138: Dance with the Devil

[maderr]

138: Dance with the Devil

Chris didn’t trust him.

He wasn’t sure why…no, that was a lie. He knew exactly why.

The man was too perfect. About late-thirties in age, handsome, a touch of the paranormal to him but nothing that made Chris’s senses twitchy. Handsome but not especially, dark brown hair and hazel eyes, a perfectly pleasant expression on his face. Neat blue suit, dark maroon tie, shoes polished to a mirror shine.

Chris didn’t trust perfect. Not a bit. Unfortunately, with his bank accounts pathetically empty, he couldn’t afford to throw the man out quite yet.

“This is the White Detective Agency?”

“Yes,” Chris replied, barely avoiding rolling his eyes. That was what the sign on the door said, why did everyone feel the need to ask? Were they all illiterate? Or just stupid? “I am Chris White, this is my assistant, Douglas. How can we help you?”

The man nodded politely. “I am Mortimer Winston, head librarian for the west district library.” Meaning the paranormal library. A librarian. This was either going to be an interesting case or a dead boring one. “I would like you to find a book for me.”

Chris lifted one brow. “Mr. Winston…my skills are varied and wide, but it seems to me you would be more suited to finding a book.”

Winston did not look amused by the light jest. “It is a personal belonging, Mr. White, not a library book. It was stolen from me a few months ago. My own efforts at locating it have been in vain, and I am at my wits’ end. A neighbor suggested giving you a try, though I will be honest and say I am not terribly impressed by detectives and you do not give me reason to change that opinion.”

Fucking hell, the things he did to avoid being made to take money from his parents or lover. Chris wanted badly to punch the damn bastard and then tell Doug to show him the door. “Your opinion is, of course, your own. I am more than willing to help you, but if you feel another might best serve your interests then you are welcome to leave.”

The man frowned – even that expression was perfect – at him, then gave a minute, condescending shrug. “What is your fee?”

“It is decided upon completion of the case,” Chris said firmly. He’d lost more than one client with that policy – though it was always the ones who could have afforded to pay any price. Not that he’d had many of those, yet. Enough that had walked away. Christ, he was going to depress himself. “That is non-negotiable, though I will negotiate the price if you take serious issue with it.”

After what seemed to be an eternity, Winston at last grimaced – perfectly – and gave a reluctant nod. “Very well. As I said, a book of mine was stolen a few months ago—“

Chris held up a hand to stop him. He leaned back in his seat and steepled his fingers, distantly hearing as Doug flipped open his notebook. “Start at the beginning. Tell me every detail, leave nothing out. Only facts, not suppositions. I do not care how trivial or insignificant the detail, I want to hear it. Do you understand? Then begin, please.”

Winston nodded, and for a moment he almost seemed to approve of the orders. “It was three months ago. Late at night, I had been in bed for perhaps an hour, just reading. I keep all my books in a library of my own, and it is locked every night. Many of my books are original printings, some the only copies remaining…and I have several handwritten sorcery tomes. It is one of those which was taken from me.”

“Which one?” Chris asked, the hairs on his neck prickling. He always got nervous when the subject of sorcery books came up. Ever since the matter of a book had led him to the demon lord who was now his lover.

He really hoped the book he’d be hunting down didn’t eat people.

“The Book of Dances,” Winston replied.

Chris frowned. “That is not one I have ever heard of before.”

A perfectly condescending and patronizing smile curved Winston’s lips. “I would imagine not. The book is of little interest to those who do not possess powerful magic. Do you know anything about magic?”

“Enough,” Chris snapped.

“The Book of Dances is a book of some of the most powerful spells in existence. If you know ‘enough’ then you would know that dancing is crucial to high magic.”

Chris hadn’t known that, had never heard anything so ridiculous in his life, but if the man wanted to try and play him for a fool then fine. He could play along for a bit. “I didn’t know that, actually. So no ordinary paranormal would want such a book, and obviously they must have been of significant skill to sneak into your no doubt well-guarded library.”

Winston sniffed. “Precisely. They left no clues. I would not have noticed there was a theft but for a shuffling sound and the glaring absence of the book when I investigated after finding the door open.”

The bastard was hiding something, though Chris couldn’t say precisely what tipped him off to that. Winston gave none of the usual signs and indicators, but something in his manner screamed he was lying or hiding.

Damn it. Did he really need the money? Yes. Did he really need the headache? No. Did he really need to solve as many cases as possible to build his reputation? Yes. Fuck. The yeses were winning.

Stifling a sigh, Chris continued to press the obnoxious man for every detail and scrap of information he could get. When they finished nearly two hours later and Winston finally departed, Chris closed his eyes and finally released the long-suffering sigh he’d been holding back.

“I think this case is probably a bad idea, boss,” Doug said after several minutes. “Something about this doesn’t vibe.”

“Something about him needs to go take a long walk off a short pier into the river. After he pays up for the headache he’s given me.” Chris made a face and stood up. “Come on, let’s go learn more about this book. That’s the sketchiest part of this whole thing. What was all the crap about dancing?”

Doug slid him a pensive look but said nothing.

“What?” Chris demanded. “I’ve never heard of such a thing. Why have I never heard of that?”

“That sort of thing is generally the exclusive realm of demons.”

Chris groaned. “I might have known the bastard would find a way to insinuate himself.”

Doug laughed. “So that’s what this is all about. You’re in a bad mood because you haven’t seen your boyfriend in four days.”

“You’re fired.”

“Fine. You look for the book all by yourself. That lady on the corner bakery has offered me a job twice this morning already.”

Chris rolled his eyes. “Ha. Doug making muffins. That I’ll believe when I see it. Fine. You’re rehired for the duration of this case.” He dragged a hand down his face and sighed in resignation. “I guess if it’s a demon thing…” He shot a nasty glare at Doug, who had started snickering. “What?” he snapped.

“You really do miss him, don’t you? Looking for any excuse to go see him…you don’t need a reason, you know.”

“Shut up, imp,” Chris said, taking his beat up jacket off the coat rack and shrugging into it. “Go speak with the usuals, see what you can glean about other book thefts. Contact me if you come up with anything. I’m going to go see if I can’t find Sable.” Wherever the bastard was, that he couldn’t be bothered to return calls or come out of hiding for so much as a single fucking second. Some lover. Chris was starting to suspect he’d been dumped, and it only annoyed him further that the thought hurt.

A lot.

Shoving away the gloomy, disconcerting thoughts, he focused on the case, searching for possible clues – or signs Winston was indeed lying.

Outside the weather was particularly dreary, the sky so black it looked more evening than midday. The rain was a light mist, but a full on storm loomed, the sharp, cool taste of it heavy on the air. Zipping up his jacket, Chris buried his hands in the pockets and walked briskly toward uptown and the three hotels that crowned it.




“He’s not in right now, Mr. White,” the secretary said apologetically.

Chris felt sick. What sort of demon lord ‘wasn’t in’ to his ‘beloved’ for nearly four days running? Not even a word of explanation. His throat felt tight. That would teach him to believe anything a demon had to say. “Do you know when he’ll be back?”

The secretary shook her head, and Chris had to admit she really seemed to be upset. “No. He wasn’t certain. Gave strict orders not to be disturbed by anyone; his work is quite delicate, he said. I will of course notify him immediately upon his return that you want to see him.”

Whatever. He wasn’t born yesterday. “That’s alright, doll. I know how to take a hint. I won’t bother him again.” Chris turned sharply on his heel and stormed back to the elevator bay, ignoring the secretary’s cries.

So, he was out one demon. Where else could he ask around for information on obscure books? Was Doug having any luck?” Absently Chris reached up to touch the diamond in his ear – he scowled as he realized what he was doing and what he was touching. The earring from his ex-lover.

Biting back a curse, damn it why did thinking like that hurt so goddamn much, Chris took the earring out and shoved it in his pocket. Stupid. He never should have gotten involved with a demon. What had he been thinking?

Morosely he was forced to admit he hadn’t been thinking at all. Sable was all too good at making thinking impossible just by walking into the room. Chris had never pegged himself as so easily suckered…obviously he was even dumber than he’d thought in his blackest moods. He wished he knew what about the damnable demon did it for him so he could get the hell rid of it.

Scrubbing at his face, Chris stepped off the elevator and went invisible, passing quickly through the lobby and back out onto the street. He was suddenly in no mood to be seen by anyone. Once across the street and down the block, he turned and tilted his head back to stare up the length of the Tantalus. The tallest and grandest of Sable’s three hotels, and the one Sable called home. Of late, Chris had found himself becoming far too comfortable there, spending less and less time in his own little room above the agency.

Focus. He had a case. Find the stolen book. Or figure out what the client was hiding.

Reluctantly Chris dropped his ghost form, then continued on back to his office. Winston was hiding something. Chris glowered as he walked, forcing his mind to go over and over everything Winston had said. Something was niggling…

Ah. There it was. They’d been focused on the theft itself, he had not yet bothered to ask how the feat was accomplished.

Winston had said his library was heavily warded, and had ticked off a handful of wards and spells that would have made Chris wince had he not been completely immune to all of them. One or two would have given even Doug a hard time.

That immediately eliminated most of the paranormal species. Precious few actually dealt in any amount of magic worth noting – if they dabbled in magic at all, it was only insofar as they possessed magical items. Offhand, if the perfectly annoying librarian wasn’t lying about the extensiveness of his wards, Chris could only think of a few up to the challenge of the theft – mature imps, vampires, pixies, faeries, an unusually talented werewolf, a highly skilled alchemist, or a demon. Of those, imps and vampires had plenty magic of their own. They didn’t waste time on tomes written by lesser species.

Werewolf, alchemist, or demon then. The culprit, if there was one, could be something else entirely but those were his best bet. Demon…why did it seem that books and Sable were inexplicably intertwined? He never had gotten the bastard to tell him why he had that collection of spell books so heavily warded and enchanted. Sable was obsessed with the things. Hunted and hoarded the things.

Stupid bastard. He would run off when Chris was actually willing to ask for his help.

Damn it all, could he not go five minutes without thinking about his…without thinking about that stupid demon?

Continuing to swear, Chris abruptly changed directions and made his way toward the east side of town, a few blocks east of the river to the apartments and condos where Winston lived. Once inside, he turned invisible and made his way up to the seventeenth floor.

Halfway down the hallway was condo 17A. Passing through the door, Chris bypassed the kitchen, dining room, and living room before finally reaching two doors – one turned out to be the bedroom, so he passed through the last door.

A tingle ran over him, signaling he’d passed through the wards, and he stood invisible in the middle of the room.

He was no expert, not by any stretch, but dating a certain stupid, book-obsessed, entirely too touchy-feely demon had taught him a few things. At a glance, the books in this room were plenty enough to kill for – at least, some paranormals would see it that way. Come to think of it…

…Yes, that was the thing bothering him. Chris swore. He was stupid. Completely and utterly so fucking stupid he couldn’t stand himself.

Why would anyone go to all the trouble and effort to break into such a hard to reach condo, through complicated wards, only to steal one book. With a rucksack, it wouldn’t be difficult for a paranormal with that much talent to carry off several books. At the very least, a book bag or tote could carry off a bare minimum of five books.

He could sell any one of these and retire. If he’d been the thief, he would have carried off several and set himself up for the next ten lifetimes. Any thief worth his salt would have. Chris started to speak to Doug – then remembered he’d taken the earring off.

“Goddamn it, Sable!” he swore to the air. He strode from the library and retraced his steps back out to the street. Stupid demon lord. If the bastard was going to vanish, then he should have to vanish completely. From his thoughts and everything.

Swiftly he made his way back to the agency, slamming the door behind him and stomping into the office.

Ramshackle. Pathetic. Sad. Someday, though, his agency would shine. All he had to do was forget about Sable and focus on the bastard trying to trick him into locating an obscure spell book, which was obviously the game.

“Hey, boss,” Doug said. He sat behind his desk; a weird sight, to see something as fearsome looking as a nearly-mature imp sitting casually behind a scuffed and wobbly desk. “Tried to get in touch with you earlier…” He looked meaningfully at Chris’s ear.

Chris ignored him. “Learn anything of interest?”

“Yeah, apparently book thefts are down this quarter. Pie thieves are on the rise, so you might want to keep a closer eye on the strawberry masterpiece your mom sent over.”

The words took a moment to register. Chris looked up, feeling happier than he had all day. “My mom sent over a strawberry pie? Really?”

“Really,” Doug answered. “With the stipulation that you share it with me and Sable.”

Chris’s brief happiness died. “I’ll share it with you. That demon hasn’t been around so he’s not getting anything. At all. Ever.”

“You’re a very cute pouter. I can see why you got away with so much growing up.”

Chris rolled his eyes. “I liked you better when you were meek and mild and obedient. This smartass thing you’re doing has got to go.”

Doug snorted but otherwise said nothing. He flipped through his notebook, and Chris could hear the idle thumping of his heavy tail on the floor. “No one has heard anything about book thieves. My bakery hook up says someone lifted a pie while she was in the back. A couple of pickpockets, someone tried to break into that jewelry store up on Rhubarb Blvd. That’s about it. Could be isolated?”

“Tell me something,” Chris said slowly. “If you were a highly-skilled, magically powerful thief, and you managed to sneak your way into a library that would make paranormal bibliophiles embarrass themselves, what would you do?”

“Clean the place out,” Doug said promptly. “Take as much as possible, which in my case is quite a bit. Hell, just a few would go…” His eyes widened as comprehension dawned. “There’s no way I’d take just one, no matter how valuable that one was. He’s lying.”

Chris nodded. “Yes, but what precisely is the lie? Did he lend it out? Did he never have it? Why send us on this ridiculous goose chase?” He steepled his fingers and glared into space.

Doug drummed his fingers on his desk top. “He didn’t smell much like magic. Must have gotten someone to do the warding. Possibly he reneged on payment? The abnormal who did the work might have taken it in revenge?”

“That’s certainly a possibility,” Chris said, quietly impressed with his assistant – who had come so far in just a year and a half. Clearly Doug was meant for this work, at least for the time being. It was startling how surprisingly painful it was to think Doug might want to move on someday.

Fucking hell, what was with him today?

Chris shoved away the answer that tried to rise up, not willing to dredge up thoughts of that demon again. “It’s also possible he knows the book’s location but can’t get to it.”

“But in that case wouldn’t he just try to play that he saw something of the thief? To lead us in the right direction? Hell, he could have come up with something that would explain how he saw the thief. Maybe a quarrel or something.” He made a face. “Like Pollock.”

“I don’t think this guy is as smart as Pollock, which isn’t saying much really,” Chris said. Pollock was the man from whom he’d taken Doug. “Maybe we should go ask him if he’s seen any books around lately.”

Doug snorted but otherwise made no reply.

“So my best guess,” Chris said finally, “Is that he wants the book but can’t get it. He’s trying to trick us into getting it for him. So really the crux of the case hasn’t changed – we need to find the book. Then we’ll figure out the rest of it.”




“You need to ask Sable,” Doug said.

Chris glared into his cup of tea. Normally the dark house blend went a long way toward improving his mood, but lately everything tasted like dust to him. “That would be the Sable who has now been ‘indisposed’ for the past six days with nary a word to me as to why? Forget it. I know when I’ve been dumped and I’m not asking the bastard for help.”

“How do you know you’ve been dumped, Boss? It’s entirely possible—“

“I don’t want to hear it!” Chris snapped, slamming his hand down on the table. Disgusted with himself, he drained the long-cooled contents of his cup and then stood up. “Even at my worst, I never just ignored a lover for six days running.” He scowled at the look Doug was giving him. “Look, I’ll go check out his office. That’s where he keeps the most important volumes. If anyone in this city is likely to have it, it’s him.” The rest were carefully stored elsewhere; Sable had a collection that paled Winston’s room thrice over.

Doug rolled his eyes. “You do that. I’m going back to the office to look over our notes and see if we missed something.” Which translated as ‘I’m getting sick of your snarling and am going to go enjoy the peace and quiet while it lasts.’

“Fine,” Chris said. “I’ll be back later.”

Outside he quickly made his way to the Tantalus, ghosting a block away. Inside, he took an elevator up to the floor two down from Sable’s offices at the top, then took the stairs the rest of the way.

At the desk, the secretary remained oblivious to his presence, and Chris passed through into Sable’s office.

Dropping his ghost form, he crossed the lavish office – oddly dark in the light of a few lamps, the curtains strangely closed – to the bookcase in the corner. It was tall, containing six shelves, and appeared wholly normal until close proximity revealed layers of incantations and curses that would make even the strongest magical creatures wince in pain. Doug would go nowhere near the bookcase if he could help it. Only Sable could get through the deadly layers of spell work.

Never had Sable explained to him why he so carefully guarded a bunch of spell books. There was a lot Sable never bothered to tell him, something that had been getting to him more and more…and now the bastard demon had vanished.

Damn it, did his mind never shut off? Forcing away thoughts of the stupid demon, Chris focused his attention on the bookcase. The titles on most were hard to read; the lettering faded, the leather itself cracked and worn, completely torn and split on a few volumes.

There. Sure enough.

Stupid bastard. If he wasn’t so busy hiding, he could have helped Chris solve the case two days ago. Not that he wanted Sable helping him in any way, but still. Now he had definitive proof that bastard Winston was lying. Sable hadn’t added any books to this case since the man-eating one.

Then again, he’d thought just maybe he and Sable were the real thing and that little theory had proven to be horribly flawed.

The soft brush of the door across carpet brought him jerking around. Chris blinked.

“Beautiful, I didn’t think I’d see you again quite this quickly.” A pleased smile curved Sable’s mouth and he stalked across the room toward him.

Chris exploded. “Where in the hell have you been? I could have solved my case two days ago if you’d been around! Always in my way when I don’t need you and vanished when I could actually use your help and if you wanted to end our relationship you could have found a better way than vanishing for six days you goddamn ass.” He glared as Sable’s smile turned into a confused, concerned frown. “Stay the hell away from me. I only came to see if you had the book.”

Sable reached out for him, ignoring the threats Chris hurled. “Christian…Beloved, why on earth would you think I want to end our relationship? I have said you belong to me and I meant it.”

“Yeah, right,” Chris replied acidly, jerking back, away, cursing when he collided with the back of a sofa. “Lovers don’t vanish without leaving a note for six whole days. If you’re tired of me, fine. I just wish you’d found a better way to—” He was cut off by a hard, bruising kiss, Sable immediately taking possession of his mouth, not releasing him from the drugging torment until Chris had forgotten what precisely what he’d wanted to say. “Don’t do that again,” he finally managed.

In reply, Sable simply kissed him again, leaving Chris gasping for breath, struggling to recall he was angry. “You’re a bastard, Sable.”

Sable sighed softly and drew him into a tight embrace. “I am sorry, beloved. I did not expect the work I was doing to be so demanding. I thought to be gone a few hours, and did not realize days had passed until my secretary told me.”

“What work?” Chris asked, hoping he didn’t sound as plaintive as he suspected. Damn it. He was not caving and letting Sable get away with his shitty behavior just because he’d badly missed the sight and feel and smell and taste and damn it all to hell.

Hands traced with too-knowing familiarity up and down his back, caressing and soothing that would make Chris even angrier than he was if it didn’t feel so damn good. “Something that concerns you, actually,” Sable murmured, moving one hand from Chris’s back to his face, forcing him to look up. “Though I believe you mentioned something about a case?”

Chris jerked away. “You’re still in trouble, you damn demon. Six days, Sable! Six days! The last time a guy vanished like that, I finally found him making out in the park with someone new.”

Sable yanked him back and held him so tightly Chris could barely draw a breath – and any thought of breathing immediately fled as he was treated to another of those dizzying, horribly distracting kisses. Right from the first those kisses had been his undoing. “You are mine, Christian. I am hoping forever.”

“What?” Chris asked, blinking.

Releasing him, Sable strode over to the bookcase and quirked a brow at him. “What was it you needed from me, beloved? You were looking at my books…”

“My sanity would be nice,” Chris muttered, then with a sigh joined Sable. Solve case, then go home and let the bastard suffer. For seven days. See who liked it then. Tersely he explained the case to his lover, careful to stay out of touching range.

Sable shook his head when Chris finished. “You are, of course, quite correct. I’ve had this book for years. I bought it from a young man who didn’t understand what he’d inherited from his uncle – and had no desire to ever understand. If he wants it, I can only say it is then imperative he never gets it. That particular book was actually written by an enslaved demon; it contains spells no mortal should mess with.” His face darkened. “Demon summoning included.”

Chris cocked his head, curious. “You’ve never spoken about your books before, Sable. Why are you now?”

“My books are boring, beloved. At least so long as they stay locked up. There are far more interesting things to do.” He grinned. “Especially when you’re around.” He reached out and snagged Chris’s wrist, dragging him forward, holding fast when Chris attempted to slip away. “So am I going to be in trouble for very long?”

“Yes,” Chris said, frost in his voice. “How would you like it if I’d vanished without a word for six damn days and then came back and said ‘oh, I didn’t realize’?”

Sable grimaced. “You have won your point, beloved. If I show you what I was working on, perhaps you will start to forgive me?”

“I’m still mad at you for what you and my mom did over dinner,” Chris retorted.

“That is true,” Sable said with a soft chuckle. He ran a hand through Chris’s hair, tousling and then smoothing it, then dipped his head to lick and tease at Chris’s lips before finally taking a proper kiss. “You were a very cute child, Christian. Why does that always upset you?”

“Because!”

Sable laughed and finally let him go. “Come, beloved. I will show you why I have been gone six days.”

“It had better be a good reason,” Chris grumbled. He made a face. “Though perhaps it should wait until I take care of my reprehensible client.” He fought a sigh. The money he could have charged would have covered the bills and actually given him a bit of leeway. Ah, well. They’d just have to make do until a good case came along.

A dark expression took over Sable’s face. “I will deal with him. It’s entirely possible I’ve encountered him or one of his blood before. They all tend to be from the same greedy, selfish, uncaring crowd.”

Chris lifted his brows at the oddly vehement words.

Sable caught his look and sighed. “The summoning of demons is hard work. Harder than most people believe. I was enslaved for a long, long time before I finally broke free…and in that time the man who’d bound me tried and failed to summon ten other demons. After me. I don’t know how many before me. They all died, or arrived…incomplete and I had to kill them. I won’t complain that I’m here; I have no desire to leave…but I’m in no rush to see humans annihilate countless of my brothers for power they will never understand.”

“Sable…” Chris reached up and kissed him softly, sinking a hand into the wicked-soft curls of Sable’s untamable hair.

“It would seem I’m a bit more tense than I thought,” Sable said when they finally broke apart.

“Tense about what?”

Sable smiled and led him out of the office and toward the elevators, down to the third floor and through a dimly lit hall to what Chris knew was the Grand Ballroom. Each hotel had one, but the one in the Tantalus outshone all of them. It was green and gold, a lavish display of velvet and silk, the ceiling dripping crystal chandeliers that shone just the right amount of soft light down upon the dance floor.

Chris drew a sharp breath as magic washed over him upon entering the ballroom. It was….different. Magic filled every inch of it, pouring from the…whatever it was in the center.

A star. More precisely, a pentacle. It took up the majority of the ballroom, leaving most of the actual dance floor in the very center…and it was formed with silver-gray flames. Like flames made of moonlight, as dark as storm clouds at the base. The lights had been turned off, leaving Chris with the impression that they were indeed surrounded by flickering moonlight. “What…”

Sable came up behind him, one hand sliding around his waist to rest on his abdomen, the other tangling with Chris’s hand. “Do you like it?”

“It’s beautiful…what is it?”

“Demon fire,” Sable said softly, breath warm against his cheek. “Oddly enough, this is one of the spells which that book your former client sought speaks much of…”

Chris drew an unsteady breath, suddenly feeling terribly anxious. “What spell?”

Sable drew back and turned Chris around to face him, caressing the lines of one cheekbone. “To make you my consort.”

“Your what?” Chris stumbled back, away, panic washing through him. “That’s…no way, Sable.” Consort. That was so over his head it was ridiculous. “What are you thinking? Surely you’re not so desperate to stay on earth that you’d take me to consort…”

“No,” Sable growled, surging forward, grabbing him by the shoulders and dragging him close enough to kiss hard, leaving his lips bruised. “You are mine. That means you are to be my consort. I want you to dance with me because it’s you. No other reason, beloved.” Sable’s face softened, his grip easing. “That is the irony of it all, in the end. To stay here and not be forced back into hell I must have an anchor…but finding you, I care about none of that. I love you, Christian. That is all that matters to me.”

Chris shook his head, more shaken by the words than he was able to admit. “But that…that’s a lot of…power, responsibility.” He knew roughly how it worked – the consort was bound forever to the immortal demon, sharing his power, life. A consort helped keep reign of the territory, and took care of the problems that extended beyond the territory, which a demon lord could not leave. He would be Sable’s equal, Sable’s representative beyond his territory.

The worst though…if one of them died, so too would the other. Meaning if he screwed up, Sable would suffer. What did he know about being a consort? He was just a barely-getting-by detective. Sable was something else altogether…someone far above him. “Sable—I’m not fit to be a consort. I…that kind of power…what if I do something wrong?”

Sable smiled one of his rare, soft smiles that always made breathing tricky, and cupped his face in one hand. “I think the only thing I could say at this point, beloved, is ‘shut up, stop worrying, and come dance with me.’”

Chris tried to glare, but he was simply too nervous and overwhelmed to manage it. Words spilled from him without permission. “I don’t know how to dance.”

Sable laughed, muffling the sound of it by burying his head in the hollow of Chris’s shoulder, chuckles almost hot against his neck. A moment later Chris felt a butterfly-soft kiss pressed to his skin, and then Sable rose to his full height. “Do you love me, Christian?”

With a sigh Chris gave up. Hopefully they would never learn the hard way this was probably a mistake. “You know I do, Sable – though you’re still in trouble.”

“Of course,” Sable said with a smile, then bent to kiss him. It was gentle, slow, the sort that left Chris feeling as though he were pleasantly melting. “Come and dance, beautiful.”

Chris swallowed, wanting to turn and run, but at last nodded and followed Sable through the flickering moonlight flames. They felt hot and cold, soothing and tormenting, and then they were through and in the center of the pentacle. All around him he could feel the weight of complicated magic…and in it he could feel Sable. Rather, Sable’s energy, his signature brand of storm-based magic. He’d never felt it so…intimately before.

Sable stood in the very center, waiting patiently for him to adjust to being in the center of such a fierce and complicated spell. Chris felt dizzy, short of breath. He finally looked directly at Sable, soothed by what he saw in those storm-cloud eyes. When Sable held out his hand, Chris placed his own in it. “Teach me how to dance, Sable.”

“Yes,” Sable said, drawing him close, kissing him one last time before he began to show his soon-to-be consort how to dance.

Comments

[tsaiko.livejournal.com]

You know, I have been waiting for this story since I read the very first in the series and Chris mentioned that he and Sable danced together. Those two are perfect. I would love to see Doug's reaction when he next sees Chris (assuming other types of demons can tell when someone is a consort). "So ... I guess you two made up." *big grin*

Though I am still curious as to what Winston wanted with the book.

[tygati.livejournal.com]

*puddle of happy sappy melty goo* ^____________^

[the-beccaroo.livejournal.com]

I think I would adore to see Sable's reaction if Chris disappeared for a week. *just slightly evil smile* Hee.

This is one of my favorites of all of yours, this series, so I was ecstatic to see this. Hee, 'twas glorious.

[melayneseahawk.livejournal.com]

Yay, they're so cute.

Don't tell me this is the last one!

[theotherdigit.livejournal.com]

Squee! Squee! OMG squee! *_________* [melts into a puddle of giddy, wobbly goo] Yay for finally getting to see the actual get-together part (well ... the second one, anyway; the first would be at the point where Chris agrees to be Sable's boyfriend, but this one made it all official-like and stuff X3;) after reading all of that pre-and-post-get-togetherness. ♥

[charisstoma.livejournal.com]

Dear sweet wonderful. *is weeping* I do love you. You got them married and it was a battle to get them there. Poor Chris going through the agonies of thinking he'd been dumped by someone he loved after he'd been telling himself from the beginning that this was not a good idea. And it was all for setting up the wedding arrangements. Sable knows his Chris. Chris would have freaked probably more than he did. Wait no guests?? Douglas mentioned in a previous story how beautiful Chris and Sable's dance was.
Still we were there.*throws rice* Sable being a demon maybe Chris can develope a tummy enlargement for a little procreationing, even if only in a dream sequence. Can you imagine Chris going through food cravings and bitchy I'm pregnant grousing.
This was worth the wait, so worth it. Thankyou.

[maderr.livejournal.com]

Long, long ago I thought Doug might have been around. Played out that he wasn't, so I need to go fix that part in the initial story ^^;;

And Sable would never tolerate someone to interfere with his Chris. He already resents Chris insists on working and all. He would consider a kid competition and be not very nice about it ^^:;; Still, the idea is amusing.

<<333

[charisstoma.livejournal.com]

You're probably too young but there was a show, Dallas, where they killed off one of the main characters and ran with the story til in the end the wife woke to find it had all been a dream. It could all be in Chris's mind, which at this point it is *laughing*.

[maderr.livejournal.com]

I remember hearing about that. Apparently there was Much Rage about that season.

[dameange.livejournal.com]

most excellent. *sighs happily* lovely and wonderful and funny, thank you.

[skylark97.livejournal.com]

Man, you have such a way with yanking the emotional rug out from under your characters. ^_^ GYAH! I love this verse. *hearts*

Chris, as always, is love. *hearts* Gyah, when he'd though Sable was avoiding him in order to break up with him? ;_; My heart broke a little for him. Good thing Sable wasn't actually breaking up. ^___^

*tackle glomps* I missed seeing them in their early days. They're so damned cute. *hearts* And I love how this really does explain the title of this whole verse. XD! I'd always wondered. *flying tackle glomps*

And the two of them dancing and Sable teaching him how? *melts into happy puddle of goo* You rock the universe!! ^_____________^

[mechante-fille.livejournal.com]

Yay! I loved all Chris' pouting and heartache. Keeping hi in character for that was so great. And then having it lead right into the consort ceremony was great. Nice detail on the ballroom scene, btw. Sounds pretty.

Only Demons left, yeah. *sigh* Thank goodness we still have the dragons. And drabbles. Off to read those now, in fact. ^_^

[rykaine.livejournal.com]

*pouts* You don't let me edit stuff anymore...

*brightens* But that means I get to read and be utterly surprised and GYAH love like everyone else, so it all works. ^_^

My thought process for this, by the way was:
first scene - "is this...?"
second scene - "I think..."
beginning of last scene - "OMG it totally is *stars*"

[stardance.livejournal.com]

OMG this is the one I wanted to read so bad, and then when I saw "dance" in this story I was like "OMG this is the one, OMGOMG" and it didn't disappoint XD They make my teeth ache and my heart clench and DWTD would be my favorite verse if I decided I wanted to replace Paradise. So yeah, thanks for making my night :D I have other stuff to get around to reading, but since I saw you did another DWTD, it had to come first. You still have 2 left or 1?

[chris-king-2005.livejournal.com]

*heaves a huge and glorious sigh*

*wibbles*

Damn, you're good.

[mailechan.livejournal.com]

Happy, happy sigh. And oh so much love! *love, love, love*

I really hope that Sable makes things up to Chris. Gone for six days without a message? And that response from his receptionist sure as heck sounded like the brush off to me!

You know, it's really interesting. I love this story, but there are times when I really feel that I do NOT like Sable at all, and I feel really bad for Chris. But I guess that's because Sable is a demon lord and isn't exactly all flowers and cuddles.

[aqua-eyes.livejournal.com]

:squeaks with joy:

[magnet-dragon.livejournal.com]

I feel bad for neglecting. :C *pets stories* But I intend to backtrack my way through the last few months I've missed and read them all.

In the meantime, el squee. I love Sable, he's so cool. ♥ Dancing is good. Also, shame on me for being thick-headed, but I finally got the Dance with the Devil thing. xD Haha. Dance. See? I'm slow.

[arithonrose.livejournal.com]

oh so pretty
thank you this is just so.......*grins*

I really do like your stories, I've been catching up this week......I really like the Kidnapped stories as well both your and Tygati's
Pytor and Tau and Sigma and all the others

Are you writing more about the boy who kept getting shunted around (I can't remember his name) and the Captain that had kidnapped him for Pytor?