Free Demons Amongst Us (The Book of Demons Saga #2) by Raquel Dove Page B

Balthazar.  He scrambled away from the imposing demon lord, scooting back on the floor.  Balthazar cracked his knuckles as he glared down his nose at the guard, flashing his fangs for added impact.
    “You should thank the girl for your life,” Balthazar said.  As he turned around he noticed the scowl marring Alexandra’s face as she glared at him from beside the jewel case.
    “Stop calling me that, ” she bit out.  Of all the times, Balthazar was choosing now to irritate her, and she was not going to stand for it. 
    “That’s what you are,” he said, appearing just beside her.  “But we do not have time to argue about such things.  That human is likely going to raise an alarm.”
    A lex looked over his shoulder in the direction the security guard had occupied just moments before, and seeing him now gone, her heart sank into her stomach.
    “We’re going to jail,” she whimpered, her face devoid of all color and her eyes wide as the realization hit that they were in deep trouble now.  Her innocent fear made Balthazar want to laugh.
    “Have you learned nothing ?” he said, as he looked down at her with a smirk.  His arm wrapped around her waist as his fist busted through the glass case of the Hope Diamond display and grabbed the jewel. 
    A screeching alarm rang out through the room.  Balthazar was not prepared for the assault to his overly sensitive ears and dropped the necklace, his lips curling into a snarl as his hands flew up to cover his ears.  Footsteps sounded from just outside the room, signaling the arrival of the security team that would be taking them away to jail.
    Alexandra’s eyes darted around the room, her mind working frantically to find an escape.  She saw the glittering chunk of diamond on the floor by her feet and she knew there was only one way out of this sticky situation.  If they were caught, it wasn’t just her life and freedom that would be forfeited.  Balthazar was something not of this world, not human.  He would be a scientific oddity, no doubt kept in some lab and tortured with endless experimentations.  She could not let that happen to him.  There was only one course of action that could save them from such a fate, but she had no idea how she was going to pull it off.
    Balthazar could do nothing but try helplessly to shield his delicate senses.  He had no idea what was going on, but through the haze of pain he felt, he could sense Alexandra’s heavy distress, and he knew he was the cause of it.  He tried to push the unbearable squealing in his ears aside and concentrate on helping Alexandra, on getting them safely out of here with the diamond.  He could see a plan forming in her mind, and when her eyes fell on the diamond he knew what she was thinking.  He saw the hesitation and fear on her face.  She was afraid she could not do it, but he knew she could.  He had seen the strength that lay beneath the surface of her clumsy, unsure exterior.  She only needed a little encouragement.
    “Do it,” he growled out.  Her eyes snapped up to him and her mouth opened as if she was about to say something.
    “You can do it,” he interrupted her protest prematurely, anticipating her fears.  “I have faith in you, Alexandra.”
    That was all she needed to hear.  She snatched up the diamond and closed her eyes, holding the necklace tight to her chest.  Her mind was racing, with fear and doubt, but she forced it clear.  She concentrated on only one thing, pushing the chaos unfolding around her aside.  A slight tickle grew from her core and began to radiate out from her.  The diamond began to heat in her hand.  There was a brilliant flash of blue light and then nothing but darkness.

Chapter Twenty
     
     
    Alex could hear muff led voices somewhere in the background of her hazy mind.  She tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids felt like they were weighed down with bricks.  Her hands reached out, feeling silk beneath her fingertips. 
    “She is waking,” Alex