I shrugged. “I didn’t.”
“Your eyes are glowing like blue lightning,” Lexi murmured.
Chase was watching me intently. I didn’t know what to do or what I was seeing, but the staggered look on his face was making me self-conscious. “Jesus, they’re under your command,” he said in disbelief.
“What are you talking abou—”
My bewilderment was waylaid at the sound of clapping. When I found the source, the marks at my hip started to prickle. Alastair was strolling toward me, grinning, and my mom was no longer in sight. In a three-piece business suit, he looked more ready for a board meeting than a battle. His onyx hair was slicked back. “Why don’t I send my employees home so we can talk?” This time when he clapped his hands together, the immobile demons vanished.
“Where is she?” I demanded. I could feel the heat from Chase’s body beside me. He was ready to dart in front of me if necessary.
“Safe. For now,” Alastair added just to drive home the point that at any time she might not be. “Or maybe she was never really here. Maybe none of this is real.” He waved his hand and like liquid, the motionless army from Hell started to waver and then washed away entirely. “I think we need a little privacy.”
The word privacy sent Chase into action, but the higher-demon had moves we couldn’t compete with. Chase roared, charging toward him with Travis on his heels, but no matter how fast they were, Alastair was trickier. Frustration and dread lined Chase’s face, because we both knew he would be too late. As long as Alastair had a hold on Chase, there was nothing either of us could do.
Things went from bad to craptastic.
In a poof, I was gone.
Chapter 20
Suddenly, I found myself alone in my house. An eerie lacy mist covered the ground and a ghostly ambiance shimmered in the air. My body was chilled, goose bumps covering my arms. A sense of delirium overcame me, and then I remembered. Dashing to the window, I pushed aside the silvery curtains. Below me the yard was empty. No hounds. No demons. No fight. No Chase.
The ruin I know had been caused was gone. It had been real. Staring at the house next door, I felt isolated. None of this made sense. Where was everyone? And why was my house suddenly freakier than normal?
Taking off downstairs, I bolted for the front door, only to smack into an unwelcomed surprise. How could I have not guessed?
Alastair.
He was leaning in the archway. Once again he used the form of a man with his raven eyes mocking me. “Going somewhere, love?”
Ugh. I was really starting to hate his parlor tricks. Actually…I just hated him. Under that disguise, I knew what his true form looked like, and I preferred not see the real Alastair. This poor human he used was far less scary. “Where is everyone? What have you done with them?” I demanded, gripping the banister.
“Now what kind of greeting is that?” He tsked his tongue. “Such manners are unacceptable. You need to be taught to respect your superiors.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. “Like the lesson you taught my friend?”
A bored expression crossed his face as he stroked his chin. “Right, yes. Bang. Bang. The bitch is dead,” he taunted. It was like adding insult to injury. “I thought she was more of an enemy, wasn’t she? The way I see it, I did you a favor.”
“You sick, sadistic prick,” I seethed, jumping forward, my fists clenched at my sides.
He zapped into my personal bubble. “We are really going to have to do something about that mouth of yours.”
My anger got the best of me, and before I thought about what I was doing, my hand was sailing through the air. Palm open, I slapped the demon across the face. His skin was seriously disgusting. “That’s for being a dick.” Damn, that felt good.
He laughed. Not exactly the kind of reaction I was expecting. “Feisty. Just what I need. You might be strong enough to make it where so many have failed.”
“That sounds promising,” I replied dryly.
His greyish pale skin shone under the small amount of moonlight streaming through the window. “There is no point in fighting. Your body has already gone through the change.”
And suddenly the dots began to connect. I knew that I shouldn’t believe a word that left this demon’s mouth, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was on to something. “You mean the crazy fever and gut-stabbing cramps? The ones that knocked me out for two days? Well that plain sucked.”
Seeing him walk around my house, touching my things was gross. He ran a finger along one of the stair spindles. “No one ever said it was easy peasy being Hell’s little pet.”
Did a demon just say easy peasy? Did he just say I was Hell’s little pet? Could this night get any stranger? I tipped my chin up. “I am not your little anything.”