Page 5 of The Demon's Fire
But their real business remained hidden in the shadows. It was so secret that any MI6 agent would have sold the World War II enigma machine to expose it. Their special agents monitored Aeternals with legitimate financial interests on Earth. They also assisted in the capture of breeds who crossed illegally.
As CLO, Skyler oversaw the entire Legal Division of the Alliance but focused her own efforts on inter-realm trade agreements, making Scath businesses pass for human enterprises, and serving as liaison between her offices and the board of directors.
Because Earth clients had no idea they were trading with entities from another realm, Skyler made the fairytale real. She provided each Scath company with a registered name, address, staffed storefront, websites, business licenses, patents if appropriate, or whatever else they needed to run a legitimate organization.
So, yes. The Alliance has secrets.
“I don’t like their use of the phrase ‘out-of-this-world.’” Anna tapped a nervous foot.
Cal straightened, smoothing the lapels of his navy-blue suit. “Could be accidental. It’s a common expression. Skyler, do you think they know about your accident today?”
She shrugged.
“It could be a joke. The newer agents are always pranking each other,” said Anna. The other three gave her disbelieving stares. “Okay, unlikely. And none of the guys would prank you, boss.”
“I agree. It’s not a practical joke, but Cal could be right.” Skyler was unsure how much she should explain about her accident this morning.Surely, the e-mail and her incident were unrelated.For now, she would let the office believe she had stumbled from the platform. “Anna, get Sarah to monitor TheBigReveal’s communications. See if she can trace the sender. Wait for the password. We need to know if this is a hoax or the real thing.”
“What about telling the board?” asked Cal.
“Not yet. We will if they pose an actual threat. If this is it, we’ll ignore them. Contact the other divisions, though. Find out if they received a similar message.”
Chapter Two
Scath, Present Day
Disbelief short-circuited Kole’s brain. For a sec. Then his massive body exploded from the chair like lava from a volcano. Pressing his palms hard against his desktop, he leaned toward High Commander Cadmon, his mouth curled into a menacing snarl. “Hell no!” Flames shot from his fingertips. “I’m a soldier, not a fucking social director. Besides, I don’t much like Earthers.”
Seated in front of Kole’s desk, Cadmon steepled his fingers as if waiting for a misbehaving child to calm down. “No one else is available. Commander Jarek is tracking the human sex slaves from Cerberus’s operation. Commander Nace in North Shelters is ass-deep chasing a pack of drug-dealing shifters. You’re it. You will not only escort Chief Maxwell to Scath, but you will also be a tour guide.”
He and Cadmon were not alone in the office. Bounty, Kole’s secretary, or as she reminded him, his executive assistant, sat with her long legs crossed, her eyes ping-ponging between the two males. The blonde, big-breasted, narrow-hipped vampire out-drank, out-cussed, and out-arm wrestled Kole’s legendary Firebrands who kept peace in this violent realm. A few secretly admitted they feared her. But she happened to be one helluva secretary.
Executive assistant.
Bounty had followed Cadmon into the office, obviously appointing herself as Kole’s babysitter to make sure he didn’t fry his boss. That meant she had advanced intel as to the meeting’s subject. Or he had to add psychic to her list of skills.No.She had a direct line to Cadmon’s secretary.Damn. Executive assistant.After living nearly four hundred years, he had difficulty keeping current on the lingo.
Kole, using his mountainous wall of pure muscle to intimidate, looked down on Cadmon, the cucumber-cool ylve. He inhaled, expanding his chest beyond its normal size. By nature, animus demons were hot-tempered. Lucky Kole got an extra dose of pissed-off at birth. Sane Aeternals feared him. Everyone but his boss. The guy had balls of steel. Fireproof nuts.
The high commander’s lids lowered while he tugged on a sleeve of his uniform.
Instead of punching something or setting it ablaze, Kole glanced at Bounty. She cocked her head, arched a brow, and scowled.
Message received.Enough said.
“I’ll assign Chay. He’s perfect, amiable, easy on the eyes. Young. Pleasant.” Kole resumed sitting behind his desk, his jaw clenched tight, his teeth on the verge of cracking.
“No. That will not do. I have planned a series of events for this newly appointed CLO’s visit—meetings with dignitaries from the Aeternal societies, galas, ceremonies, the works. Someone high-profile will be the escort. You’re my choice. You will not slough this job off on an inexperienced warrior.”
Kole shot up again, angry flames sparking on the tips of his fingers.
Cadmon rose to confront his warrior’s fiery gaze with the threatening-but-calm demeanor only an ylve radiated. “You said it. You are a soldier. Soldiers follow orders. As your commander, I am giving you a direct order.”
Though large for his breed, Cadmon was a cruiserweight beside Kole, but he wore authority like an old comfortable jacket. For centuries, he had been a skilled fighter. He also had created the longbow. Rumor was, he gave the yew-staffed weapon to William the Conqueror, who armed his men with similar bows before the Battle of Hastings, bringing about a decisive victory in 1066 against the forces of the Anglo-Saxon King Harold.
The Scion Firebrands lost a great warrior when Cadmon became high commander. To do their job, to protect the realm from the most violent Aeternals among them, they needed boots on the ground. Still, he was the perfect choice to lead them since he was as politically astute as he was handy with a longbow.
“Coffee anyone?” asked Bounty, not usually the let-me-serve-you type.
Both males said, “No,” their eyeballs locked in a showdown.
