The Demon's Song by Kendra Leigh Castle Page B

never changes. Fight to tip the Balance,
     run herd on the tormented souls of the damned, be seen at the right parties, whatever.
     Some of us got tired of playing. Lucifer and the Council decided they needed to make
     a statement, shake things up, and for various reasons, I ended up on their list.”
     He rolled his shoulders uncomfortably. “We got lucky, I guess. All this new effort
     from Hell to tip the Balance into darkness has thrown the white wings for a loop.
     They needed extra help dealing with these massive outbreaks of low demons—you’d never
     want to run into one, I promise—and they were willing to pay, so...”
    Sofia shook her head, amazed. “You’re mercenaries. Angelic mercenaries.” She’d always
     been willing to accept that there were more things in the universe than she could
     imagine or comprehend, but still, being hit over the head with all of this was an
     experience she’d never expected to have.
    “Uh, we’re not angelic. You might have noticed.” Phenex pressed his lips together
     and exhaled loudly. “Look, it doesn’t matter. Here’s the deal. We have wings, we have
     to be on a side, at least nominally. In Hell, we were about to get tossed into a flaming
     river for entertainment. Up here, we work for the good guys and stay alive. So we
     slay demons and keep the Balance in shape, and deal with some extra things for the
     vamps so we have a protected place to stay. We get paid well, because it pisses off
     the white wings when we steal, and, best of all, we get to keep breathing. It’s weird,
     but I guess it works.”
    Sofia raised an eyebrow. “So you still need protection.”
    “Sure. No one in Hell knew what they meant to do to us except the Council, which is
     very small. To everyone else, we look like a bunch of traitors. Any one of the other
     Fallen would be happy to end us. And as for the Council...they don’t like to lose.
     We count as unfinished business. They already tried for my brother Raum.”
    “What happened?”
    He looked smug. “The Infernal Council has one less member.”
    Sofia widened her eyes, blinked, and looked away, shaking her head in wonder. “Good
     to know.” He was trouble any way you sliced it, an ex-demon mercenary on the run from
     Hell. And for some reason, he was here with her.
    The words came before she could think better of them.
    “Phenex, why are you doing this? Gadreel said you volunteered to watch me. Why? You’re
     a warrior, not a nanny. I’m not even going to pretend that I live an exciting life.
     That vampire you grabbed last night was so out of his league it was ridiculous, and
     I doubt this vampire king needed to waste one of his big guns here. So why?”
    His face was impassive, though his eyes told another story. There were emotions roiling
     beneath the surface in him that Sofia couldn’t begin to guess at. Likely it was safer
     not to. Such an ancient creature would have some fairly extreme baggage. Just another
     reason not to get too close.
    Except she’d already taken a couple of steps toward him before she realized it and
     stopped herself. The magnetic pull he seemed to exert on her was going to be a big
     problem if she didn’t watch it. It was like having a force of nature show up in her
     life for an unexpected and extended visit. She was too busy flailing to even try to
     nail down what came next. Understanding him, even a little, was something she needed.
     Maybe then she could figure the rest of this out.
    Phenex moved forward, closing the distance between them with just a few steps, until
     there were only inches separating them. Sofia didn’t move a muscle. She could actually
     feel the heat radiating from him, as though he really did nurse a fire deep within
     him, just like the mythical bird he shared a name with. Even his eyes seemed to burn
     as he looked down at her. His focus was so singular, so intense, that her every nerve
     ending sizzled, waiting for the slightest touch. When he lifted