I did both, more to be able to watch Gabriel in action than to stay safe. It didn’t take him much time to deal with the few remaining police officers in the hallways, and by the time we emerged at the front of the station, Tipene and Maata had cleared the rest of the way.

‘‘Magoth!’’ shrieked Sally with joy, in her haste to get to him trampling a poor policewoman who lay prone on the floor. ‘‘I told you we’d get you out!’’

‘‘Really? I don’t remember that,’’ he said, stopping to give her a disbelieving look.

Gabriel shoved him toward the front door, handily knocking aside a policeman who had wandered in the entrance.

‘‘Well . . . I would have said it if I’d thought of it at the time,’’ Sally admitted, dashing after them as Gabriel hustled Magoth out the door. He paused to look back for me.

There were enough lights on to make me visible, although I knew it would still be hard to see me. ‘‘I’m right here; don’t stop,’’ I told him.

He nodded and proceeded, our little group on his heels as he fought his way out onto the street. We attracted little attention once we had escaped the confines of the police station, and made it to the car quickly enough. I deshadowed but didn’t relax until Tipene had clamped his foot on the accelerator, maneuvering with great skill around the wild Parisian drivers.

‘‘So you’re saying you lied to me?’’ Magoth asked Sally, continuing his conversation.

She smiled brightly. ‘‘As a matter of fact, yes.’’

He pursed his lips ever so slightly, his eyelids dropping to give her a seductive look. ‘‘Perhaps I was a little hasty in sending you to my sweet May. Any woman who would lie to a demon lord clearly has depths.’’

‘‘Oh, I have many attributes,’’ Sally answered, adopting a modest expression. ‘‘I always cheat at cards, I take every opportunity to use others for my own ends, and I make the most divine three-bean salad. I’m absolutely perfect for the job of demon lord, don’t you think?’’

‘‘Such depths certainly deserve to be plumbed,’’ Magoth answered with a leer.

I scooted closer to Gabriel, grateful the limousine he’d rented had enough room to allow Magoth and Sally to conduct their flirtation without being pressed up against me.

‘‘Gabriel,’’ I started to say, but stopped when Sally said brightly, ‘‘Are we going to have an orgy? I’d like to recommend Gabriel join us.’’

‘‘There will be no orgy with Gabriel,’’ I said, glaring at her.

She gave me a hurt look. ‘‘Sugar, selfishness is very unbecoming.’’

‘‘I am not being selfish. Gabriel is my mate, not yours,’’ I said, scooting over closer to him, clamping my hand down on his leg in a show of possession.

‘‘But you have Magoth and Gabriel, and you want to keep them both to yourself! If that’s not selfishness, well, I just don’t know what is!’’

I opened my mouth to argue that I didn’t want Magoth at all, but decided that there were far more important things to address. ‘‘Do you think there will be any repercussion with the police about Magoth?’’ I asked Gabriel.

His fingers twined through mine where they lay on his leg. ‘‘I doubt it. They may have our names, but they pose no real danger to us. We will be able to avoid them without too much trouble. You have nothing to fear on that front.’’

His last sentence hung in the air with an unfinished sense to it that sent a little shiver of foreboding down my back.

Chapter Nineteen

‘‘I have a bad feeling about this,’’ I said, frowning at the being that stood before us.

The demon made a face. ‘‘This was your idea, luv, not mine, so if you don’t need me, you can just send me back. I’ve got things to do, people to torment, you savvy?’’

‘‘Someone has been watching far too much Pirates of the Caribbean.’’ Noelle, the Guardian Gabriel had called to summon a demon for us, stood on the far side of the living room, also giving the demon a jaded look. She was a pretty, cheerful redhead, a friend of Aisling’s mentor, Nora. She’d summoned a demon for us quickly and with minimal fuss, keeping good control over it.

Valac the demon preened as we all eyed it. I had to admit that Noelle had a point—the demon looked as if it had been an extra in the movie, clad in leather boots, swashbuckling coat, sash, and tricorn hat, which sat atop ratty, nasty dreadlocks.

‘‘That said, I think perhaps you may be right, May,’’ Noelle continued. ‘‘Going to see Bael yourself sounds like a pretty bad choice. Magoth is one thing, but Bael . . . I just can’t say I recommend that.’’

‘‘It may be bad choice, but it’s really our only option now that Magoth has done a bunk.’’ I looked at Gabriel. He stood to the side, arms crossed as he watched me, his face unreadable. The dragon shard wanted me to leap on him, but I ignored the fires that threatened to burst out and thought instead of what I’d like to do to Magoth. ‘‘That bastard.’’

‘‘He’s still bound by blood to you,’’ Noelle said, glancing at my forehead, where the blood mark still remained, and would continue to remain until his oath was fulfilled. ‘‘You could call him and he’d have to respond.’’

‘‘We tried that. He was so obnoxious, we figured we’re better off without him.’’

‘‘Ah. That’s not good,’’ she agreed.

‘‘Even Sally wasn’t helpful—she just suggested we steal Chuan Ren back, and somehow, I don’t relish that idea.’’

Noelle gave a delicate shudder. ‘‘No, I agree with you there.’’

‘‘So all in all, we’re better off without Magoth. Besides, he took Sally with him, and frankly, it’s worth losing the dubious amount of help he’d give us just to get both of them off our backs.’’ I took a deep breath and steeled myself for what was coming. ‘‘Ready, Gabriel?’’

He wrapped an arm around my waist, the warmth of his nearness sinking deep into my bones. ‘‘Let’s get this over with.’’

The dragon-heart shard wanted to make a fuss, so I nodded to Noelle. ‘‘Do it.’’