Demon Lord 4: White Jade Reaper Read Online Free Page B

turned from the desk and headed for the double doors.  The look I gave him did enough.  His eyes had widened and sweat had dripped down his face as he took a step back.  That happens when you see below my surface to the waiting abyss.
    Grace widened her stride to catch up.  “I can watch out for me just fine.  I get way too much protection as it is.  Mom’s bad enough.  Dad’s even worse.”
    I couldn’t find anything on him. I hoped Grace felt talkative; information is power.  “Your Dad…?” 
    She shrugged as I opened the door for her.  “Dad’s pure trouble.  Thinks he’s entitled to make decisions for everybody in the known and unknown universe.  Mom hid my birth from him for years, trying to keep me safe and give me a choice of futures.  Dad’s a real tyrant.  He needs firm handling, Fenn, too.”
    Fenn, that name’s familiar. Ah, yes, I remember… “He’s the feral human at that think-tank you once went to.  Raised by wolves, or something.”  We crossed the parking lot toward the second line of cars.  Twilight lay over the area, thinned by the streetlights coming on.  Several of the restaurants that were accessed by this parking lot were doing good business.  Two caught my eye: one a steakhouse, the other a Chinese place.  I personally preferred sushi. 
    Coming up on my vehicle, I smiled fondly at the new Shelby GT500 Mustang.  In place of racing stripes, the custom paintjob was a deep, glossy black with gold jags of lightning along the sides.
    Grace said, “Fenn’s broody, but not wild.  His mom raised him human, and raised him properly.  Most of his issues come from the fact that his dad is the Trickster.”
    I stopped cold, feeling a dark, murderous aura reaching out to engulf me. Fuck!  Has saying the Trickster’s name drawn his ill will?  There are a lot of other avatars I prefer running into tonight. 
    Grace went on a few steps and turned back.  “Something wrong?”
    I looked past her at a woman stepping out from behind a red van.  It was Cassie, and she didn’t look happy seeing me anywhere near her daughter.  Ah, that’s who I sensed.   I smiled, and started forward.  “Cassie!  How nice to see you again.”  But especially your tits.
    Fire spilled from her hand but didn’t hit the blacktop.  It solidified—mostly—into a blade of dancing flames. 
    Oh, crap!
    “What are you doing with my daughter?” Cassie’s tone was deceptively mild with only a hint of intrigue.  The gold glow in her eyes said I better have a helluva good answer, or this was going to get fun really quick.
    Well, I do need to fill Grace in.  I might as well do that with Cassie listening.
    “Lately, I’ve been haunted by a little girl’s ghost.  She wants her mother and won’t cross over until I reunite them.  I thought Grace might want to help—in exchange for a healthy contribution to her college fund.”  It was true, as far as it went.  Cassie didn’t need to know that I had a second client and a blank check in my pocket.  I try not to burden people with things they
    don’t really need to know, just thoughtful that way.
    Cassie’s eyes narrowed.  “And you didn’t think to run this by me first?”
    I shrugged.  “Why take a chance you’d say no?  And isn’t it her decision anyway?”
    Grace crossed her arms over her—regrettably—flat chest and stared at her mother.  “Yeah, isn’t it?”
    Cassie met the stare.  “Grace, taking on a mission isn’t about having fun and goofing off from school.  Even simple jobs can go bad fast, becoming more than dangerous.  And you’re taking responsibility for a partner.  Do you know what it means to be a shield for another person when things go to hell?”
    Grace’s voice climbed to lofty, sulky, heights.  “I’m not without experience.  You name it, I’ve fought it.  Well, no werewolves yet, but one of these days, the way my luck runs.”
    Without tension, or any betraying signal, Cassie lunged