He dug into his desk drawer and pulled out a black and whitephoto of what she could only describe as a crystal skull.A crystaldemonskull.
“That’s incredible,” she murmured.“All the other skulls arehuman, or at least primate in nature.But this looks like something you’d findin a demon graveyard.”
Its long, pointed chin and sharp teeth gave it a monstrousprofile, and two perfectly round indentions at the temples appeared to be theperfect resting places for horns.
Razr strode over and pulled the photo to the edge of thedesk.“Where is it now?”
“According to my sources, Satan himself owns it.”At Razr’ssnort, Shrike tookinsult, his mouth tightening in agrim line.“You have something to add?”
“No,” Razr said, the odd note in his voice making Jeddasuspect he knew something pertinent to this conversation.“It’s just that Satanhasn’t been seen in a while.”
Shrike tapped his long fingers on the desktop.“Soyou believe the rumors that he’s been usurped?”
Usurped?Jedda hadn’t heard that.But then, she’d never, notin her hundred and forty years of life, been interested in the politics of theHeavenly, human, or demonic realms unless they affected her directly.Heck, shewas barely interested in her own species’ politics.
At Razr’s casual shrug, she sighed.“Look, I don’t know whatyou want me to do about this.You’d be better off hiring someone who locatesantiquities.I’m a gemologist.I specialize in finding gems that are stillrough in the earth or that have been enhanced with supernatural abilities.”
“Don’t toy with me, sweetheart.I know you dealinall gems.And the devil’s horn is one of the mostprecious.”
Shit.How could she get out of this without revealing thetruth—that certain types of crystal were beyond her ability to sense?Not onlythat, but quartz crystal, like that associated with the skulls and the horns,might as well be her kryptonite?She’d learned that in the most embarrassingway imaginable.
“Mr.Shrike, only two horns are believed to exist.I’m notsure I can find either one of them.”She cleared her throat.“And I’m certainthat I won’t find them if you call me sweetheart again.”
He laughed, but she’d expected no less.“I have faith inyou.But I’m not finished.”He braced his forearms on the desk and leanedforward.“There’s something else I want.”
Of course there was.
“Have you heard of the Gems of Enoch?”
Her heart stopped.Just...stopped.Her chest tightened, herbreath burned, and her stomach dropped to her feet.Beneath her skin, she feltherpanic responserise up,and she had to force herself to calm the hell down.
And was it her imagination or did she see Razr tense up outof the corner of her eye?Hadto be her imagination.Unless he sensed the sudden, cold terror inside her?
She hid her anxiety behind a forced laugh.“Mr.Shrike.Surely you don’t believe that silly legend.”
“It’s no legend.”Shrike’s brows slammed down in annoyance.“Three gemstones made of angel blood, Grace, and tears.Each was rumored topossess different powers, and each was placed in an angel’s care.Thesegemstones, when activated together, formed powerful magic.But around a centuryago, three extraordinarily powerful demons defeated the angels and stole thegems.”
He was right about the stones, but he’dgottenthe story wrong.Very wrong.
“I’m sorry,” shesaid, “but I’m not wasting my time on a silly goose chase.”
“It’s true,” Razr chimed in, not helping her at all.“Atleast, the existence of the stones is reality.”He wandered around the library,his gaze seeming to take in everything at once, and Jedda got the feeling hewas committing every tome and every artifact on display to memory.“Shrikefucked up the story though.”
“Really.”Shrike glared.“Maybe you could tell me where Iwent wrong and how you know this?”
“The exploits of the angels who used the gems in battle arewell-recorded in Heaven’s Akashic Library, and I like to read.”Razr ran hishand over a pile of books on the table near the window.“According to severalaccounts, demons didn’t defeat the angels.Demons murdered the humans who werethe custodians of the gems.”
Well, that was a little closer to the truth, she supposed.But only one human had been killed, and the guilt weighed on her like a two-tonboulder.
Shrike gave a skeptical snort.“Why would angels need humancustodians?”
“Because the power contained in the stones needs a conduit.”Jedda immediately cursed her loose lips.“At least, that’s according to thelegends,” she added quickly.
Storm clouds gathered in Shrike’s eyes and his fingernailsdug into the desktop.“It appears that my source hasn’t been entirelyforthcoming with information,” he ground out, and man, she wouldn’t want to bethat source.Then, just as quickly as the storm came in, it passed, and Shrikelooked between Razr and Jedda.“If humans hold the gemstones, how do the angelsdraw on the power?”
“I don’t know,” Razr replied as he flipped through a bookabout carnivorous vegetation in the demon realm.“I didn’t get that far in myreading.”
Jedda knew the answer to Shrike’s question, but she didn’tfeel like sharing.Hell, she didn’t feel likerememberingthat theangels wore special jewelry made from their corresponding gemstone.The angelwho had murdered Jedda’s sister, Manda, had worn an amethyst charm around hisneck that matched the stone Manda possessed.
