A kitten trotted out of the far hallway, and Orion and Kraft watched him with the same caution one would give an Aesirian viper.
Kraft glanced at Riley to see what she made of the monstrous thing. He could sense the demon, but Paz had been burying himself inside the kitten more of late, so that others might only sense a feline.
“Oh, a kitty.” Riley bent to pick him up, and the little bastard purred in her arms, looking like the personification of innocence. Soft, short, gray-striped fur, long black and white whiskers, big, yellow eyes, and small tufts of longer fur around his ears made him beyond adorable.
Orion glared at the furry beast. “You’d better behave.”
The cat rubbed his face on Riley’s fingers, marking her as his own.
Kraft growled at him, pleased when Paz gave him a little hiss.That’s right, demon, she’s mine,he thought, and must have been a little obvious about it because the kitten telepathed back.
Dream on. You can’t handle a berserker.
“You can sense that in her,ja?”
What am I, brainless?The kitten gave him a smug smile and burrowed into Riley’s body.
“Why do I get the sense this cat is more than he seems?” she asked wryly.
“Because you’re not as dumb as you look,” Orion answered.
She snorted. “Flatterer.”
He grunted. “Let’s get to finding that artifact and hope we run into trouble. I want to see you fight.”
Kraft seconded that, and they headed toward the garage.
Riley tried to put the kitten back down, but Paz refused to let go of her shirt, his little claws digging in. “Hey, buddy, you don’t want to go where we’re going.”
Kraft glared at him. “Stay here, you little cretin.”
I’m not a dog, nachzehrer. I go where I want. And I need to see this death magic up close. I find it fascinating.His whiskers twitched.
“Fuck. He wants to go, doesn’t he?” Orion gave Paz a cautious look. “It’s your funeral. But if you die out there, I’m not taking the blame with Kaia.”
“Who?” Riley asked.
“His mate, Kaia, is the White Sea Witch. Smoky, I’m sorry,Shadow,is her familiar.” Mormo insisted they call the little beast by his feline name—which the demon had changed to annoy Orion—so as not to disclose they had the ancient entity, Pazuzu, living with them. Though to be honest, the creature did like Kaia a lot, acting as her familiar when she needed him.
Orion had yet to come to terms with the fact his kitten was not in fact an actual cat or pet, but the embodiment of a Mesopotamian demon. He muttered under his breath, which had the kitten clamoring to get down from Riley so he could bother Orion instead.
She watched him meow and race after the vampire. “You live in a weird household.”
“Tell me about it.” Kraft sighed. “Now where do we go?”
“I have the address. Apparently, Talon gave my cousin directions to a place to start. But I don’t have a good feeling about it.”
“You sense a trap? I thought Talon was your friend.”
“No, he’s a source. He’s honest, though, when he says he’s all about protecting his ass. You only completely trust him at your own peril.”
“Good to know.”
Once on the way to their destination on the outskirts of the city, Riley and Paz in the backseat, Orion driving, and Kraft relegated to the passenger seat, they sat quietly, listening to music. Some horrendous melody about dying pickup trucks, lost opportunities, and sad breakups.
“Who’s been listening to country music in here?” Kraft demanded to know.
Orion shrugged. “Probably Rolf to get under Khent’s skin.”
