Page 34 of Demon Unleashed

“Better.”

Enya looked at the camera that pointed at the entrance to the portal. It appeared the security system had already been hooked up, which meant Cinead would be alerted to their arrival. Having been in the house only a day earlier, Enya guided Winter through the cellar to the steps that led up to the first floor. In the foyer, Cinead was waiting for them. Two workmen were carrying a heavy painting covered in protective wrapping through the door into the home.

“Which way?” one of the men asked Cinead.

“Excuse me for a moment, Enya, Winter.” Cinead turned to the two men. “To the first landing on the main steps. Right there.” He pointed up the wide steps that made a turn halfway to the second floor.

“Okay,” the man replied, and he and his colleague headed toward the stairs.

Cinead turned back to his visitors. “Enya, Winter, so good to see you.”

“It’s been a while, Cinead.” Winter took his hand with both of hers and clasped it.

Cinead looked at her hands and then back at Winter’s face. “It’s bad, then?”

Winter motioned to the open door that led into the living area. “Shall we sit down?”

Cinead nodded. “Enya, would you?” He pointed to the two movers, and Enya understood. She was to watch them.

“Certainly. I’ll be out here.”

Cinead and Winter disappeared in the living room and closed the door behind them, leaving Enya to watch the workers grunt and puff as they heaved the heavy painting up the stairs and leaned it against the wall on the first landing. The older of the two pulled out a box cutter and started slicing open the cardboard wrapping.

Both men were human, but belonged to the Stealth Guardians’ network of trusted individuals. They’d been vetted extensively to make sure they didn’t have anything in their background that made them particularly vulnerable to the influence of demons. In addition, they were only given sufficient information to perform their duties, not more, not less.

Movers were always used only once to make sure they could disclose at most two Stealth Guardian locations, should the demons get their claws into them. Only items too large to fit into the portals were moved by humans. There were other security procedures too. Ever since the Stealth Guardians had allied themselves with Scanguards, a vampire would wipe the men’s minds of memories associated with the move. Computer geeks at the various compounds around the world—like Pearce—would do the rest to wipe out any electronic records.

When the two men finally freed the life-size painting from the wrapping that had protected it during its journey, Enya looked back up to the landing. The painting was of Cinead as a young man. His dark hair was unruly, his brown eyes piercing. They drew her to him, demanded she look at him, admire him. The magnetism that emanated from the man in the oil painting was palpable. Together with his deep voice, what woman would have been able to resist him back then? He reminded her of the man she hadn’t been able to resist. But she didn’t want to go down that path. Couldn’t. So she continued watching as the two movers mounted the painting on the hooks provided.

Cinead had truly been a handsome man in his younger years. Even now, he was virile and looked no older than a human man in his late fifties, when in reality he was several centuries old. And now truly alone. Would Enya end up just as alone?

Behind her, a door opened. She cast a look over her shoulder and saw Winter emerge from the living room. Her eyes were puffy. She’d been crying. She pulled the door shut behind her and met Enya’s eyes.

“We should leave. He needs to be alone,” Winter said, her voice laden with pain.

Enya nodded. “And the movers?”

“The council sent a guard—”

The sound of footfalls came from the corridor.

“There he is,” Winter said.

Enya recognized the young man who approached as a Stealth Guardian and nodded to him. “We’ll see ourselves out.”

A nod and a short greeting, and Enya led Winter back down into the basement. When they reached it, Enya squeezed Winter’s hand.

Winter forced a smile, but it was one of sorrow.

“How did he take the death of his son?” Enya asked.

Winter’s eyes widened. “Death?” She shook her head.

Enya stopped in her tracks. “But… uh, Logan said it was bad news, and you also—”

“He’s not dead. It’s much worse. Cinead’s son is a demon.”

Enya’s heart stopped beating. She felt as if choking on the air she couldn’t expel. Before her eyes, everything became blurry, as if she was being whirled around her own axis. But then everything came back, clearer than before.

The baby picture, a small oil painting, which showed Cinead’s son lying naked on his belly. The painter had captured the birthmark in the shape of an axe on the baby’s bottom.

The painting depicting Cinead as a young man, who shared features with another man in Enya’s life. How had she not seen this before? How could she have been so blind when the signs had been there all along?

She stopped and turned to Winter. “I just remembered I forgot something upstairs. I’ll be back in a second.” Not waiting for Winter to respond, Enya walked toward the stairs and, once out of Winter’s line of sight, made herself invisible.