by Leia Stone
Chloe scrunched her face. “Tray Fox? That’s the worst name I’ve ever heard. It’s like a porn name.”
Shea reached out and smacked her behind the head, and Chloe quieted.
Noah shrugged. “He didn’t pick it. The Fallen Resistance did.”
Horrible name or not, it would lead us to him, so that excited me. “What else? Did he say where he’d be stationed? What he would be doing? What was the last thing he said to you before he left?” I asked Noah.
He swallowed hard and looked at his feet, shame coloring his cheeks. Shea reached over and took his hand, giving it a squeeze.
Oh. I was picking up that maybe they didn’t have the best parting.
“I punched him in the face and tried to stop him from going. He didn’t say much after that.” Noah’s voice was void of emotion, but I could see how much it hurt him.
“I would’ve done the same to Shea,” I told Noah.
He nodded but didn’t look any happier.
“All I know is the human trafficking struck a chord with him, ever since you were taken like that. He can relate to those families. He asked to be stationed in a way that he could help smuggle the human slaves back out of San Francisco and get them home, but… I don’t know anything else.” Noah’s voice was resigned, but something about what he said had given me an idea.
A crazy idea.
“What if you guys sell me?” I blurted.
Shea raised one eyebrow. “You need your coffee. It sounded like you said to sell you.”
I nodded. “Sell me into the underground trafficking ring or whatever, and I’ll see Lincoln.”
Chloe laughed. “Maybe. Or you won’t, and you’ll be sold to Russia or some shit.”
I shrugged. “Or that, but they don’t know I have these powers. If I don’t see Lincoln, or they try to put me on a boat, I’ll go postal and fly away.”
Noah shrugged. “She has a point. She can fly, and she did stop a ton of bullets with that crazy shield.”
“Then I’m going too. Sell us together.” Shea folded her arms across her chest, readying herself for the fight.
Noah looked over at her, and I fully expected him to tell her how crazy she was being, but he stayed silent.
“Umm, no. I’ll go. We don’t need to get anyone else involved in case this goes south,” I told my bestie.
Tears formed in her eyes and she dropped her hands, balling them to fists. “How dare you! You’re being selfish. You have no idea what you being taken did to any of us, and now you want to leave again! Screw you, Bri!” she shouted, bursting into tears before running into the bathroom and slamming the door.
My eyes were wide, as I stood there with my jaw dropped open.
“Shit.”
Noah placed a hand on each of my shoulders. “You’re her family. You can’t ever leave her like that again.”
That time tears were welling in my eyes. I hadn’t realized how much my talking of going after Lincoln would trigger Shea. Yes, it was dangerous, but it was worth it to me to find my soul mate. But for her…
I nodded and walked over to the bathroom door. We’d had a few fights growing up, obviously. Shea would run off and slam our bedroom door, but when I tried the handle it was always unlocked, like she wanted me to come in after her.
I placed my hand on the bathroom door handle, and I jiggled it. Relief poured through me when I realized she’d left it unlocked, just like old times.
Opening the door, I found her standing there, arms crossed, the look on her face saying she was capable of murder. Shea was a unique creature; when she was hurting, she masked it as anger.
Stepping inside, I closed the door.
“You’re right. I’m so sorry. From now on, it’s you and me. Wherever I go, you go, no matter what.” Tears streamed down my face as I opened my arms and she fell into them.
We held each other for a minute until finally Shea spoke. “We’re going to find him. Together.”
I nodded, wiping my tears. “Are you ready to do this?”
Being sold like a piece of property, it gave me the chills.
Shea nodded. “I’m ready. Let’s get Lincoln and go home.”
I couldn’t think of anyone I’d rather go through this with, than my very best friend.
Chapter Twenty-Four
We stripped ourselves of any magical indications. Shea removed our fake death marks, keeping my Celestial tattoos covered. I still couldn’t believe Bernie had removed my devil mark like it was nothing. I hadn’t really gotten to properly thank him for that; I hoped he knew how much I appreciated it, and him.
Now that we were without marks, we appeared human. Noah said humans without powers were more sought after, because they couldn’t put up a fight.
After spending the day popping around to various bars and strip clubs, Noah was able to find out that there was a club nearby that opened later that night, and dealt with the sale of human beings. We agreed Luke would stay back at the motel and continue healing, while Chloe and Noah would go in as our salesmen.
We bid Luke a good night and set off for the nightclub. Noah and Chloe were holding hands, giving the appearance of them being a couple, while Shea and I walked beside them, with our hands bound by magical green handcuffs Shea had devised.
We kept our heads down, fearful looking. We had no idea how this worked. Were they brought in drugged, and bound? Or were they just scared and subservient? Because Noah was masquerading as a Dark Mage, he could say he put the cuffs on us. My hair spell had started to wear off that morning, so Shea had revived it; now it was a dark saturated red while hers was sleek black and straight.
As we neared the club, Noah grabbed me under the armpit and Chloe seized Shea while they led us to a side alley.
“Now, if shit goes south, use that skull keychain to create a portal. I’ll get Chloe and Luke out of here,” Noah advised Shea.
She nodded. “I’ll send you a mental message if that’s the case.”
He frowned. “You can do that? Freaky.”
My bestie grinned, then quickly wiped the look off her face as we neared a side door with a red light over the top of it.
“Showtime,” Chloe muttered under her breath. She walked over to the door, giving it a good hard bang.
It took a moment, but when the door opened an Abrus demon popped his head out. He had slicked black hair, with a streak of silver in the front.
Shit.
I looked toward the floor, not meeting the demon’s eyes. Abrus demons were arguably the smartest and most business savvy. They reminded me a lot of Lucifer. I didn’t know the extent of their skills, but I was hoping sniffing out a Celestial wasn’t one of them.
“What?” He glared at Noah, ignoring Chloe completely.
Noah cleared his throat. “Looking for some extra cash. Got these two ladies here for sale.” He gestured to Shea and me.
The Abrus demon rolled his eyes. “That’s not how it works, rookie. Get a broker and then come back.”
He went to shut the door when Chloe zipped forward with Nightblood speed, and held it open. “Our broker is hanging on a lamppost back there for being an angel lover. Have some compassion,” she purred.
The Abrus demon looked her up and down and grinned. “Compassion? Never heard of it.” He moved to close the door again when Noah spoke.
“Tray Fox,” Noah blurted out then.
The Abrus demon opened the door wide, one eyebrow raised. “Fox is your broker?”
Fox. He said it like he knew him.
My stomach dropped as adrenaline pumped through my system.
Noah shrugged. “Nah, we went with another guy, but seeing as though he’s dead, we’ll work with Tray now. I’ve used him once before.”
The Abrus demon sighed. “Then where’s your paperwork?”
Noah swallowed hard but Chloe stepped closer. “Give us a break, man. Our broker just died. Fox will handle our paperwork.”
The demon looked at Chloe’s lips seductively. “You know Fox
personally?”
She ran a hand down the side of her hip. “We’ve been out a few times, if you know what I mean.”
Tipping his head back, the demon laughed loudly, making the hairs stand up on my arms. “That sick bastard likes the little kids. I didn’t think he’d go for you.”
What? Kids? I didn’t know what he meant, but he definitely wasn’t talking about my Lincoln.
“All right. I’ll book ’em and call Fox,” the Abrus demon told Chloe. She smiled, murmuring a thank you, and then he beckoned us forward.
My eyes met Noah’s and he gave me a slight nod.
This is it.
“Can we help you book them? I’ve never seen the inside of one of these places.” Chloe was totally using her ‘I want to have sex with you’ voice.
Work it, girl.
The demon shook his head. “Get a broker license and then we’ll talk.”
Shit. We were going in alone.
Shea and I clung to each other fearfully as he yanked us by the arms. It didn’t take much acting. Pulling us inside, the Abrus demon looked at Noah. “What’s your name, so Fox can pay you your finder’s fee?”
Noah paled, clearly not having thought that through yet. “Bernie Maximus,” he finally replied gruffly, and my heart swelled that he’d thought to use my guardian angel’s name and his dog. Hopefully if it was Lincoln, he would know it was us and come quickly.
Without another word, the Abrus demon slammed the door locking it, and Shea and I were plunged into darkness.
It took a moment for my eyes to adjust before I realized we were in a small entryway that led to a staircase.
“I don’t want any trouble tonight, ladies.” He started to pat us down for weapons. He wasn’t gentle about it, but he didn’t linger in any private places, so I wasn’t going to have to kill him.
After he’d checked us, and thankfully hadn’t found the small keychain portal, he prodded me in the back with something sharp.
I sucked in my breath at the pain, and moved forward down the staircase.
Please God, no more tunnels.
When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I realized we were in an old underground subway platform. Along the sides were vendors who had set up tables and were selling various things. It wasn’t too busy, maybe a dozen or so buyers on the large platform.
As I looked closer at the tables, I noticed there were weird things like magical weapons… and what looked like jarred organs.
That’s when it hit me.
This is the black market. The demon black market.
Shea squeezed my hand and I squeezed back. It smelled like sulfur, dark magic, and something more sinister that I couldn’t put my finger on for some reason.
The Abrus demon walked us over to a large cage along the back wall, and bile crept up my throat as I saw people huddled inside. One of them was a small child.
No. No. No.
There was a Grimlock demon working the front door. When we neared, he did something mystical with his hands that opened the lock.
“Got two more for ya. Papers are coming. They’re Fox’s,” our demon said to the door guard.
The guard’s eyes immediately fell on me and he grinned. “I’m looking for a third wife. You know how I like redheads.”
My eyes widened.
“You’ll have to take that up with Fox,” our handler told him, then shoved us inside the cage.
The door slammed behind us while the men continued to argue.
“If they got no papers, maybe we can make a deal,” the guard offered.
The Abrus demon chuckled. “Take it up with Fox. I don’t want to piss that boy off. He brings in more money than all my other brokers combined.”
The Grimlock demon grumbled under his breath, as the Abrus walked away to call who I hoped was Lincoln. If not, it looked like I was about to be married off to this Grimlock demon, and become his third wife.
Shea and I stepped farther into the cage and saw there were mostly women there with us, in their early teens and twenties. There were also two little kids, a boy and a girl.
What. The. Hell. Is wrong with the world? People weren’t property. Had we not learned that lesson yet throughout history?
“Everyone okay?” Shea whispered.
The women fearfully looked over at the Grimlock, while my gaze moved over each one of them. Dirty, scraped, bruised.
They’d been here a few days, at least.
But one by one they nodded. The two kids were huddled up to the eldest-looking girl, maybe in her early thirties, and they were softly crying.
Emotion tightened in my throat as my eyes started to fill with tears. After all my time in Hell, I’d just wanted to come back to Earth, but now that I was here, I realized it was just like Hell in some parts. Shea looked at me with a fierceness in her eyes, and I knew we were 100 percent taking these people home with us.
“So what’s the deal with this place? How does it work?” I asked when Shea and I huddled in front of everyone. They looked weak and they smelled. They obviously weren’t getting showers. Were they even being fed?
The eldest, who was consoling the two children, looked at Shea and me with pity. “Your broker takes pictures of you, and then you rot in here until a buyer is found. They only feed us once a day, and give us a small glass of water three times a day.”
I had to restrain myself from letting my wings out as anger flared inside of me.
Shea peered behind her to see the Grimlock had walked a few feet away, talking to another merchant. When she turned back to face everyone, she leaned in closer. “Can you guys keep a secret?”
The women and children looked at her like she was crazy but nodded.
“We’re from the Fallen Army, and we’re going to get you out of here,” Shea whispered.
A few of the women gasped and others just burst into tears. The commotion got the attention of the Grimlock demon, who stormed over to the door. “Quiet down in there or no dinner!” he shouted.
Shea put her finger to her lips and the others quieted one by one, but now they had wicked grins on their faces.
I leaned in to Shea. “We can’t let a single one be taken.”
She nodded her agreement. I knew we’d both be on the same page. I didn’t know what exactly I thought human trafficking involved, but seeing it firsthand was enough to gut me.
“When Lincoln comes, I’ll use the keychain to make a portal to Fallen Academy, and we’ll bring everyone through before I close it. I’ll send Noah a mental note telling him our plan. Then he can head out with Chloe and Luke, back to our car in San Jose, and drive home.”
I nodded. “He can’t use the tunnels. How will he get out?”
Shea shrugged. “He’ll figure it out. He’ll fly them if he has to.”
She was silent then, eyes closed, probably connecting mentally with Noah.
All I could do was sit and wait. Hope the Tray Fox porn name the Abrus demon recognized was my Lincoln.
Looking at the two captured children made the demon’s comment take on a whole new meaning.
Sick bastard, he likes children.
Lincoln probably requested children above all else because those were who he freed first. The thought brought tears to my eyes, and convinced me that it was in fact my Lincoln.
All I could do then was pray.
Chapter Twenty-Five
We slept on the cold hard ground, tossing and turning throughout the night. When the Grimlock wasn’t looking or had dozed off, Shea would use her powers to do a heat spell and keep the kids warm as they slept—curled against the woman who’d taken care of them.
A few hours after we’d arrived, the place shut down and everyone went home. Except our Grimlock. He had candy bars and magazines to keep him company, while we ate some bland lentil stew.
Finally, the morning light splintered down the stairs as the vendors came back to their tables to start another day of trade. All we did was wait.
Shea leaned in closely, �
��What if someone comes to buy one of the others before Lincoln gets here?”
Oh God. I didn’t want to think about that. We couldn’t let that happen.
“Then you open the portal and get them to Fallen Academy, and I’ll look for Lincoln and fly home.” I knew she didn’t want to separate, but could we really allow even one of these women to be sold like a household item?
Never.
Shea chewed on her lip, mulling it over, but didn’t answer.
More hours ticked by; my stomach was starting to eat itself when a tall, smartly dressed Abrus demon with blond hair greeted the Grimlock.
The woman holding the two children started to whimper.
“What? Who is he?” Shea asked, panicked.
“The children’s broker. If he’s back, he’s got a buyer. He took their pictures already,” she cried.
My eyes fell on the two little brunette-haired children and it hit me. They were twins. Harder to tell with boy-girl twins, but they were both the same age and size, and were clearly siblings.
“Shea.” I looked to my best friend. “I know we split up before and it was awful. It was as awful for me as it was for you, trust me, but we can’t let this happen.”
She sighed. “I know.” She’d already pulled out the keychain. With one snap, our fake magical handcuffs fell away. Shea stood, feet firmly planted on the concrete, eyes blazing with a beautiful ferocity that only my best friend could muster.
“Time to go, little cherubs,” the abrus demon cooed, and I heard the metal door scraping open behind me.
No way in hell, buddy.
Shea would need time to work her portal spell, and then even more time to get everyone through. Doing what I did best, I didn’t think, just acted.
Planting my feet shoulder-width apart, I positioned myself as a sentinel with the demons before me, Shea and the rest behind me.
“I need a few minutes!” she shouted from behind me as green and purple sparks of magic lit up the cage.
With a nod, I pulled on that power inside of me, no longer trying to distinguish what was light and what was dark. Whatever it was, it was me. All of it.
The Abrus demon seemed to figure out what was going on and rushed inside, throwing the door wide open. I reached out with my left hand, my energy whip crackling to life; it was that same pearl silver from the underground tunnels. Both sides of my magic as one.