The beaded curtain whipped to the side and she saw Alexa standing there with a wild look on her face.
“Valerie! Please. You have to help. You can’t let him have it.”
“Have what?”
She raised her clenched fist and opened it to reveal a small, golden key. She met Val’s gaze and shook her head. “This is all my fault. All of it. Protect Barty. Help him. Do whatever it takes to—”
There was another cracking sound. Alexa jerked forward and her eyes widened. Flames gathered at her feet, and slowly moved up her body. It was kind of like when Nathaniel chose to make his dramatic exit, only slower and somehow much, much scarier.
“No.” Alexa turned to look at whatever was behind her. “You backstabbing bastard. I won’t let you do this—”
But then the flames picked up speed and engulfed her. Val heard her scream; a loud, piercing, painful sound that was abruptly cut off. The key fell to the ground and came to rest in the middle of a circle of black ash. Alexa was gone.
Val couldn’t believe what she’d just witnessed. She’d heard stories of what it was like, but to see a demon vanquished—destroyed in front of her eyes, reduced to nothing but ash—chilled her right to the bone.
But who was responsible? Or what?
She looked up, eyes wide, as the curtain parted before her.
Val didn’t recognize him. He was medium height, thin, with blond hair and hollow cheeks.
Vivid blue eyes. He wore black leather pants and a tight blue shirt that showed off his sleekly toned upper body. He stared at her for a moment before a smile spread across his painfully handsome features—a cold, thin smile that froze her inside as fire lit up his eyes.
Another demon, she thought as fear washed over her.
The blond demon crouched down to pick up the golden key and brought it to his lips to blow off the bits of ash. Bits of Alexa. Then he rose to his feet.
Val didn’t move, couldn’t move, but her heart beat against her ribcage like a trapped animal.
He raised an eyebrow. “Valerie, right?”
She opened her mouth but nothing came out.
He held the key between his thumb and middle finger. “Do you know what this is?”
Val swallowed hard. “A key.”
“Such a small word, isn’t it? For such an important thing?” He grinned. “That Alexa, quite the wily one. Didn’t make even a mention that she had something so precious in her possession.
And to give it to her little fallen angel boyfriend. Cute, isn’t it? Love certainly works in mysterious ways.”
“Who are you? What do you want?”
His grin widened. “Well, isn’t that sweet of you to ask. My name is Julian. And I just got what I wanted.”
“You’re a demon.”
He looked down at himself. “Does it show?”
Val glanced at Alexa’s ashes and felt anger rise inside her. “Only in that you’re obviously evil and heartless.”
He mock pouted. “You wound me.”
“I’d like to.” The tremor in her voice didn’t give her words as much impact as she would have liked.
He licked his lips and studied her for a moment. “I think I like you. No wonder Nathaniel wishes to keep you all for himself.”
That gave her a chill. “You know Nathaniel?”
He grimaced at the name. “Unfortunately. I wonder what he’ll say when he learns what I’ve done to you. Knowing him as I do, he may be relieved you’ve been taken off his hands.”
Her breath caught and she took a step back, clutching her notebook to her chest.
Julian cocked his head to one side, staring at the little book. In a motion quicker than she could see, he snatched it away from her. “What’s this?”
“Nothing. Give it back.”
He flipped through the pages and laughed. “Isn’t that adorable. How long has Nathaniel left you to your own devices that you’ve been able to make such extensively useless notes about your former home?”
Tears stung her eyes. “Give that back to me or I swear I’ll . . . I’ll . . .”
“You’ll what?” He raised an eyebrow and extended the book to her. She reached out to grab it just as it exploded into flame, a small fireball in the palm of Julian’s hand that, when gone, left no trace of the book behind. “You’ll do nothing, that’s what you’ll do. You’re powerless against me, fallen one. Never forget that.”
Her notebook. He destroyed it. Everything she knew about Heaven, every detail she could remember . . . gone.
“How . . . how could you?”
Julian seemed terribly amused at her shock. “How could I? Because it pleased me, that’s why.
Now it pleases me to do the same to you. I so enjoy playing with fallen angels. It’s sort of my hobby.”
He took a step toward her just as she heard a loud crash. Julian frowned and turned around.
Barlow stood behind him holding the remnants of a flower vase that he’d just used to bash the demon over the head.
“You vanquished Alexa,” Barlow managed, his voice was filled with raw pain.
“Yes, I did,” Julian said. “She would have been destroyed for her crimes eventually, anyhow.
Giving a fallen one the Key to Heaven? Such a stupid, insipid creature, she was. And really, old man. You thought hitting me over the head was going to do what, exactly? I’m a demon.”
“Run, Valerie,” Barlow yelled before he slipped back into the living room.
Julian turned to her. “Just a moment, pretty one. I’ll be right back.” He leisurely moved through the beaded curtain.
Val followed and pushed the curtain aside. Barlow had grabbed a lead-crystal ashtray and backed up until he was against the wall next to the TV. Julian just looked at him, half bored, half amused.