Annette Marie [Steel & Stone Bind the Soul (epub)

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.Lyre handled the motorcycle as though he’d been riding his whole life.Deep in one of the worst neighborhoods of the city, he finally slowed and chose a secluded corner to park.Once he cut the engine, Piper could feel the deep bass thumping in her bones.Music.Really loud music.They had arrived.Bathed in a bright spotlight was a massive warehouse with double metal doors in the front.If not for the lights, the building would’ve blended right into the decrepit street.Lyre approached the doors with confidence, while Piper lagged behind, fighting a wave of dread.She didn’t exactly have good memories of the place.The Styx was a nightclub that celebrated inhibitions of all types.Piper’s last stopover had involved a lot of blood and pain, and somehow she doubted this visit would go any better.CHAPTER 2INSIDE the doors was a long, dim hallway guarded by a beefy daemon bouncer.Lyre offered whatever code word passed for “open sesame” and the guy waved them on.Piper grimaced when they reached the mask room.To free guests of all vestiges of self-control, all partakers had to wear identity-concealing masks.Lyre chose a black and silver mask.Piper picked a purple one with long tassels and a sulky expression that matched her camisole.Together, Lyre and Piper ventured into the club.Red light emanated from almost every surface, interspersed with flickering blue spotlights.Everything else was black.The effect was just as creepy and mysterious as she remembered.The music hammered at her, the beat frenzied and driving.It was early enough that the place wasn’t packed, but nearly a hundred people were already swaying and grinding on the dance floor.Scattered among them were a handful of daemons that hadn’t bothered to hide their inhuman nature.Daemons usually disguised themselves with glamour, but the regular rules didn’t apply at the Styx.The exact nature of glamour was a mystery to Piper.She’d been taught that it was a convincing illusion, but then she’d seen a six-foot-tall man drop his glamour to become a ten-foot-tall minotaur.No illusion could make a beast like that fit through doorways.She followed in Lyre’s wake as he cut a straight line toward the large bar at the back.While he talked up the bartender to wrangle them backstage passes, she watched the nearby dancers.Two girls wearing belts and fishnets and little else had gotten tangled together.A guy with a one-foot-tall Mohawk was trying to help without much success.Piper snorted when one of the girls smacked the guy in the head, knocking his mask half off.He was wearing more eyeliner than Piper.Lyre caught her eye and gestured for her to follow.With a growing sense of déjà vu, she followed him off the dance floor and into a businesslike hallway.At the end was a comfortable sitting room with posh furniture and dark, vaguely lascivious paintings on the walls.Piper’s steps slowed as she walked in and pushed up her mask.Last time, it had been her, Lyre, and Ash entering this room.Ash had negotiated the deal that had earned them the location of the Gaians, the group that had attacked the Consulate, unintentionally framing Piper for stealing the Sahar.“Well, well, well.” The voice drifted in from the hallway behind Piper.She turned and her mouth dropped open.The first time she’d met Lilith, the stunning woman—correction: stunning succubus—had been dressed like an innocent college freshman, all soft curves and childlike smiles.Tonight, Lilith looked anything but innocent.Her black leather corset barely covered her ample chest, and her matching miniskirt was so short it was almost nonexistent.The five-inch heels on her thigh-high boots looked like they should require a liability waiver to wear.Her blond hair was pulled back in a tight, sleek ponytail that made her cheekbones stand out in sculpted sharpness.Her makeup was dark, bold, and sultry.Lilith smiled cattily and tapped one blood-red fingernail against her matching lips as she eyed Piper’s outfit.“I can’t say I expected you back, Minx, my dear.In fact, I recall saying you were no longer welcome.”“My name is not Minx,” she replied flatly.The ridiculous nickname Lilith had given her when she’d fought in the illegal basement ring was as demeaning as it was stupid.“And I don’t remember you saying that.explicitly.”“Hi, Lilith,” Lyre said neutrally, coming up beside Piper.“How’ve you been?”“Fair enough,” Lilith said coolly.“Let’s skip the pleasantries.Why are you here?”Lyre gave a little shrug.“We need your help.”Lilith threw her head back in a harsh laugh.“Do you know how much money I lost the last time I helped you?”“We’re here about Ash.”Lilith’s sneer froze in place.She swept her ponytail off her shoulder and gestured abruptly.“Sit down then.”The three of them took seats on the sofas, Piper and Lyre across from Lilith.Piper watched the succubus closely, trying to interpret the shadowy thoughts sliding behind the woman’s eyes.The three of them stared silently, judging one another.“You know he’s missing,” Lyre finally said.“Do you know what’s happened to him?”Piper swallowed hard.Five weeks ago, after escaping the Gaians and barely surviving a choronzon attack, Ash had disappeared without a word.Two weeks ago, Lyre had discovered that Ash had gone into the Hades territory in the Underworld—just about the last place he should have gone.No one had seen him since.Lilith shrugged in response to Lyre’s question.“Why should I tell you anything?”“Because we’re Ash’s friends and we care about him.”“You, yes.” Lilith turned to Piper.“You.not as much.”“I’m his friend!”Lilith’s eyebrows rose.“Are you really?” she mocked.“And how long have you known him? I believe you spent a total of.five days with him?”Piper clenched her hands into fists [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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