Demon Night

the gates. “The bit about not bothering with killing us, and the prophecy?”
    Castleford answered him. “Yes. The only lie in all of that was yours.”
    Charlie blinked, then glanced up at Ethan’s face. He didn’t seem at all upset that he’d just been called a liar. “What?”
    Ethan grinned. “Jane ain’t the only reason he’s alive. Truth is, every single one of us got a real powerful thrill when you neutered that bastard, turning the bargain around on him. And now that he’s not a threat, he might prove more useful living.”
    Charlie looked back at the gates. She’d have said more pussy-whipped than neutered; unfortunately, it went both ways. Jane was just as controlled and blinded by her need for him. “I’m just glad I could help,” she said quietly.

    She was sitting on the porch steps, looking up at the stars when Mark woke up. He stumbled out and plopped down beside her, watching blearily as Ethan, Selah, and Castleford continued their examination of the senator’s body. They were taking pictures now, and Ethan glanced over at Charlie a few times, but he apparently decided that Mark was harmless.
    Charlie had just begun to wish that both she and Mark smoked when he finally said, “I think I turned into my dad back there. I know the stuff I said sounded exactly like he did in the last couple of months.”
    Charlie nodded. “I thought it might be something like that when you called Jane a whore.”
    “Yes.” He blushed. “I’m sorry for shooting you.”
    “I’d have been sorry if I’d had to shoot you.” She paused. “A little sorry.”
    The strobe of the flash highlighted Ethan’s sudden smile, pulled at the ache in her chest. He was monitoring the conversation, and it didn’t feel like cold surveillance, but safety and warmth.
    Mark sighed and propped his chin on his fist, then winced and jerked his head up again. “A part of me knew it wasn’t him. I saw that thing in D.C. a couple of times. Told myself it was just around our house because Dad had been trying to talk to so many vampires, demons, whatever. And he’d become such an asshole lately—even more than usual. I just didn’t let myself believe it.”
    “Well, not every asshole is a demon, so don’t use that as a litmus test,” Charlie said.
    “Especially in D.C.,” Mark replied, then turned to look at her blankly. “Where are the cops? Am I going back to D.C. or to jail?”
    Charlie shrugged, but Ethan raised his voice and said, “It’s not worth the effort of prosecuting you. And you’ll have enough to deal with in a week or two.” Ethan’s camera vanished, and he said to Castleford and Selah, “You want to take him to SI? I’ll come on down in the morning, after I get Charlie settled, and we’ll talk to him then.”
    Beside her, Mark said with quiet unease, “Take me where?”
    Although Ethan and Selah probably heard them, Charlie answered just as softly. “San Francisco. They’ll ask you about the nephil, what he’s been doing the last couple of months—and working out how they’ll cover up all of this.” She bumped his hip with hers when he still looked uncertain. “They’re the good guys. And you fucked up pretty bad, but your reasons weren’t so terrible. So grow a pair and go.”
    She felt the bruise that left on his ego, but he didn’t respond except to straighten his back and shoulders. A few minutes later, she watched Selah teleport Mark, Castleford, and the hellhound from the lawn, and turned to see Ethan grinning at her.
    She couldn’t help but smile. “What is it?”
    “You cut off a demon’s balls, and hand them to a boy to make a man of him.” He shook his head, chuckling. “I’d do well to be careful around you, Miss Charlie, or I might find myself talking at a higher pitch, and Jake with hair on his chest all of a sudden.”
    Good Lord, how she loved this man. Her heart lurched painfully, and Ethan’s amusement faded. He stepped toward her.
    “You going to tell me what I just laid on you?”
    Ethan was close now, but Charlie didn’t tilt her head to look up at him, because then she’d be kissing him—or rising up on her toes, hoping he wouldn’t make her lift herself all the way up to his mouth. She was strong enough to do that, always—and there were times she wanted to. But she wanted him to meet her in the middle, too. Because if he didn’t, she would just be left poised on her toes, waiting.
    “You didn’t put anything on me,” she said, and her