Steadfast

But then he wasn’t alone.

“Sorry, am I intruding?” Asa smiled as he leaned against the same bit of driftwood. “I suppose you can barely hear me over all the noise.”

The music stopped. So did the waves, which remained midcurl, seafoam frozen in place like carved alabaster. Mateo yanked his earbuds out as he shifted away from the demon. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Just dropped by, figured we could bitch about Elizabeth, do each other’s nails, make cookies—wait. No. That’s girl bonding, isn’t it? Sometimes I get it mixed up. No gender roles in hell, torment and anguish being more or less universal. So what do we do to be manly and brutish? Smash beer cans against our foreheads? Watch NASCAR? Crochet? What?”

Mateo decided to stay calm. The demon wasn’t going to kill him, obviously. He would have done it long before tonight if that were his only goal. “What do you want?”

“It’s more a question of what you want. You need answers, Mateo. I can give them to you.”

“Like I’d trust anything you had to say.”

“You should.” Asa stretched his arms out across the driftwood, apparently enjoying himself. “You strike me as someone who’s already seen the darker side of life. That is, you’ve seen the truth. I’m here to talk man-to-man. If I were you, I’d take advantage of the opportunity.”

It couldn’t be that simple, obviously. This all had to be some kind of a trick. But Mateo figured—okay, he wouldn’t do anything Asa suggested he should do. He’d just listen to what the guy had to say. Then he could go over it all with Nadia later, and they’d figure out what Asa had been up to for real. They could turn Asa’s words against him.

Keeping it casual, Mateo said, “There’s one thing I’ve been wondering about.”

“Ask away.”

“Why can’t I see that you’re a demon? I’m a Steadfast. I see all kinds of magic, everywhere around town. Old spells. Sources of power. Elizabeth’s true form—though she’s changed since Halloween.”

“Indeed she has. Elizabeth’s not quite the woman she used to be,” Asa said as he picked up Mateo’s phone and started scrolling through the music library. “But, to answer your question, you can’t see the truth about me in part because I can’t see the truth about you. A Steadfast’s identity is hidden from demons; even when I was in the demonic realm, and I knew Nadia had taken a Steadfast, I had no idea it was you. And no wonder, of course. A male Steadfast? Bizarre. Anyway, part of the magic that hides a Steadfast from demons also hides demons from a Steadfast. It puts a curtain between us. A veil. Blocks vision in both directions.”

Was that true? It sounded like it could be. Maybe that was something there was no point in lying about. Asa might be a source of useful information—at least, once you weeded out the lies. Mateo tried again. “What do you mean, Elizabeth’s not the woman she used to be?”

“Before Halloween, she was effectively immortal. Now she’s not.”

“. . . She’s not?” But Elizabeth had lived for centuries. Her power was almost limitless—wasn’t it?

Maybe not. Maybe not.

Seemingly oblivious to Mateo’s reaction, Asa continued, “Elizabeth Pike can die just like any other human being now. Which makes killing her a lot easier, by the way. Not easy, of course. She’s still got four hundred years’ worth of magic on her side. But easier! Now, let’s see. What have you got on this music iPod . . . thing? I admit I’m out of touch after a few centuries in hell.”

“Give me that.” Mateo yanked back his phone; it was warm to the touch, like he’d left it in his dad’s car on a blazing summer day. Asa shrugged.

Elizabeth could die. She could die just like any other person. Like Mom, and all the other people she’d made suffer.

Asa could have been lying, but Mateo didn’t think so. He’d seen the change in Elizabeth for himself. The magic around her was no longer so dramatic, so blinding. She’d lost some kind of power, and if that was immortality—it made a whole lot of sense.

“I know that look.” Asa smiled. “Someone’s thinking about revenge.”

“I never said—”

“Didn’t have to. I’m a demon. I can smell vengeance. Literally, I mean. It’s a little like blood. Metallic. Sharp on the tongue.” Asa turned toward Mateo, all pretense of ease gone. The intensity of his gaze made it impossible to look away. “You want Elizabeth dead? So do I. My boss, also known as the One Beneath, will triumph with or without her. I’d prefer ‘without her.’ Want to hear more?”

“You’re screwing with my head.”

“Of course I am. I’m a demon. But that doesn’t mean I’m not telling you the truth. Nothing screws people up worse than the truth.”

It’s probably all bullshit, Mateo thought. But maybe it’s not, and the part about Elizabeth being mortal again is definitely true. “Yeah. I want to hear more.”

Asa slid a little closer. The heat from him flickered across Mateo’s skin, as though he were standing near a bonfire. “Obviously, Nadia wants to defeat Elizabeth through magic, to undo her spells or counteract them with spells of her own. She’s a witch. Witches are trained to think that way. But Elizabeth’s magic can’t do her one damn bit of good if she’s dead. If you want to stop her, I suggest a more direct approach. Stop worrying about whatever Elizabeth is or isn’t trying to accomplish. Start thinking about how to take her out.”