Downworld

Chapter 40

When one of Malik's household called up to say he needed to see me immediately, I didn't dare refuse even though by the time I got down and dealt with whatever he wanted then came back up, I was going to be late for my meeting.

I sighed, told my overly excitable guardian to stop behaving like a sulky dog whose master just forgave it, and went.

When I got to the castle, I was shown to a sitting room by an awkward retainer who wouldn't look me in the eye. Isamu was already there, typing on his phone as he leaned against a wall. Malik was sitting across from a blonde human woman in her forties who looked up at me and smiled when I entered. I ignored her.

'What's up sweetheart? I'm going to be late.'

The look on his face told me that it didn't matter how late I was going to be, this couldn't wait. My guardian practically whimpered with want.

'This woman claims to be the mother of your twenty year old son.'

After I'd gotten my brain out of the what-the-fuck circle that was my first reaction to hearing that, I did some math and realized that was impossible. Twenty would mean that he'd have to have been conceived after Malik and I had first started dating, but not long after. The thought was ridiculous.

'And you believe her?'

'She knows things about you.'

Ah, this was it then. The first retaliation, subtler than I'd thought it would be; I'd give Afra credit for that. It might have even been effective in separating me from Malik's protection -- which I had to assume was the goal here -- if Malik wasn't.... Malik.

'I can swear to you, I've never even slept with her, let alone fathered her child.'

'How can you sure? She's pretty enough.'

'For one, during that time the only one I was sleeping with was you, and before I slept with you, I hadn't slept with anyone for almost a year. For two, she's not my type.'

He gave me a look.

'What? You assume because I'm an incubus that I don't have a type?'

'Tinder doesn't.'

'I'm not Tinder.'

'Well... you've never said. What's your type?'

I gave him a look that said he was totally my type and was rewarded with him dropping his gaze. That was a little disappointing; not long ago, he would have blushed.

'I'm not saying I didn't sleep with my share of women before we met, but I'm certain I've never slept with her. Look at her, her ego wouldn't even fit in my bed.'

'With your ego taking up all the space, you mean.'

'Exactly.'

His lips twitched into a half-hearted smile, and I knew he believed me.

I turned my attention to the woman. She didn't look pleased. I rounded the couch and held out my hand to her. 'Since we haven't met, I'm Jay.' She reached out and took it reluctantly, as though she didn't trust me. She should have trusted her instincts, because it was a trap; once I had a hold on her hand, I fed her enough seduction to make her pliable. 'Now, why don't you tell me who you are and why you're here.'

She was half freak, she said, cultivated by her downworlder father -- whose name I didn't recognize and was probably fake -- to serve him in the above. Though her word was help, not serve. As though she had a choice. As though she hadn't been made to be a slave like the rest of us, though bound with familial duty rather than magic. He'd told her to come here, told her what to say to the Gateway guard to get an audience with the Red King, told her things about me, enough to convince Malik that she and I had a brief but intimate relationship -- that should have been a clue to him right there, though I think he forgot sometimes how unhealthy I was back then.

'And who does your father serve?'

She didn't know. She was useless. The more she babbled, telling me everything she knew but nothing useful, the more frustrated I became. I wanted to shake her until she gave me a name. This would only be the start; they'd come for me; they'd come for anyone they could use to hurt me, including Fiona, Stephan and Elspeth. I needed to know who, so I could stop them before it came to that.

'Jay,' it was Malik drawing me back to myself. 'She doesn't know anything.'

I released her hand and retreated a distance. Then I began to pace.

Malik gave orders for one of his people to take her back above and to make sure she never made it past the doorman again.

'Are you all right?' he asked, as though I wasn't one push away from having a breakdown. He might have been right about that, but I was determined that I wouldn't, and if there's one thing I have plenty of practice at, it's pushing through when I'm barely functional.

'Yeah. You've got people watching the kids, right?'

'No one is going to get to them without a fight. Don't worry.'

I glanced at my watch. 'It's too late to cancel this fucking meeting.'

'Take people with you. Don't argue. That was a play to try and separate us, wasn't it?'

'Maybe. I don't know'

'Now you're minimizing. You do know. Be careful.'

'I will. I promise, okay? Stop giving me that look.'

He looked like he wanted to hug me but was conflicted about whether he actually should; thankfully Isamu intervened with a cough. 'You're late, you know.'

'Good god, Isamu.'

'Don't complain; you gave me this job.'

I said goodbye and left with Isamu on my heels. We didn't speak on the walk up, Isamu was tense. Once we were in above, I made a show of pretending to have forgotten something, and asked him to run back and get it. He raised an eyebrow like he doubted me, and made me promise to have keep today's bodyguards close on the way to my meeting, which I lied and said I would. Then once he was gone, I convinced them to take a separate cab so I could think. They gave me pitying looks and agreed.

It was just a hunch, but I had a feeling that Isamu and everyone else would be better off as far away from me as possible for a little while.

I wasn't even a step out of the cab when the van pulled up. I didn't fight as three men, covered head to toe in black with not an inch of skin showing, jumped out. I couldn't have anyway, since one of them was quick to shove a toxic smelling cloth to my face. I remained conscious only long enough to feel them lift me and carry me into the van.

It was a lot less violent than I was expecting.