Demon Bound

about why I shouldn’t kill him—”
    “No. That’s not it. Because after I got over being pissed, I realized what you were doing at Teqon’s place. Trying to get out of your bargain, right? You don’t want to kill Michael any more than I do. That’s why you told Teqon to reconsider, and threw that heart at him. Which, by the way, was both badass and creepy.”
    “It got my message across.”
    “Yeah. Which is why I’m here.”
    “It is?” She was utterly lost.
    He stepped down from the dais. “I know what it’s like to be stuck, when you’ve only got two or three really bad choices. Or no choice.”
    “Oh. I see.” Her back stiffened. “Thank you for coming to offer your sympathy.”
    “Ah, there you go with the porcupine again. But I’m not here out of pity; I’m here to help.”
    “Help?” She stood in a quick movement, and her voice had a sharp edge. “There is nothing that can be done—I will either decide to fulfill my bargain, or I will not. So you are better put to use elsewhere.”
    “Gee, it’s too bad you think so. Because I’m putting myself to use wherever you are. It’ll be a good experience for me.”
    “So you said before,” she reminded him tightly, then held up her hand when he opened his mouth. “No. For one, you are training with Ethan—”
    “Nope. I popped over to Seattle before heading here. And I told him I’d be working under you for a while.”
    Oh, dear heaven. Had Jake told him of the bargain? “He agreed?”
    “I would’ve come even if he hadn’t. As it was, he just asked, ‘This about that demon?’ And I said, ‘Maybe,’ and he said, ‘All right, then.’ ”
    “The traitor,” Alice muttered.
    “Not from where I’m standing.” Jake’s gaze was steady. “Look, Alice. I’m the only one available to you. Before the Ascension, you had more options. Maybe Irena or Drifter could’ve taken more time away from their assignments. But now there’s just me. And I’m going where I feel I’m most needed, and where I can offer the most help.”
    “But there is nothing—”
    “ Help , as in finding out more about the prophecy. And if that means we take that list of Belial’s demons and threaten to cut out their hearts one by one unless they spill everything they know about it, that’s what we’ll do. And we’ll find something that Teqon will want.”
    Alice slowly closed her mouth. The idea held promise, and was something she’d considered before and discarded—she couldn’t have attempted it alone.
    Not that it mattered. “Teqon said he wouldn’t accept any alternative.”
    “And he’s a demon, which makes him a liar. But if that fails, we’ll try something else.”
    Ever the optimist. And she was tempted to accept.
    As if sensing that she wavered, he pressed, “I don’t have enough experience to head out on my own yet, but I’ll get more doing this with you than I will with Drifter. So you’ll be helping me, too. And if you don’t agree . . . well, I’ll just find you by teleporting wherever you are. I might anyway, if it means I keep landing in places like this. Are we underground? In a hypogeum?”
    “Yes.” She sighed. “You’re incredibly stubborn.”
    “I know.” He hooked his thumbs into his pockets and seemed to try very hard to appear chagrined. “It’s a fault.”
    “Yes, well—I hope you don’t intend to immediately set off hunting demons.” She pulled in a measuring tape from her cache and tossed it to him. “We need to find the dimensions of the chamber, then create a visual record. Do you want to sketch or to photograph?”
    He caught the tape. “You’re a goddess, Alice.”
    “I know.” His smile did silly things to her insides, so she turned away, seeking another distraction. “I am Zorya Polunochnaya. Patient and wise.”
    Or she would try to be.
    “Isn’t that the crone?”
    She speared a glance over her shoulder, felt her stomach tumble a little more, and pointed at the wall. “Measure. Now. Or I will smite thee.”

CHAPTER 8
    The next two hours passed more smoothly than Alice had anticipated. As she finished the details on her last sketch, she mused that it boded well for when they moved against any of Belial’s demons.
    She glanced at Jake, who was crouching in front of the dais. Muffled rock music came from the tiny speakers in his ears. He’d been efficient and, once they’d split up their tasks, hadn’t needed to ask for direction. And though she couldn’t ignore his