Demon Angel

injured," she said.
    Truth, but the difference between question and answer was not subtle. His fingers shook as he brushed back a curl from her forehead—as if he had to touch her, but did not trust himself to touch her skin.
    His throat worked, and he pulled his hand away. "Does he know?"
    "That you will submit, yes. The nosferatu have taken some of your students so that you won't change your mind—we need to contact Taylor and Preston, have them make certain it wasn't a lie." It didn't matter if it was; they had little choice. Lucifer must love that. She rubbed her forehead, then signed, But he doesn't know about Colin, nor the nosferatu. If he did know of a link to Chaos, he would care little for anything else until he had obtained it . She frowned. He must be concerned he will fail, to risk using his magic, and then leaving traces of it. He guards it closely, to keep his control over those who would take his throne .
    A short laugh escaped her; he well knew he did not have to fear such from her.
    Hugh's gaze fell to the dagger in her fist, then met hers again.
    "He must have taken it when he pulled me through the Gate in the temple." She set it on the counter, glad to be rid of it. "If he intended to increase my sense of fatalism, to remind me of the consequences of failure, it was the right thing to give me. I did not serve him that night," she said, her voice bitter.
    He mistook the cause of it, and shook his head. "Lilith, I did not mean—"
    Her heart suddenly thudded in her chest, and she did not hear what he said, could not hear anything but its racing beat. She had not served . It had been a rebellion, and it had given her Hugh—and it was the best thing, one of the few good things, she'd ever done.
    She pushed past him, scooped up the leather breeches and corset, then went into the bedroom for her boots. Her pulse pounded in her ears, and she listened—did not even know if he said anything, though she could feel him watching her.
    Michael returned. Sir Pup, Colin, and Selah stood at the bedroom door. In the living room, they had turned from her, their expressions showing disgust or rejection or pity. And she had deserved it.
    "He is gone," Michael said.
    She finished lacing her boots, stood. She didn't look at Hugh. "There is a dagger in the bathroom; I need you to check it for poisons."
    The dagger appeared in his hand. Touching the blade to his tongue, he frowned and nodded.
    Lucifer thought she might be able to begin, but he apparently hadn't trusted her to go through with killing him. She smiled wryly. "If you would clean it for me, I would be grateful," she said. "I'm going to perform the ritual with it."
    Protests from Selah and Colin; one did not want to lose Caelum, the other was concerned for her. Nothing from Michael. He vanished the poison from the blade's surface and produced a sheath for it. Sir Pup lay on the floor, his three mouths opened wide in identical grins.
    She did not look at Hugh.
    She strapped the knife to her thigh, her focus on the buckles more intense than the act warranted. "Continue with what you're doing—Colin can procure the equipment from Ramsdell." She glanced up at him, and though his brow was creased with confusion, he nodded. Little that he did not know about blood or transfusions, but he had not been able to read the sign language Hugh had used to outline the plan. "Selah, you explain to him what we need—write it out." Keep Hugh's , she signed. Colin will want to drink it, will need it after he gives his own, but don't let him .
    The blond Guardian's mouth was set in a mutinous line, but she gave a short gesture of assent.
    Lilith looked at the Doyen. Michael, store the blood in your cache . "But first, go to the nest and let them know we're going to do the ritual tonight. A location of our choosing. If they touch Hugh's students, I'll kill him before he can submit to anything, and it won't matter if the wager is lost for they will have no access to Caelum." A lie, but only Hugh would know it. "The students are to be released after the bloodletting—but before the nosferatu drink—or else you will vanish it from the cups."
    "Lilith," Hugh said softly.
    "Don't ask me what I'm doing." She took a deep breath. The corset did nothing to hide the symbol between her breasts. "I need your bike."
    "The keys are hanging by the garage door." Warmth in his voice. "Is this going to be absurd?"
    She grinned. "Oh, yes."
    And her attack wasn't as quick as she would have