Succubi Are Forever, page 17
I shook my head, staring at the dark amber liquid of the shot in front of me. My stomach was roiling from the alcohol burning in the pit of my belly. “And how exactly are you going to stop her? She vaporized the queen with a thought.”
“There are ways,” Noah said thoughtfully. He looked over at me, the tattoos stark against his golden skin. “There is still another halo on the playing field, after all.”
I stilled in my chair.
There was another halo. I could get it—somehow—and defeat Mae. Somehow. And then I could turn both over to the Archangel Gabriel.
And Gabriel had promised to give me anything I wanted.
Anything.
And I wanted Zane back. I wanted him so badly that I could taste it. I clenched my hands to keep my body from trembling in excitement. “You’re going after the second halo?”
He looked at me and nodded. “I have no choice.”
“Phryne will be after it,” I told him. “I want revenge against her. Take me with you.”
He shook his head. “Jackie, I don’t even know where to begin for the second halo—”
“I do,” I said quickly. “Phryne stole my manuscript page. I didn’t understand why my page seemed to have all the information for the tomb and hers had nothing. But then I realized that there were two haloes and her page probably leads straight to the other if she can just decipher what it says. Of course, she doesn’t have a vampire to read it to her now. She’d have to get Serim help.”
“She won’t approach the Serim,” Noah said. “Her master is Ariel and she hates him fiercely.”
Boy, Ariel had a string of unhappy succubi, didn’t he? First Luc, now Phryne. That explained who’d given such deadly information to Phryne, then. The bastard. Of course, Phryne was even worse—she’d turned around and given away my position to the queen. I blamed her for Zane’s death. “If she won’t approach the Serim, it’ll take her that much longer to decipher what she’s got. In the meantime, we can hunt her down and I can make her pay for what she’s done.”
He eyed me, his pale eyes unhappy. “Jackie, revenge is not the answer.”
“I don’t give a shit,” I said flatly. “Nothing matters anymore. Making Phryne hurt half as much as I’m hurting is the only thing that’s driving me right now. It’s either that, or I’m going to lose it, Noah.” My entire body began to tremble, and the tears began to spill forth again. “So let me focus on getting revenge, because that’s all I’ve got to go on right now. Okay?”
He sighed, ran a hand down his face. “All right, Jackie. All right. I’ll take you with me.”
“Thank you,” I said quietly, and reached over and squeezed his hand impulsively. “I can always count on you.”
Too bad he wasn’t going to be able to count on me. I was going to have to double-cross him as soon as we found the second halo. It’d hurt and Noah would be furious, but I was going to get Zane back, and I was going to do it even if I died trying.
I had nothing to live for if he was gone.
He patted my hand, the understanding and sympathy in his gaze making my throat ache. “I know you’re hurting, Jackie. I understand that this isn’t easy, but you need to keep your strength up if we’re going to do this. I know you don’t want to think about it, but we can help each other out. I’m here for you.” He patted my hand one more time and then poured another shot.
But my stomach did a sick little flip at the thought. Here for me? Like back when we’d been living together before? He’d proposed to me once, and I’d turned him down. And then we’d continued to have sex until I told him I was choosing Zane. And now that Zane was out of the picture, I’d just fall back into his arms again?
I swallowed the shot in front of me, sick at the thought. The nature of a succubus was that I had to have sex every two days or I’d die slowly of starvation. We were hedonistic creatures with strong appetites—we ate a lot, drank a lot, loved even more—but the only thing that we truly required to continue on was a steady diet of sex.
I looked at Noah, at his big, bronzed hands, tattoos looping his wrists. Thought of him putting those hands on me.
It didn’t fill me with the instant lust it had before, back when I was torn between him and Zane. All I felt was sadness. The only hand I pictured was Zane’s, outstretched as if to touch me one last time.
My hands trembled and I set the shot glass down. “Noah, before we go any further, I want to set expectations.”
He arched an eyebrow at me. “Oh?”
“I want to be your friend and your partner in finding this halo. Nothing more.”
The look on his face became dark. “Jackie, I’m not enough of an asshole to move on you while you’re grieving. I was merely reassuring you. I know as well as anyone that you can’t avoid your succubus curse, even if your heart is broken.”
“I know,” I said, and reached across the table to squeeze his hand in reassurance. “But I’m letting you know that I just want us to be friends. Nothing more. I can’t… I can’t handle more right now. You understand.”
“Jackie, this won’t be overnight. Phryne can blend in to her surroundings. She won’t leave us a noticeable trail. I won’t allow you to starve yourself because you’re pining for the vampire.” His hand caressed mine. “I’ve lost someone too, you know.”
Rachael. My look-alike. The woman he missed so much that he carried an oil painting of her with him. I hadn’t forgotten. And now he’d lost Sophie, the only other woman, apart from me, who had intrigued him in a very long time. No, Noah was no stranger to loss.
“I know,” I said, my voice firm. But I hadn’t changed my mind. I would rather starve than cheat on Zane. We were together, I thought fiercely. And I was going to get that halo and bring him back, and that meant waiting for his return.
I refused to accept any other options.
“You can’t circumvent your succubus needs, Jackie,” Noah said. “It’s impossible.”
His words made an idea flash into my mind. An idea… and a face. “No, actually, it’s not impossible…”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“There are a lot of dicks in this business. And I don’t mean their junk.”—Reality Through the Eyes of a Porn Goddess, by Remy Summore
~*~
Las Vegas, Nevada
He was waiting for me by a row of slot machines in the Bellagio. Tall, dark, with long, sweeping hair that brushed against his collar and pale silvery eyes that caressed me as I approached. Luc Stone leaned against one of the machines, his beautiful mouth curling with sulky amusement at the sight of me.
He still unnerved me. Incredibly gorgeous, unbelievably selfish, and a creature just like me. The only incubus I knew, and a man with whom I had a rather unfortunate history.
I stopped in front of him, crossing my arms over my chest briskly. I watched his gaze move over the casual jeans I wore, the plain black T-shirt, and the no-nonsense ponytail I’d pulled my hair back into.
“Thank you for meeting me,” I said stiffly to him.
“My master commands and I obey,” he said in that lazy voice that held just a hint of a Cajun accent. But he tilted his head, regarding me. “Someone’s destroyed your innocence, ma belle. Your eyes are like flint. Shame.”
“Can we go someplace private to talk?” I asked him.
He gave me a languid smile. “Now why would I do that? You assume I trust you, ma belle. Or that I want to help you.”
“You want to help me because it’s in your best interests to help me,” I told him bluntly. “And I know you’re all about your best interests.”
He gave me a cool smile. “Well, now I am listening. Shall we go to my room?” He extended his elbow at me, clearly meaning for me to tuck my hand into his arm.
Close enough for him to reach out and touch me, to use his powers on me and knock me unconscious.
Of course, I’d be close enough to stab him with the knife I had at my belt.
Toss-up.
Still, this was going to require some trust on my part. I needed Luc’s help, and I suspected he’d be interested in the information I had. So, grudgingly, I put my hand in his arm. “Not your room,” I told him. “The bar.”
“I am wounded, ma belle,” he said with a laugh in his voice, but steered me to the nearest restaurant.
The lighting was soft and neutral, the floors and bar a beautiful pale wood that made the entire room look clean and luminous. It was also almost empty at this time of day, with a long row of deserted square barstools lined up against the bar. We headed for the far end of the bar, smiling as if we were on a date and this was a normal sort of thing. As we walked, people stared. Waiters turned, the few patrons scattered in the restaurant paused in conversation, and the bartender immediately began to head in our direction. Of course. Luc was beautiful. I was sexy. Together, we were stunning. Someone was probably racking their brains, trying to figure out if we were just blessed with good looks or if we were celebrities.
Once, it might have been fun to see that reaction. But not now, not when I felt like one of the walking dead.
I wanted Zane back. Nothing more. This was a means to an end.
I ignored the audience we were gathering and sat on the barstool. Luc sat next to me and clasped his hands, lacing his fingers as he leaned over the bar, all casualness. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”
I gave him a tight smile. “Oh, I was just thinking about the good old days. You know how it goes. Hey,” I snapped my fingers and gestured at him, feigning wide-eyed enthusiasm. “Remember that time when you kidnapped me and chained me to your wall? And you put that choker on me to stop my curse? Wasn’t that fun?”
He raised an eyebrow at my words. “As I recall, one of us came out on top of that situation and it was not me. Are you still taking these things personally, ma belle?”
“No,” I said, though it was a little grudging. “I wanted to see you because I need another one of those chokers. I want something to block the curse again.”
“And how long do you intend upon wearing it?”
“As long as it takes,” I said grimly. “A week, a year… ten years. Doesn’t matter.”
He arched an eyebrow, intrigued by my hard words. “You are courting death. Should someone remove the necklace from you, you could die within a matter of seconds.”
“Then make it something less easy to grab. A ring, maybe.” My heart seized at the thought. The halo had been a ring, and I’d lost it. Maybe a ring was a bad idea.
Luc’s mouth tugged up in a smile. “Very well then, a ring. What is it that I get out of this deal?”
The bartender came by, and I ordered a drink just so he’d go away. Luc ordered one as well, and we waited in silence as the bartender poured our drinks, then moved away again.
When he was gone, I put my hand on my glass and tugged it closer. Time to skip all the bullshit. “Your vampire master is dead, isn’t he?”
Luc’s expression didn’t change. He was too good at hiding his emotions for that sort of thing. But he hesitated, then knocked back his drink. “And were you his assassin, ma belle?”
Not grief, not anger. Just mild curiosity. Good. That was the reaction I could handle easiest.
“Not his assassin,” I told him. “I witnessed the queen’s death.”
Luc stilled. His gaze searched mine, as if seeking the truth. “All the vampires?”
“All of them,” I said softly. I explained what had happened, while glossing over my deal with Gabriel. I told him about Phryne, the halo Mae had absorbed, and the queen’s death.
He looked grim at my words. “I hate that demon.”
“Me too,” I said, and when he gave me a sneering look, I raised a hand. “I’ve learned my lesson by harming you. I’m suffering the consequences.” My voice hitched on the words. “I wanted to let you know that if I get another halo, the angel Gabriel has promised me a boon. And if I get that boon, I’m going to bring the vampires back.”
He laughed, the sound low and smooth. “And how does that help me?”
I turned my drink, not even sipping it, just letting the ice clink against the edges of the glass. “I think you want your vampire master alive.”
“And why would I want that?”
“Because now that he’s gone, you can’t kill Ariel. If he’s back…” I shrugged. “You have one disposable master, do you not?”
His eyes gleamed at my suggestion, and he laughed. “You play a dangerous game, little sister. You’ve learned much since I saw you last. I almost like this side of you.”
I hated this side of me. But it was necessary. “So you’ll help me?”
“I will make you a ring,” he said slowly. “If nothing else, so you can ensure that the demon is put in her place.”
“That is agenda item number one,” I assured him. “She’s going to pay for what she’s done.”
“I feel I must warn you, though,” he said slowly. “Which succubus did you say you were chasing for the second halo?”
“Phryne.”
“Ah, Phryne. My sister in servitude to Ariel.” His mouth twisted. “He is not a good man to serve.”
I knew he wasn’t. “Phryne has… information that I need.”
And a head I wanted to chop off her shoulders.
“She is dangerous. You would be best avoiding her entirely. Take that as a friendly warning from a brother.”
Some brother. He’d tried to rape me and then kill me, once upon a time. Of course, I’d given him to a demon, so fair was fair. “You told her about my promise to the demon, didn’t you? You sold me out.”
“I did not sell you out,” he said, his smile all white dazzling teeth. “You and I have never been on the same side… until now.”
“And what makes it different now?” I had to ask. I’d been the one to approach him, but I had to know I could trust what he offered.
“Because, ma belle, Phryne and I may share a master, but we do not work together. That one has not sought to include me in her plans. In making her choices, she has eliminated mine.” That smile took on a more feral cast. “I do not like being left with no options. And so because she has made a selfish choice, I shall make a selfish choice of my own.”
“Then tell me where I can find her,” I said. “She has a document that she stole from me that is critical to this plan.”
The plan that I had that was basically looking like: 1) Find halo. 2) Kill all the sons of bitches standing in my way. 3) Get Zane back. I’d fill in the details later.
“She cannot be found if she does not want to be found. I imagine her house is empty right about now, and will be until she is satisfied that you are either neutralized, dead, or simply do not matter any longer. If she knows you are on her trail, she will try to lead you on a merry chase. Phryne is several thousand years old,” Luc said, leaning an elbow on the bar and smiling at me. “And she values her own skin above all things. If you meet her, the element of surprise is your only hope.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said. “Thank you.”
He inclined his head at me, acknowledging my polite response. “And you think you have a chance at getting this second halo and defeating the demon?”
“If it takes me a hundred years to find that halo, I’ll do it. I have nothing but time. And once I get it, I’ll be able to stand toe-to-toe with her.”
Luc shook his head at me. “While it is true that you will be able to stand toe-to-toe with her, I think you are underestimating things, little sister.”
I remained calm, toyed with my still-full glass. “Oh? How so?”
He gave me a roguish smile. “I do not think the current owner of the halo is all that interested in giving it up.”
My heart pounded in my chest. “Current owner?”
Someone had gotten there before me? Already?
Luc reached over and plucked my drink off my napkin, drank half, and then set it back down on his side of the bar, not even bothering to ask permission. A little proprietary, but if he got me the ring, I’d forgive him for it. “Do you know whose halo it is you seek, ma belle?”
“No,” I said bluntly. “Do you?”
“His name is Camael,” Luc said, and his mouth twisted in a grimace. “An old friend of Ariel’s. And he is very much alive.”
The archangel lived? That definitely put a kink into the plans. “Where is he?”
“Missing. Gone. Has not been seen in centuries,” Luc said, lifting my drink and downing the rest of it. After he swallowed, he looked over at me and grinned. “Still feeling your bravado, little sister?”
“My plans haven’t changed,” I said stubbornly.
“And what will you do if Camael does not wish to give his halo to a stone-eyed little succubus? Will you cut him into a hundred pieces and burn his corpse so you can drag his halo from the ashes?”
I thought of Zane. His hand reaching out to me. The bloody feather I carried in my pocket still. “If I have to,” I said, setting my jaw. “If he stands in my way.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“You need to have an exit plan for this line of work, or you’re going to end up with a vagina like a pothole. No one wants that.”—“Hard” Truths, by Remy Summore
~*~
Somewhere in the Upper Xingu, the Amazon, Brazil
Eighteen Months Later
Night.
I felt a surge of success when our small rowboat pushed past the thick jungle on the right bank and in the distance, the smooth sides of a chartered boat came into view. The White Queen was anchored near the bank a short distance away, the thick canopy hanging overhead. Calm. Unaware.
Good.
“It’s there,” Remy said a bit too loudly. “You were right, I was wrong. Can we go back now?”
“Shhh,” I told her and dug my paddle into the water. “I just want to get closer so we can investigate things.”
“Jackie, that’s not the plan,” Remy said. “We’ve found the boat. That’s awesome. Now we need to make sure that we don’t lose her again. As soon as she goes to shore, we can follow her then.”
