Chapter 14

Zee smuggledme in a back door at Razorsedge, then left me in a communal dressing room, surrounded by colorful demons climbing in and out of various skimpy costumes. I sat on a chair, looking very underdressed in my beige sweater and slacks, feeling like a human doll that had been tossed into the wrong claw machine, squished among brightly colored plushies with extra adult bits.

Zee had told them I was off limits, but that didn't stop them from getting a look at the boring human who'd adopted their star performer. Ramone spotted me, and chuckled at my attempt to blend in. He pulled up a chair, sat, and offered me a puff on his vape.

"I'm good, thank you."

He shrugged, and sucked on the vape. "I hear Zee's performing at eleven." He hissed out the vapor through clenched, sharp teeth, and his eyes got a little bit larger. I suspected the vape had more in it than nicotine and peach flavor. "You ever seen his shows?" he asked.

"Uh, no. But he dances sometimes at the hotel, though."

Ramone puffed a hoop into the air. "Not like this, babycakes. He's something else. Be careful. There are no wards here to protect you, and he's potent. You might lose your mind for a while. Some folks like that, you know? In the old days, before more of us came through the veil, some incubi set up shop here, made humans think we're divine. Those early fuckers were worshipped as pagan gods. Gave the rest of us incubi a bad rep. Some folks still come here to fall under the spell though, you know? Humans are weird like that. They know what's bad for them, and crave it anyway. But I'm guessing you're not like that?"

"Thanks for the warning, but I'll be alright."

As it approached eleven, I left the dressing room for the main bar and stage area, keeping to the fringes where I'd go unnoticed.

Despite the short notice, the club was packed, wall to wall. Zodiac had made it known all over social media that he was back at Razorsedge, and tonight's show was his comeback performance. Sebastien would be making a fortune on tickets. A fortune that went straight into his silk-lined pockets. A fortune that wasn't his, according to the ruined addendum. The contract had expired without being renewed. Everyone here was technically free, but without proof, Sebastien would never relinquish his rights.

I needed to get my hands on that proof.

Anticipation buzzed the air. The main stage was dark. Nobody had performed yet. Everyone waited for Zodiac. Everyone, including Sebastien.

He lounged in one of the booths, with two female demons on his arms. In his cream suit, blue shirt, and glossy black shoes—his "Smooth Criminal"outfit—he looked the part. His wings shimmered with silver glitter, and that same glitter sparkled in his white hair, pulled back in the savage French plait running between his spiraling horns.

I hung back, hiding where dappled, colored lights confused the shadows, and gradually made my way around the outside of the buzzing crowd.

There was no room for mistakes tonight.

Lives depended on my ability to slip through the crowd unnoticed. Be invisible. Just a boring, nobody human.

The lights above the stage began to glow.

It wouldn't be long now.

"Adam Vex."

I jolted to a stop in front of another average human. But this one was middle-aged, shorter than me, with a neck as wide as his head, and a dash of whiskers shading his jaw. It took me a heartbeat to recognize him wearing a smart shirt. "Hello, Detective Somers." Oh no.

The club's ambient light caught in his close-set eyes, making them gleam. "Not enjoying the show, Mr. Vex?"

"Oh, I am. I just—I'm looking for the bathroom." I began to inch around him, which jostled me into nearby people. "Sorry... I just need to... can I just... squeeze by?"

The irritating man smiled, remaining firmly rooted in my path. "I hope there are no massacres this evening."

"Oh, probably not." I chuckled. Someone bumped my arm and grumbled. "Just lots of people having a good time."

"Well, you're here, and so is Zodiac. Whenever that happens, folks usually die."

Ugh. The last thing I needed was a nosy detective drawing attention to me. "Well, gee. It almost sounds as though you don't like demons. This is probably the wrong place to be, if that's the case, Detective."

A few nearby demons turned their heads, glancing our way.

Somers noticed and attempted to make himself an inch taller by puffing out his chest. "I didn't say I don't like demons. Every one of God's creatures has its place."

But, according to him, Zodiac's place was on the other side of the veil. I knew his sort. They liked to wave crosses and preach about the second coming, about how sin would be cleansed by the second coming of their prophesied one. I knew a thing or two about prophecies. They were rarely accurate. More like guidelines, really. "Then it's Zodiac you have a problem with?"

A big demon jostled against Somers, almost toppling him into me. "Out the way, demon bait," the demon grumbled, shoving by.

"I h-have a problem with criminals, Mr. Vex," Somers stammered. "Mr. Reese, the protestor, remains missing. Gruesome murders right outside this club. All the signs point to one person, don't you think?" He nodded toward the stage, where the lights began to shift from soft white to a deep red. "Demons like him never change, Mr. Vex. They'll always be killers."

Zee's show was about to begin. Remembering Ramone's warning, I tucked a smile into my cheek. "Are you staying to watch? I hear Zodiac's performances are mesmerizing."

He grimaced. "I might."

The lights dimmed again, and the opening violins from Michael Bublé's version of "Feeling Good" played. Zee's voice glided over our heads, teasing every single person in the crowd—demon, fae, human, all manner of Lost Ones—none could deny its smooth, delicious timbre. I'd heard him sing before, at the hotel, when he'd belted out a rendition of "House of the Rising Sun." But that hadn't been like this.

His voice poured over and into me like warm syrup, its physical pull undeniable.

A spotlight burst onto the curtain onstage, highlighting Zee's frozen but unmistakable silhouette behind. The dramatic outline showed his wings splayed, his tail flicked out, and his heels accentuating long legs.

"It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new lifefor me. And I'm feeeelin'... good."

The beat dropped. The orchestra kicked in. The trumpets sang. And the curtain fell.

I gasped.

He wore a blood-red suit jacket over a black silk shirt, clinging on by a single button. Red tailored pants dropped to glossy black shoes. I'd thought Reynard rocked a suit like nobody else, but until this moment, I'd never seen Zee wear one. And he wore it with style.

He strutted forward, heeled shoes striking the stage floor with every drumbeat. His black wings, painted with red ladybug dots, rocked with every sway of his hips. The opening crescendo built until Zee reached the front of the stage. He dropped into a crouch, tail causing mischief off to one side with a big-eyed fan who appeared to be on the verge of losing their mind.

He sang, as though the music lived and breathed inside of him.

The crowd hollered, howled and screamed, and Zee smiled, absorbing everything. He stood, shrugged off the jacket and flung it away, then grasped the pole, hooked a leg around it, and went to work.

He owned that stage, and every single living being in the club. His incubus allure beat out in waves, washing over the audience, whipping them into a frenzy. This was what happened when there weren't wards to temper him. And he was... glorious.

Even Detective Somers stood stunned and enthralled. He swallowed hard, his mind and body no longer his own.

A glance to my left, through the many horns and wing tips, revealed Sebastien, standing and gazing at Zee. Admiration shone in his eyes. Blatant desire parted his lips.

Zee had everyone under his thrall. Everyone except me. I wanted nothing more than to stay and watch too, but I had my own part to play.

I stepped back from the masses. Pride lifted me up. That clever, powerful demon on stage was my bestie, and part of my heart too.

Nobody stopped me from passing through the side door, and climbing up the tall, narrow staircase. But the dutiful guard outside Sebastien's suite saw me. He stepped forward. "You again?—"

Nobody expects the blond-haired, softly spoken, twenty-something human to punch above their weight. So when I thrust out a hand, grabbed his face, and slammed his head against the wall, he didn't know what had hit him. And I'd learned, from previous visits, there were no cameras here to witness it.

As he slumped, out cold, I caught him, and gently laid him down. "Just a little nap. You'll be right as rain in no time."

Inside Sebastien's apartment, Zee's voice sailed up to me, giving his all and driving me on. I dashed for the cabinets, grabbed the box file Reynard had found, and dumped its contents on the floor. Contracts fluttered, but the addendum wasn't among them.

It had to be here.

Where would Sebastien keep something capable of ruining his business? He wouldn't destroy it, in case he needed to renew it. So where would he hide the one thing that could bring all this tumbling down?

I spotted the remains of the shattered glass wall that Reynard had shoved Sebastien through, and hurried around it. Sebastien's enormous, red silk–draped bed was all kinds of hideous. And a mirror above, to add to the creeper vibe.

I dropped to my knees, lifted the sheets, and peered under the bed. A shiny reinforced suitcase lay among his sex toys. I dragged it out and popped the latches. The lid sprung open, and inside lay a messy pile of documents. A deed to Razorsedge, multiple loan agreements, several explicit photographs of Sebastien and a... goat? I shoved all that aside, and there it was, the original slip of paper. The addendum. Proof that Sebastien's reign as the king of Razorsedge was over.

I snatched it up, shoved the case back under the bed, and hurried from the apartment.

I had it.

My heart thumped.

I had what we needed to free every single demon here.

Zodiac's show had ended, and another demon was on stage, grinding against the pole, but after the splendor of Zee's show, almost everyone had gone back to drinking, chatting, and getting frisky with the staff.

"Ben..." I leaned against the bar, breathing hard and grinning like an idiot. "Where did Zee go?"

"Hey there! I didn't know you were here. D'you see the show? Fuck, Zee kills it every time."

"Yes, yes, where is he?"

He jerked his chin toward Sebastien's booth. "Where he always is after a show like that—with the boss."

My heart stuttered, and my grin cracked. I followed Ben's glance, and saw Sebastien with Zee. Which wouldn't have been so bad, if Sebastien didn't have hold of the chains around Zee's neck, making it clear who Zee belonged to.

Zee didn't seem to mind. He chuckled at something one of their group said, but his eyes were flat, his heart far away.

This ended now.

I stole someone's drink on the bar and gulped it down. The potent mix hit me like a slap to the face.

"Hey!"

"Sorry!" I wheezed, and shoved from the bar. The liquor mixed with the rage already burning in my gut, churning over. My head spun. It was fine. I might throw up, but everything was fine. I fought a path to the stage. Adam Vex—quiet, shy, always hiding, always running. But for this, for Zee, hiding wasn't an option.

I clambered onto the stage, and squinted into bright lights.

The demon who'd had the impossible task of following Zodiac, stopped dancing, and eyed me up and down. "Book club's two doors down."

"Oh, uh, no. Hello. Do you mind if I, erm, just say a thing, and then you can continue your work?"

He rolled his eyes. "You need to sit back down, demon bait."

"It's just, erm..." I turned around. Mercy, it was high up. And bright. And I couldn't really see the faces of everyone in the crowd, but I was fairly certain a few of them had begun to notice me. I raised my voice. "I just..." I squeaked, then cleared my throat and tried again, a bit louder. "Can I have everyone's attention please?"

The music stopped.

Silence fell over the club.

Someone coughed.

"Show us your dick!"

"Oh, uhm. I don't think that would be appropriate." I reached into my pocket and removed the crumpled addendum. "Addendum dated February, twenty twenty-five—" My throat closed. I cleared it with a cough.

"Adam Vex." Sebastien's wing tips glittered out of the crowd first, then his spiraling black horns, and then he emerged at my feet, near the front of the stage. "Get naked or get off my stage."

"I think I'll stay." I shifted uneasily, uncomfortable in the spotlight. "Addendum dated February, twenty twenty-five?—"

"You said that part," a voice piped up. I shielded my eyes, to try and get a look at who was listening, but my sight blurred as my anxious insides turned over.

"Get your clothes off!"

I cleared my throat again. "Right, yes, just..." Holding the addendum in trembling hands, I blinked at its words, acutely aware of Sebastien's narrowing eyes glaring up at me. "Copernicus to Sebastien," I said, louder, trying to project my voice to the back.

"Get off my fucking stage right now, or I will break every bone in Zodiac's wings," Sebastien growled, "and fuck him so hard he'll be nothing but dust when I'm done."

"You are on my Bad People list!" I snapped, then kept my eyes on him, as I quoted, "The licensee shall hereby renumerate fifty percent of all earnings to the licensor for three years."

"What the fuck?" Someone in the crowd laughed. "Who is this queer?"

Sebastien's glare thinned.

"This shit ain't what I paid for!"

"Keep going, I'm hard!"

My throat cinched closed again. "Okay, I just—" My growl cleared it this time.

Sebastien grabbed for my legs. I danced back, into more blinding spotlights. Fingers looped around my ankle. Then Zee leaped onto the stage, wings raised. He slammed his foot down onto Sebastien's wrist, pinning him.

"Gah! The fuck!?" Sebastien tugged, but he was caught.

"I wanna hear what he has to say."

Sebastien's tail thrashed. Zee had stopped him. Perhaps for the first time since being sold into servitude.

"Yeah, me too!" That was Ben's voice. "Keep going, Adam."

"Read it!" Ramone bellowed. I couldn't see them, but they were out there.

"Yeah, go demon bait! Give it all you got," someone else shouted. "Rub some funk on it."

My heart tried to thump its way out through my ribs.

Zee's gaze met mine. "Go on, Adam. We're listening."

I hadn't told him, just in case I couldn't find it. He didn't know the addendum existed. He didn't know he was about to be set free.

I wet my dry lips. A few faces stood out in the crowd now my eyes had adjusted. Faces full of hope. Hope like Zee'd had when we'd visited his general, only to have those hopes dashed. Ben had said they didn't need anyone to save them. But Ben had been wrong. We all needed someone to save us.

"Terms must be renewed"—my voice wobbled, and my heart lodged in my throat—"by both parties, within three years from the date of this agreement."

Sebastien's wings exploded outward. He lunged, coming straight for me with murder in his blue eyes.

Zee launched a right hook. His fist connected with Sebastien's face, knocking his head back. Momentum carried Sebastien's feet out from under him. He slammed onto his back, on the stage, wings flapping.

"Stay down," Zee growled, "and listen to what Adam has to say, or I will rip your fucking wings off."

"I own you!" Sebastien snarled, clutching his now-bleeding nose.

"Babycakes," Zee planted his heeled shoe on Sebastien's chest and leaned in. "I got a feeling whatever Adam says in the next five seconds means you can't fucking touch me."

Zee nodded me on.

Here it came. Six words that freed everyone who had been trapped under Sebastien's heel, or choking at the end of his leash. "Or all contracts will be voided."

Silence fell over the club.

I dropped my gaze to Sebastian's fury-filled stare. "You got greedy. You didn't renew the terms. All contracts are voided."

"Bull-fucking-shit," Sebastien raged. "That piece of paper means nothing! Let me up, you cunt," he snarled at Zee.

Zee checked me. I gave him the okay, and Zee unpinned Sebastien from under his shoe.

Sebastien clambered to his feet, righting his clothes and hair. Flustered, he glared at me, then noticed we were all lit up on the stage. "Don't listen to the stupid little human," he barked at the crowd. "I'm your fucking boss. I fucking own all of you. Get back to work. And you? You worthless cunt." He thrust a finger at Zee's face. "Go to my room and get on your knees, where you belong. If you think for a single fucking second I'm ever letting you go, you're in for a whole world of hurt. I'm going to fuck your every hole, and some new ones."

Zee's tail thrashed, and the veins in his wings began to burn purple, but his face remained calm, almost intrigued. "Oh baby, keep talking, you're making me hard."

Sebastien's wings ruffled. "What?"

"Yeah, you know?" Zee picked up Sebastien's tie and smoothed his hand up and down it. "We should definitely get a room. A special room, just for you. With whips and chains. Maybe some knives? You enjoy knife play, don't you Seb?"

Sebastien's white lashes fluttered. His smile, like his tail, twitched, unsure if it should stay or go.

"Club's closed," Zee announced, smoothing down Seb's tie. "Anyone who doesn't work here leaves now."

"The fuck!" Sebastien screeched, beginning to sense how the club's ambience had turned against him. "Don't listen to Zodiac, he's just some piece of ass. I sign your checks. I pay you. I made all of you. You owe me, you bunch of fucking hoes. None of this works without me."

The staff of demons began to usher the customers toward the exits.

Sebastien whirled and flung a finger at me. "You little bitch. I'll just amend the contract, like it says. Fido needs the money. I'll pay. And every single one of you who defies me now will feel my fucking wrath tenfold. I'll fuck the lot of you into the ground! And you, Adam Vex. You I'm going to eat, starting with your cock."

I slow blinked, like I'd learned from Reynard. "Okay, but you should know, General Copernicus is dead, so I guess all you just said won't ever be happening." I batted his pointed finger away. "You don't see it yet, but you're about to have a really bad rest of your life."

Sebastien spluttered a laugh. He looked around him, searching for a way out, but all he saw was how the crowd had thinned, leaving just a whole bunch of angry demons.

Every lash of his whip. Every time he'd held them down, leaving bruises on their wrists. Every single shameful thing he'd made them do, for four years... It was all about to come back and bite him. Hard.

"W-wait!" Sebastien spluttered. "Alright, I see you cumbuckets are upset." He pushed out his hands, as though to hold them back, even though nobody had moved in. "Let's talk?"

Zee pulled up to my side. "I'm feeling pretty good," he said, calling back to his earlier performance. "How do you feel, Adam?"

"I'm feeling really good too," I agreed.

We all knew who wasn't feeling good. Sebastian's wings sagged and his tail flopped.

A few growls and hisses simmered from the staff. Someone flicked on the music, and blasted the "Feeling Good" instrumental track from the speakers all over again. Hungry violence shone in Zee's eyes. He wrapped his fingers around his neck chains, and tore them off, then laid his predatory glare on Sebastien.

A thrilling shiver trickled down my spine.

"Fuck!" Sebastien spun on his heel, shoved me into Zee's arms, and bolted.

He might have made it, if we hadn't suspected he'd try to run and brought a backup plan.

Reynard blurred onto the stage and thrust out an arm, clotheslining Sebastien in the throat. Down Sebastien went for a second time. He screamed a high-pitched cry and bucked, until Reynard stood on his neck, choking off the noise.

Sebastien stopped thrashing.

"That's for choking Adam," Reynard snarled, leaning on his knee, making Sebastien gurgle. "For ruining my cabinet, and for mistreating Zodiac, whom I have recently begun to experience a complicated array of emotions for. I suggest, demon, during what happens next, you shouldn't fight. It will be over more quickly that way." He straightened, lifted his foot of Sebastien's neck, and adjusted his sleeves.

"Daddy Vampire is fucking hot when he gets his dom on," Zee remarked from the corner of his mouth.

Reynard really kinda was.

"Please?" Sebastien whimpered. He rolled onto his front and scanned the faces of his ex-staff. They'd all closed in, and although they were wearing candy-colored, skimpy outfits lined with feathers and fluff, each of them in another life, was more than capable of chopping Sebastien into sushi. And now they were free to do exactly that. "I'm a victim too!"

"Don't go easy on him," I told Zee.

Zee chuckled. "Kitten, there's no chance of that."

I hopped off the stage, joining Reynard, and together we walked from the main room, through the club corridors, and out the main door. In a rare, quiet moment in Demontown, a bloodcurdling scream rose up, then was silenced by Razorsedge's heavy door swinging shut.

We climbed into the waiting car, and left the demons to their justice.