Succubi Are Forever by Jill Myles

figured between that and my sketches, we’d have it covered. With that, we tied up the teen Enforcer that I’d knocked out, left him in my bed, and then woke him up before we made our getaway. We quickly left the monastery, heading for the gate. Now I was really worried about Zane and Sophie. They’d been utterly silent. Not one call for us? Not even one shout? One attempt to bust down the front doors?
    I didn’t know what to make of that.
    There, out at the front gate of the monastery where we’d left it, sat our rental car. Sophie sat on the hood of the car, cross-legged in a meditation pose. Leaning against the car, Zane smoked a cigarette, his gaze flicking back at the house, and then at Sophie, and then back at the house.
    “We’re here,” I announced as we raced down the steps of the monastery. “Let’s get going.”
    Zane threw down his cigarette, relief lighting his features. “Good. Let’s ditch this joint.”
    You didn’t have to tell me twice. I moved to his side and lifted my arms to wrap around his neck, raising my mouth for a kiss.
    “We need to talk,” Zane rasped before slanting his mouth over mine in a hard, possessive kiss. “Later, when we’re alone.”
    A shiver of foreboding crept through me. “Can we talk now?”
    My heart thudded slowly as Zane looked over at Sophie, who sat, serenely ignoring us. Her eyes, I noticed, were bleached silver. So Noah
had
been out here. If that was the case, why was Zane acting so odd? I immediately turned to look to him, but his eyes were still red with hunger.
    Waiting for me. I relaxed. God, how silly of me to worry about such a thing. Zane loved me. Had given up everything for me. He’d never look at another woman. It was just me being neurotic.
    But when he gave Sophie another black scowl, I couldn’t help but worry. Something was off.
    “All aboard,” Remy said, pumping her arm in a mimic of a train whistle. “Let’s get this party started.”
    Zane looked at me. “Where are we going?”
    I pulled the crinkling paper out of my pocket and handed it to him. “I was hoping you could tell us. This is like the book, but the symbols aren’t all the same. Check it out. The crowns are on the outside this time.”
    He peered at the drawing, then back at me. “You said this is the same?”
    I nodded enthusiastically.
    He tilted the paper, studying it. “It looks like a vagina.”
    I snatched the paper back from him. “You suck.”
    He clicked his teeth at me with a fanged grin, and my heart fluttered at the flirty move.
    I pushed the drawing at him. “Can you decipher this? Does it tell what we’re looking for?”
    He shook his head at me. “I can’t read it.”
    I grimaced. “Is it my drawing? I took pictures of it, if those will help.”
    “No, it’s not the drawing. It’s the language. I think it’s Phoenician.” He held the page out to Sophie. “Can you read this?”
    I wanted to snatch it back and tell him she could look at it later. But I bit my tongue, glancing over at Remy. She was whispering something in Ethan’s ear, and his eyes widened, his gaze moving to Sophie and then to Zane.
    Goddamn it.
    As graceful as a ballerina, Sophie got up from her seated position and moved to Zane’s side, taking the page between her thumb and forefinger. Her fingers flexed on the paper, long, elegant brown fingers covered in swirling tattoos. She looked down at the page, then raised her silver gaze back to my face. “It’s an ancient Scythian dialect. I can read it.” Her voice was smooth, melodious.
    I wondered if Noah had enjoyed his “duty” with her. Ugh. Then I hated that I’d even thought about it. I wasn’t sure how I felt about the whole thing. I didn’t want Noah, right? So why did I have this “Don’t play with my toys” sort of mentality around Sophie? Was it because she was an unknown quantity, and I’d learned not to trust those?
    “Well?” Zane said, impatient.
    With a bored sigh, Sophie tilted the paper. “In the