Demon Angel

Disgust filled his voice.
    "I'm not the one who followed him in his rebellion, then put him on the throne Below."
    She felt him relent; he pushed back his chair and wandered over to the window. "Last week, a contingent of thirty Guardians located a nosferatu nest. Only one or two made it back to Caelum's Gate."
    Unbelievable. They must have been heavily outnumbered— and surprised—to endure such a loss. Could so many nosferatu exist in one place without the Guardians being aware of it? Or had the nosferatu been assisted by Lucifer's demons?
    "Since then, we've heard reports that Michael is scouting the city alone, preparing another advance."
    Michael wasn't alone in the city; there had been another Guardian with him. Stafford's information was incorrect—or he was lying.
    He was probably lying; she would have. No sense in giving an enemy accurate data—not that the exact numbers mattered. Even if Stafford exaggerated, and in fact only ten Guardians had been defeated, then Michael's next strike would have to include at least four or five times that many. How could he hope to bring in such a large group and remain undetected by humans?
    And how had the nosferatu managed to hide? They didn't need to feed, but how had they managed to live amongst humans and control the bloodlust?
    "I've looked over the missing persons reports and murder dockets for the past three months," Lilith said. "I couldn't find any activity that might be related to nosferatu, and no spike in frequency."
    She didn't mention the body she'd found that morning; Hugh was too closely connected to that memory, and she didn't trust this demon any more than she did Smith.
    Hopefully, that human had been the first. And the last.
    "Vampires," the congressman said flatly. "The nosferatu have been hunting down their offspring and feeding from them. I've had several vampires come to me for help, but"—he spread his hands in a helpless gesture—"as one of Belial's, I can offer little protection."
    Even if he hadn't been powerless, Lilith doubted he'd have helped the vampires. She pushed her rising concern for Colin aside; she had good psychic blocks, but she didn't want the congressman to suspect she might be worried about a vampire's well-being, nor let him know that she'd become friends with one.
    There were some things demons just did not do, whether they followed Belial or Lucifer.
    Outside the office window, the sun descended slowly toward the horizon. Sensing that Stafford had nothing more to tell her, she slipped off the desk and landed silently on the carpet. "Thank you, Congressman. You've been helpful."
    His deep chuckle made her look back over her shoulder. "If platitudes such as those fall so easily from your mouth, you've spent far too much time amongst the humans."
    She gave him an assessing glance. His current form fit him comfortably. "As have you."
    "Perhaps. Earth is preferable to your father's kingdom." His humor faded. "Join us, Lilith. You would be welcome on Belial's side. Once he takes the throne, he promises to restore us to His Grace."
    She arched a brow, her cynicism obvious. If Belial won, did Stafford honestly believe the demon lord would relinquish the power he'd spent centuries securing? "Thanks for the offer," she said. "But I'll take my chances with the devil I know."
    The activity around the crime scene had settled into a slow, methodical rhythm. Uniformed officers milled around the perimeter, just outside the yellow tape that cordoned off a section of the path and a hundred foot circumference around the body. Floodlights had been set up to illuminate the area, and a team of officers walked in ever-widening circles, searching for evidence with flashlights in hand. Within the tape, Detectives Preston and Taylor consulted with the medical examiner, and a pale-faced photographer recorded the scene on film.
    From his seat atop a picnic table thirty feet away, the strobe of the flash left afterimages on Hugh's vision. He couldn't see the body on the ground, but didn't need to; it was impossible to forget.
    A uniformed officer had already taken his information and initial statement, along with the woman's whose phone he'd used. She had been sent home an hour earlier, but Detective Taylor had asked Hugh to wait until she or Preston could collect a full recounting of his discovery of the corpse.
    How had she managed to fight two nosferatu? The few times they'd worked together in the past had been while hunting the creatures; even