Sam hesitated as she had a memory flash in her mind from the night Dev's parents had died. It was brief, gone in an instant, but clear. She frowned at Xedrix. "You fought with us when the wolves attacked Sanctuary. But you were human then." Which was why she hadn't recognized him. His features had been similar, but the differences without the marbled blue skin were marked.
In one heartbeat, Xedrix turned from a demon into a handsome human with black hair and no wings that she remembered from the battle. "Not human. I just looked like one. Kind of hard to walk around the streets in my real form. Halloween notwithstanding. It tends to freak out the humans and I don't want to deal with their crap."
"Unless you barbecue them," Ceres called down from the ceiling. "Then humans are quite tasty."
Xedrix looked up at him. "So are Charontes who don't mind their own business."
Ceres covered himself completely with his wings.
Xedrix returned his attention to Sam and Dev. "And if I kill the humans, I violate the treaty that allows us to stay here and we all get sent back to Daimon hell to serve the biggest bitch-goddess you ever met." He started for the stairs that were set off in the far corner of the bar. "Now follow me."
As they moved across the floor, Sam realized something. She was walking barefoot and not picking up anything from the floor.
How odd.
Her head was still completely quiet. Was it from Dev or something the Charonte did? She had no idea, but she was grateful for it. It was really nice to live as a normal human again.
Even for a few minutes. For that alone, it was worth being a Daimon magnet. But the madness did need to cease soon--she was tired of them popping in without an invitation.
Rude, insensitive bastards.
Xedrix took them to a small room halfway down the upstairs hall where there was a bed, a chest of drawers, and a small nightstand with an old-style electric lamp. One that was decorated in pinks and Victorian frills--very feminine and sweet--a complete dichotomy to the testy, overtly masculine demon.
Pausing in the door frame, Kerryna gestured toward the door over her shoulder. "Our room is just across the hall if you need anything."
Xedrix made a noise of protest, but Kerryna ignored him.
Sam tensed as she heard the sudden cry of a toddler wanting its mother coming from the room next to theirs.
Kerryna vanished immediately while Xedrix's look turned even more fierce. "Like I said, Bear, you bring war to my family and I will make sure it's the last mistake you make."
Dev held his hands up. "Peace, brother. I would never hurt anyone's family. You know that."
His features stern, Xedrix closed their door and vanished.
Sam pushed away the pain inside her as the toddler stopped crying. Bittersweet memories washed through her, making her wish again for one more second of time with her daughter. Gods, how aggravating those cries had seemed at the time, especially when Agaria had colic. Sam had feared she'd lose her mind as she dreamed of a time when she wouldn't hear that sound ever again.
Now she'd give anything to hear it one more time. To be able to carry her screaming infant and rock her through the night even with frazzled nerves and sleep deprivation.
If only she'd known at the time just how precious it was, she'd have savored every heartbeat and headache. Every messy diaper...
She flinched, wishing mistakes had a do-over. It was the cruelest act of Fate that there was no rewind at all.
And thinking of the past achieved nothing. So she made herself focus on the present and what was important now. "Kerryna's not a Charonte, is she?"
Dev shook his head as he made sure there was no window under the faux curtains that opened onto a brick wall. "No. The Charonte are Atlantean. Kerryna's a Sumerian dimme demon."
Now that was a combination you didn't find often and there had to be a story in how the two of them had met and ended up mated with a child. "How did she get to New Orleans?" It was a long way here from ancient Sumeria.
Dev turned to face her. "Like you, she was being chased by her enemies and wound up here. Actually that's an oversimplification. Kerryna and her sisters are fierce killing machines and they were cursed and bound."
Ah, now that didn't sound good. "Where are her sisters?"
"They're still trapped. She alone escaped."
"And she's okay with that?"
Dev laughed. "Yeah, freaky, huh? Apparently family togetherness wasn't her forte. I'm not sure what drew her to New Orleans, but once here, she met the Charonte and more to the point, Xedrix. Somehow they settled in and decided to protect her. Makes me glad I'm not a demon. 'Cause I don't want to know what kind of funky monkey stuff went down that they let her in...if you know what I mean and I know that you do."
Sam let out a "heh" at his semi-humorous words. "And her enemies? Are they still after her?"
"Probably, but only a fool would try to pull her out of a home filled with Charontes ready to lay down their lives for her."
That made the least amount of sense to her. "Where did they come from? Why are the Charonte here in the middle of the city?"
He laughed. "Mardi Gras, baby. Mardi Gras. Time when all manner of weird shit cuts loose and parties down."