Page 30 of Beauty At Stake
“You very welcome.” The bartender inclined his head. “You want tab?”
“Sure,” Kill said. “Put us all on one together.”
I grinned, thinking,If things go poorly, or even if they go well, that might become one hell of a tab.
I sipped my drink, made yum sounds, and ignored the bar for a while. The men did that half-turn thing you do on bar stools when you don't want anyone coming up behind you. But they also clicked their bottles together. Hopefully, it was enough for us to pass as normal tourists.
Then we waited.
The rest of our team trickled in. They ordered drinks and sat down, sprinkling themselves around the bar so that we covered the entire room. At last, we were ready to go in.
We could have simply rushed the door. But as we prepared to do that, I said, “Let me go in first. Invisible.”
“Not alone,” Raza said.
I looked at him.
He cursed.
“I gotta pee,” I announced and jumped off my stool.
I sauntered to the beaded corridor, past drunk patrons who eyed me like a snack, and then into the ladies’ room. Luckily, it was empty. I went into a stall, cloaked myself in invisibility, and left. Slowly, I opened the door just enough to slip through, then eyed the beaded curtain.
“Shit,” I muttered.
That's when I remembered I could lalek. I could have smacked myself on the forehead. Why hadn't I just laleked to that door from the bathroom stall? Well, at least this way, I could take a peek through the beads and make sure my destination was clear. Laleking into a spot already inhabited would be disastrous.
No one was near the door. The spot had been notably vacant the entire time we'd been there.
Concentrating on the door, I started to summon my Demon magic but then thought better of it. Laleking used Fire while laruking used Air. A breeze would call less attention than a rain of embers in a dark bar. I stepped back so I wouldn't mess with the beads and laruked to the door.
I appeared next to the suspicious door and paused. No one noticed me. I hoped that went for whoever was behind the door too. Still hidden by my glamour, I tried the handle and wasn't surprised to find it locked. No biggie. With the combination of my Fey, Demon, and Angel powers, I was strongenough to break the handle. With a little snick, the knob gave way.
Even more slowly than I had exited the bathroom, I opened the door. A crack, then a little more. When nothing happened, I opened in further. Finally, the space was wide enough for me to slip through. I went in and quickly shut the door behind me.
Before me was a set of stairs. The noise of the bar dulled to a general thudding, conversations vanishing. I waited, listening and reaching out with my senses. I felt the Demons in the bar but no one else. This didn't surprise me either. I had already sent my psychic feelers out and hadn't sensed a Demon past that door. But that didn't mean he wasn't there. A hakhil—a type of Demon ward—would hide anyone's aura. It had hidden mine once.
So, I carefully climbed the stairs, testing each one for creaking before putting my full weight upon it. Like a mouse, I made it to the top. To another door.
Making silent, invisible, and yet expressive faces of annoyance, I reached for the handle. This time, I needed to be quiet and quick. If our Demon was hiding under a hakhil, it would take something substantial to break through it. I could do it with Light and maybe even Darkness, but it would be noticeable. Very noticeable. So I wanted as much of an advantage as possible.
I slowly turned the handle until it snicked, then opened the door with a jerk. While I opened it, I flung a hand forward, feeling for a hakhil. Sure enough, I hit gold. My hand smacked into an impenetrable Demon shield. Powerful Demons, such as Lords, could break hakhils. And I was the most powerful Demonin all the worlds. Yeah, all right, I was just a little Demon. Still, I feel like that counts. Better yet, I was the Light-Bringer.
With a blast of Anu's Light, I brought the hakhil down, the blinding flash sparking across the invisible dome to define it even as it died. My magic and the explosion created by the destroyed hakhil sent an energy blast outward. I didn't have to confirm in my comm device that I was in. They'd know. Everyone within a mile radius would know that something had happened.
A cramped room lurked within the hakhil, full of computer screens, a desk, and a Demon. The screens featured views of the bar, the desk held only a laptop, and the Demon sat before that laptop. Average in appearance, with short dark hair and watery blue eyes, his skin was dark enough that he wouldn't immediately stand out on a Thai street. He looked up and gaped at me.
I normally enjoy slipping in a witty line during a situation like this. Something appropriate to the target. In this case, maybe, “It looks like drinks are on the house tonight.” Something like that. But I wanted to secure this guy before he laleked away. So I didn't waste time on words, just grabbed him and slapped some Sayadi cuffs (courtesy of Star) on the guy. The cuffs, used by Star's crew back when they were Demon hunters, were similar to hellchains in that they repressed magic. In particular, Demon magic, but they'd work on anything, even my Light and Darkness.
The Demon's wide-eyed stare went from me to the handcuffs, and back.
With my target apprehended, I could spend a moment on the niceties.
“No one messes with my people.” I hauled him to his feet. “And guess what, Demon? They'reallmy people.” Into my comm device, I said, “Got him. Star, I'll meet you in Hell. Oh, and bring my guys, would ya?”
And then I laleked my prisoner to Hell.
Chapter Thirteen
