“I told you, I don’t want…”

“This is relevant,” Lucifer cut in. “You want to know how to defeat the vampires, yes?”

“Yes,” I said cautiously.

“You need to finish what you began with Nathaniel, and the solution will be revealed,” Lucifer said.

“I’m not going to bang Nathaniel for your amusement,” I said.

“Nobody said anything about ‘banging,’” Lucifer said. “But if that’s your preferred method, then who am I to argue?”

“I’m not discussing this with you anymore,” I muttered. “Are you saying that once Nathaniel comes fully into his power, he will be able to get rid of the vampires?”

“No. I am saying the solution will be revealed to you,” Lucifer said.

“Why can you not just help me?” I shouted in frustration.

“If I did, then my enemies would descend on you like ravening wolves,” Lucifer said seriously. “You need to demonstrate that you are capable and strong, that you do not require my assistance.”

“Haven’t I done that already, over and over and over again?” I said, my anger draining away and leaving exhaustion behind. “When do I get something out of this relationship besides misery?”

“I have offered numerous times to make you my heir and you have refused,” Lucifer said.

“Yeah, that doesn’t really seem like a gift to me,” I said.

“But it is,” Lucifer said. “If you were my heir, you would also have the benefit of my protection. Those who seek to destroy you or your child would be subject to my retribution.”

“So you’re saying that this blood relation confers all the disadvantages and none of the benefits unless I am recognized officially?” I said.

“In a manner of speaking, yes.”

It was tempting. Oh, so tempting. It would be a blessing to throw off the weight of responsibility, to live a day without feeling hunted. But on further examination, that apple Lucifer held out to me looked a lot more like a cage. Temptation was his first and best skill.

“Thanks, but no thanks.”

“I can wait,” Lucifer said easily. “I think my offer will appeal to you sooner or later.”

“Keep dreaming.”

Lucifer smiled in a way that made me nervous. “Now that we have answered your question, it is time for my request.”

“You don’t make requests,” I said. “And I’m not feeling inclined to help you.”

“Too bad you do not have a choice,” Lucifer said, and he didn’t sound as though it was too bad for me at all. He sounded like he was quite enjoying himself. “You can either carry out my task under your own power, or you can do it under the compulsion of the Hound of the Hunt. And believe me, you will not be able to resist that compulsion. If I order you, then you must obey.”

Lucifer looked triumphant. He’d boxed me in again. A part of me had been expecting this ever since Lucifer had made me the Hound.

“What is it that you want me to do?” I asked, knowing the answer, dreading the words.

“I want you to fetch Evangeline and my son from the land of the dead and return them to me, of course.”

15

“NO,” I SAID AUTOMATICALLY. “NO, I WON’T DO THAT.”

“I told you, you haven’t a choice,” Lucifer said silkily.

“I don’t even know how to get to the land of the dead,” I said desperately.

“You’re an Agent of Death,” Lucifer said. “The ways are within you, even if you are not aware of them.”

“I’m not an Agent anymore,” I said.

“Once an Agent, always an Agent,” Lucifer said. “The Agency can give nothing to you nor take anything. It is all within you.”

“I don’t even have wings,” I said. “Why don’t you do it?”

“I am not permitted,” Lucifer said.

“I’m not, either. The Retrievers will come for me for sure,” I said.

“You have more flexibility than I,” Lucifer said. “The one rule that neither I nor my brothers will break is this.”

“But you are breaking it. You’re just sending me to do your dirty work.”

“The letter of the law will be honored,” Lucifer said. “I will not leave my son in that dead place.”

“You should have thought of that before you got busy with Evangeline,” I said. “You’re putting my child, Gabriel’s child, at risk.”

“I will allow you the time you need to deal with the vampires,” Lucifer said. “And then you will go.”

“No,” I said.

“You will go, by my word or your own,” he said. “And I know you well enough that I think you would prefer not to be under the compulsion of the Hound.”

“I hate you,” I said.

“Of course you do,” he replied, and then he disappeared.

I stood there on the empty street, fighting back tears, trying to pull myself together. There was no way I could tell anyone else about this.

J.B. would never let me defy the Agency so openly. Despite everything that had happened between the Agency and myself, he still had a strong belief in the system. He still believed that there was an order to the universe that could not be undone. I had seen enough of Lucifer’s machinations to know that this wasn’t true.

I sucked in a heaving breath and wiped my cheeks dry. Crying wasn’t going to solve my problems. I walked slowly back toward the house, dreading the moment when I’d have to explain to everyone else that I had no idea how we were going to get rid of the vampire infestation.

“Madeline Black!”

I turned around, surprised to hear someone calling my name. In the middle of the street were three teenage boys that I hadn’t noticed earlier. Had they been there while I was talking to Lucifer? They were all skinny and had scraggly pubescent beards. The boys carried a variety of weapons that looked like they might be handy for killing vampires—swords and crossbows and stakes. Where had they gotten all those things from?

“Yeah?” I said.

The boy in the center leveled a crossbow at me. He had a red bandanna tied around his head like he was a refugee from an ’80s action film. “You’re coming with us.”

I couldn’t help it. I laughed.

All three boys scowled at me.

“We’re taking you to the Vampire Authority station,” Red Bandanna said. “Don’t make us hurt you.”

I’d completely forgotten about Therion’s stupid message. Now these boys had somehow managed to find me and were intent on collecting the bounty on my head.

“Listen, kid, you can’t take me anywhere I don’t want to go,” I said, trying not to be angry.

They were just humans. Little humans who lived in a city that I had nearly killed myself trying to protect. If the ungrateful little shits knew what I had done for them, to protect them and their families and others like them, they wouldn’t be standing there threatening my life.

One of the other boys also raised his crossbow in a menacing fashion. “You have three seconds to agree or else we shoot. One…”

I blasted nightfire at his crossbow and the weapon burst into blue flames. The kid screamed and dropped the bow, holding on to his hand. The skin on his palm was blackened and peeling. I’d never seen the effects of nightfire on a human before. Was I really prepared to kill some boys whose only sin was stupidity? Maybe Beezle was right. Maybe I was going dark side.

My anger drained out of me suddenly, leaving me exhausted. “Get out of here before I get mad,” I said.

The other two stared at me with mouths agape while the third boy turned and ran.

“Go,” I repeated.

The other two followed, dropping their weapons on the ground in their haste to escape.

I dragged myself down the street, up the stairs and into my apartment, anticipating the expectant glances of my friends.

Instead, no one was there except Nathaniel. He looked grim. He held a piece of paper in one hand and he stared at it as if he hoped his gaze would set it on fire. He had removed his coat and shoes and rolled up his sleeves.

“Where’s everyone else?” I said, putting my sword on the side table and taking off my wet boots.

“Beezle, Samiel and Chloe are downstairs. I believe Samiel and Chloe are…reuniting,” Nathaniel said delicately. “The gargoyle said something about a video game. J.B. and Jude have gone to the Agency.”

“To the Agency? Why? J.B. shouldn’t be going to the Agency. He should be recovering,” I said.

“He went to deal with this,” Nathaniel said, thrusting the paper at me.

It was an ordinary piece of printer paper with the Agency’s seal at the top. The message below was brief.

Dear Ms. Black,

It has come to our attention that at 2:29 pm today you passed beyond the Door. This is your second offense. As a former Agent, you are well aware of the consequences should you continue to defy the Agency.

This is your final warning.

Sokolov

I was so angry I could hardly see. I ripped the paper into a bunch of tiny pieces, threw them on the floor, jumped on them several times, picked up the pieces again, smashed them in a ball and then set them on fire in the palm of my hand. The paper went up in a whoosh of smoke and ash.

“Madeline, calm yourself,” Nathaniel said.

“Don’t tell me to calm down. There are people dying all over this city. Soon they’ll be dying all over the country. And all they care about is a violation of their precious rules,” I spat. “Sokolov doesn’t care that we’re in the middle of the goddamned apocalypse.”

Deprived of the proxy of the Agency’s letter, I went to the hutch in the dining room and pulled out a wineglass. I threw it at the wall with all the force I could muster. It shattered into a very satisfying kajillion pieces, but I still didn’t feel better. I wanted to find Sokolov and pound his smug little face until his features were unrecognizable.