Chapter Fourteen.

"The man himself." I offered Raum a tight smile, wondering if I could manage to grab both Parker and Oriana and fly away quicker than he could attack. Probably not.

"Fetching as always I see," he said, grinning like a loon. "And my sweet witch, at least you remember some things." His head bobbed in acknowledgement of her position on her knees.

"Who is this joker?" Parker muttered, stepping in front of me protectively.

"This would be Raum, Demon Lord of Midian." Even though I'd tangled with Raum before and lived to tell the tale, his black demony eyes still creeped me out. He hadn't lost his manners though, nor his friendly demeanor.

"At your service," he sketched a quick bow. "Now then, we've a long way to travel, so chop chop." He clapped his hands at Oriana like she was a trained poodle.

"You're not taking her with you, she's part of my family now." Even though he scared the c.r.a.p out of me and I couldn't use my Grace on him, I had other options at my disposal.

"You want to play? How delightful." He focused on me, his smile stretching wider. "I have enjoyed our games in the past." He shivered with antic.i.p.ation, "Most invigorating."

"I'll give you invigorating..." I called forth my sword, the glow bright under the dim parking lot lights. "Parker, can you please take Oriana inside for me?" I circled around to give myself a clear shot at Raum's neck.

"I'm not leaving you out here with him," Parker started to say, and I lost my temper.

"Now!" Extending my wings, I spread them wide to fill the s.p.a.ce, counting on the spectacle to impress them both. Momentarily stunned, Parker stared at me open mouthed, making no move to take Oriana to safety. "Parker, will you move it?" I hissed, and he nodded, practically dragging Oriana to the club door.

"Lovely," Raum clapped his hands together, "but not much of an advantage in a fight, I think."

"Oh, I don't know." I lifted myself into the air about four feet above him. "There's something to be said for taking the high ground." Actually he had a point. With me up in the air I actually felt more vulnerable, my legs and abdomen easier targets. But I hoped he'd follow suit so I could lead him away from my friends. You know that saying, be careful what you wish for?

"Well then, let's tussle, shall we?"

All I caught was a flash of dark wings and Raum launched himself at me. Panicking, I let go of the sword in my haste to get out of the way and the chase was on. Parker's voice echoed after me, but I couldn't spare him a look back. Hard pressed to keep ahead of Raum, I tried some evasive maneuvers, but I ended up slowing myself down. Why had I decided to bluff my way out of there on wings anyway?

Raum caught me easily and we both plummeted towards the ground, saved at the last moment from cracking our heads open by his ugly, black wings. We stood on a high school gymnasium rooftop overlooking tennis courts. "Now then, m'lovely. How's about a nice taste?"

I tucked my wings away for the moment, needing to think fast. He hadn't seemed alarmed at the sight of my sword at all, and my skills were only so-so. That meant I had to come up with something else. "If I give you taste, will you let Oriana go?"

"It might put me in a benevolent mood." His head inclined slightly (as if I believed any promises he might make, ha!).

"Just one taste..." My hand came up hesitantly as he advanced. "That's all."

"For now." Raum backed me up against the edge of the roof and I pressed at his chest weakly. "Oh yes, it's so much better when you resist." His lips curled back to reveal sharp teeth, but this time, I wasn't afraid.

He wanted a taste, I'd give him a taste.

I hit him with a blast of Grace, strong enough to make his head spin, and while he reeled back with the power of that gift, I flipped him onto his back the way I'd seen Sam wrangle a demon. In a flash I had my sword pressed against his neck, pleased to see him hiss against the pain as the flesh burned wherever it touched him. "Now then, m'lovely." I pressed harder, the sharp blade growing slick with dark blood. "You're not coming after her anymore. Say it."

Raum licked his lips, trying to inch away from the blade, but I held him fast, my strength easily outmatching his, to my great surprise. "Be reasonable, pet..."

"Say it!" Done playing with him, I brought the sword up, neatly skewering him through the shoulder and into the deck of the roof by a few inches.

"I'll not come for her again, Mistress," Raum blanched, face contorted with pain, or was that fear?

"Or for me, or any of my friends. We are all off limits to you or the next time I see you, we'll have a new kind of playtime." I twisted the sword a fraction to make my point, gratified to see beads of sweat pop out across his brow.

"As you wish, Mistress."

"And before you get any bright ideas." I released the sword, taking a gamble. Placing my hand over his chest, I gathered my Grace the way I'd seen Sam dispatch Cephas. "I don't need the sword to take care of you at all. So, unless you feel like visiting wherever it is your kind goes when you're abjured..."

"Understood, Mistress. Loud and clear," he swallowed, breathing easier without the sword through his shoulder. "I am your humble servant."

"Leave before I change my mind." I backed off, watching warily for any sign of reprisal, but Raum scuttled back on all fours, much more eager to get away from me than attack.

"Thank you, Mistress." Raum bobbed his head once he regained his feet. "And if I may say so, your cunning power is only rivaled by your beauty."

Shooing him off with a wave of my fingers, I watched him jump from the rooftop, landing light as a cat on the ground far below. With a jaunty salute, he turned and loped off in the direction of The Honey Pot.

Letting out a shuddering breath, I took a moment to regroup, thanking my lucky stars that hadn't turned bloodier and wondering how long Raum's submissive stint would last. I had to get back though, Parker was probably going out of his mind with worry.

"Are you guys in here?" I pushed open the door to the club, glad to see Oriana inside looking bored while Parker paced on his cell phone.

"Mercy!" Parker hung up on whoever, stalking towards me with determined steps. Afraid he might launch into another lecture about taking risks, I talked fast.

"Hey guys, I took care of Raum. I'm sorry if I scared you, but I had to get him away from here. I'm fine, I..." My words were cut off as Parker pulled me in his arms and kissed me full on the mouth. More than a little surprised by the move, I opened my mouth to... I don't know what I might have done, because suddenly protesting didn't seem so important anymore. The next thing I knew, I was kissing him back, completely losing myself in the moment.

It was electric.

Maybe it had something to do with the adrenaline high or maybe it was just something about the way he held me tight, but my heart beat crazy fast and I completely forgot where we were. We were both breathing hard by the time the kiss came to a close and he looked just as shaken as I felt by what he'd done.

"Glad you're okay," he said finally, fingers untangling from my hair.

"Yeah," I nodded, releasing the tight grip I had on his shirt. A little dazed, I jumped back guiltily as Oriana approached. "Um, are you alright, Oriana? Raum won't bother you any more, I made sure of it." Sure my face was beet red from how hot under the collar I felt, I tried to look at anything but Parker until I got my hormones in check. "Oriana?" I asked again when she didn't reply. Maybe she was more traumatized by Raum's appearance than I'd thought?

"Can we stop for ice cream on the way home?"

"You're absolutely sure this Raum guy has given up?" Matty wrapped his arms around Oriana's delicate shoulders in a protective embrace. We'd decided to have an impromptu debriefing at my apartment including Daphne, who Parker'd been on the phone with when I got back to the club. Nelo was out for the night, something he'd started to do with growing regularity, exploring our small corner of the world under the cover of darkness.

"There's always a chance he's got something else up his sleeve, but he'd be stupid to do it. I think we're good though, he knows what I can do to him," I replied, relishing the memory of the fear on his face.

"Do you really think you could do that banishing thing?" Daphne asked, and I shrugged.

"I have no idea, but it scared the c.r.a.p out of Raum."

"I still think you should have killed him when you had the chance," Parker said more to himself than anyone else. He'd been uncharacteristically quiet since the kiss, and I couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking. Did he regret it? Would he push to take our friendship to the next level? Did I want him to? Forcibly, I turned my thoughts back to the conversation at hand.

"Maybe, but it might come in handy to have a demon lord in my back pocket some day. For the time being at least, I think we're in the clear."

Matt looked relieved, and I hoped I wasn't proven wrong. "Great, then we can go home and get some rest." He kissed Oriana on the cheek and she turned to him, her face alight with excitement.

"Matty, I have the most wonderful news!"

"What's that?"

"I am no longer bound to serve at Eden!"

It took him a moment to figure out what she meant before his eyes narrowed at me and Parker. "It wasn't working out, Matty," I said hastily while Parker nodded beside me.

"On an epic scale."

"What are we supposed to do now?" My brother scowled, and I couldn't blame him. Oriana was as sweet as the day was long, but definitely a handful.

"Why doesn't she get a job at that witchy store?" Daphne suggested brightly. "You know, the one where I found that crystal unicorn."

"I love unicorns!" Oriana clapped her hands in delight and Parker leaned over to whisper in my ear.

"She'll definitely fit into that crowd better."

The warm flutter of breath by my ear sent a frisson of awareness through me that I don't think would have been there even the day before, and I struggled to keep my face from showing anything as I pointed out the obvious. "We don't even know if they're hiring."

"You could find out though, you're friends with those witches," Matty reminded me.

"I'd say Parker's more friendly with them than I am." I raised a brow at Parker and he put his hands up.

"Never listen to gossip."

"It's not gossip, you dated Luz for weeks."

"In my distant and jaded past."

"Not so distant," I reminded him and Daphne interrupted to offer her help.

"I'll make some calls around tomorrow. Don't worry, Oriana, I'm sure we can find you something that's more up your alley."

"I would prefer not to work in an alley," Oriana replied earnestly. "I find them dank and depressing."

"Right," I nodded. "Well, you two should head on home. Like Matty said, it's getting late."

"But we can still hang out and catch up, right?" Daphne surprised me by asking and I gave her a warm smile. I'd missed our time together.

"Of course, for as long as you want."

"I guess maybe I should..." Parker hesitated, waiting for me to fill in the blank about whether he should stay or go.

"I'll walk you out," I offered, not that it was particularly hard to find the front door. "Hey Daph, why don't you put on the kettle?"

At the door Parker lingered, leaning against the doorframe. "You don't want me to stick around?"

Seeing as how there was a serious disconnect on what I wanted to do with what I should do, I decided to pa.s.s on the offer. "I have some catching up to do with Daphne, but I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

There was more he wanted to say, I could tell, but all he came up with was, "So... we're good then."

"Yeah, it's fine."

His eyes dropped to my lips and I thought he might try to kiss me again. "You're sure."

"I'm sure, we're... good." Too good maybe.

"Good."

"G'nite, Parker." I leaned up to kiss his cheek and he turned into it, catching my lips instead for a brief kiss. "Sneak," I chastised him lightly as I pulled away.

"See you tomorrow, darlin'," he grinned, light on his feet as he headed for the stairs.

I was still smiling like a goober when I rejoined Daphne in the kitchen. She already had the mugs out and the cocoa mix poured.

"What's going on with you and Parker?"

"What do you mean?" I hedged, not quite sure how to answer the question until I understood the context.

"You kept watching each other when the other one wasn't looking. It was like a dysfunctional tennis match."

"We were? Huh," I replied, stirring my cocoa when she poured the hot water.

"Huh? That's all you have to say? Now I know there's something going on," she grinned, her face coming alight like the Daphne I remembered. "Go on then, spill."

"Things between us have been a little... I don't know, different ever since he proposed."

"Different bad?"

"No, not bad... just different. No, I take it back, they were still pretty normal right after he proposed. It was after I spent the night at his place."

"Come again?" Her eyes widened, the spoon falling out of her hand with a clatter.

"Not like that," I laughed, filling her in on all the details. Once I started talking, I realized I'd been holding back a lot since her problems with Sam hit supernova.

"Wow." She set down her empty mug after I finished. "Why didn't you tell me any of this stuff before?"

"Well, you know, you were busy with Sam for a long time and now you're going through your own stuff. I didn't want to add to your load of problems."

"And I didn't even notice any of this going on around me," she said, shaking her head. "I'm sorry I got so caught up in my own life that I wasn't there for you, Mercy. I want to know when the big stuff happens in your life, especially now." I knew she meant since Sam was gone.

We've all done it. Been completely wrapped up in a guy and totally blown off friends and family until it ended, and then suddenly you become the most attentive friend ever. I didn't blame her for wanting to fill the void Sam left behind and I didn't begrudge her the time she'd had with him. I probably would have blown her off a time or two when Adam was around, if I'd been able to get him to stick around for longer than five minutes.

"It's alright, you have your own life. I don't expect you to drop everything every time something crazy happens in my life. How are you holding up?" I changed the subject, because I could see her starting to go down a shame spiral for leaving me in the lurch.