Page 40 of Oracles Always Win

Thewomen all squealed and took a step away from us.

Jakestaggered.Hiseyes rolled back in his head again and his whole body went limp.Iswept him into my arms before he fell.

“You.”Ipointed at the brownie. “What’syour name?”

“Vanessa,” she said.Hereyes didn’t meet mine, but that wasn’t anything knew.Mostweaker supes avoided making eye contact with a demon.

“Vanessa, you are responsible for gatheringJake’ssupplies and getting them back to his place.”Iglanced at the paintingJakehad just finished.Iwanted to take it with me, butIdidn’t thinkIcould manage it andJaketoo without the paint being rubbed or smeared.Themessage from the oracle was too important.Andif what he’d painted was true, then we needed to make sure this vision was safe so we could study it for clues.Ishould have setJakedown and protected the painting, but that wasn’t going to happen.Icould blame it on my demonic nature’s fixation on him, but it didn’t change the facts.Nothingwould stop me from protectingJakeabove all else. “Andthat painting.Makesure it is handled with care and protected.”

Thewoman nodded. “Yes, my lord.”

Mylord.Ifrowned.Suchan old-fashioned way to address one of my kind.Thewholelord of darknessreputation had always rubbed me the wrong way.

“CallmeGage,”Icorrected her.

Herhead bobbed.

“WheredoesJakelive?”Isuspected he stayed at the inn, butIneeded confirmation beforeIstarted wandering all overWillowLakewith the unconscious oracle in my arms.

“Atthe inn, my lord.Hehas a room on the second floor.”

Isighed.Clearly, she wasn’t going to stop thatmy lordbusiness likeIwanted.Jakemoaned in my arms.

“Donot fail me,”Isaid to the brownie, pushing a bit of my power into the words.

Sheshuddered under my threat.Ialmost hated myself for it, but this was too important.Sheand everyone there needed to understand the severity of the situation.

ThenIopened a portal and stepped through it and into the pub.SinceI’dspent the most time there the night before, it was the easiest place to form the portal connection.I’dexpected my magic to protest being used without a deal in place, but it didn’t.Thatwas curious.Ipushed out my magic to check my surroundings.Thepub and the inn were empty; not even the cat was there.Thedoor leading into the inn was propped open, andIcarriedJakethrough it and into the foyer.Ihadn’t been shownJake’sroom the night before, butIsuspected it was the roomI’dseen him exiting the day before.Iclimbed up the stairs toward the door, hopingIwas right.

Sureenough, asIentered the hallway, the scent of paint tickled my nose.I’dcaught the scent briefly yesterday too,Irealized now.Ijust hadn’t understood the significance at the time.

Thedoor toJake’sroom was locked, but few things could keep out a demon.Anold metal lock was not one of them.Ilet magic flow from my fingers.Thelock clicked.Thedoorknob turned in my hand and the door swung open.Istepped inside just asJake’seyes shot open.Hisgaze darted frantically around.Hegasped when he saw me and then again when he saw where he was.Hewiggled and struggled in my arms.

“No, stop,” he cried out. “Don’tlook.”

Butit was already too late.Igaped at the dozens of black-and-white images around the room.Icouldn’t believe whatIwas seeing, especially when more than half of them were of me.

Chapter Sixteen

JAKE

“Ohno,”Imoaned.Iwanted to curl up and hide, maybe move to another place far, far away.LikeSouthAfricaorBorneo.Okay.Ihad no idea whereBorneowas, but it had to be better than being here.

Ireeked of puke and my clothes were wet.Thosetwo ideas together made me feel queasy all over again.Ididn’t usually puke on myself, even whenIwasn’t aware of whatIwas doing.Yep, today was an extra special kind of day.Howfucking wonderful.

Gagewas cradling me like an overwrought damsel in distress as he carried me deeper into my room, where he’d see all my crazy paintings.Untillast night, the paintings had been at least partially hidden, butI’dpulled them all out before going to sleep, including the ones under my bed, andIhadn’t put them away yet.

Noone ever came into my room, not even my grandfather’s creepy cat.SoIhadn’t worried about it.Whata colossal fucking mistake that had been.

Whydid this have to happen today?

AsGagegently lowered me to my messy bed, my eyes caught on the guy’s clothes.Theywere wet and…

“Ohno,”Imoaned again. “Ipuked on you, didn’tI?Iam so sorry.”

Itdidn’t matter how much he’d flirted with me yesterday, my plan of askingGageout for coffee ormoredied right then and there.Alittle gravestone marked the place where that idea used to live in my head.

“Areyou okay?”Gagesmoothed back my sweaty hair where it was plastered to my forehead. “Wouldyou like a shower?Ican wait here to make sure you’re okay.”