“It’s wacky?” Reggie suggested. “Kooky? Bizarre? Not the normal way of things?”
“Any of those would do nicely.”
“Is that actually an ocean?” Reggie raised a paw to point.
Val looked. Past a row of colorful buildings she could see a sliver of shining blue water. And lots and lots of tall palm trees. There were a few multicolored umbrellas on the beach for the gathered sunbathers. And was that a . . . a hotdog cart?
“Definitely wacky.”
“Kate Beckinsale would fit in great in this Underworld,” Reggie said. “I’m thinking black bikini, Gucci sunglasses . . . me and a bottle of tanning lotion—”
“Enough already.”
“They should change the name, though. It’s more like Sunnyworld. Or Tanline-land. Yeah, that works.”
“I’m glad somebody’s having a good time so far.”
Nathaniel flicked his half-smoked cigarette against a nearby parked car. “Valerie, this is pointless. You need to release me from this ridiculous spell. Do so and I will help you find
Julian of my own free will. You know I’d do anything to help you out.”
“Yeah, right.”
“I’m quite serious,” he approached her and ran a warm hand down her back, she turned to look into his gray-blue eyes and immediately felt pleasantly woozy. He smiled. “Then we can discuss what’s really important.”
“Oh,” she said, but it came out a little breathy. “And what’s that?”
He stroked the blond hair off her face. “You and me.”
She put a hand against his chest to push him away but she felt like she couldn’t move.
Suddenly it was just the two of them, the only ones in the universe, and all she wanted to do was—
“Um, Val?” Reggie said into her ear. “What are you doing?”
She pulled her hand away from the demon as if she’d been burned. Then scowled deeply.
“Don’t do that.”
“Sorry,” Reggie said. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“No, not you.” She turned to Nathaniel and jabbed a finger at him. “You.”
He shrugged while looking amused. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Honestly. What you are, what you do makes me physically sick.”
“You didn’t seem so sick a moment ago.”
“Aren’t you ashamed?”
His smile fell. “Of what?”
“Of what you do. It’s disgusting. Nothing you say or do will work on me. As soon as I get what I’m after then I’ll release you from this spell. Not a moment sooner. So you’d do best to focus on that goal instead of trying to lie to me because it won’t work. I know what you are and I won’t be taken in. I’ll never give you what you want.”
“We’ll see about that.”
“Yes, I guess we will. Honestly, I can’t believe you’ve ever been successful at this before.
You’re so transparent. What do you get, anyhow? When you bring one of us in? Is there a reward? An employee bonus, maybe?”
The pleasantness had left his expression entirely, and his jaw clenched. “You are different. In an incredibly annoying way. They must have known how difficult you’d be when they assigned me to you.”
“Now,” Val continued, feeling a little flushed after her outburst, “I have a limited amount of time to find Julian, so you’d better hope he’s here. If we’re too late . . .” She trailed off.
“If we’re too late, what?”
“Forget it.”
“No, tell me. If it’s that big of a deal.”
She’d already said too much. The last thing she needed was another demon finding out about the key, especially Nathaniel.
“Well?” he prompted after a moment.
“The end of the world,” Reggie piped up. “If we don’t get the key it will be the end of the world. That’s it, isn’t it, Val? Sounds pretty damn important, if you ask me.”
Val glared at him. “Be quiet.”
“End of the world?” That had gotten Nathaniel’s full attention. “Isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration? What key did Julian steal, anyhow?”
If Nathaniel got his hands on the key she figured he might use it himself. Or he might use it as leverage to get Val to agree to come to Hell with him. No, she couldn’t let him find out that they were looking for the Key to Heaven. Not a chance.
“That’s none of your business,” she snapped, hoping the intensity of her words would cover up the fear underneath them. “You want me to tell you to shut up again? Because I can be guaranteed that you’ll actually do it.”
He studied her for a moment with a mix of disdain and what could have been a bit of curiosity. “That won’t be necessary. I don’t particularly care what this key is.”
“Good. So you were saying that you know where Julian might be?” Val glanced at a passing
Austin Mini that blared Beach Boys music from its large speakers.
“No. Though I do know someone who can tell us.”
“Really?” Her eyebrows went up.
“But I want something first. From you.”