Company of Angels 02 - The Demoness of Waking Dreams

them down, knowing there was no use in squabbling.
    “So what are you going to do about him now? It should not be difficult to seduce him, if that’s what you intended. Get inside that head of his. For you, that should be easy. Are you still poking into men’s dreams?” Carlotta said.
    “It has been known to happen from time to time,” Luciana said.
    “How do you manage it?”
    “I can’t explain it. How do you see? Feel, taste, touch, hear? It’s the same for me with other people’s dreams. I sense the same things I would in the waking world. I don’t know how it happens. I only know that it does,” Luciana said. “If I had a choice in the matter, I would steer clear of this man’s unconscious mind. In fact, I plan to get rid of him entirely.”
    “If you don’t want him, bring him back here. There are plenty of girls who would give him a free ride,” said the madam. “Hell, I would take him myself.”
    “Ah, yes. I forgot how much you enjoy other women’s things,” Luciana said, looking pointedly to the ornate emerald drop earrings Carlotta was wearing.
    The earrings Carlotta had stolen from her.
    The emeralds had been in the Rossetti family for centuries, given to Luciana by her mother as a wedding gift. They had been the first item she had recovered when returning to Venice as a Rogue demon. When she had departed this godforsaken brothel, the circumstances of her departure had been rushed, to say the least. I escaped, the demoness thought. The earrings did not. They had ended up in Carlotta’s lobes, and ever since then, La Tenutaria had refused to give them back.
    “These earrings are mine, and they have been for a long time,” said the madam. “You left them here when you departed. You should have been more careful if they were so precious to you.”
    “You’re unbelievable,” Luciana said, narrowing her eyes at Carlotta.
    “You can see yourself out,” said the madam with a dismissive flick of her hand.
    Just as she opened the door, she spotted Corbin down below, ensconced in the arms of a pair of Carlotta’s girls. She hesitated, turning back to tell Carlotta. “You had better be careful. Corbin is more dangerous than you can even begin to guess.”
    “I don’t need your advice,” said Carlotta. “I can take care of myself.”
    Luciana shivered, knowing just how dangerous the Archdemon was. However, if Carlotta didn’t want to listen…
    On her way down the staircase, Corbin grabbed on to her arm. “Where are you going, lovely?”
    “I have business to attend to, Corbin,” she said, “which does not involve you.”
    “Everything of importance involves me, cara. You had better get used to that.”
    She shook off his grasp and hurried down the stairs, back into the hot day.
    * * *
     
    The Company safe house had not been luxurious, but it had at least provided Brandon with some basic comforts. Here, in this condemned building, there was no air-conditioning.
    Not even a fan.
    No relief from the stifling heat of summer, the humidity.
    Sweat trickled down his undershirt.
    Across the canal, the shutters were closed on the demoness’s palazzo, closed up and silent as a sepulcher. Yet within that mortuary stillness, he felt her breathing. Sensed her thinking. Knew, rather than saw, the plans being laid around polished tables within that house. The team of Gatekeepers in there with her, plotting.
    He watched for hours. But across the canal, nothing moved. Not a flicker. Not a sound.
    Nothing.
    Don’t fall asleep, he told himself. Think of something else.
    In this city with no cars, the itch for the driver’s seat crawled beneath Brandon’s skin. The hum of acceleration vibrated in the marrow of his bones. His palms twitched to feel the familiar curve of a steering wheel. His foot pressed, seeking the resistance of a gas pedal and its resulting acceleration.
    He closed his eyes and felt himself driving.
    Felt the instant of escaping the material world.
    The moment of surpassing the limitations of the human body. Yet still totally within its confines. Hurtling forward at a hundred miles an hour, yet in total stillness. Veering along a deserted country road, completely alone. Totally connected, completely attuned to the divine.
    Hand on the stick, he shifted into a higher gear.
    And felt a hand gently squeeze his thigh.
    Looked over into the passenger seat and saw Luciana there, green eyes brilliant and a slight smile on her lips.
    He jolted out of sleep, shocked back to the