I hadn’t even realized I’d paused, but when I looked back, Cillian stood by the elevator he’d arrived in, his broad arms crossed, his elegant chin thrust out in pure arrogance. Men like him thought they owned everything—everyone—and loathing bubbled up inside me. That he could toy with lives and continue along unconcerned was despicable.
Yet here I was, another desperate soul ready to make a deal with a devil.
Chapter 4
This was the most uncomfortable elevator ride I’d ever experienced.
Amelia was the human buffer here, but she was not on my side.
Cillian’s presence was consuming, overpowering, and if it had been bad down in the casino, it increased a thousandfold crammed into the confines of this elevator, threatening to suffocate me.
I’d wedged myself into a corner and stared hard at the numbers lighting up with each floor we passed, zooming upward. Better than acknowledging the weight of Cillian’s stare as it settled over me like lacquer.
Still, I’d gotten myself into this mess, and I would see it through. Based on Cillian and Amelia’s comments, I could at least gauge that they knew where my father was, and with any luck, they were taking me to see him.
Granted, I hadn’t been doing great in the luck department lately.
“How did you hear about Hank Taylor?” Amelia asked, her voice light, as if she wasn’t fishing.
Yeah, no way would I give her that information.
“Around,” I responded. “Word travels.”
She gave me a disapproving glance, but what had she expected with a blatant question like that?
The elevator let out another ding, and the doors opened.
Cillian pushed through without waiting for either of us. Already, he struck me as an entitled asshole, someone used to getting his way, the exact sort of person I loathed. Not the type who’d be forgiving or understand that they’d ripped my father away from me.
“This way,” Amelia said, casting me a look marginally less frigid—almost concerned, and I liked that even less.
The dimly lit corridor stretched ahead, bluish lighting and black walls guiding the way like a landing strip. Cillian’s heavy footsteps echoed throughout the whole area, drowning out Amelia’s and my own. Despite working in Peregrine City Library, I hadn’t been around a ton of demons, and the sheer size of him intimidated me.
I wiped my palms on my slacks, an odd calm settling over me. I’d reached this far, which was farther than I’d originally believed I could.
Whatever awaited me, I’d face.
By myself.
Loneliness stabbed me in the chest yet again, that the only person I would’ve contacted for help was the one I’d set out to save.
The crisp scent of the hallway made my nose tingle, but for the life of me I couldn’t figure out what it was. A few shut doors lined the length, and at the end of the inky black hall, another corridorintersected it. Who knew what lurked there. The elongated shadows crept under my skin, unsettling me. This area was nothing like the flash and glitz of the casino below, more akin to the forbidding silhouette the Spires cut against the night sky.
My avenues of escape were either the elevator behind me—which I could guarantee was either spelled or required identification—or the unknown.
“In here,” Cillian rumbled, and he pushed open a big door to the right with a mighty creak.
“He just wants to talk,” Amelia said, which wasn’t a reassurance. “With any luck, you’ll be on your way soon.”
“That’d be ideal,” I responded, unable to keep the sarcasm from my voice.
Cillian flicked the lights on, and we followed him into the room. It reminded me of a mix between a conference room and a dining room, with a massive table in the center. This one was black with legs like twisted tree trunks. The tabletop was glossy like the surface of a lake, and the chairs were made of the same twisted, blackened wood.
“The décor feels a bit gothic revivalist,” I commented, approaching the seats.
Cillian had already settled at the head of table, because of course he did. A wealthy demon like him wouldn’t be able to stand anything else without a tantrum.
“Works well to set the scene for my business meetings,” Cillian said, the slightest curl of a grin on his lips. Amelia took one side, and so I settled into the seat on the other.
