This Side of the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

Author:Jeaniene Frost
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2011-02-21T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

Baron Charles DeMortimer, who went by Spade so he’d never forget that he was once referred to by the tool an overseer had assigned him, was Bones’s best friend. They’d known each other over two centuries, ever since they were human prisoners at a New South Wales penal colony. Right now, I was pretty sure their long history was the only reason Spade hadn’t gone for my throat at first sight of me. The look he threw me when Bones glanced away said loud and clear that he was fantasizing about throttling me.

“I’m so glad you called!” Denise, my best friend, said as she hugged me. “I’m thrilled to finally be able to help you out for once.”

Over her shoulder, Spade glowered at me again when Bones turned away to see if they’d brought any more bags with them. I ignored that, squeezing Denise in return while marveling at her new strength. It reinforced my opinion that this was our best course of action, even though it might take Spade a few years to forgive me for suggesting it. He and Denise had just gotten married recently, and he was very protective of her.

So was I, and if Denise were still human, she wouldn’t be here now. But she wasn’t really human anymore. A demon made sure of that when he branded Denise with his essence a few months back. Now that the demon was dead, what he’d done to her could never be undone, which made Denise perhaps the most indestructible person on the planet. Hell, if I cut her head off right now, the only result would be a big mess on the floor until another one grew back.

That wasn’t the only incredible thing Denise could do, which was why I’d asked them to come. I linked arms with her as we went into the living room, letting out a short laugh as Denise said, “Not to be rude right off, Cat, but . . . why do you smell like you bathed in garlic?”

“Just be glad your nose isn’t strong enough to get a whiff of the weed, too,” I replied wryly. “It’s a, uh, homemade remedy to keep a certain unwanted element away from me.”

“You’ll keep quite a lot of elements away from you with that particular aroma,” Spade said, wrinkling his nose with such refined distaste that it was like getting a glimpse of him when he was an eighteenth-century nobleman.

“Yeah, well, good thing I’m not trying to pick up vampires anymore, what with my new stinky perfume,” I said, hiding a smile. Spade must be really ticked at me. Normally his innate chivalrousness would have him replying with a gallant lie about how garlic was all the new rage for fragrances, or that the cloud of weed wafting from me really brought out the shine in my hair.

Bones gave him a look that said Spade’s lack of warmth hadn’t gone unnoticed by him, either. He poured two whiskeys from the decanter on the credenza, handing one to Spade with less graciousness than normal.

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