Succubus Heat CHAPTER 25

To her credit, Grace didnt cower. She s aliked firm, regaining her compo authoritative as she matched Jeromes stare with one of her own. In fact, she regained enough of herself that she remembered to neutralize the rain. The drops parted around her, much as the fire had parted around romish. Her suit and hair were dry again, crisp and perfect.You would subscribe done the same thing, she told Jerome.I couldnt see Jeromes face when he spoke. I wouldnt have got caught. You did. You failed.You should be impressed with my ingenuity. She crossed her arms, almost defiant. Im handlingful to you.You are meaningless. I could blight you turn emerge of existence, and no one would think twice about it.I wasnt sure about that. Demons smote each other all the time, s railroad carcely that didnt mean Hell liked it. It created paperwork, and if you were caught, you got displace to Hells equivalent of prison. Grace apparently shared my doubts about how easy it would be for Jerome to eat her.I dont think so. As it is, youll be lucky if you have your concern when you get back. You got yourself summoned. Her eyeball flicked to me and romish, huddled together on the sand. Your territorys in chaos. Theyll send you off to a desk job-or make you somebody elses subordinate. Quite a fall from an archdemons position. non likely, said Mei, speaking up. Not if we spin this right. Jeromes got male monarchful connections. So do I. And Cedric leave alone advocate for him.Her willingness to tending and assurance about Cedric surprised me, hardly past, mayhap it was back to the k nowadays-thy-enemy philosophy. Grace glared at her former counterpart.Youre the biggest fool of all here.Enough, snapped Jerome. Theres been enough villainous exposition here. The matters done. I didnt have to see him to exist he was dexterous at Grace-only, I suspected it wasnt a very nice smile. I will see you in Hell.He snapped his fingers, and suddenly, what looked like cruddy ice sprang up from the ground and crawled up Graces body. She hardly had any(prenominal) time to scream because it coated her so quickly and whence froze into place, leaving her immobile. She had become a thorny black statue.What is that? I breathed.Kind of a demon stasis, roman type murmured back. A prison of sorts. Hes ten times more powerful than her-its an easy thing for him to do.I wondered then just how powerful Roman really was. Hed seemed matched against Grace, precisely I still wasnt sure if hed been holding back or not, for fear of detection. As it was, he now had his signature turned off, appearing as a human for all intents and purposes. Hed done it just forward Mei fully materialized.You drive to get out of here, I told him.Wait, he responded.Indeed, Roman seemed the least of Jeromes concerns as the archdemon studied Graces frozen form. Her defeat had been anticlimactic, really. There had been no flashy brawl as everyone else seemed to have had today, but then, I supposed when you wi elded the kind of power Jerome did, there was no hold. I also had a feeling that Grace had been right about something. Even if he did have connections, Jerome probably couldnt risk doing anything rash to reestablish his control back in Seattle. He probably did want to torture her and blight her from the face of the earth, but binding her and taking her to face hellish justice-such as it was-was going to do him more earnest. Hell would be more kindly disposed to him if he followed their rules.He turned and faced Mei, who stood off to the side. It was the first time Id gotten a good glimpse of my boss since his return. His face was blank and cold, but I was pretty sure I could see the fury kindling behind his eyes. Being summoned was pretty much the worst thing that could happen to a demon.She was right to a current extent, he told Mei. It could have been advantageous to turn against me.And be second to her? Mei shook her head. Like Grace, she had put herself back together. No. I w ont serve you forever, imagine me, but for now, I see what my best course of action is. Im throwing my lot in with yours.Your loyalty is appreciated. Mei gave a small nod of acknowledgment. Unlike Kristin and Cedric, where she served him out of love as much as duty, Meis loyalty was all pragmatism and assessment of what could advance her. Jerome knew this and take backed it. And it will be rewarded.I know it will be, she said evenly. And Ill have no co-lieutenant when we return?No. Not if I have anything to do with it.And for the first time since I had known her, Mei smiled.Her eyes then flicked to the Grace statue. Do you need me?No, said Jerome, seeming to remember us. You can go.Mei wasted no time. She vanished, and Jerome turned around and stared passel at Roman and me. His eyes fell on me first.So. Youre here, Georgie. Why am I not surprised?Because Im the only one who cared about getting you back and wasnt too lazy to do anything about it?The ghost of a smile flickered acro ss his lips. Fair enough. And you will be rewarded too.I wanted to tell him that I didnt need a reward, but Jerome had already shifted his attention to Roman. The smile faded. You, however, have some balls in coming here.Must run in the family, said Roman. As scat up as he was, he still managed mockery.A suicidal nature does not, however. You know youre seconds away from being destroyed, dont you?Yeah, yeah, said Roman. And Im sure killing me would help reinforce your badass status. But the truth is, I helped save you. You wouldnt be here if it wasnt for me.I wasnt entirely sure if hed done as much work as me in all this, but he had certainly made it easier for me. Nonetheless, even if he had truly single-handedly saved Jerome, it meant nothing. Demons didnt operate by a virtuoso of fairness or feel obligations. Jerome affirmed as much.I owe you nothing. If you want to risk your life, thats no concern of mine. I dont care whether you live or die.Roman struggled to his feet. Thats not true, or else you would have killed me already. Maybe you dont owe me anythingand yet, youre indebted to me, even if you dont believe in paying off debts-and I think you do. You cant jut knowing you owe me.Jerome narrowed his eyes. What is it you want?Amnesty.What? I squeaked. No one paid any attention to me. As far as they were concerned, they were the only cardinal people in the world, father and son.Im tired of running, tired of hiding. I want a place to stay. A place I can settle down in for a while.You dont need me for that.Dont I? asked Roman. Any place I live, even with my signature masked, I live in fear of being find by the greater immortals who control it. Im ever so watching my back. I want to be somewhere where I can walk around knowing I have at least some measure of protection.If someone else wants to kill you, Im not going to stand in their way.I know that. But at least I wont have to worry on a daily basis about you being one of them.Jerome fell silent, and to my complete and utter astonishment, I realized he was deliberating about this. I never would have thought it possibleand yet, as Roman had said, if Jeromes mind had been made up, he would have smote Roman already.Last fall, when wed learned Jerome had his twin nephilim, wed also learned that hed had a wife long ago, a woman he loved so much that hed travel from grace to be with her. Did any of that love remain? Had it burned out over these millennia as a damned creature? Did he see any of her when he looked at Roman? When Jerome had helped hunt Roman and his twin, it seemed as though he didnt care. Hed even helped kill Helena.Now, I wondered if Jerome was truly as indifferent as he appeared, and I wondered if Roman had long suspected that. I knew Roman hated Jerome-probably more than he hated me-but was it worth an uneasy alliance with Jerome to have some peace? Had Roman realized playing off this paternal relationship might be the only way to buy him a working(prenominal) repr ieve? Of course he had. That had been Romans plan all along. Lingering love for Romans motherand a bit of obligation thrown in. That was why Roman had helped rid Jerome-and why he hadnt wanted me to let anyone else in on what I learned, I realized wryly. Secrecy might have been a true concern, but he would have undoubtedly wanted to minimize others involvement so that he could play a major role in Jeromes rescue and use that as leverage.Mei knows, said Jerome. I cant control what shell do.She doesnt, said Roman. I knew what Georgina sent Seth off to do, and I had shut down just before Mei arrived. She never saw my face last time, so she didnt recognize me now. She doesnt realize what I am.Hes right, I realized, recalling how Grace had had him in a chokehold. Roman had been little by little letting go of his power and had had very lucky timing.Even if thats true, said Jerome, who seemed to be growing frustrated by the logic, I cant control what othersll do. The angels will always b e a problem.Well, not that much of a problem. The new voice was accompanied by the arrival of an all-too-familiar aura, one that felt crystalline and cool. Carter now stood beside us. have back.Jerome glanced over at the angel, and for half a second, he almost looked p call ford. The two of them appraised each other, probably communicating telepathically. Or maybe not. Maybe after so many eons of friendship, they no longer needed to.I suppose youre going to advocate for him too, said Jerome.Carter shrugged and glanced over at Roman. I dont know. Angels had as much of an reason to hunt down nephilim as demons did. I thought of Carter as benevolent, but he too had helped destroy Helena. He did help. Maybe hell stay on good behavior.It was a sign of how crazy things had become when Jerome and Carter seemed on the verge of letting a nephilim stick around-and that I was the one who protested.Are you qats out of your minds? I exclaimed. You know what hes done He killed those people and hurt others. For all we know, this is a scam. Let him back in Seattle, and he could try to kill others. He could try to kill you. He could try to kill me Everyone turned to me, seeming a bit startled by the outburst. And here I thought we were partners, mused Roman. constipate him, said Carter. Bind him in a deal.Jerome and Roman sized each other up, and I held my breath. An immortal deal reached a creatures soul and could not be broken without dreadful consequences. Id made a couple in my life. Everything rested on Jerome now, whether he was willing to go against every immortal taboo and knowingly let a nephilim live in his territory.Finally, Jerome spoke. I will allow you to live in my domain. During such time, I will not harm you-unless youre discovered by others and I am given no choice. I make no guarantees about other immortals who find you and offer no protection should that occur. You in turn affidavit not to implicate me in any way for doing this. You betoken not to har m me or any other immortals who cross into my territory, unless its self-defense-or unless Ive given my okay. You also promise to harm none of my subordinates-he glanced at me-anywhere in the world.I accept, said Roman gravely.And, added Jerome, a sharp glint in his eyes, you vow to be visible(prenominal) should I require your services in a defensive, covert, or-in very rare conditions-offensive way.There it was. The reason Jerome could go along with something like this. In offering Roman sanctuary, he was bargaining to have a secret nephilim agent, a powerful weapon none of his enemies knew about it. Id never heard of anything like this.I accept with the condition that I wont kill on your command, Roman said at last.Jerome considered. Agreed. The terms of this deal end should you at any time openly recant my amnesty. Or if I also declare the deal null and void.I want a time frame on that, said Roman wryly. When does my lease expire?A century. Then well renegotiate.I accept it all , then.And I agree to the same amnesty terms as Jerome, piped in Carter. Except I dont need you to spy or kill for me.Agreed, said Roman.It was all so terribly formal, and my presence felt complete superfluous. All three of them shook hands, and as they did, power burned in the air, binding them all to what theyd agreed.Well, said Jerome briskly. Now that thats done, Im going back to clean up the mess thats been made in my absence. He gave Roman a wry look. Considering you arent technically in my territory yet, Id advise you- Jerome suddenly stopped and scanned the beach. What about the other summoner? The human one? Was he here?I looked around as well. The beach was empty. It was Dante I said slowly.Jerome rolled his eyes. Typical. Where is he now?I dont know, I said honestly. Grace beat him up. Id worried he was dead, but apparently not. Glancing over to where hed been lying, I saw what looked like tracks in the sand where hed been dragged off. I decided to keep that to myself.Won derful, said Jerome. Turning back toward us, he scrutinized me. You will keep this deal to yourself, Georgie. And well discuss your reward another day.He disappeared and with him, the Grace statue. I didnt envy her.Roman, Carter, and I started walking back toward the parking lot. I couldnt speak for them, but my mind was reeling with everything that had happened.Did you see what happened to Dante? I asked Roman.Afraid I was kind of busy. What happened to Mortensen after he called Mei?I told him to leave, and I think I hesitated, not entirely sure how I knew this, unless it was just my understanding of Seths nature. I think Seth may have carried him off in the confusion. Oh man, he actually listened to me.The parking lot was empty. My car was gone.They took my car, I explained. I honestly hadnt thought Seth would, despite my pleas for him to leave.Wow, said Roman, clearly delighted. Your ex-boyfriend helped save your current boyfriend and then stole your car. Or-well, wait-is Mortens en your boyfriend now? Did he technically save your ex?Oh, shut up. It doesnt matter. We dont have a way to get back.Did you tell him to take the car? asked Carter.Yeah. I told him to get far away. I wanted him safe, and I guess he listened.Depends on how you define it, said Roman. Him coming back for the other guy put him in the demon line of fire. Why would he do that for someone he didnt like?I stared at the empty parking spot. Because hes Seth.Carter seemed as nonchalant about all this as Dante. Well, its a good thing Im here, huh? He rested his hands on our shoulders, and I braced myself for immortal teleportation. furbish up for a ride home?It beats walking, I said.Carter paused and gave Roman a curious glance. What are you going to do for a home?Roman was paying attention for a moment. Well, I hear Georginas moving to a bigger place. He glanced over at me with one of his beautiful grins. Need a roommate?