“How about you just stand right there and do whatever it is you do. We know our way.”
We did. Rowena didn’t look happy about it, nor did she appear to listen. As we walked past her, she was reaching for what I guessed was a phone, her movements quick and jerky, as if her show of cool annoyance was a cracking facade.
Cutting through a maze of booths and tables, I noted that there were at least twenty or so witches here. Did they not have jobs?
As it had last time, conversation stopped as we stalked past their tables. Forks halted halfway to mouths. Spoons clattered off bowls. Plastic straws wavered in front of lips.
Well, this was one place that wasn’t environmentally conscious. I added that to my list of reasons for not feeling bad if I had to take them all out.
As I followed Roth, a part of me acknowledged that I wasn’t terrified about what might happen. All I could feel was anger—anger over what the coven had taken part in, what Misha had done and what that meant for Zayne and I, and anger at Roth for this damn situation.
And my grace.
It buzzed through my veins, causing my fingers and lips to tingle. Which was weird, because not once while I’d battled the zombies had I felt it fighting to get out, to be used. Was that because I hadn’t been in jeopardy then, but it somehow sensed that I was now?
I had no idea.
Ahead, I saw the shape of a woman rising from a booth, and even though her features were blurry, I knew it to be Faye.
“Sit,” Roth commanded. “We need to have another little chat.”
Faye’s blunt-cut dark hair swung around her chin as her head whipped from the demon to me. Her hand flew to her arm, fingers curling tight around a dark shadow.
Roth’s lip curled in a snarl, and I realized that somehow the witch had stopped Bambi from coming off her skin like the familiar had done the last time we’d been here.
And that made for a very unhappy demon prince. Roth’s eyes flashed a bright, intense red before mellowing to a cool amber.
Faye’s expression leveled as she slowly sat back down. “To what do I owe the honor of this unexpected visit?”
“Honor?” Roth’s laugh was like silk wrapped in darkness as he sat across from her and scooted over to make room for me. “You seem surprised to see us.”
I sat, keeping my hands in my lap as I looked at Faye, really looked at her, in a way I hadn’t the last time.
She was young, maybe in her midtwenties, and she looked like a normal woman one could pass any day on the street. She was mostly human, with the exception of demonic blood courtesy of someone in her family having hooked up with a demon in generations past. That was what gave witches their abilities and enabled her to have Bambi as a familiar. These witches were nothing like the humans who called themselves Wiccans. Not that there was anything wrong with Wiccans. They just didn’t have the same kind of power that born witches had.
“Of course I’m surprised,” Faye said. “It’s not like I knew you two were coming, and we’re very busy right now. As I told you before, we are leaving very soon. The whole coven.”
“You don’t look busy,” I pointed out as Roth stretched an arm over the back of the booth, acting as if he was settling in for an afternoon nap.
“Looks can be deceiving,” she said, barely sparing me a glance. Which was funny considering she’d agreed to help the senator with the enchantment in exchange for parts of a Trueborn—my parts. For that alone I should kill her.
“Looks can be deceiving,” I agreed, feeling the anger on my skin like a thousand pissed-off hornets.
Faye smiled tightly as she closed a small black journal in front of her. “How can I help you?” This was asked of Roth. Not me, because obviously I was not viewed as remotely important. “The last time you were here, I told you everything we knew.”
“Is that so?” Roth murmured.
The witch nodded as she leaned back against the booth and placed her hands in her lap.
“Let’s cut the crap,” I said, not wanting to play the coy game. “We know you told Aym or possibly Bael that we’d been to see you. Or maybe you told Senator Fisher. Who knows who you told, but we know you did.”
Her eyes widened slightly. “I don’t—”
“Don’t do the whole innocent thing.” Roth’s voice was deceptively soft. “Aym betrayed you, just like you betrayed us. You should pick better people to team up with.”
Even in the low light and with my eyes, I could see Faye pale, and I took a perverse pleasure in it.
“And I can safely assume you realized the moment you saw us that things didn’t end well for Aym,” I added. “He’s super dead now.”
She said nothing, and that angered me further.
“I might not know a lot about witches, but I was under the impression that you’re not supposed to be team good or bad,” I said. “But boy, did you saddle up with Team Dead, Dumb and Evil.”
“And what team are you on?” Her dark eyes flicked toward me. “As you sit beside the Crown Prince of Hell?”
“Mmm.” Roth hummed low in his throat, like a large cat purring. “I love the way you say Crown Prince.”
I met Faye’s stare. “Like you said. Looks can be deceiving.”
Her throat worked on a swallow. She opened her mouth, closed it and then tried it again. “We didn’t have a choice.”
“There’s always a choice,” Roth said. “Always.”
“You don’t understand. We didn’t go to them. They came to us shortly after you arrived. The very same night—”
“I don’t care,” I said, not recognizing my own voice or what was invading my system. It was like a whole new personality was unlocked and taking over. “You didn’t have to tell them, but you did. Because of that, we walked into a trap. A trap you helped set up. People were hurt, Faye.”
Her lips thinned as she passed a nervous glance at Roth.
“Layla,” he whispered. “She was hurt.”
Now Faye looked like she was about to choke. “We would never do anything that would put Lilith’s daughter in harm’s way. Never. That wasn’t our intention.”
“Intentions mean nothing at the end of the day. I mean, you could set a bush on fire and never intend for it to spread to the apartment complex next door, but when it does, it’s still your fault.” I opened my hands in my lap. “What were your intentions? What did they offer you for this information?”
She gave a quick shake of her head and glanced around the dining area and then back to us. “If we didn’t tell them, they would’ve slaughtered everyone here.”
“What made you think we wouldn’t do that once we found out?” Roth queried.
Faye’s lips parted.
“I’m thinking she didn’t believe we’d survive,” I told him, nodding when she mashed her lips together. I thought about what Roth had told me in the car, about how much of a big, bad demon he was. Something occurred to me. “They risked ticking you off instead of Aym and Senator Fisher, and—” I turned to Faye “—there’s no way in Hell you didn’t think for one second that if Roth was involved, Layla wouldn’t be. So, not only were you hedging your bets on the other side, you don’t seem to have cared about the fact that Layla is the daughter of Lilith.”
“That’s true,” Roth agreed. “And that does not make me happy.”
“Now, Aym was really annoying and talkative, but he wasn’t that scary.” The last part wasn’t exactly true. Aym wasn’t some low level demon. He’d almost killed Zayne.
Following where I was going with this, Roth chimed in. “And while Bael’s presence might impress the...impressionable—” he said, and two pink splotches appeared in the center of Faye’s cheeks “—he ain’t me.”
“Who were you really working with?” I asked, becoming aware of the silence surrounding us. “Who could make you and your coven stupid enough to cross us?”
“We only spoke to the senator, like I said—”
“And you said you didn’t know why he wanted the enchantment that turned innocent humans into cannon fodder,” I interrupted, heart pounding. “But I don’t believe you. Did you know Misha?”
Her upper lip curled. “I have no idea who that is, and you might want to think before speaking to me like that again, human. I could curse your entire bloodline with a few words.”
I almost laughed. Almost. “Misha was a Warden who was working with Aym and Bael.”
“Okay? So?” She lifted a shoulder and focused on Roth. “We don’t deal with Wardens. Ever.”
I wasn’t sure I believed her, but Roth inclined his head and said, “Witches don’t trust Wardens. The whole indiscriminately killing anything with demonic blood thing. But, I got to say, I’m going to be super offended if you really thought it was better to risk angering me over Aym or Bael.”
Faye inhaled, and several seconds passed. “We spoke only with the senator at first. That isn’t a lie.”
“But?” Roth goaded.
Her shoulders tensed. “But it wasn’t the senator who came after you all arrived. It was Bael. And you’re right. We wouldn’t risk offending you over him.”
“But?” Roth said one more time.
She reached for a glass of water but stopped and placed her hand on the table. “I told you that the coven is leaving this city—Hell, we’re leaving the entire coast. For the last couple of months, our Crone has sensed something growing. Something we want no part in. I told you that already.” She toyed with the edge of a napkin. “We thought we had time. We were wrong, though. It’s already here. The Harbinger.”
15
The Harbinger.
Faye had confirmed what I’d suspected. The coven knew about the Harbinger and had possibly knowingly aided the creature, whether directly or indirectly.