The Demon's Song

CHAPTER Six


Someone was watching her.

Sofia paused in the middle of the parking lot and looked around, frowning. Apart from a young couple getting out of their car and, a little farther away, a homeless woman pushing a small cart filled with plastic bags, there was no one around. Still, Sofia couldn’t shake the sensation of eyes on her, couldn’t stop the hair from rising at the back of her neck.

Leftover trauma, she told herself, clutching her keys as she got moving again. She’d worked eleven to eleven yesterday and today, and it had gone a long way toward keeping her sane. The ER was a busy place most of the time, and even during the occasional lull, there was always something that needed doing. She hadn’t had to think. All she’d had to do was eat, sleep, and work. It was only during the short spaces between those things that her mind had tried to fill with the memories of what had happened. Blood, and vampires, and black wings…she still couldn’t make sense of it. The only thing that convinced her she’d really seen it all was that Sara was still gone…and the note, written in an elegant, unfamiliar hand, that had been slipped beneath the apartment door while she’d slept after her return from Amphora.

Your friend is well. Thank you for your silence. No signature. She didn’t bother showing it to Amy. Just as Justin had said, her roommate didn’t even remember going to Amphora. Something about the glazed look that came into her eyes every time the subject came up was deeply unnerving, and Sofia had decided not to push it. The memory of what had happened seemed to belong to her, and her alone.

She still couldn’t decide whether that was a good thing or not.

Sofia blew out a breath and tried to just enjoy the facts that it was a warm September night, she had the next two days off, and most importantly, that she was alive to appreciate both. Yeah, she was twitchy. But she’d handle it. Based on the other night, she seemed to be able to handle just about anything.

She was almost to her car when she caught a flicker of movement, no more than a shadow, out of the corner of her eye. She hadn’t even finished spinning around to confront whatever—or whoever—might have made it when a man dropped from the sky and landed not ten paces from her. And he didn’t just fall. He landed gracefully, like a cat, and directly on top of another man who seemed to have appeared from thin air. The unlucky landing cushion gagged and squawked, a noise that would have been an ear-piercing shriek if he hadn’t been pinned to the pavement, the other man’s hand around his throat.

Sofia’s sharp gasp seemed overly loud in the relative quiet. Her mouth dropped open, though she covered it quickly with her hand. Her heart began to pound.

She knew the guy who’d dropped out of the darkness. And she’d caught a glimpse, at the moment he’d landed, of shadows that could almost have been wings.

“You,” she breathed, unable to run, unable even to move. Shock froze her in place. Phenex raised impossibly blue eyes to hers. They gleamed unnaturally at this distance, beautiful and strange. He was dressed much the same as he had been the other night, in worn jeans, run-down boots, and a faded blue T-shirt. His auburn hair was vibrant beneath the fluorescent lights. When their eyes met, he grinned, though there was a ferocity to it that had Sofia backing up a step. Still, she couldn’t escape the burst of wild joy she felt at the sight of him. Out of all the confusion and horror the other night, he was the one thing that had stayed with her, crystal clear. She’d dreamed not of blood, but of him, as though he continued to protect her even when she was at the mercy of her imagination. And he really existed. He’d come to see her.

He was…strangling someone. Very effectively. And he looked as though he was enjoying himself. Her pleasure at seeing him vanished as quickly as he had appeared. Phenex cut her off neatly before she could start shouting for help.

“Get in the car and go home, Sofia. I’ll meet you there.”

His voice, compelling in a way her memory hadn’t done justice to, brooked no refusal. The man beneath him thrashed and bared his teeth. Long, pointed teeth. Sofia’s stomach sank as the pieces fell easily into place. This wasn’t a social visit.

She knew that Justin had made it too easy to just walk away.

“Oh, God. Was he…following me? Am I being followed?” she asked. Her voice sounded strange and thin.

“Not after I’m done with him. Go home.”

Much as she hated being ordered around, Sofia wouldn’t argue when staying was the last thing she wanted to do. Without another word, she ran to her sporty little sedan, got in, and started the engine, trying not to panic. Looking in her rearview mirror as she peeled out, she saw a blur of black shoot upward into the night sky, out of the harsh glare of the lights, leaving nothing but empty space behind.

“He flew,” she muttered to herself as she tried to focus on the road, her heart pounding. “With wings. Hijo de puta.”

She hadn’t been to church in years, much to her parents’ chagrin, but it was impossible not to make the connection between the man with the black wings and the images she’d been exposed to every Sunday growing up. Except…angels were supposed to have white wings. And there weren’t any stories about them flirting with human women. Or playing guitar at clubs filled with vampires.

But then, not every angel in those long-ago stories had stayed in Heaven.

Sofia groaned and pushed her foot down harder on the gas. Whatever Phenex was, she’d worry about it when she was safely—she hoped—home.



It took her a half hour to get back to the apartment, and by the time she found a parking place Sofia had nearly decided to quit her job, pack up her stuff, and relocate somewhere sunnier. A lot sunnier. And really, really far away from what appeared to be a hotbed of violent supernatural activity. She knew she’d gotten away too easily the other night. She knew it. After seeing everything she’d seen, it hadn’t made any sense when Justin had let her go.

Now she understood. And with that understanding came a mix of fear and anger so potent that she could hardly separate one from the other. All she’d wanted to do was help a friend, and this was what she got? Sofia was shaking as she stepped out of the car, her flight response screaming at her to just keep driving. But her practical side, the thing she relied so heavily on, insisted that she needed time to think this out, without all the emotion in the mix.

It was just hard when every shadow suddenly seemed like a potential threat.

She punched in the security code at the door, then took the stairs two at a time to get to the third floor. It was habit, skipping the elevator, but even the well-lit stairwell didn’t feel safe. Nothing did.

By the time Sofia unlocked the door, flipped on the light, and hurriedly locked up behind herself, she knew she wasn’t going to be able to sleep until the sun came up. Amy was on nights this week, and with Sara still gone…she was alone. She flipped the deadbolt, braced herself with one hand against the door, and dropped her head, taking a deep breath.

I’m home, she told herself, over and over. I’m here now, I’m home, and everything is going to be okay.

“I don’t know what you’re so freaked out about. I took care of it.”

Sofia screamed before she could stop herself, spinning around and flattening her back against the door. Phenex looked at her from where he was sprawled comfortably on her couch, his expression faintly amused.

Once the initial burst of terror subsided and she managed to process exactly who was sitting in her apartment speaking to her, anger quickly moved in to take over. Her fuse, normally fairly long, ignited. Sofia’s hands fisted. It was the first time she’d seen that gorgeous face and wanted to punch it. He looked completely comfortable sitting there, as though he didn’t have a care in the world. as though he wasn’t very busy trying to make her nice, orderly life a living hell.

“What are you doing in here? Get out!”

One dark red brow arched. “That’s a nice way to say thank you.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Thank you? Thank you? For what? For following me around, breaking into my apartment, scaring the shit out of me? I don’t know what you people are, and I don’t care. I don’t want anything to do with it! And your friend can find somebody else to use as vampire bait, because I’m out of here. I didn’t sign on for this!”

“You figured that out, huh? If it helps, you made beautiful bait. Worked like a charm.”

Phenex’s slow, sensual grin only fed her building fury. Was this funny to him?

“It’s not some kind of f*cking joke, cabrón! I mean it, get out!”

Phenex stood in a single, fluid movement that startled her with its speed, and was looming over her before she could make a run for it. He was much faster than any human could ever hope to be. She needed to remember that he wasn’t human. Sofia glared up at him even as she pressed back against the door, barely able to breathe. Up close, Phenex was overwhelming���the sheer size and strength of him, the faint, unmistakably male scent that reminded her of sultry nights and endless oceans. She had no doubt he was the sort of man who was used to getting his way. She was determined not to show how close she was to just slumping to the floor and curling up in a ball. But she hadn’t gotten where she was without being a fighter, and she wouldn’t crumble now.

As intimidating as he was, Phenex didn’t sound remotely angry.

“You’re angry,” he said, his voice turning even a simple sentence into a dark melody. “Don’t be.”

“I’ll think about getting over it, if you leave.”

He made a soft, amused sound, his eyes searching her face with an expression that was almost confused. That didn’t make any sense to Sofia. Between the two of them, she was far from the confusing one.

“You cursed me out in two languages,” he said.

“So?”

His lips curved. “I liked it. You might want to think about that before you do it again.”

Sofia stared up at him incredulously, her emotions so potent and muddled that she could feel herself quivering like a live wire. “What are you?” she finally asked. “I saw the wings, but you’re no angel.”

“Wrong. I’m the best kind of angel. A fallen one,” Phenex said. “I’m also your new bodyguard, so you might as well get used to me. I’m not going anywhere.”

It took a moment for the words to sink in. When all the pieces clicked into place, Sofia let loose with a string of curses that were a mix of English, Spanish, and completely unintelligible.

And the man—or whatever he was—had the audacity to laugh.