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A claw swept across my face, and I felt the hot breath of hell. The monster had arrived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I shook myself awake and stared into the eyes of my One True Enemy, who sat on my chest like a succubus. Sleek and black and glaring at me with unabashed loathing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRawr,\u201d<\/em> she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat?\u201d I asked, trying to make sense of my surroundings. \u201cAnd why?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat, Elisa, is a cat,\u201d said the wickedly gorgeous shapeshifter currently in human form beside me. Connor Keene\u2019s hair was dark and wavy, his body toned and muscles taut. One strong arm was slung over his face, and a smile curved his very kissable mouth. \u201cI\u2019m surprised you didn\u2019t know that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He might have been my future husband, but I gave him a look nearly as gnarly as the one I\u2019d given the cat. \u201cWhy,\u201d I began again, with admirable patience, \u201cis it this<\/em> cat and why is it in this house?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNothing to do with me,\u201d he said. And gave Eleanor of Aquitaine an arch look. \u201cCat, why are you here?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eleanor of Aquitaine (not Eleanor or Elle, unless you wanted scratching) belonged to, or owned, Lulu Bell, my roommate and sorcerer. But we weren\u2019t in the loft Lulu and I shared; we were in Connor\u2019s town house. Only Connor \u201clived\u201d in the town house, but we\u2019d all taken up at least temporary residence there recently. Me, because he was my future husband. Lulu, because she was my bestie and I wanted her safe. Alexei Breckenridge, because he was Connor\u2019s best friend and Lulu\u2019s (boyfriend? friend? friend with benefits?) something or other. He\u2019d stayed over at the town house during Chicago\u2019s most recent supernatural disturbance and hadn\u2019t yet left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And now, apparently, we\u2019d added the damned cat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At my apparently rude question, said cat jumped off the bed and slunk into the bathroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDemon visitation complete,\u201d I said. At least until she made it into the closet and began running through our clothes like they were a joint car wash and scratching pad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I glanced at Connor. \u201cHow are you feeling?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He rolled his shoulder, testing. \u201cA little sore, but I\u2019ll manage.\u201d Connor was the son of the North American Central Pack\u2019s current Apex, Gabriel Keene. Connor had already taken down three challengers in his effort to ascend to Apex when his dad retired. And they kept coming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNothing tonight, right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNothing tonight,\u201d he said. \u201cYou?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDepends on the actual demons,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was a vampire born into Chicago\u2019s Cadogan House and an associate Ombudsman, one of Chicago\u2019s human-supernatural liaisons. Less than a week ago, we\u2019d sealed away Andaras (aka Rose, aka Eglantine, aka \u201cRosantine\u201d), the first demon to enter Chicago in two hundred years. While she was no longer a problem, she\u2019d triggered two of the wards in the city\u2019s Victorian-era magical defense system. We were still trying to get the apparently single-use wards online again, and keep the city from being overrun by demons walking through the literal gap in our defenses. A few demons had made it through already; we were battling them as we found them now and sprinkling copious amounts of salt\u2014a new addition to the Ombud operating procedure\u2014across Chicago. We hadn\u2019t had a night off since we\u2019d brought the House back, and we were basically on call until the problem was resolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to their penchant for troublemaking and violence, Rosantine had temporarily sent Cadogan House and its inhabitants\u2014including my, Lulu\u2019s, and Connor\u2019s parents\u2014into another dimension. Did not enjoy; did not wish to repeat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Connor pulled me against him, enveloped me in warmth and magic and . . . him. \u201cJust give me one minute,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd then you can yell at the cat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I snorted. \u201cOne minute,\u201d I said, and smoothed a hand over his chest. He made a satisfied sigh and closed his eyes. There were shadows beneath them\u2014faint, dark crescents brought on by too much magic and too much physical exertion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI know you don\u2019t want<\/em> to stop until you\u2019ve claimed the throne,\u201d I said. \u201cBut if you need<\/em> to stop before you can do that, it\u2019s fine. We will find a different way to be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He was quiet for a moment, then smoothed a hand over my long, wavy hair. \u201cA different way?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, we could join the circus. You could be the strong man in those little glittery shorts. I\u2019ll do the trapeze. We\u2019ll live out of an RV and eat take-out Chinese.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s quite a plan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMaybe better as a backup situation. In the meantime, continue kicking their asses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s the plan,\u201d he said, and kissed my forehead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The bedroom door, already cracked, was pushed open fully by the sorceress who stepped into the doorway. Her gaze searched the room, but she ignored us\u2014entwined as we were.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYour minute is up,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHer Highness is in the bathroom,\u201d Connor announced. \u201cElisa scared her off.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLulu,\u201d<\/em> I said\u2014a question, a declaration, and a curse in two syllables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe was getting lonely,\u201d Lulu said, moving into the room. There was a lot of feisty spirit in that petite frame, and an apparent skill at old magic\u2014the bloody, potentially evil kind. But the paint-spattered white coveralls, rolled up at arms and ankles, mitigated the effect. She was an artist first, a sorceress second. And until a week ago, a completely nonpracticing one. Demons had changed everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lulu was currently working on a mural in Hyde Park, not far from Cadogan House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I narrowed my gaze as she strode to the bathroom, where something made a clunking sound. \u201cWhat did she destroy?\u201d I called out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lulu emerged, the cat sitting queenlike in her arms. \u201cHere, or there?\u201d she asked with a smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My stare didn\u2019t change. \u201cWhat did she pee on at the loft?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLet\u2019s just say, if pee was gold, we\u2019d both be rich. And I hope you didn\u2019t like those pink sneakers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019re both very entertaining,\u201d Connor said, rolling over to reveal the smooth curves of muscle across his back. \u201cBut maybe you could entertain somewhere else?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n With impeccable timing, Alexei stepped into the room, bagel in hand. Silently, he looked at us, then at Lulu and the cat, then chewed. Like Connor, Alexei was tall and strong, with pale skin and dark blond hair. Alexei didn\u2019t talk much; he was a man of quiet loyalty who said much with his piercing hazel eyes. And knew how to back up a friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd you brought her here why?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe can\u2019t leave her alone at the loft forever,\u201d Lulu said. \u201cAnd with the demons out there, who knows how long we\u2019ll be camped out here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ll deal with the demons,\u201d I said. \u201cAnd your parents are working on repairing the broken wards.\u201d Lulu\u2019s parents were powerful sorcerers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI know. I was just saying. Nobody expects it to be immediate. Freaking demons.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFreaking demons,\u201d Connor and Alexei muttered in unison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lulu stroked Eleanor of Aquitaine, who purred beneath her paint-stained fingers. While that cat wanted nothing to do with me, she plainly loved Lulu. And it wasn\u2019t my style to break up a family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Resigned, I sighed and looked at Connor. \u201cYour house, your rules.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI don\u2019t have a problem with it,\u201d he said, voice muffled from the pillow. \u201cShe actually likes me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And that stung a little. \u201cShe can stay,\u201d I told Lulu. \u201cJust keep her out of this room. And any other room in which I might make an appearance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s most of the house.\u201d Lulu\u2019s voice was flat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIs it?\u201d I asked as innocently as I could manage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My screen buzzed, and I plucked the thin rectangle of glass from the side table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWork,\u201d I said, and even the cat went silent. Work rarely delivered good news an hour before I made it into the office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cElisa,\u201d I answered. \u201cAnd you\u2019re on speaker with a demon cat and the sups who enable it.\u201d This was not the time for video.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRoger\u201d was the caller\u2019s response. Roger Yuen was the Ombudsman and my boss. \u201cI\u2019m on with Petra and Theo.\u201d They were my coworkers. Petra, an aeromancer and light-conspiracy-theory enthusiast, and Theo, a human former cop and my partner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHow is Eleanor of Aquitaine?\u201d Petra asked, and the cat actually rowr<\/em>\u2019d a response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGood girl,\u201d Petra added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat\u2019s happened?\u201d I asked, trying to steer my evening away from the resident demon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe aren\u2019t sure,\u201d Roger said. \u201cA burst of magic was reported during the day. Looks like around three o\u2019clock in the afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cReported by whom?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019ve gotten calls from nymphs who called it a \u2018magicky bass drop\u2019 and from a representative of the river trolls who called it a \u2018big loud.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cChecks out,\u201d Connor murmured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHow did you get \u2018burst of magic\u2019 out of that?\u201d Lulu asked, moving closer to the screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cComEd,\u201d Roger said. That was Chicago\u2019s power supplier. \u201cThey recorded a power surge at the same time. There are also complaints about satellite and telecom services going down. None of it lasted for more than a few seconds. Most of the complaints went to the mayor\u2019s office, and they were routed back to us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Connor had grabbed his screen, and I guessed he was sending a message to the Pack to see if they\u2019d experienced anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWas it a demon?\u201d I asked, my heart beating a little faster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNot that we\u2019ve found. The guards didn\u2019t see any activity at the wards. And there were no reports of anyone actually seeing<\/em> anything. Just feeling it or its effects.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, there was the UFO sighting,\u201d Petra said. \u201cBut we\u2019re pretty confident a UFO did not land on Soldier Field in order to steal children.\u201d She paused. \u201cBecause aliens are more interested in tech than bio, really.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHmm,\u201d I said noncommittally. \u201cWhat about the fairies? They\u2019re magically powerful. They\u2019d almost certainly have felt it.\u201d And maybe their bristly queen, Claudia, would have some insight about what it was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHaven\u2019t heard from them,\u201d Roger said. \u201cBut that\u2019s not unusual.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA few Pack members\u2014those who were awake\u2014felt it,\u201d Connor said, reading his screen. \u201cNo one can say what it was or where it originated. They just felt a sudden burst of energy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSomething with the ley lines?\u201d I wondered. Three of the world-spanning lines of magical power ran through Chicago. The city\u2019s demon wards were powered by cornerstones\u2014big bespelled stones that got their energy from the ley lines and, in turn, helped regulate them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat could have affected them?\u201d Theo asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI don\u2019t know. Demons? Sorcerers?\u201d I asked, looking at Lulu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019re asking if they could affect the ley lines? I mean, I\u2019m not an expert, but I don\u2019t know how they could. Ley lines are pure power. I don\u2019t think sorcerers could sway them much. And if they\u2019d done something, some kind of spell, I think we\u2019d have felt it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo what should we do?\u201d I asked Roger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMaybe it\u2019s nothing,\u201d Roger said. \u201cJust a hitch in the lines because the demon wards were recently triggered. But if it\u2019s something more, I don\u2019t want it getting worse. I\u2019m thinking patrols around the city. Maybe we won\u2019t find anything, but at least we\u2019ll have done our due diligence. Wait\u2014 You have that dinner tonight, don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Connor and I were scheduled to have dinner with his parents to celebrate our engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He\u2019d apparently asked for my father\u2019s permission despite his seemingly casual proposal, and we\u2019d shared the news with my parents just after he\u2019d proposed. Neither my mom or dad had been surprised, but they had been supportive and thrilled to welcome a shifter into the family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe can be late,\u201d Connor said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I looked at him. \u201cYou\u2019re sure?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He nodded. \u201cDinner won\u2019t matter much if demons overrun the city.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI mean, we\u2019ll still have to eat,\u201d I murmured, but took his point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe can be late,\u201d he said again, this time with a smile that had me melting a little.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cConnor and I can start here,\u201d I said. \u201cWe\u2019ll talk to the fairies.\u201d I\u2019d also need to send a message to my informant. Jonathan Black was half-elf, half-sorcerer, and an attorney with mysterious clients, at least some of whom were criminals. He\u2019d tried to kill me; he\u2019d also saved my life. He was an enigma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPetra and I will start here,\u201d Theo said, \u201calthough my arm would probably not be hella effective against arrows right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHella deflective<\/em>, anyway,\u201d Alexei offered, chewing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first demon had triggered the ward that had broken Theo\u2019s arm, but a fairy had put an arrow through his leg. He was human, but as brave as they come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSounds good,\u201d I said. \u201cWant me to check with the Houses? They won\u2019t have been awake, but they may know something.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chicago, with its three ley lines, collected sups like kids collected comics. It was home to four vampire Houses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou take Cadogan and Washington,\u201d Theo said. \u201cWe\u2019ll take Navarre and Grey.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGot it. And we\u2019ll let you know if we find anything on our end. Stay safe out there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSame,\u201d Theo said. \u201cBut immortality probably gives you an advantage there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He wasn\u2019t wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n # # #<\/p>\n\n\n\n The breakfast party was disbanded. Alexei took the last bite of his bagel downstairs; Lulu followed him. While Connor showered, I checked in with my parents at Cadogan House and Uncle Malik at Washington House. He wasn\u2019t my actual uncle, but my dad\u2019s former Second at Cadogan House, and I\u2019d grown up with him and his wife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Neither House, unfortunately, had anything to offer regarding the magical burst. They\u2019d been unconscious during the day (being vampires), and the human guards who watched over their Houses hadn\u2019t felt or reported anything. I also sent a message to Black and didn\u2019t get an immediate response, which wasn\u2019t especially surprising. He operated on his own schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then it was my turn in the shower and dressing for a night of who knew what. Connor opted for his preferred jeans, T-shirt, and boots combo; I went for jeans, boots with a stiletto thin enough to double as a weapon, and a couple of thin, layered shirts to combat the coming fall chill. I pulled my long, wavy blond hair into a topknot\u2014the better to fight with\u2014and offered my attention to the second consciousness inside me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There were two of us in here. In addition to me, my body housed a remnant of the spell that had bound a supernatural creature into my mother\u2019s katana two decades ago\u2014and that had bound me to my mother, allowing her to give birth to the world\u2019s first vampire child. Lulu\u2019s mother, Mallory, had created that spell. The creature, called the Egregore, had been created by a sorcerer named Sorcha Reed. She\u2019d been killed by her creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I called the remnant \u201cmonster,\u201d and its presence was a secret that only Connor knew the full truth about, as I hadn\u2019t wanted anyone else\u2014particularly not Aunt Mallory and my parents\u2014to know that I\u2019d been contaminated by Sorcha\u2019s magic. Or feel guilty about any of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019d only recently come to understand monster\u2019s greatest wish\u2014being reunited with the rest of the Egregore in my mother\u2019s sword. Not, as I\u2019d presumed, finishing the Egregore\u2019s mission of ravaging Chicago. Now that I\u2019d finally grokked that wish, monster had become . . . naggier. It wanted out, as it frequently reminded me. But in addition to requiring from-scratch and risky magic, putting monster into the sword would require me to make a confession I\u2019d been hiding for years. So that wasn\u2019t high on my list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Checking in with monster usually meant ensuring it wasn\u2019t feeling anxious or hyperactive, which usually meant it needed some stretching or exercise of its own. It seemed to enjoy yoga, although not as much as it used to. . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n Out,<\/em> it silently said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Working on it,<\/em> I told monster silently for approximately the hundredth time over the last week. It took time to build the spell that put you here, and it\u2019s going to take time to get you out again.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Because I had no idea what I would become if monster was gone, it also took more bravery than I could spare at the moment, what with the demons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s be honest\u2014they made a convenient excuse for pretty much everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Need more Elisa?<\/strong> Order COLD CURSES from your favorite retailer<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bookworm Omaha<\/a> | Amazon<\/a> | Audible<\/a> | Kobo<\/a> | B&N<\/a> | Books-A-Million<\/a> | Apple<\/a> | Audible<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A claw swept across my face, and I felt the hot breath of hell. The monster had arrived. I shook myself awake and stared into the eyes of my One True Enemy, who sat on my chest like a succubus. Sleek and black and glaring at me with unabashed loathing. \u201cRawr,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat?\u201d I asked,[…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":9081,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-fullwidth.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-9108","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.chloeneill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.chloeneill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.chloeneill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.chloeneill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.chloeneill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9108"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.chloeneill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9108\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9179,"href":"http:\/\/www.chloeneill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9108\/revisions\/9179"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.chloeneill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.chloeneill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}