by Becca Blake
“We can call them, then.”
“Anyone they send will get here too late.”
“I don’t care. We’re already going to be in a ton of trouble once they find out we came here without permission. This isn’t how we’re supposed to do things.”
“What do you care about how we’re supposed to do things?” I asked, heat rising in my cheeks.
“In case you’ve forgotten, my dad is Marcus Thorne.”
“So? You’ve only been on one official mission, and we almost died because you wouldn’t listen to me.”
He closed his eyes. “I know I screwed up, okay? I should have listened to you, and I’m sorry I didn’t. But this is wrong.”
“More wrong than leaving those innocent people to die?”
“Well, no,” he said. “I don’t know. All I know is that we shouldn’t run into this situation with no intel, and we definitely shouldn’t go off on our own without permission from our commander. If we go further with this, we’re just digging our hole deeper.”
He was right—we were going to be in a lot of trouble when we returned to Haygrove. But now that we’d learned innocent people were going to be sacrificed, how could we just walk away?
Even if we hadn’t found out about the ritual, I still hadn’t learned anything about my parents. I had to find Maki, and we knew where he would be. Stopping his ritual might be my only chance to confront him and ask what he knew.
Still, if we wanted to avoid serious reprimands when we returned to Haygrove, we needed to find a way to do things by the books—or at least, make it seem like we did. And I only knew one person who could help us do that.
“What if I call Orion?” I asked. “Would that make you feel better? He’ll cover for us.”
“Why would he do that? He told you to drop this,” Jacob said.
“What else would he do, tell the Council to discipline me?”
“He sounded pretty serious.”
“He wouldn’t do that to me. Besides, it would be easy enough for him to say this is just part of our failed recon mission, and that he sent us back out in the field to give us another chance to find Alexis and get this done.”
Jacob paced around the car while I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and dialed Orion. It rang twice before his voicemail message greeted me. I hung up and tried again, and this time the call went straight to voicemail.
Maybe he was more upset with me than I’d realized.
Jacob stopped in front of me. “Well?”
“No answer.”
“Dammit,” he muttered.
“We’ll just have to get his permission after we do this,” I said. “He won’t throw us to the wolves. I promise.”
Jacob shook his head and looked up at the darkening sky. “Fine. We’ll go save those people, but I’m serious—after that, we’re done. We go home.”
“Deal,” I said.
“What should we do about her?” Jacob tilted his head toward Alexis, who still sat in the driver’s seat of his car.
“She’s hurt. That arm is broken.”
“She’s a cultist.”
“She’s trying to get out,” I said. “And she did help us.”
“The Council wouldn’t want us to let her live,” he said, lowering his voice to a sharp whisper.
“So, you think we should kill her?” I asked, matching his tone.
“Well, no, but—”
A sharp scream cut off our argument.
Alexis stumbled out of Jacob’s car and collapsed, clutching her stomach. When she pulled her hand away, it was slick with blood. Something glowed on her chest under her pale blue shirt, but I couldn’t tell what it was.
I sprinted toward her, and something dark and vaguely human-shaped flickered between us, too fast for me to see what it was. It disappeared again only a few seconds later, leaving behind a deep red gash across Alexis’s throat.
Her mouth fell open, as though she might scream, but only a sickening gurgle came out. She slumped forward, and her body dropped to the ground.
Before Jacob and I could make it to her, the figure returned. He was shaped like a dark-haired human male, but his demonic presence felt wrong, as though his existence corrupted the very air around him.
“Who are you?” I asked.
As he looked over his shoulder, his glowing green eyes peered out of a pale face. He smiled, but said nothing.
My skin crawled as I realized I’d seen him once before, on the day of Jacob’s evaluation.
I pulled out my gun and repeated the question.
When he didn’t respond, I squeezed the trigger.
He disappeared again, and at first, I thought he’d gone invisible—not that it would save him from an enchanted bullet.
But instead of connecting with the demon, the bullet struck the driver’s side window of Jacob’s SUV and shattered the glass.
“Nice shot,” a smooth voice whispered in my ear.
When I spun around, gun in hand, there was nothing behind me but air.
With rising panic, I realized this wasn’t invisibility at all. This was something else—something I’d never seen or even heard of a demon being able to do.
He was teleporting, without ever opening a portal to shift across planes.
“Where did he go?” I asked Jacob.
“I don’t know,” he said, spinning around.
We stood back-to-back, waiting for the demon to reappear.
He returned to Alexis’s body only a moment later to pick her up and sling her over his shoulder. “Put the guns away. I’m not here for you.”
He flashed another menacing smile, and in the time it took me to blink, he was gone.
This time, he didn’t return.
***
After waiting a short while to be sure the demon really had left us alone, we drove straight to the address Alexis gave us for the church. We didn’t have time to worry about him. There were people who needed our help.
Jacob parked his Toyota further down the street, and we waited for a group of teenagers to pass by before getting out. After retrieving our gear from the trunk and making sure we were ready to go, we approached the old building.
Ivy crept up along the stone walls, and tall weeds grew around it and through cracks in the stained glass windows. The words NO TRESPASSING had been spray painted on rotting wood next to the front doors, which were chained together.
Abandoned or not, churches gave me the creeps. Maybe there was a god out there—I had no idea. All I knew was that I’d seen plenty of demons, but I’d never even heard of an angel. Growing up in a family of demon hunters left me wary of the idea of a deity, especially one that would allow its people to be overrun by hellish creatures from the infernal plane.
Just as I was about to start up the stairs to the front entrance, Jacob took me by the arm and pulled me into the alleyway next to the building.
I opened my mouth to protest, but he cut me off with a rough shake of his head.
“There’s someone coming,” he whispered, pointing around the corner.
He let go of my wrists, and I turned to peek through the ivy-covered railing. The man walking up the stairs wore a black sweatshirt under a leather jacket, with the sweatshirt’s hood pulled up to cover his face. He held a protective arm over the black messenger bag at his hip.
“Do you think that’s Maki?” I asked.
“Only one way to find out,” Jacob said.
The man didn’t let go of his bag as he removed the thick chain that held the doors together and pushed them open.
“We should see if that’s another way in,” I whispered, pointing at a door in the alleyway. “We need to figure out what we’re walking into.”
“Lead the way.”
I tried the rusted handle, but the door wouldn’t budge. “It’
s stuck.”
“Let me try.” Jacob leaned his shoulder into the door and pushed. The weak wood gave way with little resistance, though its hinges squeaked in protest.
The dimming light of early evening leaked into the room through the opening, offering just enough light to make out the rough details of a small office. Dated green carpet covered the floor beneath an old desk that was falling apart. Bookcases around the edges of the office looked like they’d been cleared out long ago, judging by the amount of dust coating the empty shelves.
There were two doors on the wall across from the rear entrance. I motioned to Jacob that I was going to check the one on the right first. Beyond the door, pale light from dying bulbs flickered on the wall and down the stairs to the basement.
As soon as I crossed the threshold, the sounds of anguished cries assaulted me. I stumbled backward, clutching at my ears. The horrifying noise stopped as soon as I stepped into the office, disappearing as though it had never existed at all.
“What is it?” Jacob whispered.
“That must be where they’re keeping the victims. There’s an enchantment trapping the sound in.”
I steeled myself before entering again and crept down the stairs, choking back vomit at the stench of human waste.
Nearly a hundred people huddled together in a space that was much too small for them, all of them chained to the walls. Some appeared as though they had been there for weeks, or possibly even months, their clothes tattered and their hair wild. Others were still clean enough that they could have been snatched off the streets that morning.
My gaze fell on a young woman sitting near the base of the staircase, her ankles chained to the wall. She couldn’t have been much older than sixteen, though her sunken, malnourished body made it hard to tell. As her head tilted up, her glazed eyes met mine, and she held out a shaking hand. Her chapped lips formed the word help, but the rest of the noise in the basement drowned out the weak sound of her voice.
“Riley!”
I tore my gaze away from her to look up at Jacob, who stood on the top step and waved frantically for me to come back upstairs.
I muttered a curse as I returned my attention to the girl in front of me. “I’ll be back soon. I’ll get you out—I promise.”
The girl let out an anguished sob as I left her behind.
Jacob brought a finger to his lips to shush me, then pointed at the other doorway. He cracked the door open so I could peek out into the sanctuary.
The narrow opening limited my vision to the front of the church, where a man with dark hair leaned against what was left of the altar. He wore black pants, along with a long black robe that flowed to the ground and left his bare chest exposed.
The hooded man we saw outside stood in front of him, still clutching the messenger bag tightly to his chest. From my angle, I still couldn’t get a look at his face, but I didn’t dare open the door wider.
“The emerald? Did you bring it?” The man leaning against the altar repositioned, and his silky robe swayed with his movement.
“Why do you need it?”
My heart sank with recognition as I inched forward, desperate to get a better look. I hoped I was wrong, but I knew I wasn’t. I knew that voice too well.
What was Orion doing here?
“It’s the only way to begin the sacrifice that Lord Raxael demands. I need an artifact from the infernal plane to begin this ritual. So unless you have another one lying around…” His voice trailed off, and he spread his arms in a wide shrug. “We have time before things get started, you know. I’m feeling nostalgic for old times.”
“Put some damn clothes on, Jay. I’m here on business. And if I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be crawling in bed with you. You’d be dead.”
Jay—that was Maki’s first name, wasn’t it? It made sense that the man sitting at the head of the church was Maki, but I still couldn’t figure out why Orion would be here speaking with him.
Then again, I hadn’t seen the man’s face yet. I could be wrong.
Maki’s laughter rang through the hollowed out church. “You really believe I’m the one who killed Owen?”
The hooded man—not Orion, please not Orion—drew his sword with a sharp clink of steel. “I know you are. The Council showed me the debrief from their investigation. You were the last one to contact him. He ran off to meet you.”
“You still trust the Council? After everything?” Maki shook his head. “Come on now, Orion. You’re smarter than that. It’s true that I contacted Owen, but he never made it to me.”
“What’s going on?” Jacob’s whisper was right beside me and a thousand miles away all at once. “What are they talking about?”
My breath caught in my throat, and the room spun around me. I gripped the wooden door frame for support.
I had the same questions. None of this made any sense.
“Orion. The man talking to Maki is Orion,” I managed.
“So, what, I’m supposed to trust you instead of the Council? Of all people, you expect me to believe you?” Orion snarled. “You’re a liar, a traitor, and a murderer, and I’d kill you right now if I didn’t have orders not to.”
“I can’t blame you for not trusting me, but you really haven’t realized that trusting the Arbiters is just as bad? What a shame.” Maki’s robe billowed around him as he walked toward Orion. “Well, then. You have your orders, and I have my terms. And unless you hand over that emerald, I suppose we’re at an impasse here. I’m assuming the Council won’t be too thrilled if you return without completing your mission, will they?”
My body shook, and my fingers twitched above my sword. Jacob’s firm grip on my arm grounded me in the present. He was the only thing stopping me from rushing in to demand answers from both of them.
Orion took something wrapped in cloth out of his bag and held it out for Maki. “Don’t make me regret this.”
Maki laughed. “If I betray you, you won’t live long enough to regret it.”
“This concludes our business, then?”
“There is one more thing I’d like to discuss, actually.” Maki tucked the package away in his robe. “You were supposed to come alone. Would you mind explaining to me why you brought Owen Collins’s daughter along with you?”
“What are you talking about?” Orion asked.
Maki pointed at the doorway to the office, right where we were hiding. Energy exploded from his fingertip, and as the door flew off its hinges, Jacob and I went tumbling into the desk behind us.
Chapter Thirteen
Pain shot through my body, and my ears rang from the blast. Through blurred vision, I could just barely make out the shape of Jacob next to me.
“You thought I wouldn’t notice someone crossing the threshold of one of my wards?” Maki asked. “Honestly, Orion. I’m insulted.”
Just as I managed to sit up, the next burst of magical energy sent me rolling across the room. I groaned as I gripped the edge of the desk and tried to pull myself upright.
“That’s enough!” Orion shouted. “They weren’t supposed to come inside unless I called them in. I’ll talk to them.”
Maki reluctantly lowered his hand. “Why is she here?”
“I brought them along as backup in case you tried something stupid.”
“Yes, but why did you choose to bring her, specifically?” Maki asked. “Considering the lie the Council told you about what happened to Owen.”
“She’s one of my best hunters,” Orion said, shooting a glare in my direction. “I can always count on her to do as she’s told.”
Maki settled back against the altar and crossed his arms. “Fine—deal with this. I’ll be waiting.”
“Just give me a minute.” Orion stormed into the back room with furious strides and a deadly expression. “Outside. Now.”
My head spun as he yanked me to my feet.
He glared at Jacob, who was still on the floor. “You, too.”
As soon as we stepped out into the alleyway and he closed the door behind us, I smacked his hand away. “Don’t touch me.”
“Riley—“
He reached for me again, but I stepped back. I didn’t want to be anywhere near him after what I’d seen in there, but I needed answers. From him, and from Maki.
“What the hell is going on?” I asked.
He stood still with his eyes closed, taking deep breaths as he tried to regain his composure.
“You are so far out of line right now.” His voice was laced with enough warning to make my blood run cold. “What in the infernal hells are the two of you doing here? Did you follow me all the way from Haygrove?”
“No,” I said. “I was following up on a lead. It had nothing to do with you.”
“How did you—” Orion stopped himself with a curt shake of his head. “Never mind. We can discuss that later. If you two listen perfectly to everything I say, maybe I’ll be able to work out some way the Council doesn’t punish both of you for severe insubordination. Hell, they’re probably going to punish me, too. You have no idea what a mess this is.”
My mouth fell open. “Punish us? You’re the one working with an Oathbreaker.”
The skin around his mouth tightened as he masked his expression.
“Give me one good reason I shouldn’t call headquarters right now and tell them what you’re doing here.”
“Because they sent me here,” he said. “I’m following the Council’s orders.”
“If you’re trying to stop this, then why—“
“That’s not your damn business,” Orion snapped.
I shrank away from him as though he’d struck me. Orion never raised his voice like that with me. Not even when he walked in on me using dark magic.
“There are rules in place to protect you,” he said. “And the two of you breaking those rules just put all three of our lives in danger.”
“Then, cover for us. Say you brought us along for backup—I don’t know.”
“I need you both to understand something. Having me as your commander doesn’t make you untouchable. Neither does having a relative on the Council,” he said, shooting Jacob a glare. “It doesn’t work like that.”