Midnight’s Master (Midnight #3)(60)
Author: Cynthia Eden

Niol led the other demons into her office. Emily followed at a slower pace, her mind whirling.

The teen sat on the edge of her couch, his hands clenched before him. The older demon-had to be his father, they looked just alike-stood by his shoulder, rocking nervously back and forth on his heels.

Niol didn’t sit this time. "Tell me, Doctor Drake…"

Now he was being formal?

"Have you ever heard of a demon getting the Dark Touch?"

Her heart slammed into her ribs. The Dark Touch.

A demon with the Touch was cursed to only pick up the psychic touch of the evil in the world.

Killers, ra**sts-they all called to the dark demons.

They called and insanity and death followed.

"It first hits at puberty," Niol said. "When a demon’s powers begin to develop."

She’d heard that.

"It gets worse as the demon ages. The voices get louder-"

The teen flinched. His eyes were down, boring a hole into the floor.

"Some drugs quiet ’em, for a time. Others just make them scream louder."

The father had his lips pressed together. His eyes stayed up, on her.

Help him. It was in the man’s eyes.

She glanced at Niol. And in his.

A bead of sweat trickled down between her shoulder blades. She wouldn’t give false hope. The kid would deserve better than that. "Niol, I’m not sure-"

"I am." Absolutely certain. "You can keep a level-ten demon out of your head, you can-"

"Myles was a level-nine," she told him. Niol should know that. He didn’t make mistakes-

"I’m not." Black eyes held her. "And you can keep me out without even trying these days."

These days.

It had been a test. One long-ass test.

"Teach him how to block, Dr. Drake. Teach Ken how to keep the voices out and the darkness at bay."

The boy looked up, blinking.

Emily stared at him. His eyes…demon black, but familiar.

Because she’d seen that stark fear before. The wild horror that insanity was close.

She’d looked like that, years ago. Every time she’d glanced in a mirror, she’d seen the same thing.

A firm nod. "Right." She reached for her pad and motioned for the door. No audience was allowed. Niol knew the rules, of that she had no doubt. "Ken, my name is Emily Drake, and I-I’m going to help you." She would help him.

And the others she suspected Niol would be bringing her way.

Niol inclined his head and walked quietly toward the door.

When the door shut, Emily forgot him and turned her attention to Ken.

And the darkness around him. A darkness that was very different from that she sensed around Niol. Because this darkness, maybe she could fight it.

CHAPTER 16

Two car wrecks. A bank robbery. And a shooting in the suburbs.

It had really been one bitch of a day. Holly rolled her shoulders, more than ready to leave the station and head home.

Or to Niol’s-because she needed to see him.

How bad was that?

A knock sounded on her door. Her new door. She’d demanded a new office and gotten one.

Granted, it was small and she knew it had been the storage closet until oh-about six hours ago, but she wouldn’t complain.

Holly glanced up and found Mac standing in her doorway. "What’s up?" She asked cautiously, half afraid the guy would send her out to cover another story.

Not tonight.

His eyes narrowed. "We need to talk, Storm."

Great.

She motioned to the one chair across from her desk. No room for more.

He shut the door and marched over.

He didn’t take the seat. "How long you known about ’em?"

She blinked. The lines on Mac’s face looked deeper tonight. His hair a bit grayer. "What are you talking about?" With Mac, it could be any-

"The damn f**king demons, Storm. How. Long?"

Her jaw dropped.

"It was that ass**le who got torched in the alley, wasn’t it?" He shot at her. "Always knew there was more to the case. Figured you had to know after that, especially when you hooked up with Niol." Mac shook his head. " Christ, Niol? Were you just looking for the toughest ass**le you could find?"

In a way, yeah, she had been.

Holly considered her options, fast.

Okay, she didn’t have many and Mac was glaring at her like-

"Knew Niol was a demon the first time I saw him."

How?

"Are…you a demon?" That would make sense, but-

"Hell, no." His shoulders stiffened. "Human. One hundred percent human."

She couldn’t say the same. "Then how did you-"

"I saw my first demon back in ‘Nam. He’d taken a hit, dead center in his chest." His chin lifted.

"Knew there wasn’t anything I could do. I was a medic with piss little training and I was in a f**king jungle with gunfire all around me." He sucked in a breath. "Told the kid he wasn’t alone, thought it would help him. Then he turned his head and looked at me-"

She knew where this was going. At a time like that, the glamour-

"His eyes were black. Never seen anything like it before." A pause. Thick. "But I sure as hell have since."

She didn’t look away from him. Did he know her own secret?

"More people than you realize know about the demons." His hands were fisted. Big fists, now that she noticed them. "And not all humans are happy about the paranormals."

Not a newsflash.

The small office felt even, well, smaller. The desk separated them, but Mac’s gaze seemed to bore into her.

"Some folks think demons should be wiped off the earth."

She’d always liked Mac and his no-nonsense attitude. Always thought he was smart. Tough as nails.

But, dammit, had that just been a threat? "Some folks don’t understand this world we live in very well." Her voice was even. Impressive, that. "Demons aren’t evil-"

"They’re not all evil."

"Just like humans!" She fired back.

He nodded. "Thought that would be the case with you. Specially after I heard about your new boyfriend."

What in the hell was happening?

He leaned over her desk. Stabbed a finger toward her. "Stay on your guard, Storm. You might be safe, but Niol will always attract trouble."

Then he turned around and stalked out and Holly stared after him, still not sure…

Had Mac been threatening her, or trying to warn her?

The storm that had loomed since noon finally unleashed its pounding fury just as Holly ran for Niol’s front door. She’d gone to him, headed straight for his house, when she’d finally slipped out of the station just after the last broadcast.