“I am gonna enjoy killing you,” he said, his voice doing the weird-vibration thing again, “slowly.”
“Oh please, you know how many times I’ve heard that same line?” she retorted. “It’s getting old.”
He cursed as she pressed the charmed dagger into his neck and broke skin. Smoke fizzled upward, and she wrinkled her nose. Goddamn, did they all have to smell so bad? Was that a prerequisite to being demon?
He snarled and pushed against the ground, nearly unseating her, but she held on, grabbing a hunk of his hair as she did so.
She was careful to keep the dagger pressed into his skin and hoped like hell it had enough juice to prevent the asshole from changing into his true form.
He began to struggle in earnest, and she pitched forward and backward but held on.
“Why are you hanging around Templo Mayor?” she asked softly, her voice dangerously low.
“Why are you?” he shot back.
She snorted, not believing his arrogance.
“In case you hadn’t noticed, dickhead, I’ve got the knife, so I’m asking the questions.”
He made a weird gurgling sound, and she grinned as she stuck the knife in deeper, twisting it slightly as she did so.
He began to spew obscenities, then a bunch of crap came out of his mouth that she didn’t understand. Ancient words. Demon speak from down below.
She let go of his head and slammed her fist into the base of his skull. His nose broke beneath the force as it smashed into the stone once more. She smiled at the squeal of pain that fell from his lips.
“Holy crap, spare me the drama will you? I’m kinda in a rush.” She felt winded, and it was all she could do to keep the bastard contained.
He stopped moving, and he relaxed beneath her. In the distance, voices echoed on the wind, and she glanced behind her. The security guard and the girls who surrounded him were looking in their direction.
She concentrated with all her might and coaxed the shadows toward her. If she could just have a few more minutes, she was certain she’d be able to dispose of the piece of crap she sat on, with none the wiser.
“I’ll make you a deal,” the demon began, but she cut him off before he could go any further.
She leaned down, and whispered near his ear, “I don’t play that game with the likes of you.” She paused. “My rules are simple. You answer my questions, and I let you live.”
Jaden twisted the dagger for good measure and felt nothing as he grunted in pain.
“Let’s try this one more time. Why are you here?”
The demon laughed. She felt the vibrations running through his body as he did so. “It was a nice night for a walk, until this bitch showed up and . . .”
Cheeky asshole!
She grabbed him by the neck, digging her claws into his skin until she elicited another scream of pain. Her jaguar burned beneath her flesh, and Jaden’s breaths fell in small spurts as adrenaline kicked in.
The voices were becoming louder, and she knew her time was nearly up.
She pressed harder, using her legs to hold the bastard still. “One more chance or I cut your head off and leave it as a sacrifice to Huitzilopochtli. I have a feeling it’s been a long while since he fed.”
“Your god of war lies in prison, weak and pathetic.” The demon was shaking badly beneath her. “We’re everywhere. Life in this realm will darken and change, and one day my brothers will be liberated from the bowels of the earth.”
Shouts rang out, and Jaden knew she had to act fast. The shadows were slipping from her skin. She didn’t have the skill to hold them in place for long periods of time.
“Where is O’Hara?”
“Cormac is a fool. He’ll not remain hidden long. He cannot double-cross Lilith and live, but the others . . .”
“The others? What the hell do you mean?”