

Nia laughed. “As long as it helps me.” Then she frowned. “It’s nearly midnight. It’s unlikely he’ll come in here, knowing two demons run this bar.”

“No, not if he wants to live.”

Breathing easier, she set her glass down and hopped off her stool. “I’m going to the ladies’ room.”

A few minutes later, she walked out of the restroom and down the corridor, shaking her head, unable to get used to the new her. She straightened the tan suede jacket Saia had loaned her over a black sweater. Since she was two inches taller than her friend’s five-five, the borrowed black jeans ended at her ankles. With her low-heeled boots, everything worked well.

Flipping back her hair, she paused in the dimly lit entryway to the busy bar. Men glanced her way, but she ignored them, searching for Kas. The door swung open?—

Holy crap!

The door swung open and the atmosphere shifted, as if reality itself bent around the man who entered. The crowd stilled, all eyes drawn to him.

He stood there for a second, his cool stare assessing the place. His classically hewn features appeared as if sculpted by masters of old. Man, drop-dead gorgeous just took on a new meaning.

But it was more than just his looks. There was something utterly compelling about him. Lethal. He wasn’t a demon. Her sense of ‘knowing’ didn’t prickle, but a strain of ice slid over her psyche. And she shivered.

Nia remained in the shadows and rubbed her arms.

What is he?

As if satisfied the place wasn’t infested with germs and such, he strolled toward the bar. The gawking patrons parted like the Red Sea, and he took it as his due.

His tall form clad entirely in black, the color was a perfect backdrop for his striking hair, blended in shades of brilliant sunset red. It framed his coldly handsome face and fell to his shoulders.

Yup, stone can look good, too.

He cut her a detached, cursory glance as he passed without slowing. Amidst the smell of liquor and snacks, the subtle scent of the great outdoors with a hint of citrus curled around her like a caress. Ooh boy.

It took everything in her not to follow.

Jesus! She bit off a wry grimace. No matter his good looks, his utter indifference sent a chill down her spine. Like he could kill someone and still get a good night’s sleep.

Putting the uberhot, stone-cold man out of her mind, Nia pivoted for the bar?—

A hand gripped her arm and yanked her back into the dimly lit hallway.

“What the hell!” She tried to break free. The familiar odor of ash and pinewood stung her nose. Oh, shit!

“Glamour?” Kas sneered in her ear, the bill of his ball cap poking her face. “You can’t hide from me, Nia.”

Her belly heaved as her gaze clashed with the demon’s dark, red-streaked glare. “I don’t know who or what you’re talking about.”

“I know your scent,” he hissed, his face too close to hers. He bared his fangs, fingers digging painfully into her biceps. “You waste my time. You are mine! Come.”

“No!” Nia yanked at his hold. “Let me go, dammit?—”

Suddenly, she flew back, crashing into people and landing on her backside. Pain jarred up her spine. Biting back a groan, she scrambled to her feet, her sore butt protesting, and froze.

The redheaded guy lifted Kas in a chokehold with one hand as if he were a rodent. Legs pedaling air, Kas snarled something in a strange, guttural language, trying to wrench the man’s hand off his neck. The lights flickered, and something vast and burning erupted from his back, like wings of living flame.

Red broke Kas’ neck with a flick of his wrist, the crack vibrating in her ears.

Oh, God, oh, God! She stumbled back.

The door flew open. Demons burst into the bar—not humanoid ones, but the horror movie type with blackened, leathery skin, horns, and bleeding red eyes. Stained fangs gleamed in the flickering lights.

Screams started. Nia reeled for the bathroom. There was a window there.

Red tossed Kas aside like garbage. Moving like the wind, he grabbed her by the arm.

“No!” she shrieked, the sound lost in the noise, unable to look away from the massive flames which seemed to be a part of him. The air around them swirled like a cyclone, and the bar vanished?—

They reappeared in the chilly breeze on a flat rooftop.

Blood drumming in her head, Nia wrenched free and staggered back. “Who-who are you?”

Her head spun as she cast a terrified look around, trying to realign her scrambled thoughts. The familiar noise of people and cars drifted from below, and she gulped in more frigid air. They were still in the Quarter.

Red remained statue-still, watching her.

Then it hit. He’d flashed her from the bar here, just like those bottom feeders from the Dark Realm could do. Her stomach roiled.

Never show fear, Saia’s words reverberated in her head.

If he wasn’t a demon, then what the hell was he?

It didn’t matter. Bottom line…

“You-you kidnapped me.” The words came weaker than the glacial tone she wanted.

He folded his muscular arms over his chest. “You can thank me when your mind starts functioning again,” he said, his voice as remote as his stare.

Nia shook her still dizzy head. Moonlight backlit him, causing his hair to glow, and something else stirred in her ‘ non - functioning’ mind. The jerk. She glanced to where the fire had erupted from his back.

Crap! Those hadn’t been flames at all?—

Wings!

Enormous, incandescent wings !

They weren’t visible currently, but she knew they existed. If he had wings, then… Her breath escaped in a gush. “Wh-what are you?”

“You have managed to evade the demon for a while now. Surely you know the differences between me and him, little human?”

His imperious tone scraped on her already raw nerves. And just like that, her temper cracked through her fear.

God, why her? One immortal jerk after another.

A freaking angel!

What else could he be?

She didn’t know much about those celestial beings, but weren’t they supposed to be benevolent, ready to help, and stuff? Not treat those perceived weaker than Their Mightiness like pebbles beneath their feet?

“If you’re the poster boy for those winged beings up there,” she shot her thumb skyward, “you can go back and tell them their marketing division sucks!”

Maybe she would have been awed at his timely interference, but she was frustrated to her eyeballs at not only being hunted but also having a stranger jump into her life and cart her off without so much as a, Hey, I’m a friend, the Grim Reaper, Freddy Krueger!

He took a step closer, his fiery hair sliding about his shoulders, his stare as icy as the night. Her heart thumped so hard it took everything in her not to skedaddle down the drainpipe.

“I am not a friend, the Grim Reaper, or this Freddy Krueger,” he said, obviously reading her mind. “I am it, little human. Be grateful.”

Aaargh! If she stabbed him, she might go to Hell, but maybe it would be sooo worth it.

He did a cool up-down stare over her as if she were an ant trying to scare a snake. “I would advise against attempting an action you have no hope of achieving.”

The jackass! “I didn’t ask to be rescued. Go find someone who will grovel over wings and arrogance. I need a drink.” She stomped for the escape stairs. Before she even grasped the rail, he appeared in front of her, and she almost crashed into him.

Dammit! Nia reared back. At this rate, she’d end up having a heart attack.

Scowling, she flipped back her long, pale hair. Thank God for her glamour. He would never discover her true identity once she escaped this pain in her backside.

“You’re in my way.”

“And you must remain safe.”

“Safe, safe ? On a freakin’ rooftop where any demon can get to me?”

“I won’t let them.”

“I don’t need your help. Go back to your Heaven. I already have someone to keep me safe.”

“You can inform them their services are no longer required.” His tone remained even, edged with infinite patience. If that was to reassure her… Yeah, too late.

“My name’s Loráed. You may call me Lore. I’ve been tasked to watch over you.”

“Watch over me? Why?” Nia narrowed her eyes. Did he mean this fake blonde version of her or the real her? Could he see past the glamour?

When he continued the silent, staring game, she scowled. “Fine, your prerogative. Don’t answer, whatever.” She spun away?—

Hell, flip it! She swung back and planted her hands on her hips. “Who sent you, and what are you keeping me safe from?” It couldn’t be from Kas.

“When I acquire those answers, you will have them.”

Seriously? Nia canted her head, studying him.

Angels couldn’t lie. They might evade but they’d never lie, or so she’d heard Saia’s mate mention once. Man, this angel must be way low in the pecking order not to even know the details of his mission. How could he possibly keep her safe from a blood demon?

“So you’re a guardian angel?”

“I thought it was my prerogative not to answer?”

“Darn pain in my ass,” she muttered, stomping around him. So, he didn’t want to talk about being an angel? While she was nosy enough to want the truth, begging wasn’t in her nature.

As she grasped the fire escape ladder, he touched her arm. The rooftop disappeared, and a shriek split free from her throat…