by Reese Monroe
The frightened girl took off down the stairs. Halena stayed close behind, pocketing her daggers.
“Out the door and to the right.”
The girl followed the instructions without another word. Trust radiated from Addie—no—Addison. Trust in Halena. But so did love for Slade.
That one hurt the most. Halena didn’t love Slade, though. Before he’d betrayed her, she’d been ready to love him for a night…no strings. But now strings ruled the scene. She couldn’t afford to love anyone. After losing Dru, Halena had spent four centuries working hard at never loving anyone, because she knew she wouldn’t survive losing someone she cared about again.
And Dru was her Companion—her Shomrei sister; a connection with a Mate was infinitely more intense, and that scared the shit out of her.
They pounded down the sidewalk in the dark. The frigid Colorado air bit like tiny razors through Halena’s thin shirt. Addison must be freezing her ass off with that micromini and tank top. She looked like she belonged on Hooker Street.
“Left just past that building.” Halena patted the girl’s back. “Black SUV.”
Within minutes they were in the vehicle, and Halena cranked up the heat. “You knew Jace was a demon the entire time you were hanging out with him?”
Tears streamed over the girl’s cheeks, and she shook so much it might have registered on the Richter scale in Minnesota.
“I had to. I— Slade—” Sobs choked off the words. Her shoulders shook, and she pressed her hands to her face. “Is he dead? Is he”—she drew in a hiccuped breath—“a demon?”
“No. No. He’s fine. Just relax.” What did Halena know about taking care of a freaking-out girl in the middle of having a meltdown? She steered the vehicle out of the parking spot and navigated a few turns until she found Main Street.
“Come on, kid. Focus. Do you know how to work this GPS thing?” Yeah, distract her. Maybe that’d help. “We need to get out of here.”
Addison sniffled and wiped away the tears. “You really saw my brother? He’s okay? He’s not a—?”
“Type in this address.” Halena handed the girl her phone with the contact address highlighted.
“That’s in Arizona.” Addison took the phone from her.
“Exactly. Find me the fastest route.”
The girl started clicking the GPS on the dashboard, and Halena was thankful for the silence so she could get a minute to think. Addison was the reason Slade was in this demon mess. He’d been saving this girl’s ass, and now she was putting it back on the line to save him.
Votar owned Slade. That had to be evident when he didn’t escape with Halena. He could have, but didn’t. He knew that’d be Addison’s death sentence. So why were Votar’s demons still after Addison?
Then again, Justin’s Mate, Yvonne, had sold her soul to save someone and come out of that okay. Of course she couldn’t touch anyone except Justin without vaporizing them. Plus she was one of the seven Artifacts needed for Lucifer’s downfall.
Maybe Slade and Addison were somehow connected to the Artifacts.
“There. It’s in.” Addison sat back. “Thanks.”
Halena gave her a sideways look.
“I needed that distraction.” She scrubbed her face. “I’m so freaking out right now.”
“Well, stop it. I don’t want to have to hit you to snap you out of it.” Like I’d ever do that.
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” She tilted her head toward Halena. “Is Slade in Arizona? Is he really okay?”
“First, tell me what you were doing with über demon Jace?”
“Looking for Slade.”
Halena dug out Jace’s wallet from her pocket. “By lifting this? Please.”
“I wasn’t sure where to start. I was desperate.”
“You’re lucky I got there when I did.”
“What’s a Shomrei?”
“Opposite of demon, lucky for you.” Halena steered the SUV onto the interstate and hit the button for cruise control. “Now, you better start telling me everything.”
“I got an email from Slade the other day.” More tears. “Saying good-bye.”
“Wait. Recently?”
“Yeah. A few days ago.”
Not possible; Halena had his computer a few days ago, and even if it was prior to her escape from the demon compound, Slade hadn’t been near his computer.
Oh…unless it had a scheduler option to send at a later date.
“I put two and two together. I knew the demons wouldn’t have let me walk away from that hotel room without getting something in return.” Addison clutched the door handle. “But Slade… I’d called him. He never showed. Then…he disappeared. You may think I’m an idiot, but I’m not. I figured it out. Slade never would have not come to get me. He always did. And when they just let me go…”
“I’m not following you.”
“Long story short. I was about to be demon. Just had the final kill left. It was all ready for me in this hotel room, but I freaked. I couldn’t do it and called my brother to come get me. He never showed, but the…demons, they let me go.”
“How’d you connect with demons in the first place? And why on Earth would you sign your soul away?”
“You wouldn’t understand.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“You’d be surprised.”
“Mom died of a brain tumor when I was two. And Dad…he was messed up after that. Smoking and drinking real bad. Fate has a sick sense of humor, because cancer took him, too, when I was thirteen. I was pissed Mom and Dad were gone. Slade was always busy with school and work.”
“Working for you, to help raise you.”
“I know that now. But I was a stupid thirteen-year-old. And I started hanging out with some older kids at school. Stetson, this guy I hooked up with, he…promised me the world. Promised me a family. One that’d never leave me. As Slade got closer and closer to graduation, I thought he’d be ready to do his own thing. You know, get married and start popping out Slade Juniors. I was scared.”
Boy, did Halena get that. She wanted to be mad at the girl, considering it was decisions like this that made Halena lose faith in humans, but she’d seen this type of deception time and time again. Not just with demons, either. Gangs, too. They roped in innocents with the feeling of family, never being alone. And Addison had gotten a raw deal in life with her parents dying like they did.
“I was getting a lot of—um—headaches, too.” She picked at her fingernails. “And, well, Stetson gave me stuff for them. I…”
“Got hooked.” Once again, another avenue to suck vulnerable people in. “I get it.”
“I was a burden to Slade. It was supposed to be easier for him if I was gone. If someone else took care of me so he could go do what he wanted.” She sniffled. “Stupid now. I know. But when it was all happening, it seemed okay. Up until the person I was supposed to kill.”
And usually, when the person refused to seal the deal, the demons just killed them. But in this case, someone—Slade—stepped up in her place, so they got a soul.
“How’d you connect with Jace?”
“He found me. Didn’t know he was demon right away. Put things together after seeing his eyes go black once. He tried to talk it off as lighting, but I knew differently. I’d seen it before.”
“And then started making Gap commercials with him.”
“Screw you, Halena. Miss Perfect. You don’t know anything about my life. Is Slade even okay? Did he really send you?”
“I know more than you think, coquine. And yes. Slade did ask me to check on you.”
“Is he okay?”
“I think so.” Maybe if Halena meditated some more on their bond she’d be able to feel for sure if he was still human. “But I don’t know for how long.”
Chapter Ten
“I hope you’ve been studying, cuz you’re about to be tested.” Dev punched Slade’s shoulder. “We’re taking a trip off campus.”
Campus. This place did resembl
e a small private university—only it was a freaking demon college. Hell, there was a chick across the commons area using a highlighter as she read a book. Like she was studying for a demon quiz.
Slade chugged the last of his beer as he slapped closed the cover of the Shomrei book he’d been studying. “Where are we going?”
“Votar set up a splice for us to America.”
Slade’s heart rate jumped a few spikes.
“I thought you’d like that. And I’m glad, because I haven’t been to the States before.”
Slade followed after Dev, his mind racing. Could he check on Addie? Maybe see Grams? “Is Votar coming?”
Dev pushed through a door and veered right, toward the stairwell. “Nope. Looks like you’re my responsibility now. So don’t fuck up, man.”
“What’s in America?”
Dev stopped and gave a lopsided grin. “Your kill.”
Slade’s gut bottomed. He was finally going to do it, wasn’t he? Take a person’s life. Shit.
“Thought it’s what you wanted?”
“It is.”
Dev huffed and continued walking. “Could have fooled me by how white your face went.”
“I thought splices could be detected by the Shomrei Gatekeepers?”
“We’re not splicing out of Hades. Votar found a way to create one that’s not detected. It’s just a one-way, though, from here to wherever. But at least it’s a start.”
“Hey, so, I didn’t get through all of it, but I was reading up on some Shomrei stuff in that book.”
“They’re pretty wicked creatures, huh?”
“Wicked” wasn’t the word that came to Slade. “Amazing” was more like it. Created by The Great One to ward off evil, maintain balance. They were immortal—but gifted with a Mate to share their immortality with.
Partners, there for each other in every respect, and that sounded pretty incredible. He’d never seen that with Mom dying so long ago, then Dad…never really believed in the whole together-forever thing, until now. Here he’d been wondering what to do after graduation—oh shit, I missed graduation!—when all along he’d been fated to be a Shomrei Mate.
“Okay, let’s see if I’ve got this all straight. Theophilus is the eldest of all the Shomrei Gatekeepers. His Mate is Sadie. She was once a human, but then found out she’s part angel and has wings. Justin, that’s Theo’s Companion. Those are like brothers, it sounds like? Created the same way Theo was, just more of a support role—brotherly. But he’s literally tied to Theo. If he dies, Justin dies.”
“Exactly. And Companions can be killed. Their necks aren’t protected like the Gatekeepers’. You read about his Mate, Yvonne? She was a former demon called Dyre, but Lucifer banished her to Earth for betraying an upper-level demon.” Dev shook his head. “But his banishment backfired. She’s more powerful than ever.”
“She can’t touch anything or it dies. Except her Mate, Justin.”
“Exactly.”
“And the gates these Gatekeepers guard are created by demons?”
“Over time, when evil gathers enough strength, a rip in reality forms. And if there is a demon strong enough, he can walk right through it.” Dev grinned. “The trick is, though, to evade the Gatekeepers, which is a bugger to do.”
“And splices. Those are smaller portals.”
“Usually very close to the gates since those are so magical. But again, the demon has to be very strong to work that one. We’re decades away from that—if we do well with gathering souls for our master.” Dev socked me in the shoulder. “You’re a quick study.”
One good thing about demons—they kept fairly decent records. “So, these Mates—the Gatekeepers really have no choice? The Great One chooses someone for them?”
“Fucked up, right?”
Well, considering Lena got stuck with Slade…yeah, fucked up for her. For him, though, it was pretty sweet considering he was mated to…an angel for the most part.
He followed Dev down the stairs and out into a yard behind the building. Trees hemmed the sprawling green grass like a fence.
“Up ahead. See those guys?” Dev pointed to the north end of the yard.
A shimmering slice of darkness sparkled and waved. Two huge guys flanked the oddity, hands clasped before them, monitoring their surroundings. “Guards?”
“That’s the splice. Those guys make sure nobody sneaks out.” Dev laughed. “This is going to rock. I’ve never spliced before.”
“How long have you been demon?”
“Fully fanged-out for six months. We live at the university for about twelve, depending on Votar.”
“So you taking me out after only six months, that some kind of promotion for ya?”
“Pretty much.” They approached the splice, and the two guards regarded them with deep coal-black eyes. “Hey guys,” Dev said.
They simply motioned them forward.
“Not big on talking. I get it.” Dev glanced at Slade. “Come on.”
He stepped into the slice of darkness, and it swallowed him up. Crackling energy bounced through the air as Slade neared it. Whipping wind and a rush of cool air penetrated the long-sleeve shirt he wore.
“Move along, visionneuse.” The guard on the right nodded.
“What did you call me?” Slade couldn’t understand French, but the word sounded familiar.
The guard pushed Slade into the void. Instantly his lungs emptied from a pressure on his chest so great he was sure it would crack. Icy air prickled his exposed skin, and a tremor rattled through his body.
Surely he was going to die.
Something hard made contact with Slade’s shoulder, and he realized he’d landed. Flopping onto his back, his burning lungs demanding air, he coughed and rolled one more time until he was on all fours, gasping, eyes watering.
“Now that was graceful.” Dev slapped Slade’s back.
“As if yours was any more so, fledgling.” A deep voice resonated through the dark air.
Dev straightened, and the smile faded from his face. Slade looked up, still working to catch his breath and not puke up a lung. This was worse than any hangover he’d ever had. Even after his twenty-first birthday bar crawl.
A giant demon stared down at him. He had bushy black eyebrows, biceps the size of basketballs, and white fangs against his pale skin.
“You must be Jace,” Dev said.
“Get up,” Jace instructed Slade. “Shake it off. We mustn’t linger near splice openings.”
“I thought this one was protected?” Dev asked.
“Always assume protection can be breached.” Jace strode away.
Slade scrambled to his feet and scanned the area quickly before Dev started leading him away. Trees lined the gravel path with only the moon to light the way. “Where are we?”
“Colorado. Northern Rockies. But we’re leaving at once. The target is on the move.”
“Where to?”
“South. Not sure where yet.” Jace tromped onward, not looking back. “Got a car here for you. Supplies and information are in the backseat. You’ve got seventy-two hours.”
“Or…” Dev’s voice cracked.
“Or you two will have to answer to Votar.” Jace trotted off. “Happy hunting.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Dev fisted the front of Slade’s shirt. “You better know what the hell is going on here.”
Slade smacked his hand away. “Get off me, man. I don’t know anything.”
“They handed me my first kill in a hotel room, the body primed and ready. I just needed to make the final cut. I don’t know what they’re doing with you, man, but now I’m a part of it, and so help me if you fail, I’ll kill you myself.”
“Shut up.” Slade opened the back door to the SUV and found a bag sitting on the seat. “Let’s see what we got here.”
“What’s that?” Dev asked over Slade’s shoulder.
“Let’s find out.” Slade opened the bag and reached in.
A vision knocked him on his ass.
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Lena leaned against a car, her eyes closed and facing skyward. A slight breeze shifted strands of hair across her face. She slowly let out a long breath. But then she flinched and stood straight.
Addie stepped out of a gas station. There was a star on the door behind her. Jay’s…yes, Jay’s gas station. She dropped her bags and grabbed her head.
“Addison!” Lena darted toward her. “Merde.”
“Dude!” Dev thumped his fist on Slade’s shoulder, tearing him out of the vision.
Slade sat up and realized he was on the ground, propped against the back tire. Son of a bitch, that vision hurt. It hit him like a baseball bat to the skull. That’s new.
“Your eyes flashed white. As in pure, really hot to touch, angelic white! Nearly seared my retinas, asshole.” Dev squatted before Slade. “Something’s not right here. Very, very not right, man.”
“Shut up.” Slade rubbed his forehead. He thought it would crack for how much it hurt. “Give me your iPhone.”
“Dude. What was that?” Dev asked as he tossed his phone to Slade.
“Not sure.” Slade blinked through the fuzz as he typed a search for Jay’s gas station. “But it hurt like a bitch.”
“You see visions? Because, I once—”
“Hey…” A thought rammed into Slade. “That guard. After you went through the splice, he called me something. I think it started with a V… I couldn’t understand it, but it vaguely sounded like vision—something.”
“Visionneuse?” Dev said in perfect French.
“Yeah. Very close to that, I think.”
“Means viewer, dude. You’re a visionneuse?” Dev jammed his fingers into his hair. “Then finding your target should be a piece of cake. Sweet!”
“Wait a minute.” Slade got up and dug into the bag again.
He’d touched something in there when the vision happened. Maybe something triggered it. That had never happened before, but as fucked up as things were at the moment, he wouldn’t be surprised.
Slade pulled out a jewelry box, a shirt, and a bag of granola bars.
“What’s that?” Dev asked.
“Not sure yet.” Slade set the phone on top of the bag and opened the box.
Inside was a half-moon necklace. Just like the one he’d given Addie on her twelfth birthday. “Son of a bitch.”