She nodded vehemently. “It is.”
The front door crashed open. Whirling, Lore put himself in front of Idess, a dagger in one hand and a pistol in the other.
“Hey, there, brother,” Wraith said, in a deceptively calm drawl. Deceptive, because the demon’s body language—his clenched fists, coiled body, and red-flecked gold eyes—said he was ready to cause some damage. And oh, great, Kynan was with him, looking even more pissed off than Wraith.
Instantly, Idess came around to put herself between Lore and Kynan. Not happening. All of Lore’s protective instincts came to bear, and with a snarl, he pushed her behind him again. She might not want to stay with him, but until she got her damned wings, she was his, and no one was going to fuck with her.
She poofed right back to where she’d been, damn her.
“Kynan, you shouldn’t be here,” she said, standing in the middle of the living room, hands on hips.
“No?” He glared at Lore. “I’m what he wants, right? So here I am. Give Wraith the baby.”
“I don’t have Shade’s kid.”
Wraith bared his fangs. “You’d better, because if you’ve left him with anyone other than Mary fucking Poppins, there won’t be enough left of you to fill a juice glass.”
“You deaf? I don’t have him.” Lore holstered his weapons before he killed his brother. Sure, he wanted to kill Kynan, but he’d do that with his bare hand.
“He’s telling the truth.” Not backing down at all, Idess folded her arms over her chest. “I’ve been with him.”
Wraith snarled. “Even when he was being tortured? Because he looks pretty damned good for a tortured man.”
“I was healed, you idiot.”
“Call me that again.” Grinning, Wraith flexed his fingers. “Seriously.”
Lore stepped forward. “Idiot.”
Kynan came at him. Lore angled his right side away, not ready to kill the bastard yet, and the move cost him. Cost him a fist to the face. Pain burst behind his eyes, and he wheeled around, too angry to think, and caught the human with his right hand—which got him a jab to the ribs. What the fuck? Why hadn’t the guy dropped dead?
… I drain the death out of them. Idess’s words popped into his mind just before the right hook that laid him out.
Lore came to his feet before Kynan could kick him, and Jesus, Wraith was grinning, and Idess was watching with her arms crossed, foot tapping, and just looking annoyed. Obviously, without his power, Lore was no mortal threat to Kynan. And Kynan was out to cause pain, not death.
Making it all even more fun was the fact that no matter how hard Lore tried to cripple Kynan, something always went wrong. He couldn’t land a single punch or kick. Kynan was merciless, using Lore’s failures against him.
Lore took a nice beating before finally Idess flashed between them and heaved them apart with her incredible strength.
“Enough!”
Panting, he and Kynan glared at each other. Wraith stepped forward. “If you two are done—”
“We’re not,” they said simultaneously.
“For now, you are,” he growled. “We have a kid to find.” He yanked Lore to him. Lore took a swing, lost his balance, and stumbled without ever striking his brother. “I’m charmed, dickhead. Just like Kynan. You can’t hurt me. And apparently you can’t kill Ky with your touch. Guess we don’t have to worry about you anymore.”
“That’s not true,” Idess said. “I believe it’s temporary. His ability to kill should return soon.”
Lore hoped that would be before the deadline. His assassin-bond throbbed, marking time that was clipping along in fast-forward.
“How did that happen?” Wraith asked.
“I drained him.”
Wraith arched an eyebrow at her. “I’ll bet you did.”
She rolled her eyes. “Not like that.” Might have been believable, too, if she hadn’t pinked up, because she had drained him like that.
Wraith gave a dubious snort, and Idess shook her head. “I still can’t believe that you saved the world.”
“I know, right?” Wraith turned back to Lore. “So where’s Rade?”
“I told you. I don’t have him. But we have a lead. Possible fallen angel named Rariel. Sin’s hunting him right now.” Lore checked his watch, and his heart tripped. She was five minutes late. Sin was never late without calling.
Lore expected Wraith to scoff, to call him a liar, to hit him. Anything but nod. “You can prove it.”
It wasn’t a question, and Lore scowled. “Not really.”
“Yes,” he said, “you can.” Suddenly, Wraith was behind him, his thick arm wrapped around Lore’s neck, and Lore was… well, he wasn’t sure where he was. His memories flipped through his mind like a shuffled deck of cards, and then he was standing in his house again, a little dizzy, and Wraith was several feet away.
“Fuck me,” Wraith muttered. “He’s telling the truth.”
“What the hell just happened?” Lore shouted.