The Warlock Who Hungered for a Demon (4 page)

Rhys had to get used to the thought and save their friendship before it

was too late.

“There’s nothing to apologize for,” he answered. “I overreacted. I

admit I’m a bit edgy since I haven’t fed properly. But I promise I’m

going to do it.”

It was a mystery as to how he was going to do that. Masturbation

just didn’t suffice, and while incubi could temporarily live off other

people’s emotions, the vicarious satisfaction couldn’t provide what

they needed to survive on a long-term basis.

Noah sighed. “Please don’t make promises you won’t be able to

keep. I know you already, and I realize what’s going on. I just don’t

want you hurt.”

There was so much earnestness in Noah’s voice, so much

yearning, that Rhys almost reached for him again. It was only because

Rhys felt his father approach that he managed to hold his instincts in

check.

He turned toward the door just as the older incubus stepped inside.

“Oh, there you are. And Noah’s here, too. Good, good.”

“What is it, Father?” Rhys inquired, praying his parent wouldn’t

approach the topic they’d discussed earlier.

Thankfully, the other man didn’t seem inclined to talk about

Rhys’s private matters right now. While he did throw a gaze full of

meaning in Noah’s direction, he didn’t make any comment regarding

Rhys’s feeding habits. Instead, he offered Rhys a piece of paper. On

it, there was a time, a name, and an address.

The address was unknown to Rhys, an obscure area in New York,

but the name struck a chord. Elden Lee. God, was his father serious?

“You want me to see Elden?” he asked incredulously.

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Scarlet Hyacinth

His father nodded. “You know you’re the only one he trusts from

our side of the family. I had the hardest time to even get him to tell

me anything at all.”

“He’s the one who told you about the demons being behind the

whole thing,” Rhys guessed.

The other incubus nodded. “He did, but our conversation was very

brief. You know how he is. I managed to reach him again, and he

refused to speak to me beyond giving me that address and demanding

your presence.”

“You knew he’d ask for me.” Rhys rubbed his eyes tiredly. “All

right, Father. I should probably be heading out if I’m going to make it

in time.”

“Before you do, memorize the contents of the paper and destroy it.

And for fuck’s sake, feed. You look like hell.”

Turning toward Noah, he added, “Olympia tells me you offered to

aid Rhys in this mission. It won’t be easy. Are you sure you’re up for

it?”

“Yes, sir,” Noah answered. “I’m up for anything.”

“Very well, then. Take good care of my son here because he

certainly hasn’t been doing a very good job on his own.”

The words held a clear undertone of innuendo, which Noah

couldn’t have missed. Rhys winced. He’d reached a whole new level

of low if his father was now trying to arrange his hookups.

“Right. And on that note, Noah and I really need to be off,” he

said hastily. “Thank you very much for your concern, Father. We’ll

be leaving now.”

Fortunately, the older man didn’t keep them, and Rhys was

allowed to drag Noah off. As they left, Rhys wondered just how much

running he would be doing from now on. It just seemed like these

days, he kept hiding and denying himself what he truly needed. But

he didn’t have any other choice.

“Noah, we should pack and head out,” he told the warlock. “We

don’t have too much time, and Elden has always been…capricious.”

The Warlock Who Hungered for a Demon

25

“Who exactly is he anyway?” Noah inquired.

Rhys sighed. “One of my numerous brothers. I’ll explain on the

way.”

* * * *

Noah sipped his coffee and looked at the clock on the wall. Rhys

had been gone a long time now, far too long for Noah’s comfort. Rhys

had told him that meeting with Elden was perfectly safe—usually—

and that truly didn’t make Noah feel any better.

Apparently, Elden was another brother of Rhys’s, with whom

Rhys didn’t have that much contact as with Alexis and Chantay. Due

to the natural promiscuity of incubi, family trees were very intricate,

often leading to two perfect strangers being in some way related. It

made Noah’s head ache just at thinking about it, but it was useful in

this particular instance. While Elden was Abbott Whitaker’s son, like

Rhys and Alexis, this was not well known, which was why he’d

managed to find out some information Rhys wouldn’t have been able

to gather on his own.

Even so, Noah didn’t know and didn’t trust the guy, and with each

second that passed, he ached to abandon this stupid coffee shop and

find Rhys. Noah’s magic was perfectly attuned to Rhys’s, so he could

trace the incubus in his sleep. But for the moment, Noah’s instincts

told him nothing had gone wrong, and if Noah burst into Rhys’s

meeting with Elden, he might destroy the only chance they had to

learn who was behind the plot with the Yamamotos.

He was so lost in his thoughts he nearly jumped when his phone

suddenly rang. Noah extracted it from his pocket, surprised when he

saw Rhys’s name on the display. Immediately, he took the call and

opened his mouth to ask.

Rhys stopped him before he could utter one word. “Come

outside,” Rhys said, and without allowing Noah to answer, he hung

up.

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Scarlet Hyacinth

Startled, Noah pocketed his phone and abandoned his coffee.

Placing a bill on the table to pay for his barely touched beverage, he

left the shop and headed down the street. Rhys was supposed to meet

Elden in one of the alleyways in the area, and Noah gathered the

incubus wanted him to meet them there.

His guess was proven correct when Noah peeked into the alley in

question and found Rhys waiting there, together with a blond

stranger. When the blond looked at Noah, Noah saw the man had the

same dark eyes Rhys did.
So this must be Elden.

Elden smirked at Noah. “See, I told my father to specifically have

Rhys come alone.” Turning his back on Rhys, he practically glided to

Noah’s side. “Apparently, he failed to mention that since you came

with Rhys, but for a hunk like you, I’m willing to make an

exception.”

While Elden was gorgeous in his own right, his presence didn’t

rouse Noah’s instincts and desires like Rhys’s did. Perhaps under

normal circumstances, Noah would have pursued a simple night of

pleasure with the incubus, gratifying for them both. As it was, fucking

Rhys’s brother was completely out of the question.

Nevertheless, Rhys couldn’t have missed the flirtation and the

very dim spark of attraction inside Noah. He glowered at Noah and

Elden and said, “We didn’t come here to be teased, Elden. Just say

what you have to say and don’t waste our time.”

Elden arched a brow at Rhys. “Oh, someone’s testy. Fine, I get the

hint.” Leaning against the wall, he sobered and added, “Back to

business. As I told Father, I found out something you might want to

know about this recent vampire attack.”

“Do you know what particular breed of demon is behind it?” Noah

asked without preamble.

“I’m not one hundred percent sure. I was quite preoccupied as I

was overhearing this, and while I can multitask as well as any

incubus, it’s a little hard to focus when you have a cock in your mouth

and another in your ass. Or was it two? I can’t remember.”

The Warlock Who Hungered for a Demon

27

If Elden wanted to shock Noah, it didn’t really work. Instead,

Noah found himself imagining how Rhys would have looked in that

position, and from that thought, his mind progressed to how Rhys’s

ass would take Noah’s cock. Crap. He shouldn’t be thinking about

this, not right now, and definitely not around two incubus brothers.

Elden snickered. “It looks like the idea appeals to your friend,

dear brother,” he told Rhys.

“Keep your mind on what matters,” Rhys said snappishly. “So, I

gather you were at one of your orgies and you overheard something.”

“Indeed. There was an imp, I think, talking to a fiend, and the

fiend was boasting about it. I don’t think anyone paid too much

attention. You know how sex parties are. That sort of thing happens

all the time. I wouldn’t have noticed it either, except I recalled the

name of the vampire from one of the conversations I had with

Father.”

“So are the fiends the ones involved?” Rhys inquired.

“I honestly can’t tell you more. I’d have tried to approach the guy

in question, but—”

“Don’t,” Rhys stopped him. “You and I both know incubi don’t

make a pleasant mix with fiends or ghouls.”

Elden grimaced, the only clear sign of discomfort and displeasure

he’d shown so far. “Quite. I have an address for the imp in question,

though. Perhaps you can get more out of him.”

He passed Rhys a piece of paper, and Rhys quickly scanned it

before destroying it. Apparently, it was an incubus thing. As it turned

out, the two demons had a reason to be jumpy. All of a sudden, Noah

felt a dark, approaching presence, lingering at the back of his mind,

reminding him of his father, only worse.

“We need to go. Now.”

Elden’s eyes widened as he paled, but Rhys didn’t even blink. He

grabbed Elden’s hand and dragged him to the other end of the alley,

with Noah bringing up the rear. They leapt over a fence and ran back

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Scarlet Hyacinth

out into the street, hoping that being in a crowd of humans would

keep their enemies from attacking.

It didn’t work. Demons didn’t have such sensibilities, and even as

Noah and his companions struggled to get away, the building behind

them exploded, the blaze so intense and sudden it could have only

been caused by magic.

The strength of the blast sent Noah falling to the ground, but he

had enough presence of mind to cast a quick shielding spell that

protected him and the incubi from the flying debris. The surrounding

humans weren’t so lucky. Screams sounded all around Noah as people

fell, struck by the projectiles and burnt by the intense heat coming

from the area.

The concentration it took for Noah to keep the spell up was giving

him a headache, and he cursed to himself. He couldn’t let Rhys see

this, and he couldn’t disappoint the incubus. Above all else, he needed

to keep Rhys safe. In the end, it was why he had stayed, in spite of

knowing nothing could come of the feelings between them.

Gritting his teeth, Noah shot to his feet and helped the incubi up.

“Come on. Hurry. We need to get out of here before whoever is

coming gets to us.”

Rhys and Elden didn’t need to be told twice. Noah didn’t dare to

go back to the car they’d used to come here, so instead, he ran toward

the subway. The agitation of the people increased more and more, and

Noah trusted that not even the demons would brave killing hundreds

of humans for a couple of paranormals lost in their midst.

In that respect, at least, Noah and the incubi were in luck. While

they did hear several other blasts behind them, they reached the

subway with no incident. The panic made people confused, as some

of them seemed to think this must be some sort of terrorist attack.

Nonetheless, a fair number of persons, Noah, Rhys, and Elden

included, got inside a train, which soon departed, taking them far

away from the dangerous area.

The Warlock Who Hungered for a Demon

29

“I think it’s safe to say someone followed you, Elden,” Rhys

whispered once they seemed safe. “It seems they might have guessed

you were paying attention after all.”

“Ah, fuck. This is what I get for sticking my nose into other

people’s business. The things I do for family.” Elden threw a glance

Noah’s way. “Just so you know, I expect a reward for this.”

Noah ignored Elden. Even if they’d escaped whoever had been

after them, he couldn’t help but remain tense. He suspected that had

only been a warning, and if Rhys kept digging into this, he might get

seriously hurt. But no matter what he had to do, Noah wouldn’t let

that happen. Whether Rhys knew it or now, Noah loved him, and he’d

do anything in his power to protect the incubus.

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Scarlet Hyacinth

That night