Free Eve of Chaos by S.J. Day Page A

toward
her with a growl. Alec straightened abruptly, prepared to leap in. Eve feinted
to the side, catching the demon’s arm as he passed. She swung him up, then
hammered him down into the rooftop. Ash mushroomed and hovered for a heartbeat
in a pocket of still air, then burst free in a sudden breeze.
    Alec applauded.
He doubted many novices would have handled multiple opponents with as much
aplomb.
    It took her a
moment to shake off the bloodlust brought on by the lingering effects of the
Novium. But when she did, she smiled sheepishly and sketched a quick,
exaggerated bow. He loved the bow and the strength of character that made it
possible for her to dust herself off so quickly.
    He glanced at
the kicking feet of the tengu stuck in the side of the van-sized AC unit. “You
win.”
    “Damn straight.”
    “Of course, you
have a great mentor.”
    The wry look she
shot him made him laugh, something he only ever did around her.
    “That—” she
pointed a finger at the writhing tengu, “—isn’t going to fit on your bike.”
    “Right. Do you
want to go back for the car? Or have me do it?” He could shift with mortals and
Marks, but not with demons. “I’ll have to drive back, so it won’t be quick.”
    “Quicker than me.
You can shift to the garage. I have to drive both ways.”
    “You sure?”
    “Sure.” Her gaze
narrowed on the wriggling cement buttocks. “If it acts up, I’ll spank it.”
    “Lucky tengu.”
    With a wink, he
shifted away.

CHAPTER 5

     

     
    Less than half
an hour later, Eve and Alec were exiting the elevators on the lobby level of
Olivet Place with the tengu tucked under Alec’s arm. To mortal eyes the little
beast appeared as rigid as its stone imitators, but it was in fact wriggling
madly.
    “Keep it up,”
Eve warned, “and we’ll drop you to the bottom of the Mariana Trench and you’ll
have to hike back.”
    The tengu
gasped, then stilled.
    “Where are you
going with that?” the mortal guard asked, but the Mark next to him touched his
arm and shook his head.
    “You won’t miss
him,” Eve said, waving good-bye.
    “Trust me.”
    They stepped
outside. She moved directly to the Harley and pulled her Oakley shades out of
the leather pouch on the gas tank. “Where’s the car?”
    “Around the
corner.”
    She gestured
ahead with a wave of her hand. “I’ll follow you.”
    Alec took the
lead, shortening his long-legged stride to keep her close. Eve walked behind
him and slightly to the left, allowing the tengu to be carried along the curb
and away from other pedestrians. Her nose wrinkled as the scent of rotting soul
roiled in the wind. She held her breath, but a hard bump to her shoulder by a
passing pedestrian knocked her back and made her turn her head. She caught the
culprit leering back at her. With fangs. His face was covered in writhing black
details and his eyes glowed laser-green. With a chopping motion of his hand, he
mouthed, Head will roll.
    Despite an inner
shiver, Eve flipped him the bird... and crashed into something rock solid.
    “Watch it,” Alec
bit out.
    When she looked
up at him to explain, she found him staring down the fleeing vampire with the
look of death. Coming from Cain of Infamy, it scared even Eve. Then his head
turned, raking their surroundings with an examining gaze. She followed suit and
froze. Infernals littered the sidewalks in unusually high concentration for the
area, far more than had been present when they’d arrived. Having the
headquarters of the North American firm here in Orange County discouraged
Infernals from playing in the vicinity, but apparently not today.
    Alec’s growing
fury filtered through her, chilling her with his cold aggression. A low,
resonant snarl rumbled up from his chest and throbbed outward, visibly pushing
every demon back. The power he exuded was dizzying for Eve, who felt it like a
phantom limb. An archangel’s power alone would be too much for her, but Alec’s
outburst contained an iciness that seized her