Eban Read online

  She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to remember anything. When she opened them again, she saw her dress crumpled on the floor. “Oh…”

  Without looking, she knew she was naked. Another moan left her mouth. This had to be a nightmare.

  Eban held his hands up. “It’s not as bad as it seems.”

  “What do you mean? I’m in your bed! Naked, and I don’t remember how I got here.” She had the feeling she’d made a fool of herself when she came back to the clinic. He must think the worst of her. “Eban, I don’t know what’s happening.”

  “I think I do.”

  He said it so quietly she thought she imagined his voice. His dark blue eyes were half closed, his hands knotted together in his lap.

  “What is it?” She forced the words out.

  “Goddammit, Eban, what did you do?”

  Tell’s bellow drowned out anything Eban was about to say. He cringed and despite the way she felt, she placed her hand over his folded ones. He looked like a kicked puppy.

  “What did you do?” she whispered.

  “Called an angel.”

  Confused, she wrinkled her nose. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”

  “Either Tell’s met Eliakim or the power it took to call him broke another seal on the Pit. I’d better go downstairs.” He stood. “Try to get some rest.”

  “But—”

  He’d been about to explain what was wrong with her, and now he was leaving? He didn’t make it to the door before Tell burst through, crossbow in his hands. The shining silver tip of a bolt pointed at Eban’s face.

  Fear caused the fine hairs on Beryl’s arms rise. “Put that away!”

  Tell didn’t even glance at her. “There’s an angel on your doorstep. An angel! He says you brought him here. You swore you wouldn’t mess with things you don’t understand.”

  Eban didn’t back down from the threat of being penetrated by the weapon. “I invoked Eliakim.”

  “Well, un-voke him.”

  “That’s not a word,” Eban said in a flat tone. “I can’t. I tried.”

  The crossbow dropped a fraction. “He won’t leave? He can’t stay here. Can you imagine what kind of trouble we’d be in if a parasite imp got into his head?”

  His gaze slipped away from Eban and fell on Beryl.

  She blushed, clutching the sheet around her.

  “What the hell is Rosemar doing in your bed?” He lifted the crossbow again. “You’d better have a damn good reason for all of this.”

  Beryl looked between them, half afraid to move or speak. Eban’s shoulders slumped and he seemed reluctant to say anything. She couldn’t imagine Tell shooting him, but in Berner anything was possible. Had Tell lost his mind? Calling her by another name, assuming Eban had let a bad angel into town?

  Eban sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “That’s not Rosemar. You don’t have to threaten her. Beryl was sick this morning and I am a doctor, in case you forgot.”

  “They’re the same thing,” Tell growled. “Isn’t that why your new friend is out there?”

  Eban nodded. “I memorized part of the Ars Notoria and asked for help. Eliakim answered, for what it’s worth, which isn’t much. While you were at the Pit, I drew the sigils. I’m as surprised as anyone that it worked. When he refused to help because of some treaty with the Gray Side, I tried sending him back. He said he plans to stay until he’s given everything some thought.”

  “You’re an idiot, you know that?” Tell lowered the crossbow, letting it hang at his side. “You can’t invoke angels willy-nilly. It has to be done when the planets are aligned and at certain times of the day. All those long-ass prayers have to be said at the right time too. Not just whenever Eban gets his head stuck up his ass and decides to do it. When the hell did I turn into the responsible one around here? I thought you could read.”

  She knew by the way Eban remained silent that he hadn’t considered any of the things his brother said.

  Tell looked at her again. “And you. You’re not sick. You reek like someone dipped you in a vat of whiskey. I’ll bet if I went down to the saloon they could tell me all about your midnight escapades.”

  Beryl shrank lower behind the sheet. “I don’t remember what happened.”

  He snorted. “The way you smell, I don’t doubt that.” His keen gaze returned to Eban. “Explain.”

  “Not now.”

  “Cat’s outta the bag, Eb. She’s knows something’s not right here.”

  Eban’s expression change from defeated to furious. “I’ll fix this. It’s not for you to worry about.”

  “Oh, it ain’t?” Tell laughed bitterly. “Wystan is supposed to be back anytime, there’s a half-loony angel gallivanting around town, and you’ve got a naked girl in your bed that doesn’t know up from down. You’ve fixed enough around here by my way of thinking.”

  “This is my clinic, my life, my choice. If you don’t like that, you’re free to leave.”

  Tell fixed Eban with a stare. For several seconds, the older Heckmaster didn’t move.

  “Are you looking into his head?” Beryl asked quietly.

  Tell didn’t answer. Eban lunged for him, but Tell was expecting it and stepped out of the way.

  “How many times do I have to tell you not do that to me?” Eban growled.

  “Your brain is so fuzzy, I can’t make out a damned thing in there. I don’t even know whose side you’re on anymore. I’m not gonna be like Wys, nearly getting all of us killed because he didn’t want to put blade to flesh on Sandra. It’d be easier to kill you now and have it done.”

  Tell moved so fast, Beryl didn’t see him until he was directly in front of Eban. One second the bow was down, the next a silver bolt was pressed into Eban’s neck. It was still firmly settled in the crossbow, but Tell’s finger was on the trigger.

  “No!” She reached out, although she was too far away to do any good.

  Sweat beaded Eban’s forehead as the sharp edge of the bolt nicked his skin. A dark red drop of blood stained the bolt head.

  “Do it, then. Unless you’re afraid.”

  Eban’s voice was harsher than Beryl had ever heard it. Both brothers’ irises were red instead of the normal blue. She shook with fear.

  “Please don’t do this, Tell. He’s your family.”

  “Don’t listen to her. You think you know best, then you’d better get on with it. Before I turn on you.” Eban grabbed Tell’s arm, pressing the bolt into his own flesh a little harder.

  Tell’s finger remained on the trigger. Beryl’s heart clogged her throat and she buried her face in her hands, unable to bear the sight of Eban’s lifeless body when the deed was done.

  “Do it,” Eban ground out.

  Beryl muttered a prayer, hoping the angel might intervene. She heard footsteps on the stairs, but couldn’t force herself to look and find out who it was.

  “Dammit, I leave for a week and come back to find the two of you at each other’s throats. What the hell is going on?”

  Beryl peeked through her fingers. Wystan stood in the doorway, hands on his hips. He didn’t look like himself, or at least not the sheriff she’d come to know. He wore a three-piece suit and boots polished to high shine. His dark hair was covered by a felt bowler hat. He’d become Bat Masterson in the time he’d been gone instead of the Wild West demon-slaying town dictator.

  Eban and Tell didn’t take their eyes off each other, but they both started talking at once.

  “Gone crazy, summoned an angel. You know—”

  “If Tell’s going to kill me, I wish he’d hurry up and—”

  “Enough.” Wystan’s gaze landed on Beryl. “What are you doing in here and what’s that smell?”

  “I-I…” She couldn’t find any words.

  He turned and bellowed down the stairway. “Rhia! Beryl needs your help. I’ve
gotta take care of these two dumbasses before they murder one another.”

  With a sigh, he reached out and jerked Tell and Eban apart. “Let’s take this to the jail.”

  They both protested as he dragged them out of the room. Beryl sat frozen, wondering if this was the last time she’d ever seen Eban. Wystan was sure to be even angrier than Tell once he found out what Eban had done.

  Rhia entered, shaking her head. Her eyes were wide, but she had the flush of a woman who knew she was loved and had enjoyed her honeymoon. “I’ll never understand the three of them. I’m not sure I want to know what’s happened since we left. So much for a peaceful place where demons can reside.”

  Beryl hated the heat that scorched her face as Rhia’s hazel eyes took her in.

  “I’m not sleeping with Eban,” she blurted. The hateful throb between her eyes worsened.

  Rhia surveyed the room. “You don’t have to explain that part.” She smiled. “It’s good to see you, even if you look like you’ve been in a fight with a barghest. You weren’t, were you?”

  “Apparently I took off last night and went drinking.” She rubbed her palm against her forehead. “I don’t know why. Eban was going to tell me, but Tell burst in.”

  “The angel. We saw him. Or Wystan did. He looks like a man to me. Well, maybe not a man. He could be Seere’s twin. I assumed he was another demon, but Wys was wary of him from the second they laid eyes on each other.” Rhia picked Beryl’s crumpled dress off the floor and wrinkled her nose. “We should get you into a bath. You’ll feel better. Then you can explain why the town is suddenly falling apart again.”

  An hour later, dressed in clean clothes and nursing a cup of strong coffee, Beryl had recounted most of the details over the week. There was no sign of the Heckmasters and she couldn’t decide if that was good or bad.

  Rhia’s brow furrowed as she listened. “So the angel, Eliakim, is here to help Eban with a problem he won’t tell you about. And Tell thinks Eban’s…one of them now.”

  “I think so. Everything is a mess.”

  “Wys will get it straightened out.” But Rhia didn’t sound sure. “I feel like half of this is my fault. I drove Eban away from him. If he’s acting strange, it’s because of me.”

  “That’s not true.” Beryl laid her hand over Rhia’s. “Maybe he’ll change his mind and things will go back to normal.”

  It seemed unlikely. Eban had more cause to want to go now that he had yesterday. With Tell raging at him and his jealousy over Wystan’s good fortune, Eban might pack up the second he returned to the clinic.

  If he returned.

  “I don’t like to see them fighting. This town won’t survive without all of them united.” Rhia took a long drink from her cup.

  Beryl stared out the kitchen window, hoping to see the three of them walking down the street with smiles on their faces. It was a foolish hope—the kind of scene they might never see again. Her headache was beginning to recede and her nausea was gone, but she didn’t like the idea of trying to explain the parts of her past she’d remembered to her friend.

  “Rhia, do you think people can change? For the better?”

  “I think Berner’s proof that anyone can turn over a new leaf. What are all these demons doing here if that isn’t the case?”

  “I think…I think I wasn’t a wholesome person in the past. That I did bad things to get by. I don’t want to go back to that kind of life. I want to start fresh, but all this trouble in town makes me wonder if that’s possible.” She stared at the tabletop. “I don’t know if I deserve a second chance.”

  “Don’t say that. You’re my friend. We’ve stood together during a lot of bad times. You’ll always be like a sister to me.” Rhia leaned over and hugged her. “Nothing in the past matters anymore.”

  Grateful for Rhia’s support, she closed her eyes and returned the hug. “I’m not sure the future looks any better. If Eban leaves and Astaroth escapes, we might not have much of a future.”

  She knew she shouldn’t mention it since Rhia was newly wed and looking forward to making a life with Wystan, but the undeniable truth glared at Beryl.

  Rhia drew back and gave her a long, serious look. “Does Eban leaving have something more to do with feelings for him than worries about what a certain prince of Hell is up to?”

  “I don’t want him to go.” She drew in a deep breath. “I even offered myself to him, but he was too noble. It was dumb thing to do. I think I’ve been in love with him since the first day. He doesn’t see me like that. I wanted to die of embarrassment when I woke up this morning. He was typical Eban, taking care of me, but he never has the look in his eyes like he wants to be more than friends.”

  Rhia laughed. “There are plenty of worse places to wake up than Eban’s bed. He does care about you. It’s just a matter of getting him to see it. Sometimes men are too stubborn for their own good. Now, Sylvie’s going to start wondering where I am and she’ll irritate the Yues so much that they’ll never let her stay again. I want to show you what I got her in Santa Fe for her birthday.”

  “Her birthday party is still on for tomorrow?” Beryl hoped she wouldn’t wander off and have another night like the previous evening. It wouldn’t do to show up at Sylvie’s party with a splitting headache and smelling like a liquor den.

  “Unless Wys decides differently.” There was a note of worry in Rhia’s voice. She covered it with a smile. “Besides, I might have gotten you a present as a thank you for looking after the school while I was gone.”

  “You didn’t need to do that. They’re good kids, and I even had fun.” Except for the day she’d dismissed class early.

  “I wanted to. Come on, let’s go see and then I’ll release the Yues from Sylvie’s clutches.” Rhia rose and pulled Beryl along with her.

  Things had been strange since Rhia and Wystan left for their honeymoon and Beryl was relieved to have them back. Rhia’s bright, bubbly presence made everything seem less frightening.

  Eliakim wasn’t in sight as they exited the building. Maybe Wystan had demanded he go with them, or the angel had wandered away on his own. Between the three of them, she was sure they could get Eliakim to leave and whatever problem Eban had called him for would vanish with the Heckmaster brothers together again.

  Chapter Eight

  Eban folded his arms and met Wystan’s hard stare. The silence surging between them made his ears ring, but he kept his jaw clenched. Tell picked his teeth with the short silver knife he’d threatened Eban with the other night. He appeared unconcerned about the silence as he pulled the blade from his mouth and examined the tip.

  “I’m sure your reasons for summoning an angel were noble, but it was pretty damn stupid.” Wystan’s bowie knife lay on his desktop, sheathed in its timeworn leather case. Lost in the battle weeks ago, it had turned up again at the same time Seere brought Eban’s repaired blade back. “How do we know if we can trust him? Nothing we have here can banish him. He’d laugh in our faces if we threw a vial of holy water at him.”

  “Maybe we could focus on the fact that Beryl is still demon possessed? Eliakim is the least of our problems. If we don’t get Rosemar out of her head, Beryl isn’t going to be with us much longer.” He squeezed his fists, letting his fingernails dig into his palms. The physical pain was no match for the sadness he felt when he thought about losing her.

  Wystan rubbed his temples. “I’m thrilled that you’ve decided to save Beryl. She’s a great girl, Eb, but sometimes the other side wins. You know that.”

  Their sister’s name hung in the air, unspoken.

  “And I appreciate that you’re still glowing from your honeymoon, that everything is perfect in your world, but there are other people here too. Some of them deserve our complete attention. If Rosemar destroys Beryl, that’s letting the other side win. I realize neither of you cares about her, but I’m not allowing that thing to destroy her.”


  “Never mind that Seere could send you on a death mission because you just had to have that book.” Tell flicked the blade Eban’s direction. “We think it’s mighty fine you want to save humans, but we have to look at this on a bigger scale than the one you went and fell in love with.”

  Heat like the waves the Pit put off scorched Eban’s flesh. “I’m not—for God’s sake, it’s not about love. It’s about common decency.”

  Wystan was silently studying Tell.

  Tell shrugged. “Whatever you say.”

  “I’ll be damned,” Wystan muttered. “He doesn’t even know.”

  “I’m not—” Eban glared at them. “She’s my friend. I don’t care about her past, or how Rosemar got in her head. All I care about is getting her well and then leaving this rotten little hellhole. If that means taking her with me so neither of you can hurt her, so be it.”

  “It’s serious.” Tell waved the knife in a circle. “He’s completely gone, it just ain’t hit him yet.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Eban snapped.

  Wystan smirked. “Means you have a thick head.”

  Tell sobered. “We’d better figure out how to help him. If he realizes he’s in love with a woman who’s not going to last the year in her current condition, he’s liable to go full demon.”

  “Will you two stop talking about me like I’m not here?”

  Wystan rubbed his chin. “You’re right. Bad enough he wants to leave, we’d have to lock him up and throw away the key if he lost her.”

  “Enough,” Eban growled. “I’m not in love with Beryl.”

  “Seere won’t do anything, this Eliakim’s got no ideas. I don’t know what kind of options we have. Tie Rosemar up and threaten her until she breaks? She’s smarter than that and it’d rankle Seere to no end.” Tell tapped the blade against his leg. “Sad fact is, we might need Rosemar in a fight. She’s handy to have around.”

  “Never mind that. We can make do without her.” Wystan pulled a toothpick from his vest pocket and slipped it between his lips. “There’s got to be another road we can explore. Ars Notoria was useless. The rest of the Key isn’t going to tell us anything except how to raise more demons. We could always bring in a different consultant.”