The Demon's Song by Kendra Leigh Castle Page A

of him, along with a spoon.
    Chagrined, Phenex took one of the packets and the spoon, then set his mug on the coffee
     table to doctor it.
    Sofia tossed the other packet on the table and headed for the love seat, apparently
     unwilling to get too close. For now. Phenex eyed the extra sugar packet, considered,
     then decided that now was a lousy time to develop a sense of shame. So he dumped that
     one in his cup, too, stirred it, and took a sip. The sweet, smoky taste was soothing,
     despite the fact that he didn’t particularly want to be soothed.
    Sofia watched him silently with those catlike green eyes, drinking her own coffee.
     He ignored her, mostly, until she got tired of it and spoke.
    “So you really think you’re just going to stay here until this Justin figures out
     who’s messing with his clientele?” She still didn’t sound like she could quite believe
     it, and she sure as hell didn’t like it.
    “I don’t think I’m staying here,” Phenex replied. “I am staying here. You need a bodyguard until this network of vamps, if that’s what they
     are, is taken care of. They know who you are, remember? That one I grabbed in the
     parking lot wasn’t waiting for you just to talk, I promise.”
    She frowned and looked away, giving Phenex another opportunity to stare. She was more
     mouthwatering in scrubs and a ponytail than he had previously believed might be possible.
     Everything about her, including his reaction to her, was unexpected.
    And because he could be honest with himself, if no one else, Phenex knew that was
     one of the main reasons he was sitting here. In an eternity of sameness, she was,
     for some reason, different.
    “Even if they saw me, I’m no threat. That’s what I don’t understand. I’m just a human
     who was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Sofia said. “If I had some secret insider
     knowledge, I would have done something about it by now.”
    The forlorn note in her voice tugged at him. Phenex tried to shake it off. “One, these
     vampires are outside of Justin’s purview. They don’t accept him as king. They don’t
     follow rules, and they don’t care about peaceful coexistence. Two, they don’t know
     what you heard, what Sara might have said to you. You might know something as simple
     as a name you shouldn’t. They’d consider that too much. Three, they enjoy killing,
     so it’s not like they need much of an excuse.”
    “So you followed me around until one of them tried,” she said.
    “Didn’t take long. I told you, you made excellent bait.”
    Her eyes narrowed. “Yay for me. Did you at least find something out?”
    Phenex considered her. Normally, he would have refused to say. But these rogue vamps
     weren’t going to leave her alone regardless of what she did or didn’t know. Terra
     Noctem was off-limits in conversation, because staying hidden, staying little more
     than an obscure myth, was key to its survival. But as far as the vampires, why not?
     They weren’t his kind. If she wanted to get pissed and turn vampire hunter eventually, it was just
     less work for him in the long run.
    “Interrogating him isn’t my job,” Phenex finally answered. “I passed him off to one
     of my brothers, which is how I got here before you did. Your admirer is now sitting
     in a cell…elsewhere. He’ll talk. Most renegade vamps don’t amount to much when you
     get them alone and start hurting them.”
    She winced, ever so slightly. Compassion, Phenex decided, was her weak spot. It disgusted
     him less in her than most, but he still didn’t understand such sentiment for those
     so unworthy of it.
    “Don’t feel bad for him, Sofia. He would have had a lot of fun killing you.”
    “Oh, I know,” she replied, a frown creasing her forehead as she stared into her coffee.
     “I just… Hurting people in general doesn’t really appeal to me. I’m a nurse, remember?”
    “Then you probably hurt people all the time,” Phenex said, amused by the dirty