A Memory of Wings by Emily Michel

Author:Emily Michel [Michel, Emily]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: FyreSydePublishing2

Chapter Nineteen

Exactly fifteen minutes later, Shax showed up at the black sedan idling in the motel parking lot. The dark-haired heavy waited beside the car.

"You cost me twenty bucks, motherfucker," he said.

"Which one are you?" Shax asked.

"Orax."

The demon yanked the bag out of Shax's hand and opened the door.

"Hey, be careful."

In reply, the demon swung the bag at his head. Shax ducked, and the bag sailed over his head and landed in a puddle of slush six feet behind him.

"Fuck you."

Okay, that's how this would be. Shax got into the car while Orax loaded his soaked bag into the trunk. There was a bloodstain in the middle of the back seat, probably from the man he had watched them abduct.

Aeshma sat behind the driver, her other bodyguard. The duke noticed where his gaze lingered.

"I needed his help, too," she said, looking pointedly at the bloodstain. "Navigating these modern accounting systems takes a special talent, which, unfortunately, I do not possess."

Shax swallowed, knowing what she wanted him to ask. He hated giving it to her, but he must play along for now.

"What happened to him?"

Aeshma held her hand palm up with her fingers spread. A crackling ball of blue and purple flame burst into existence, and a sulfurous smell filled the sedan.

"Ashes to ashes, pet."

She closed her hand, extinguishing the flames. Orax climbed into the car, and the other, Asag, he presumed, put the car in drive.

It was one thing to make a promise to Kheone to find the Duke. It was quite another to come face-to-face with her. In the end, a perverse desire to undermine any plans Aeshma was cooking up overruled his flight or fight response. If he could pass along any details of her plans to Kheone, the angels might run a spike into Aeshma's scheme. The fact that if he left the city, he would also leave Kheone had absolutely nothing to do with his decision. Really.

A smile touched her lips, sugar laced with venom, and hunger darkened her eyes.

"I am glad you made the right choice," Aeshma said. "I've missed you. My current horde is unimaginative at best, and not one of them is nearly as pretty as you. My stay in Kansas City just got much better."

He returned her smile, suppressing the skin-crawling disgust he felt.

"As long as your hotel is better than that dump, so has mine."

"You think I would settle for anything other than the best?"

"Of course not, Your Grace."

Aeshma reached into the expensive leather purse on her other side and pulled out a small flask. She offered it to Shax.

"Have a drink. Then we'll discuss business."

Shax considered the flask, unable to hide his suspicion. Even odds she'd poisoned it.

"Oh, come on. Why would I offer you a job only to poison you?" she asked, her smile slipping a fraction. Aeshma took a sip from the flask. "There. I certainly wouldn't poison myself."

Out of options, Shax took the flask. She would, in fact, poison herself if she had the antidote. But Aeshma,

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