CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Neta's glare bounced from Viper to Dice, a hint of wariness there. "Just to note, I don't appreciate being summoned like some minion at your beck and call."

Well, Viper didn't appreciate her going near his woman, so …

"What's this about?" she demanded, trying for indignant.

Twisting on his stool at the not-yet-open dive bar, he arched a brow. "You can't guess?"

Neta sighed and pulled a face. "I wasn't a bitch to the incantor or anything, I just talked to her."

His entity narrowed its eyes, annoyed that she'd attempt to downplay it. "You told her that our kinds have secrets."

"It's not like she won't have already picked up on it."

"And how would you know?" he challenged. "Do you spend a lot of time around Ella? Is she someone you've spoken to before yesterday?"

She flicked her blonde hair over her shoulder in a nervous gesture. "I just think it's unlikely that she isn't aware you keep things from her."

Which wasn't the point at all . "You basically prompted her to ask me uncomfortable questions. You wanted her to think that anything with me is a dead-end." That infuriated his entity most of all, because they weren't yet in a position to make Ella the kind of promises that would prove otherwise—she wasn't ready to hear those yet.

"You can't exactly claim a mate outside of your own kind. Not when you have secrets to protect from outsiders."

"Why? Your kind does it sometimes. What's the difference?"

Neta blinked. "Wait, so you're saying you will claim the redhead?" It wasn't a question, it was a query that demanded justification.

Viper gave her a hard look. "Tell me how anything I do is your fucking business," he said, the words rough with a faint growl.

She licked her lips. "I just … "

"My guess is that, for whatever reason, you want to leave your lair. You thought joining our club would be as good as joining another lair. You wouldn't have to hide the curse, and you wouldn't have to keep secrets from whoever you took as your mate. But you , Neta, wouldn't be content with mating one of my brothers. You want to have status. And that would mean being taken as my mate. That's what this is about."

Her eyes flickered.

"I made it clear to you more than once that I'm not interested in what you're offering. That hasn't changed. It won't ever change."

"Viper," she implored, "can we—"

"I definitely wouldn't have any interest in a woman who'd try to come between me and what's mine." His entity wanted to ring her neck.

"Okay, so I went about things the wrong way. You're right, I want out of my lair—and for real good reasons. Tell me what I have to do to earn a place in your club, and I'll do it."

"That ain't gonna happen." She was fucking high if she thought differently.

Her brow pinched. "But—"

"You fucked with my woman, Neta. You think I want anyone near her who'd do that?"

Her eyes drifted shut, and her shoulders slumped. "I really messed up, didn't I?"

That was putting it lightly. "There are other descendant lairs; other groups of fallen angels. If you're really that desperate to leave your own lair, switch to one of those."

She swallowed. "Are you going to tell Maddox about this?" she asked, not quite masking the dread from her voice.

"Don't see the point—I made myself clear, you listened, and I'm gonna assume you won't fuck up like that again. But if you do, or if you tell anyone about my involvement with Ella—and I mean fucking anyone— I will call him. It'll only be fair I let him know that I tortured one of his demons."

Fear washed over her face, pleasing his entity.

"From now on, you're barred from every premise I own. You stay away from my businesses, you stay away from my brothers, and you stay away from my woman. You got that?"

Her eyes went wide, and she took a fast step forward. "Please don't bar me from the Red Rooms. The only other place I'll be able to feed is my lair's club. I don't like being there."

"Not my problem. I told you, I don't want anyone around my woman who'd fuck with her."

Neta pressed her lips tight together, resignation flitting over her features. "Right. Okay." She paused, looking from him to Dice. "I'd like to leave now."

Viper tipped his chin toward the door. "Go."

She didn't hesitate to spin on her heel and scamper.

He looked at his VP. "You have any idea why she'd so badly want to leave her lair?"

Pursing his lips, Dice shook his head. "Not one."

"Look into it. I wanna know just how likely she is to push back at me for not offering her a place in our club. Demons are good at holding grudges."

Dice grunted his agreement. "So are we."

Yeah, very true.

Having finished drawing symbols on her kitchen floor, Mia rose to her feet and set the chalk on the circular black, glass table. Rubbing her hands together to brush off the powdery residue, she looked at Ella. "I'm ready when you are."

"Then let's find out what we're dealing with." Ella squatted down, unzipped the small suitcase she'd earlier placed on the floor, and then flipped it open. It was empty aside for the vintage porcelain doll.

It was in perfect condition and boasted the usual features you'd expect to see on such a toy—doe eyes, small mouth, light blush, alabaster skin tone, blonde ringlets, pretty dress. But there was something … off about it.

The doll was honestly spooky as hell. Maybe because it looked so lifelike. Maybe because, no matter what angle you stood at, its eyes seemed to be staring right at you. Or maybe it was something to do with its tiny smile that looked kind of sinister.

Ella pulled it out of the case, grimacing at the not-so-nice vibe it gave off.

Mia's nose wrinkled. "Eerie little thing, isn't it?"

"For sure." Ella placed it in the center of the protective circle on the floor, which would contain any aggressive power or magick that might be attached to the doll.

Mia began to circle it, careful not to cross the lines of chalk. "And the couple is convinced it's a conduit?"

"A conduit for pure evil. Their words." Ella folded her arms. "Their son believes it's actually possessed."

"Have you met them?"

"No. They wanted rid of the doll, not to consult about it. They gave it to Neve, who dropped it off here so I could take a look at it." Ella had accepted the suitcase from her, taken one peek inside, sensed the magick it gave off, and instantly closed it. She'd had the instant feeling that she'd need her sister's input on this.

"It smells like a musty attic," Mia groused.

"Considering it's been sitting on a shelf in a kid's bedroom, it shouldn't."

"That poor kid must have hated having it in their room. I wouldn't want to look at it every day."

Ella would likely have dumped it in the trash when no one was looking. "At first, when Neve told me it supposedly moves around by itself, I thought maybe a telekinetic demon was acting as some kind of puppeteer. But I sense a hint of magick here. I think someone bespelled it."

Mia dipped her chin in agreement. "Where did the family get the doll?"

"A second-hand toy store. So, if there's a jinx at work, it's likely not personal to them; more to its original owners. You're the expert when it comes to jinxes and all that stuff, so I figured you'd recognize what we're dealing with here."

Mia leaned toward it without breaking the circle. "It has been jinxed. I don't think an incantor is responsible. More like a witch or dark practitioner." She stood up straight. "Have there been any fires at the house?"

"Yeah, actually. Two. One in the kitchen, the other in the dad's home office. They thought the first one was an accident; that someone left the gas on. But the second fire had no obvious cause. The doll was somehow in the office—a place it shouldn't have been—and it was the only thing that suffered no smoke damage, aside from the patch of carpet on which it lay."

Mia juddered. "Creepy."

"That was when the humans decided it was time to get shot of the doll. For a while, the parents thought that their kids were just pranking them; they didn't believe it was moving around by itself."

"Not many human adults would. Most instinctively shy away from anything paranormal."

Ella unfolded her arms, letting them fall to her sides. "What was the purpose of the jinx? To cause fires?"

"No, to cause destruction for the family that owned it. That takes lots of forms. For instance, by moving around, the doll caused fear in the children. The parents didn't believe their claims, which made the kids feel betrayed. And as the adults felt they were not only being pranked but lied to, they were upset and probably punished them. The destruction eventually turns physical—fires, falling furniture, malfunctioning electrics, etc, etc."

Ah. "So whoever bespelled the doll had a lot of beef with whatever family they ensured it reached," Ella mused.

"It was definitely personal. Always is with such jinxes."

"Can you dissolve the spell?"

"Yes, though it's going to require a delicate hand. If you give me an hour or so, I can have it done. But I'd advise you to destroy the doll afterwards, because negative energy will still cling to it. Not the kind that's harmful, but it won't be pleasant to have around."

"I get that. I'll—" Ella stilled as a dart of magick shot up in front of her and burst outward like a firework.

"What was that?" Mia asked.

"The magickal alarm I put on my front door." Shit. Ella tore out of the apartment, her sister close behind her. She didn't bother waiting for the elevator. Her heart pounding like crazy, her demon losing its mind, she sprinted down the stairwell— descending one floor and then another before finally arriving at her own.

Dashing down the hallway toward her apartment, she frowned. Because there was no one there. Coming to a stop near her front door, she breathed hard and fast. "They're gone."

Mia swore, panting. "It has to have been your note writer."

Ella scanned the carpeted floor around them. "There's nothing here. If they came to leave another letter, they forgot to drop it off before they left."

"Do you think they were trying to get inside?"

"Possibly." Ella briefly chanted under her breath, causing the four wards protecting her door to become visible. The size of her palm, they were all gold, glimmering circles containing glyphs and old arcane writings. Scanning each of them, she froze. "Wait."

"What?"

"Look at that." Anger scraping at her nerves and boiling in her demon's gut, she pointed to the ward on the top left of the doorframe. "See the shadow there?"

Mia studied it closely, and her nostrils flared. "Motherfucker, they took a shot at unraveling your wards."

"Only one, so maybe … " Ella trailed off on noticing that her sister's gaze had turned inward. "What is it?"

Mia blinked, refocusing on her. "Dice telepathically reached out to ask what time I want him to pick me up. Can I tell him what happened here? He'll only brood if he later finds out I didn't say anything at the time."

"Yeah, that's fine. Tell him to relay it to Viper—I would have texted him about this anyway." Ella turned back to the front door. "Whoever came here was cocky to think they'd unravel my personal wards. I mean, people literally pay me to build wards for them. It's no secret that I'm good at it."

"They stupidly thought they were up to the challenge, I guess."

Just then, Viper and Dice teleported a mere foot away. Both were tense, their eyes hard, their jaws tight.

Viper crossed to Ella. "What the fuck happened?"

"I'd put a magical tripwire on my front door," she explained. "If anyone came near it with negative intent, it would go off. Which it did. But whoever set it off had left by the time we got here."

Dice's face firmed. "Shit, Mia, you should have called for me before running down here to—"

"Save it," advised Mia, slamming up a hand. "I'm no damsel. I did not feel that my sister and I would be unable to handle whoever had been dumb enough to try to enter an incantor's apartment without invitation."

Viper's gaze sharpened. "They tried to enter it?"

"Yup. I thought they'd just come to drop off a note, but there's a shadow on my ward." Ella gestured at it. "They wanted inside."

Viper snarled. "Son of a bitch."

"Indeed." Ella chanted low and soft, releasing a thread of magick that surged up to the ward and pierced its center. The entire ward flickered, glowed, and then settled—the shadow now gone. Sending out a soft wave of magick, she made the four wards once more transparent.

Turning back to Viper, she almost flushed at the covetous look on his face. Huh. Somebody liked watching her work magick. If her demon wasn't so pissed, it would have smiled at that.

Door hinges creaked somewhere down the hall, and they each went very still.

Viper caught her wrist as he looked at Dice. "Clubhouse. Main room." He then teleported him and Ella to said room. Milliseconds later, Dice and Mia joined them.

"Wow," breathed Mia. Her gaze bounced around, ricocheting off the reddish brown brick walls, leather couches, pool table, mahogany furnishings, and small bar. It was then Ella remembered that her sister hadn't been here before.

Viper planted his feet as he stared at Ella, still in possession of her hand. "Would only another incantor be able to untangle the wards?"

"Yes," replied Ella. "And they'd have a heck of a time doing it. The process would take literally days, if not longer. But it isn't only incantors who can attempt to damage magickal wards. Anyone with power could make a go of it, they just wouldn't stand a chance of succeeding with mine—unlike incantors."

"The shadow that was on the ward … does that mean it was damaged?"

"No. Think of it as a bruise. The ward took a hard hit. It didn't break. No threads of the spells popped. There was just a mark from the impact. I removed it."

"There was no other ‘bruises'?"

She shook her head. "Just that one."

"The question is," began Mia, "who was it who left the bruise?"

"I'd say my pen pal gave up on using notes and decided it was time for us to have a showdown."

Or they wanted to take her , Dice telepathically suggested to Viper. A celestial might do that on behalf of the Uppers to force your hand, knowing you'd return to the upper realm if it would keep her alive.

Possibly, but … It wouldn't save her life. They'd kill her anyway.

Mia very theatrically cleared her throat, arching a reprimanding brow at him and Dice. "It's rude to exclude us by having private telepathic chats. If you know something, you should share it. This is Ella's safety we're talking about."

"We were just considering whether or not one of our enemies could have come for Ella," Viper prevaricated, choosing his words carefully.

Mia's brow creased. "What, you mean the strix?"

Huh. Apparently Dice had warned her about them.

"I can't see that being the case," Ella said to Viper. "Unless they've seen you and I together—which is highly unlikely—they'd have no reason to come near me. The only time we were ever together in public was the night at the Red Rooms. But since I'd imagine you debauch people often in dark corners of the club, I doubt it would have stood out to any who took notice."

"Well, apart from Neta," Mia chipped in. "Could it have been her who came for you?"

"I don't think I matter enough to the woman for her to risk her life trying to harm me. And it would be a risk to her life. If I didn't kill her, someone else would in my defense."

Yeah, Viper would do it.

Mia looked at him. "Does Neta care enough for you that she'd try to eliminate Ella?"

"Neta doesn't care for me at all." Viper cut his gaze to Ella. "I had a conversation with her earlier; informed her she's to stay away from you, keep her mouth shut, and that she's barred from the club, the bar, and the pool hall."

Ella blinked. "Wow. Okay. I wasn't expecting that big of a response."

He gave her a pointed look. "Like I told her, I won't tolerate someone trying to come between me and what's mine."

"So you were clear—again—that she has no chance with you?"

Some of the tension in his muscles slipped away when Ella didn't object to being his. "Very clear."

"That could be a reason for her to come at Ella," said Mia. "Are you sure Neta doesn't care for you?"

"She doesn't even know me. She turned her attention my way because she badly wants to leave her lair and liked the idea of switching to my club."

"Why does she want to leave?" asked Ella.

"I looked into it earlier," Dice cut in. "Turns out her ex-long-term partner recently took a mate and moved her into their lair."

Realization played over Ella's face. "Ah, so she doesn't wanna see them together. Understandable. If she was a woman scorned, I'd say yeah we should be looking at her for the attempted break-in. But"—her gaze slid to Viper—"as you said, she doesn't know you. You're not important to her. And it isn't as if getting rid of me would solve her problems. It would actually make them worse."

Mia nodded. "Seems safe to conclude that your pen pal made another move."

Ella blew out a breath. "What bothers me most is that, if this asshole is following me around, they saw me come back to my complex. They had no reason to think I'd be at Mia's place. Which means that when they tried to break in, they wanted to physically get to me , not just nose around or leave something for me to find."

Rage boiled in Viper's blood. No one was going to get near her. Fucking no one.

"Why do you think they left so fast?" asked Dice. "Could they have sensed the tripwire?"

Ella frowned, pensive. "I doubt it. It's more probable that the electric shock deterred them from trying again. They then had no reason to stick around."

Dice blinked. "Anyone who attacked your wards would get an electric shock?"

"Yup."

Viper's entity grinned, liking her ruthless streak. "If you had been inside the apartment but there'd been no tripwire, would you have sensed that someone was taking a shot at the wards?"

"No."

"Then that's what they were expecting. They thought they could dismantle your security measures right beneath your nose." Bastard.

Mia puffed out a breath, shaking her head. "Luka's gonna freak , you know, El."

She gave a flat smile. "Yeah. Yeah, I do know."