I jolted. I should be able to hear Ruthie's voice again-as soon as she had something to say.

Jimmy crossed the floor, sat next to me on the bed. He held up his hand, and the chain unfurled. The tiny cross with the tiny hanging man twirled right and then left.

Jimmy leaned in. His hair brushed my face. I closed my eyes and waited. Would I go up in flames or wouldn't I?

Seconds later his fingers brushed my hair as he slipped the chain over my head. Jimmy sat back, letting the crucifix fall between my b.r.e.a.s.t.s, then drawing his thumb over the cross, pressing it more firmly against my skin.

He lifted his eyes to mine. "All clear."

I let out a whoosh of breath. "Your turn."

But Jimmy wasn't wasting any time. His fingers had already encircled the c.o.c.k ring as well as his c.o.c.k. The sight made me swallow against a sudden flare of l.u.s.t.

He twisted his wrist; the circlet widened with a metallic snick and slid off. Sanducci stared at the ring resting on his open palm. Then he crunched it just by closing his fist.

"I hated this," he muttered, and threw it out the window.

"You preferred being . . ." I made claws with my hands and hissed.

"Of course not!" Jimmy stood and began to dress. "But that thing just made me feel like a-a-what the h.e.l.l do you call a guy in a harem?"

"A eunuch?"

He cast me a glance. "Very funny."

"A harem boy?"

"All right. That made me feel like a harem boy, you know?"

Unfortunately I did. When Jimmy had been under the power of his creepy vampire father, he'd made me his s.e.x slave, complete with the Barbara Eden genie outfit. It had not been a good look for me.

Jimmy saw my face and cursed softly. "Sorry."

I waved the word away. "We can't spend the rest of our lives apologizing to each other."

For one thing, there was going to be a lot more we'd have to apologize for in the future. I was sure of it.

"Is that why you had the Dagda put a c.o.c.k ring on me? Revenge?"

"I didn't tell him what to use. It was his idea of a joke."

"Seemed more like your idea of a joke."

Maybe we were going to have to keep apologizing for the rest of our lives.

"Believe me or don't believe me, Jimmy. I'm not going to keep begging you to." I put on my clothes. "We need to deal with Mait."

"Now?"

I glanced at the clock. Midnight. "We should go during the daytime. Unless you know how to disable those night demons."

Jimmy shook his head. "Considering Mait is the son of the origin of darkness, I vote for daytime, too."

I didn't care for Kalfu's t.i.tle. The last time I'd had anything to do with "the darkness" I'd wound up a vampire.

"We should get some sleep," Jimmy said.

My gaze went to the bed. The bedspread lay on the floor and the sheets appeared to have been slept in by a kid with untreated ADHD. Believe me, I'd known quite a few, had to share a mattress with some of them in foster care. They kicked like mules and even asleep, their legs and arms rarely stopped moving.

I glanced at Jimmy. He was staring at the bed, too. "It's big enough for both of us," I said, and he jumped as if I'd stuck him with a pin.

I straightened the sheets, leaning over to pick up the bedspread just as a latch clicked. My gaze flicked around the empty room even as I headed for the door. But when I opened it, Jimmy was already gone. I wasn't surprised.

I could catch him, but why? He obviously didn't want to stay. He'd be back with the dawn. He couldn't go after Mait without me. Jimmy didn't know where the Nephilim was.

Though I longed to throw my control over the balcony as Jimmy had thrown his, I knew there might come a day when I needed to put the collar back on. I shoved the thing to the bottom of my duffel, picked up Sawyer's turquoise, and looped the chain over my neck, tucking the stone beneath my shirt along with Ruthie's crucifix. Then I stripped off my jeans and tried to get some sleep.

Next thing I knew light had just begun to creep across the sky. The breeze through the balcony window felt morning-cool and smelled like the fresh water I heard splashing out of the hoses and washing away the filth on the streets below.

Sanducci slouched in a chair by the terrace. I could have been annoyed that he'd disappeared last night; I could have started the day b.i.t.c.hy. But he'd brought coffee and beignets.

I crossed the room and s.n.a.t.c.hed the nearest cup, taking a healthy swig despite the waft of steam that billowed up and nearly blinded me when I removed the top. Then I grabbed a beignet and stuffed most of it in my mouth-they were small-letting the sugar and the deep-fried dough soothe me until I almost felt human.

"Where'd you go last night?"

Jimmy reached into his back pocket and slapped a lethal-looking silver dagger onto the table. The weapon was small, but from the way the sun sparked off the edges, it was sharp, the grip black, grooved, all business. No fancy jewels or cutesy dragon faces to mess up the aim.

"Charmed?" I asked.

"Wouldn't be much good if it wasn't."

I thought it might be good enough for most things, if you stuck them just right. But we weren't interested in most things. This dagger was for Mait.

"Where'd you get it?"

"Charmed dagger shop."

"That's a legitimate question, Sanducci. What if I need a charmed dagger at some point in the future?"

Knowing my future, I was sure that I would.

"You've got one." He flicked his finger at the table.

"Do you have one?" He shook his head. "Why not?"

"They aren't cheap, Lizzy. Besides, we only need one. I'll grab the book, you stab the Nephilim."

"How come I have to stab the Nephilim?" I whined.

"Mait and I have a history. If he sees me coming, we're screwed."

"I thought the gris-gris would repel his magic."

"They will. But he's a big guy, and he fights dirty."

"So do you."

"You'll have a better chance of sliding in and-" Jimmy made a stabbing motion with his fist toward his eye. I resisted the urge to gag. I did not do well with eyes. They were yucky.

That sounds girlie. But I am a girl.

Which didn't mean I wouldn't do what I had to. I'd also do everything I could to get out of it first.

"Why do you think I'll be able to get close to him?" I asked. "I'm not huge, and my dirty fighting isn't the best."

I'd always had a hard time with it, probably because I'd been kicked when I was down so often as a kid whenever I tried to do it myself, I hesitated. I needed to get over that, but I wasn't sure how.

"Besides," I continued, "the first time Mait saw me, he knew I was there for the book."

"Anyone who shows up is there for the book, Lizzy."

"They couldn't be out for a stroll?"

"In New Orleans? In August? In the swamp?"

"All right," I muttered.

"You won't have to fight him."

"You think he'll just let us walk in and grab the Book of Samyaza."

"I think he won't notice me grabbing it if you're seducing him."

I choked on my coffee, which went down the wrong pipe and made me cough as if I were in the throes of death. For a while I wanted to be. At last I managed a hoa.r.s.e, "If I'm doing what?"

"This guy's been stuck in an abandoned church for a very long time. He's desperate to get some."

"Well, he isn't getting any from me! He's a Nephilim."

"I didn't tell you to sleep with him."

"You said seduce."

"I meant offer but don't deliver. I'm sure you know how."

My eyes narrowed. I'd certainly never offered him anything I hadn't delivered.

"I'll just fight him," I said. "I've got skills."

"You won't have your powers." At my frown, Jimmy lifted a gris-gris. "Once we walk in with these, it's a no-magic zone for everyone."

"You couldn't buy a gris-gris that puts a hex on evil magic and leaves the good guys' juice alone?"

"What is evil?" he murmured.

"Don't start with the existential bulls.h.i.t!"

"It's a legitimate question." He repeated back my own earlier comment, and my head felt as if it might explode. Only Sanducci had this effect on me.

"You think a bag of seeds and gra.s.s can tell the difference between good and evil?" he asked. "Especially when the bad guys believe what they're doing needs to be done. Haven't you ever heard the saying: A villain is the hero of his own story?"

"No."

"Think about it. Mait was given the task of protecting that book. He's going to protect it by any means necessary. Is that an evil deed?"

"h.e.l.l, yeah!"

"In your opinion."

"In everyone's opinion."

"Mait's just following orders."

"From Lucifer," I said. "You think because the guards at Dachau were 'just following orders,' they aren't roasting above an open flame directly to the left of Hitler?"

"Probably." Jimmy sighed. "The fact remains that the gris-gris will put a stop to any magic-good or bad-so seduction is your best bet. Get in close, make sure I've got the book, then"-he made the same jabbing motion toward his eye, and I flinched-"nail him."

CHAPTER 29.

"Got the gris-gris?" Jimmy asked as he stepped out of the car near the swamp.

"Check. You?"

"Roger."

"Dagger?" Jimmy continued, as if I were new at this.

I patted the back pocket of my jeans. I'd donned the tightest pair I could find, along with a well-washed white tank so see-through the shade of my skin made it appear beige. I hadn't bothered with a bra. Why try to be subtle? I'd never been any good at it.

I'd left the turquoise and the crucifix at the hotel. No need to remind Mait whose side I was on until I had to.