Free Kingdom of Lies (Imp Series Book 7) by Debra Dunbar Page B

hearing and gathered all sorts of gossip while there. Plus they could earn extra money by telling stories, or singing epic tales. One was doing that very thing as I walked into Spanky’s. Coinage flew across the room, bouncing off the demon’s leathery skin and to the floor as patrons shouted for her to ‘shut the fuck up’. A Low darted about at her feet, scooping the coins into a bag. I stayed out of projectile range and watched. When the bard felt she’d earned enough, she ended the song with a flourish and a bow, retreating to a far table.
    I grabbed a couple of full mugs from a waiter, this time actually paying for them, and made my way over to her.
    “I’m Az.” I plopped one mug in front of her and sat, nudging the Low aside with my foot.
    “Terrelle.”
    She took a drink. I did the same, forcing my face to remain bland as I swallowed. Turpentine tasted better than this swill.
    “I’m looking for an elf.” I went on to recite my description of Swifty as she sipped her drink. Huge furry ears unfurled from the sides of her head and neck, spreading outward like rippled brown velvet.
    “Elves don’t like to stay with demons.” Sip.
    “Yeah, but this elf got kicked out of his kingdom because he had business dealings with a free sorcerer. I was told he was in Eresh.”
    Sip. “Someone lied.”
    Damn it all. “Then who can I speak to who won’t lie?”
    She smiled, enigmatic and mysterious as her ears folded back down. “Me.”
    Demons lie, but Noodles lied a whole lot less than the rest of us. They had to. Their currency was information, and that currency would be worthless if it couldn’t be relied upon.
    “I’d like to discover where the elf has been, any pertinent information about his comings, goings, and associations, and where he is currently located. I’d also be very interested to know if he sold any items while he was here.”
    Sip. Blink. “I can do that.”
    And now for the big question. “What will this information cost?”
    “Something of little value. Something that will be of no consequence for you to give me.”
    I fought to keep from grinding my teeth and tried to look fascinated. She took her time, finished her drink, and stroked long fingers along the edge of her folded ears.
    “Admittance and membership into your household, along with assurances of physical, mental, and emotional safety from the other household members.”
    I tried to wrap my brain around that one. Yeah, I got the ‘safety from other members’ thing. That was standard when you weren’t sure exactly where in the hierarchy of a household you’d fall. It was that she wanted to be in my household at all that was perplexing. I had a reputation for getting a significant percentage of my demons killed. And, Iblis title or not, I was still just an imp.
    “Why me?” Sometimes the blunt approach was the best avenue.
    “Safe passage through the gates and diplomatic immunity to live among the humans.” She leaned forward, practically vibrating with excitement. “They have libraries . And that Internet thing? Everything you’d ever want to know at the touch of a finger.”
    Made sense, she was a Noodle after all. I thought for a second of introducing her to Wyatt, but he’d been rather anti-demon after his return from Chicago. Besides, Noodles may be the geeks of Hel, but they weren’t shy about casually dissecting another being just to see how they were put together. A demon with her nose stuck in a book was still a demon.
    “Please tell me you can manifest into a convincing human form.” Otherwise the only library she was going to see was the one in my home.
    Terrelle shivered, her shape blurring before settling into that of a human. Nice. The ears became a mass of long brown curls, her skin pale with a rosy tint. The nose was a shade too long for beauty, the mouth a bit too thin, her eyes a clear, bright, dark blue. Slap some glasses on her and throw the hair up into a bun, and she’d be perfect for a