Steadfast

No. No more. Elizabeth could not glimpse this in him—this unbidden, overwhelming feeling that smoldered within at the very thought of Verlaine. That would be an excuse for further tortures, and this time, Verlaine might be made to suffer with him.

Besides, he’d just seen Mateo walking along the other side of the street, which meant he had work to do.

Asa strode across the street, ignoring traffic; horns honked, but naturally everyone braked to make way. At the sound of the horns, Mateo glanced over, then looked wary. He was learning.

“You seem to be in a good mood for a man under siege,” Asa said as he fell into step beside Mateo. “I would imagine you’ve got a bit of time off. Maybe that’s why you’re so cheery.”

“Time off?” Mateo stopped walking when they reached the ATM at the corner. He took out his wallet, then gave Asa a look.

“What, you’re afraid I’ll look at your PIN?”

“Like you wouldn’t.”

“It’s three-four-nine-eight,” Asa said, casually readjusting his scarf.

“. . . How did you know that?”

“Demon. And yes, I figure you’ve got some time off, as La Catrina can’t possibly stay in business like this.”

“We’ve got another couple of days.” Mateo at least had enough sense to go on with his withdrawal, punching the keys almost without looking. “Though tonight we’re only going to be able to serve tamales de pollo, and tomorrow—maybe just piña coladas; I don’t know.”

“I should imagine people feel like getting drunk,” Asa said amiably. “And my, what a lot of cash you’re taking out. Curious thing to do, at a time and place when you can purchase virtually nothing.”

Mateo stepped closer, and though he was a few inches shorter than Asa, and only a human, he managed to be threatening anyway. “Stay out of this.”

“Someone’s leaving town.” Asa leaned in even nearer, until he could whisper and still be heard. “Someone’s running far, far away, and I don’t think it’s you.”

“If you tell Elizabeth one word about this—”

“You’ll be as powerless as you are right now.” Asa leaned against the edge of the cash machine. “Besides, when will you understand? I hate Elizabeth even more than you do. If Nadia’s little excursion works against Elizabeth’s will—well, I’d offer to drive if I didn’t have hell’s legions to serve, not to mention that medieval history test next week. Study buddies, you and me? Up for a late-night cram session?”

For a moment, Mateo looked so angry that Asa wondered if he’d be struck. “You leave Nadia alone,” he said. “I swear to God, if you get in her way, I’ll find a way to hurt you. And don’t tell me there’s not a way. If there weren’t, Elizabeth wouldn’t have you doing her bidding, would she?”

With difficulty, Asa kept his smile on his face, but he could tell by the satisfaction in Mateo’s gaze that he’d glimpsed Asa’s anger, and his helplessness.

One of the ironies of being a demon was that you were infected with all the pride of hell just as you were humbled for eternity. That didn’t mean Asa couldn’t teach Mateo a lesson.

“Nadia’s leaving town,” Asa said. “Obviously she thinks she can learn something damaging about Elizabeth that way.”

Mateo didn’t speak. He wanted to contradict Asa, though; that much was clear in his poorly disguised smile. So Nadia was going after the mother, then . . . and they hadn’t yet guessed what ammunition that could give them against Elizabeth. No need to enlighten them, either. Asa had something better in mind.

So he continued, “So, Nadia’s going to talk to her mother. The mother known for deals with darkness.”

That broke through the silence. “What do you know about it?”

Asa held up his hands in the time-out symbol. “Very little, and there’s even less I could do about it. But remember what I told you about Nadia wanting power. Right now she wants it for all the right reasons, but how long will that be true?”

Mateo shook his head. “You don’t know her.”

“I know humanity. Better than knowing individuals any day. Saves time, at any rate.” He continued, “Ask yourself this, Mateo—if Nadia does what it takes to defeat Elizabeth, if she becomes what she’d have to be to bring a Sorceress down, then will she still be the girl you fell in love with? She might come back to you, but will she come back as someone you’d still love, or someone you’d fear?”

With that, Asa turned to go. For a moment he thought Mateo might follow him, but he didn’t. The damage was done.

Mateo drove Nadia out on the back road himself, just after midnight. The barricades were up there, too, but without any streetlights or businesses around, they at least had darkness on their side. Once they went as far as Mateo thought safe, they shut off the motorcycle and walked it off the road, into the woods.

Nadia’s backpack was slung over her shoulders, the straps pressing deep into the down jacket she wore. Her thick, black hair was in a loose knot at the nape of her neck, and her cheeks were so reddened by the chill that he could see the flush clearly despite the scanty moonlight. She looked not at him, but at the far-off checkpoint blocking the road. At this distance the barricades and vehicles were just dark shadows, nothing more.

“What did you tell your dad?” he asked.