Love Croakies by Sam Cheever (the kiss of deception read online .txt) 📕

tender age and relished the sense of “family” she had with the other dragon.

They were good for each other.

“In your defense,” Sebille offered, handing him another cup of tea and joining us at the table. “Those things would have startled anybody into shifting.” She jerked her chin toward our two captives.

We all looked at the two cherubs, whose mouths wouldn’t fully close around the terrifying rows of their lethal triangular teeth. Up close, they didn’t resemble babies at all. Their features were too sharp, and their gazes much too cold. Mercifully, they were still both unconscious. Grym had lined them up near the door and was currently out on the street talking on his cell phone to his team. Grym’s small team specialized in paranormal crime and criminals. Each of them had a magical form of their own.

“What are those things?” Rustin asked.

I sighed. “I’m not sure what they are, but I’m afraid I know why they are.” I told them what Crotchety Cupid had told me.

Sebille shook her head. “Grym was beside himself when he came back and discovered you missing. He blamed himself.”

“That’s ridiculous. None of us saw it coming.”

She shrugged.

I thought about what she’d said. “He came back?”

She snorted. “To apologize for not warning you about the ogres.” Her eyes sparkled. Clearly, she didn’t feel the need to apologize.

I narrowed my gaze on her.

The front doorbell jangled and Lea came inside, carrying a book. “I found your mean, flying babies.” She indicated the thick, leather-bound tome in her hands. “They’re not cupids, though they look like the cherubic version human mythology has created. They’re actually demonic in nature. Their genus is Cupidea Amoris Demonica.” She pointed at the long horns jutting from the blond curls in the picture. Despite the horns and the horrible maws filled with nasty teeth, the little creatures looked just like the cherubs of human myth. “They vary slightly. One thing they all have in common is a genetic makeup that’s weighted more heavily toward their war god side.”

I held up a hand. “Wait. I’m confused. They’re not actually cupids, but they have Ares’ genetics?”

She nodded. “Lots of creatures share different gods’ genetics. Those guys were a randy bunch. They weren’t too particular about where they passed their DNA.”

“Ugh!” Sebille said, wrinkling her nose. “Okay, so they’re demons. Where did they come from and why are they here?”

“Good questions,” Lea said, closing the book.

“I told you I saw dozens of those things in Loveland,” I reminded Sebille. “Cranky…er…Lovelace said they were the result of the missing serum. He seemed to think the end of the world was nigh if we didn’t find the serum and stop them.”

“Finding the serum is a given,” Rustin said. “But how will that stop them?”

“No idea,” I admitted. “But first things first. We have several mysteries to solve.” I held up a finger. “Who took it?” A second finger joined the first. “How did they get it?” A third finger lifted. “Where did they take it, and…” I extended the last finger. “What are they planning on doing with it? Besides sending diaper-clad, flying nasties our way.”

The front door opened, the bell jangling to announce Grym’s entrance. Two burly men who hadn’t been there before walked in behind him.

I waved at Brad Spence. “You again!” I said with a grin.

Spence shrugged. “You need to stop following me around,” he teased.

The second cop was a man I’d met briefly over a magically frozen Naga. The enormous snake came straight out of the pages of mythology. Our friend Devard, who owned the vapery and apartments across the street, had been forced into the Naga form when we’d inadvertently created a leak in a magical vortex that allowed monsters into our world.

Don’t ask. It was a mess.

I didn’t know the second cop’s name. But I remembered that he’d shifted into a demon.

I joined the three men as they stood over our two captives, discussing what to do with them. Extending my hand to the demon, I gave him a smile. “Hi. I don’t think we’ve formally met.”

Grym placed a hand on the small of my back. It was a possessive gesture, and it made me all warm and gooey inside. “Naida, this is Nick Black. Nick, this is the Keeper of the Artifacts, Naida Griffith.”

Nick took my hand, giving it a firm squeeze. His black eyes were serious, but his manner was relaxed. “It’s a pleasure,” he told me. Nick jerked his head toward the prisoners. “These guys are from the eighth circle of Hades. If they’ve been let loose, something ugly’s about to happen.”

I grimaced. His words didn’t surprise me, but they tightened the knot in my stomach. “Yeah, that’s what we were just talking about.”

“Does this have something to do with that guy who abducted you earlier?” Grym asked.

I realized he and I hadn’t had a chance to talk about that since I’d gotten back. First the battle and Rustin’s surprising magical mishap, and then Grym had been dealing with the prisoners while I’d been helping Rustin recover. “Probably,” I responded. “If not him directly, then maybe someone close to him.” I gave them the short version of what Lovelace had told me.

Nick nodded. “That makes sense. You know that serum is ancient, right? It’s been the cause of dozens of wars and millions of deaths throughout Millennia. If it’s out there in the wrong hands, we could be looking at a cataclysmic event.”

“Any idea who would want to steal it?”

“Anybody who likes to create chaos,” Nick answered. He studied the two prisoners. “And that includes just about anyone in the demonic realm.”

Slug snot! The last thing I needed was a suspect list as long as a dimension.

“Lovelace said something about his brother,” I said hopefully.

Nick made a face. “Yeah. These guys use that term kind of loosely.”

“These guys?” I asked.

“Demi-gods. You are aware that many of them have roots in the demonic realm?”

I hadn’t been, but it made sense after what Lea had told us. “My understanding is