Tick, tock. Tick, tock.
So far I’d learned how to conjure a demon, dismiss it and barter a deal if I was so inclined. The information was the easiest to find, which was fucking frightening in the extreme. Summoning a creature from the pits of Hell was as simple as picking up a phone book and ordering a pizza from Dominos. All you needed was the right form of payment, a mirror to allow it to pass through, and shit for fucking brains for even considering it. Of course, the severing a debt portion was absent from the pages. Couldn’t have a way out listed for a mere mortal to take advantage. Once you screwed the pooch, you took it in the ass like a good puppy—whether you liked it in the shitter or not.
Sighing, I shifted my tucked legs from beneath the coffee table covered in stacked books. Goose and Bells were doing more of the same at his home—searching for ways to sever the debt and buy me some time—but so far there was nothing. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Accepting a bargain with a demon might work, and was an option, but it was a last resort as it would only nullify one debt in lieu of another.
Besides, there was quite nothing for me to bargain with.
Glancing around Paine’s empty living room, I listened for sounds that would indicate he was anywhere close by. His place was situated just behind The Razor, in the building that had become an extension of the club. He’d renovated the entire top floor, leaving behind an enormous open area that consisted of hardwood floors, minimal but matching furniture, and a few bedrooms. Since he wasn’t a part of a family any longer, it was mostly empty space.
I pulled the pendant from beneath the plush sweater Bells had given to me and inspected it. There was no warmth, but the all-too-engaging hum of power was present. Some strange compulsion told me not to tell Goose I had it when we shared details of things that had occurred between my disappearance and now. Maybe it was because of his negative reaction so long ago, or maybe it was because right now we had enough problems without my freaking him out.
Standing, I rubbed my eyes and stretched. I allowed my mind to drift as I stuffed the pendant back under the sweater. It was difficult to believe that Paine would hand control to Peter—the next in line to lead the family—and leave everything behind after Disco’s passing.
Why had he done it? I wasn’t sure.
In between acclimating to the changes of living around vampires and brainstorming with Goose and Bells, I hadn’t had the opportunity to talk to him one on one. In fact, this was the first evening he and I were the only two people inside his apartment.
Soon, he’d leave his bedroom and come looking for me. I knew he didn’t have to sleep, but he’d left me to my research at the crack of dawn. I wasn’t sure why, but I had a feeling it was because he knew how exhausted and terrified I was and had wanted to give me time to sort some mental shit out.
My stomach growled, reminding me that the tank was empty, and I started walking toward the kitchen. There wasn’t food in the place when I’d arrived, but Paine had taken care of that. I studied the counter covered in bananas, apples, oranges and various other perishables, and tried to decide where to start. A whisper of air against my neck was the only warning I got before Paine swept past me, his long, easy strides lethally silent.
“If you keep that shit up, I’m buying you a collar with a bell,” I told him as I decided to make a peanut butter and banana sandwich. “You’re just like Disco—too fucking quiet.”
We froze as soon as the words came out, staring at each other.