I couldn’t read his thoughts, but I knew he was looking for her. Looking for Carly—
Snap!
Back on the sidewalk, I stared at Kraven who regarded me with confusion.
“Where did you just go?” he asked.
“Nowhere.”
His frown deepened. “You were here, but your mind wasn’t. Do you have more tricks up your sleeve that I don’t know about, sweetness?”
Panic filled me. I had to get to Crave now. “I need to stop him.”
The demon took a few steps closer to me, and his hard expression finally softened a fraction. “I know you think I’m the bad guy here, but I’m not.”
Great, now was the time he picked to get chatty. “You’re a demon. That’s bad.”
“Depends who I’m dealing with, really.” He blew out a breath, his attention staying fixed on me. “You really want to stop him, but getting kissed again is what he wants.”
“He doesn’t know what he wants. He’s crazy, remember?”
“He made his choice. You barging in is only going to complicate matters.”
“Tough. Because I’m going to barge. Now get the hell out of my way.”
He still didn’t move. Why would he? I wanted to stop Bishop from destroying himself. If I succeeded, Kraven wouldn’t get to be the leader and tell the others what to do.
It was night, so I assumed the others were patrolling the city right now. I hoped so, anyway. After seeing that zombie gray last night, I knew this city needed some serious protection.
“He doesn’t deserve your devotion,” Kraven said evenly.
“Why? Because he used to be a ‘bad guy’ when he was human?” I watched for something in Kraven’s eyes and succeeded in getting a spark of interest from the demon.
“Told you that, did he? Got to say, I’m shocked.”
This was only more confirmation, and it made my stomach churn. “What did he do? What did you do? Why are you a demon and he’s an angel?”
His lips stretched into a sinister smile. “Because he was willing to do what I never would.”
I could barely breathe. “And what’s that?”
His grin only grew wider. “It’s a secret, sweetness. And I’d never betray my little brother’s trust.”
My cheeks burned with frustration. “Please move.”
“Or what? You’ll zap me?”
“Maybe.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You know, I still haven’t figured out your secrets. You’re a complete enigma to me.”
“What do I have to do to get you to get out of my way?”
He cocked his head and glanced toward the street as another car drove past. I was so close to Crave, only two more blocks to go. His gaze tracked back to me. “Angels can heal while they’re here in the human world. They can also influence minds—get humans to change their behavior in subtle ways or think differently on a subject.”
“Why are you telling me this? I don’t care.” Still, my ears perked up.
“Sure you do. You’re fascinated by anything to do with my little brother.” He moved even closer to me. “Demons, we’re different, of course. We can throw a bit of fire around if we’re so inclined, but it’s a major energy drain here. We can’t mess with minds, though, apart from shielding small areas from a human’s senses. Too bad, mind-messing might make this easier.”
Kraven reached forward to brush my hair back over my shoulder and then slid his warm fingers down the side of my neck.
I swatted his hand away. “What do you think you’re doing?”
His eyes moved to mine again and his grin widened a little. “Maybe you don’t hate me as much as I thought you did. A slap’s not the same as a zap.”
“You have about three seconds before I do just that.”
“Uh-huh. Anyway, like I was saying, demons can’t influence minds. If I could, then I would stop you from chasing after him. So I’ll have to do this the old-fashioned way. I learned this little trick back when I was still human. It’s very helpful sometimes.”
He reached for my neck again and pressed hard. Before I could do anything to stop him, the world faded to black all around me.
* * *
I woke in an alley, staring up at the dark night sky. A raindrop splashed directly into my eye and I scrambled to get up off the damp ground, blinking hard and rubbing my face.
“Huh,” Kraven said. He leaned against the brick wall next to a Dumpster. “You weren’t out nearly as long as I thought you’d be.”
“How long?” my voice creaked out.
“A couple minutes.”
I staggered a little, feeling dizzy but mad enough to spit. Panic swept through me. “Why did you do that to me? Do you want to be the leader so bad that you have to knock me out to stop me from going after him?”
He shrugged. “It’s better if he’s gone.”
“How can you say that? He’s your brother. Don’t you care what happens to him?”
He cocked his head. “Sweetness, you really don’t know a thing about us if you’re asking me that question.”
Heartless bastard. I glared at him as I touched my throat. He’d cut off the blood to my brain to make me pass out like he was some pointy-eared character from Star Trek. Why had I let him get close enough to touch me? It wasn’t as if I even liked the jerk. He repulsed me.