Demon Bound

Now is the best time to procure the measurements for it.”
    “The best time? Yeah, I bet it is.” With a laugh that seemed half-amusement, half-frustration, he shook his head. “All right, goddess. Lead on.”

    Doing the jitterbug in the middle of a courtyard in eastern Caelum wasn’t so bad, Jake thought—but doing it as a victory dance probably bordered on dickery. So he only toe-stepped a little when Alice wasn’t looking.
    Alejandro was, as usual, quiet. Like Alice, he was in his customary black, from his tall boots to his long-sleeved shirt.
    It was almost funerary enough to drag a guy’s spirits down. But that would be like focusing on Alice pulling away from him instead of thinking about how she’d almost fried his brain with that kiss, so Jake shook his head and changed into a red Grateful Dead T-shirt.
    He probably hadn’t needed to bother. Irena emerged from one of the buildings, her auburn hair brilliant in the sun, her blue tattoos patterning her arms like cobalt snakes, and her green eyes flashing. The leather vest and leggings were brown, and her smile reminded Jake of a big, hungry tiger.
    Alice signed to Irena, but her body obscured his view of her hands. When she finished, Irena looked over at Jake, sized him up, and nodded.
    “ Oui, ” she said, then glanced at Alejandro. Unlike her English, her Parisian French held almost no trace of an accent as she continued, “What will best serve him?”
    “Two swords of equal length.” Alejandro turned to study Jake, and stroked a forefinger down his goatee. “They should have a light weight and long reach. He is a fox, not a bear.”
    “You would have all of them be foxes. Show me,” Irena commanded. “And I will determine for myself.”
    Alejandro inclined his head. “Jake, your swords. Alice, if you please? Use the weapon of your preference. Defend yourself to begin, and then attack.”
    Alice’s naginata appeared in her hand. Jake called in his swords. Her gliding step returned, and a smile formed on her lips.
    “I need to see her blood, Jake,” Irena called. “If you hold back, the balance will be off.”
    “Isn’t ‘making sure that I don’t kill her’ holding back?”
    Irena snorted. “Do you imagine you could? I see I will have to factor in your inflated ego, and weight your swords more heavily.”
    Jake knew how fast Alice was, how deadly. He’d seen it in Tunisia. No, this was a delaying tactic, because now that he realized what Alice had meant by a gift, he was thunderstruck.
    Customized weapons, forged by Irena and strengthened by her Gift.
    She’d created the swords he had now. The Guardians’ armory was filled with weapons of all shapes and sizes—but they couldn’t compare to a pair made for him.
    But he would have to thank Alice later. Though Alejandro had put her on the defensive to start, she didn’t wait for Jake. Her blade streaked diagonally toward his chest. Jake crossed his swords, caught it, twisted. She pivoted, her skirts flaring. The naginata’s metal pole whacked his knee, almost brought him down.
    “ Arrêtez! ” Irena strode forward, took his right sword. She ran her palm up the blade; her Gift slipped through the courtyard like a caress. When she returned it, the blade had a curve to it, and one of the edges had been dulled. She performed the same action to the second. “Mind your new cutting edge, and adjust.”
    “You will create a saber?”
    Maybe it was just that he was used to hearing the swordsman speak in Spanish, and he was imagining the nasal disdain in Alejandro’s voice—but Jake didn’t think so.
    “A shashka. He has no subtlety; an espada ropera will not do. I work with what they are, Olek, not what you wish them to be. Begin again, Jake.”
    Grateful to focus on anything but the brittle tension building between the two Guardians, he engaged Alice—and noted the difference immediately. Slower than Alice, he caught her strikes later, closer to his hands. But with the curve, he could apply greater force, pull the blade through in a longer movement, and keep their weapons in contact for a greater amount of time—effectively slowing her, as well.
    Until Alice’s blade slashed across his cheek. Irena shouted for them to stop, made more adjustments. Then she returned to Alejandro’s side, and they continued to trade barbs at almost the same rate he and Alice drew blood. More alterations were made. Alice switched her naginata for a whip that she used to tear his swords from