“Dever.” The name fit. It was true. He was no longer Troy Devich to me; for what little of his life remained, he was Dever.
Cale went stiff the moment the demon’s name left my mouth. He arched thick blond brows at me and mouthed, “Is it him?”
I nodded as I put the demon on speaker.
“I would be quite impressed, Ms. Walker…” Dever said, and it took most of my fragile self-control to keep from stomping my phone into bits just to get his voice out of my head. “…if I hadn’t already known of your involvement with the incubus.”
Was I theonlyone who didn’t know about Cale’s father?
It seemed pointless to explain to Dever thathewas the one responsible for my involvement with Cale and his save-the-world crusade, so I didn’t bother. “Where’s Lacey?” I demanded, fear for the gremlin twisting my gut into knots.
“He’s right here with me. For the moment, at least.”
“I want to talk to him.”
The demon clucked his tongue in mock sympathy. “I’m afraid he’s in no shape for conversation. The last coherent sentence he uttered was a cry for his mommy.”
“Lacey has nothing to do with this,” I snapped, fear and rage coursing through me.
“He has everything to do with this. You want him, and I want my box. We’ll make a trade. My best guess is that your friend has about two hours before his temperature spikes high enough to cook his brain. You give me the box, and I’ll give you the gremlin, to do with what you will. Shove Tylenol down his throat, or rush him to the hospital. I don’t care. But if you don’t produce my box in the next two hours, I will let him fry.”
Mother-fucking son of a bitch!I didn’t have curses strong enough to express my rage and terror on behalf of Aaron Lacey, the only true friend I’d had in several decades.
Fresh grief and horror stirred up the dregs of memories I’d buried more than two centuries earlier and hoped never to resurrect. I couldn’t watch while someone else I loved died. Not again.
Noteveragain.
Dever’s voice soaked through my thoughts like blood through a cloth bandage, drenching me in fury and horror. “Next on the list is the lovely Cari Murphy.”
Cale tensed beside me, and I was amazed by the restraint it must have taken for him to remain silent.
“Two hours isn’t long enough,” I said into the phone, forcing the words through teeth clenched in rage. We were still fifteen hours from Memphis. “We can’t possibly get there in time.”
“Do you have my box?”
“Of course not.” I squeezed my eyelids shut as I rubbed my temple. “It was too fucking heavy to carry. But I have the contents,” I added, before he could respond. No need to tell him that I’d alreadyopenedsaid contents.
“Fine. I’ll come to you. Where are you?”
I glanced at Cale for the answer, and he pointed at a highway sign fifty feet up the road. “Interstate 95. A couple of miles south of Wilmington, Pennsylvania.”
Silence settled over the line, and when Dever spoke again, he sounded pleased. Which made me nervous. “There’s a town called Chadds Ford, ten or twelve miles north of you. Follow the signs for Linden Farm and turn into the Birmingham-Lafayette Cemetery. It’ll be on your left, past—”
“Iknowwhere it is,” I snapped, infuriated by the realization that he had not chosen the location at random.
I hadn’t seen Linden Farm in more than two centuries. In fact, the last time I’d been there, it was still named for Samuel Jones, the former owner. But I had no doubt I would recognize it instantly, no matter how much had changed. My existence was indelibly connected to that plot of land, which was why I’d stayed away. It would take a lot to get me back there.
Unfortunately, Dever had a lot to offer.
“There are three large, commemorative monuments,” he continued. “Hard to miss. I’ll be in front of the tallest of them in one hour. If you want your friend back, meet us there. And bring the nymph. I can hear him breathing.” The phone clicked, then went silent.
For several seconds, Cale and I only stared at each other. I’m not sure what he was thinking, but my own thoughts were something along the lines of,Fuckfuckfuck…!
“We can’t take Xaphan with us,” Cale said, breaking into the litany of profanity my thought process had been reduced to.
“Yet neither can we get rid of him.” I shoved my phone into my back pocket and trudged toward the rented Corolla. “Life sucks, huh?” But not as badly as death.
“No, that’s not what I mean.” Cale grabbed my arm. Frowning, I jerked free and whirled on him, scowling. “Sorry.” He cut me off before I could start yelling. “But we cannotput Xaphan and Dever in the same room, and not just because it would be a phenomenally bad idea to concentrate that much evil energy in one place.”
