Page 11 of Demon's Desire
NICO
Nico leftOnyx outside Rowan’s and caught a rideshare home. Was Onyx booking his own car or flying back to the gallery?
Nico hadn’t seen his wings the night the demons had dropped off Harper and Ollie before going to the Realm of the Damned. He hadn’t even gotten a good look at Ash or Dante’s, too distracted by Onyx’s fury.
Would Nico see any of the demons in their full forms again? They were private enough that he doubted it. Especially Onyx.
A twinge of disappointment cut through him. Why should he care? He was relieved the meeting was over and to be away from Onyx’s biting remarks. He’d had enough for one day.
Nico lived around the corner from The Herb Emporium, in the Banks by the river. The car dropped him in front of his apartment building, and he detoured to the coffee shop on the corner. Nico was wiped out, despite having achieved so little, and he wasn’t looking forward to getting in touch with the Lockwood Coven.
After ordering a double espresso, he sat at a table outside. Itwould have been smarter to skip the bourbon, but he’d needed to take the edge off.
Now that Onyx was gone, Nico didn’t feel so… He couldn’t put his finger on it. He hadn’t been on edge exactly, more like his reactions were heightened, making him hyperaware. Usually, no one got under his skin, but Nico was still thinking about Onyx’s unwillingness to be polite.
Onyx’s abrasiveness was impossible to ignore, practically begging for Nico to smooth it out.
He scrubbed a hand over his face. Fuck. It was probably best to stay away from the pretty demon. He was likely a challenge Nico didn’t need, no matter how tempting it was to decipher what was behind his prickliness.
Draining the last of his coffee, Nico went home. He lived on the second story of a small apartment building, and sure enough, the smell of spices filled the hall between his and Lucia’s doors.
Nico’s smile died as he pulled his keys from his pocket and noticed his door wasn’t closed. It was open the tiniest crack. There was no way he’d left it this way.
He pocketed the keys and called on his magic, reaching out for the protective spell he’d placed on the apartment.
The protection was gone.
It had been a basic spell, not linked to intruder alarms he could sense from afar, but it would have taken a decent effort to break.
The hairs on the back of Nico’s neck stood as he slowly pushed the door open. Nothing was visible from the entryway but the coats hanging on the hook by the door.
Before he stepped in and rounded the corner, he sent a quick spell ahead. Any living being should register, as long as they weren’t cloaked. It was better than scanning for magic, in case the intruder was suppressing theirs.
The spell detected nothing.
Nico crept forward, pulse thumping. He was careful not to step on the squeaky floorboards and left the door slightly ajar.
He turned into the open-plan living and kitchen area. It was empty, but fuck, the place was trashed.
The furniture was upended, papers and books strewn all over the floor. His PlayStation was tipped on its side, and games were thrown across the room. Nico’s face flushed in anger. The rug was crumpled in a corner, a vase of dried flowers smashed, his food taken from the pantry and scattered on the countertops, spilling onto the ground.
He turned from the mess and inched toward his bedroom. The door was open, and no one was visible inside. Nico slipped into the equally trashed space. His clothes were everywhere, drawers pulled out of his dresser, mattress askew, and curtains ripped from the wall fastenings.
The bathroom was a mess, but also empty. Whoever had been here was gone.
Nico returned to the front door and closed and locked it. He had to recast his protections.
Fuck.
Who could have done this? His electronics were possibly broken but still here, so this wasn’t about taking easy-to-sell valuables. The intruder seemed to have been looking for something, but what? Something small?
Nico would have to go through everything to see if anything less obvious than the TV had been taken, but he couldn’t think of anything that would attract this kind of attention. He didn’t have rare magical artifacts or anything worth a great value.
Robbing The Herb Emporium would’ve made more sense. The stock was easy to resell, some items were powerfully enchanted, and he had cash on hand. Dammit, he’d have to check the shop.
Nico slumped against the door. He didn’t need this.
After a long moment, he straightened and went across the hall, knocking on his neighbor’s door.
