“No. He’s a threat. Period.”
“You’ve lived a hard life, haven’t you?” Her words were softly spoken, but they echoed around the tiny chamber and inside his skull.
“What? Yours has been charmed?” The words flew out of his mouth before he realized the irony of what he’d said.
She smiled—he knew the look. It was the one Tayla and Runa gave to E and Shade when they wanted to humor his brothers. Might as well give him a nice pat on the head, too. “I have. I’ve always been lucky.”
“Luck runs out, Serena.”
“So you’re a pessimist?”
“I’m a realist.”
She walked over to him and punched him in the biceps. “Stick with me, baby. You’ll learn to be an optimist.”
Fat chance of that, but this was the opening he needed. “Oh, I’m sticking with you.”
She handed him the Roman pendant he’d taken from the real Josh. “I don’t need you anymore.”
“Yeah,” he said, “you do. You have demons after you, and I have a shitload of experience fighting them.”
He wondered how she was going to argue her way out of this, but to his surprise, she merely said, “I’m going to Aswan. If you think you can keep up with me, you’re welcome to tag along.”
She poked him in the chest with a finger and strutted off, leaving him standing there staring after her like a dolt. When she reached the exit, she threw him a cocky grin over her shoulder.
“You coming?”
Not nearly soon enough.
The thought came naturally, easily, but for the first time, it was followed immediately by shame. Because Gods, she was better than that, standing there in the dim glow of the flashlight, dirt smudged on her cheek and nose. She had a purity about her, a good, wholesome energy that seemed to repel darkness and capture light. He figured, being a demon, that he should be repelled, but she drew him, and even now he felt himself drawing closer to her.
He needed to resist, because getting emotional with her meant regretting what he had to do to save his life.
He nearly laughed out loud at that. He’d never denied himself, had never resisted his desires or regretted much of anything. Now, suddenly, he was trying to exercise some control, something even his brothers hadn’t gotten him to do.
But this spirited little human had him by the balls, and some small part of him liked it.
Hell’s bells, as Shade would say. Hell’s fucking bells.
Ten
I don’t need you anymore.
That’s what Serena had said to Josh after the demon left them in the catacombs, but it wasn’t true. Something was wrong with her charm, because that demon shouldn’t have been able to hurt her.
Not that it had hurt her a lot, but when he’d wrenched her arm behind her back, his nails had dug into her skin… and drawn blood. It was a minor injury, but it never should have happened, and as much as she hated to admit it, she was a little frightened.
Josh had handled himself like a pro, and as an ex-Guardian, she supposed he was. Until she figured out what was wrong with her charm, she could use his protection.
They caught a quick bite at a deli near the hotel before hurriedly—and cautiously—grabbing their remaining belongings from their rooms and catching the 17:20 train to Aswan.
They’d each purchased a large private sleeping compartment and agreed to meet up in the dining car for dinner. She had a few minutes, so she changed out of her dusty clothes, took two swigs from her flask for courage, and put her time to good use, calling Val while she still had a signal.
“Hey,” she said when he picked up.
“Serena? It’s David.”
“Oh.” She strained to hear David’s voice over the crackle of static in the cell phone and the rumble of the train on the tracks. “Is Val there?”
“Yeah, hold on. Did you get the coin?”
“It’s in my pack.”
“Good. Keep it with you,” he said, as if she was an idiot who would let it out of her sight. “Here’s Dad.”
She heard the transfer of the handset. “David said you got the artifact,” Val said by way of greeting. “Any problems?”
“Maybe. Last night a man approached me on the streets of Alexandria. He said you sent him.”
“What? Josh was supposed to meet you, but I didn’t send—”
“I know, Val. Calm down. I got rid of him.”
“Why didn’t you tell me last night?”
“I figured he was gone for good.” She took a deep breath. Val was going to hit the roof. “But today he showed up at the catacombs… and it turns out he’s a demon.”
Val inhaled sharply. “You okay?”
“You know I am.” She hesitated, considering how much she should say. If he knew Byzamoth had hurt her, he’d send every Aegis cell within a day’s travel after her. “But my secret is out.”