An enraged guy in expensive-looking ripped-up jeans walked up, pointing at Skye.“You,” he seethed.“Is this some kind of sick joke?”
Chapter Fifteen
Onthemorningofthe Anaheim show, Skye had to go to LA to complete her end of a soul bargain the old-fashioned way.She sifted to the parking garage connected to the office building that housed Sprites Records.Zara’s lead had panned out, and Skye should be grateful, but when Zara appeared beside her, Skye only glared and crossed her arms over her chest.
Zara rolled her eyes, guessing Skye’s cause for anger.“I didn’t tell Laurie anything.”
Skye pressed her lips into a thin line.She hadn’t truly thought Zara had, but the only other alternative was worse.“If neither of us told him, the Devil must have said something.”
“Or Laurie has been spying on us,” Zara said.“He was suspicious about why I was working my leads so hard, and you know he hates being left out of anything.”
Instead of replying to her, Skye hauled open the glass door to the connecting office lobby.
Zara walked in with her.“I still don’t understand why I couldn’t tell him in the first place.”
Skye sighed.“I just really didn’t want him involved in this.”
“Why though?”
She didn’t want to talk about this, but Zara had on her intent expression, meaning she would keep pestering her until Skye confessed.
They walked across the marble floor of the lobby.Heaving a sigh, Skye said, “He broke into my safe and stole one of my mom’s journals.”
“You caught him doing it?”Zara asked.
“Not technically,” Skye said.She plastered a smile on for the security guard.Her demon vision made a red haze of the world as she compelled him.“You’re going to give us two visitor badges that allow access to all floors and offices.”
The security guard’s pupils dilated as the compulsion took effect.He handed them both badges.“Have a nice day, ladies!”
“You too,” Skye responded automatically, slipping into her human mask without conscious thought.
“So how do you know Laurie stole anything?”Zara prompted as they scanned themselves in.
“I was doing some research, rereading her journals, before hunting Remi’s soul,” Skye said.“And I mentioned to Laurie that one of the journals was missing.The next day it was back in the safe.”
“So maybe you just didn’t see it.It got buried or something.”
“I didn’t miss it, Zara.I know he did something.I know it.”Skye gritted her teeth.“I just don’t know why.I asked him if he’d been in the safe, and he lied to my face.”
Skye felt Zara’s eyes considering her, but she was too lost in her head, too distracted by the foreign sensations roiling in her stomach.She didn’t trust anyone.Not Zara.Not Laurie.She was a demon.She could only trust herself, and she knew at the end of the day whatever selfish intent Laurie had, Skye would have the same.
“I just can’t stop wondering what he wanted it for,” Skye said, her gaze swinging back to Zara.“The journal he took was from when she…” Skye shook her head, unsure why she couldn’t finish the sentence.“It was in the days before she got caught.”
“You know Laurie has morbid curiosities,” Zara said.“Maybe he just wanted to read it.”
Skye just shook her head.Something felt off about all of it.
“Alright,” Zara said, following her into the elevator.“So he’s a liar and a thief and a piece of shit, so we use him for information the same way he used your mom’s stuff.”
“What do you mean?”Skye scanned her badge again in the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor.
“He was the only one to figure out that Remi isn’t human.The Devil didn’t even know, or he did and didn’t tell you,” Zara said.“Laurie might be able to help get the bargain to stick.”
“It doesn’t make sense that Remi isn’t human.I mean, I was able to enter his dreams,” Skye said.“He was difficult to make contact with, but he warmed up after a while.Laurie’s compulsion didn’t work on him, but my magic allowed me to influence him, and the bargain worked for a few weeks.I had no reason to think he was anything but human.A difficult human, but based on the strength of his soul, it seemed natural that it’d have protections.”If Remi had been a witch like West, or even another demon, none of her magic would have worked on him.
“I tried to compel him.Just to see if it worked,” Zara said.
“Zara!”
