Reign of Night (The Thorne Hill Series Book 7)

by Emily Goodwin

  “We’ll check the service areas,” Easton tells me. “And I’ll text you if I find anything.”

  “Okay,” I tell him, keeping my phone in my hand, and move further into the club.

  “She’s over there,” Lucas tells me, and relief washes over me.

  “Thank god,” I say and rush to her. “Abby!”

  “Callie!” she replies, turning around, looking rightfully startled. “What’s going on?”

  “There’s a good chance there’s a demon in here,” I rush out.

  “What? How do you know?”

  “Did you see the story on the news about a guy walking out of Lake Michigan?”

  “Shut up, that was real?”

  “Yeah, it was a demon, and he dropped that body and jumped into one a little fresher, if you know what I mean.”

  Her eyes go wide. “And it’s here?”

  “I think so. It’s looking for me, and I was worried it would go after you.”

  “Oh, lovely.”

  “I’m so sorry.” I reach into my purse and pull out two purple sachets. “This is a warding charm. Give the other to Phil, and keep them on you.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “To find the demon.”

  Lucas’s hand lands on the small of my back. “Incoming,” he whispers.

  “Oh, fuck,” I grumble, seeing Scott pushing his way through the crowd, face red.

  “You’ve got some nerve showing up here.” He goes to grab my arm, but Lucas moves in front, baring his fangs. A few people around us take notice and jump away.

  “Trust me, this is the last place I want to be,” I sneer. “And I don’t have time for your bullshit tonight.”

  Scott looks at Lucas, careful not to meet his eyes. “I don’t know what you did, but so help me God, you won’t get away with it.”

  “I already did, Scott. Don’t you see? Whatever you do, I’m one step ahead. Just give it up already.”

  “I’ll never give up! I’m fighting the Lord’s fight and won’t stop until devils like you are gone!”

  Lucas lets out a snort of laughter. “You have absolutely no idea who she is or how quickly she could incinerate this whole room.”

  “Are you threatening me?” Scott says loudly, wanting people to hear. “The vampire is threatening me!”

  “It’s a warning, Karen,” I huff and see William several yards away talking to security, and just the sight of his round face makes me pissed the fuck off.

  And then I see the demon, and his inky eyes meet mine, holding my gaze.

  “Lucas,” I breathe, not taking my eyes off the demon.

  “I’ll get it,” he tells me and speeds forward. The demon grins and turns, moving with inhuman speed as it goes through a staff door. The door swings open and shut a few times behind him, and I see waiters preparing a champagne toast.

  Scott sputters, even more mad over the fact he didn’t get a reaction from us than he is that Lucas and I showed up in the first place. Elena does a backflip or something, kicking me hard in the cervix. I wince, and my hand goes to my lower stomach on its own accord.

  “You and your unborn abomination are damned to rot for all eternity,” Scott goes on, unable to shut the fuck up.

  “Scott,” Abby interjects. “That’s enough!”

  “Don’t defend her! The devil already has his clutches on her soul!”

  “It’s okay, Abby,” I tell her. “And he prefers to be called Lucifer,” I say matter of factly.

  “Oh, hey! It’s your hot sister,” someone says, words slurring a bit. One of Scott’s friends comes up behind him, eyes bloodshot. We had a run-in not that long ago, and I left them more than a little confused. “Guess you didn’t get the memo about the dress code.”

  “I wasn’t invited,” I say, fighting the urge to go all petty and impulsive again. I need to find the demon, and I’m not doing that to Abby. My phone vibrates with a text, and I glance down at the screen, seeing a message from Lucas.

  Got him.

  “Maybe your invitation got lost,” Drunkie slurs, obviously checking out my breasts. His eyes go down a little further, and it’s then he realizes I’m pregnant, but it doesn’t stop him from staring.

  “I’m sure that’s what happened. You know how the post office can be.” I force a smile. “But I’m just so glad to be here and so happy for the new couple. In fact, I think I’m going to give a toast.”

  Widening my fake-ass smile, I turn to Abby. “Don’t drink the Champagne,” I whisper and then move through the crowd, going into the kitchen, pulling a vial of truth potion from my bag as I walk. Several bottles of Champagne are open in preparation to be poured into the glasses that are neatly arranged on black trays.

  “Light of the moon, dark of the night, cloak me from all, hide me from sight,” I say the incantation, enabling me to stand here unnoticed, and divide the truth potion among the open bottles. I put the empty vial back in my purse and step back, moving out of the way of the wait staff.

  I snap my fingers, breaking my cloaking enchantment. “Is it time for the toast?” I ask, and a younger woman nods, looking at me with confusion, wondering why the hell one of Scott’s fancy guests would be back in the kitchen.

  “Great. I wanted to give a surprise speech congratulating the happy couple.”

  “Oh, that’s nice.” She smiles and starts pouring the champagne in the glasses. I wait, watching the glasses get passed out among the partygoers. And now it’s show time.

  “Excuse me!” I call, picking up an empty water glass from someone’s table. I tap a spoon against it, and the room quiets down. “Hi, everyone. Great party, right?”

  There’s a murmur of agreement.

  “I’ll keep this short and sweet,” I go on. “Congratulations, Scott and Ella.” I raise the water glass up. “To a long happy life. Cheers!” I pretend to take a drink and watch as pretty much everyone sips their Champagne. “And now,” I go on, raising my voice to ensure I’m heard, “tell each other how you really feel about William and Scott Martin.”

  A few seconds of strangled silence tick by as people try and resist spitting out the truth. I put the water glass down and take a few steps backwards, moving toward the kitchen again. Lucas suddenly appears beside me, moving so fast I didn’t see him coming.

  “Yeah. Where’s the demon?”

  “We have him on an empty floor. I was worried about you.”

  “I’ll go in a second,” I tell him. “I want to watch the show.”

  “What show?”

  I reach into my purse and show him the empty vial of truth potion.

  “Fuck, I love your petty side.”

  “We have the demon in an empty office,” Lucas tells me as we leave the Metro Club. Chaos is just starting to break out, and I’m almost sad to miss it. A group of politicians finally speaking the truth? This will never happen again. “It’s a few floors down.” He scoops me up, able to move faster if he carries me at vampire speed down the stairs instead of going in the elevator.

  We go into the vacant office space, which used to be a lawyer’s office. The glass doors are already unlocked, and I can see the light from Easton and Melinda’s flashlights bobbing up ahead.

  “Hey, guys,” I say and hold out my hand, conjuring a bright blue energy ball to toss up overhead and light the area. “Everything good?”

  “For us.” Easton unscrews the cap of a jar of holy water. “For him? Not so much.”

  The demon trains his dark eyes on me and inhales. “How kind of you to bring me the half breed.”

  I let out a sigh. “You’re not the first demon to tell me that.”

  I summoned my familiars as we left the club, and I can sense them enter the building.

  “But I’ll be the last,” the demon goes on, and I think everyone in the room collectively rolls our eyes. “You’ll make such a fine gift for our new King. When I break free, you will be mine.”

  “Look around,” Lucas says right as my three familiars shadow into the roo
m. “You’re outnumbered. You’re not breaking free. You’re not leaving here alive. Tell us what we want, and when we have no more use for you, you’ll get a swift death. And if not, we have a well and a binding spell. We can keep you locked up for eternity.”

  “I’m not talking,” the demon spits.

  Lucas smirks, showing off his fangs. “Oh, you are, isn’t he, my love?”

  “You are,” I say, and my eyes flash blue. I hold out my hands, summoning hellfire. “Because the new demon is not your king. I am your queen, and you will answer to me.” A crown of hellfire erupts around my head, burning so bright Easton and Melinda have to look away. The demon tenses, doing its best not to look frightened, and it reminds me of something Lucifer said. I have to use pain and fear to give them a reason to submit to me.

  Not entirely sure if this will work—and being slightly terrified I’m going to be the girl who burned down Chicago’s tallest building—I bring my hand to my face and blow, sending sparks of hellfire raining down on the demon.

  He screams in pain, and I send more sparks flying.

  “Okay!” he finally relents. “I’ll tell you, but only because there’s nothing you can do to stop it.”

  “Yeah, I’ll be the judge of that.” I lower my hands, still holding onto the hellfire but letting the flames subside. “Whatever plan you have to destroy the world isn’t happening.”

  “Oh, but it is.” He smiles, face twisting with glee. “And we don’t want to destroy the world. We want to turn it into our personal playground and have fun with the humans. And by fun, I mean maim and dismember one by one. When Tozaryn rules, demons will be free to come and go as they please.”

  “That’s never going to happen,” I say.

  “It already has.” He laughs. “Tell me, have you found the keys?”

  “Keys?”

  “There should be two of them, swaying in the breeze.”

  What is he—oh shit. The bodies. They weren’t just blood sacrifices to summon a demon, and now I know where there was no blood found at the crime scene. It wasn’t removed but absorbed and breaking the seals that hold the Gates of Hell shut.

  Chapter 31

  “Tozaryn?” Lucas echoes.

  “You are not worthy to speak his name!” the demon hisses.

  “Tozaryn,” Melinda says, wrinkling her nose. “Sounds like an antibiotic or something.”

  “Hah, it does,” I laugh. “Now, what do to with him.” I tap my finger on my lip.

  “Kill him,” Lucas says casually, like he’s suggesting we get take-out on the way home. “He’s given us all the information he can.”

  “Yeah, that’s true.” I hold up my hands and the hellfire burns brighter.

  “Wait,” Easton says, stepping forward. “We should take him outside where it’s easier to clean up the mess.”

  “Good point,” I say and clench my fists and extinguish the fire. “Though the guy’s body he’s possessing did just die. The family might want some closure.”

  “Oh, right,” Melinda says with a nod, agreeing with me.

  “Just kill him,” Lucas presses, not caring about the man or his family. I’m much more empathetic than Lucas ever will be when it comes to strangers. “Or use the spell Lucifer taught you.”

  “It burns the body too,” I sigh. “We’ll have to go old-school exorcism here. You don’t happen to have a copy of the prayer from an exorcism do you?” I ask Easton and Melinda.

  “Don’t you know how to do it?” Lucas asks me.

  “Not off the top of my head.” I reach into my purse and pull out my phone. “Let me see what I can find.”

  “You’re Googling how to do an exorcism?” Lucas asks skeptically.

  “Yeah. There are specific words you can say.” I type in a search and click on the first result. “The prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel is the go-to for exorcisms,” I read “That one should be easy enough for me.” The website takes a few seconds to load. “That looks nothing like my dad,” I scoff when I see a cheesy drawing of Michael with long, flowing yellow hair. He’s holding a sword in one hand and justice scales in the other. “Here goes,” I say and move in front of the demon. “Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and—”

  I cut off, whirling around. “Julian!”

  My cousin appears, dark wings folding behind him. “Hello, Callie. And Lucas. And Easton. And Melinda. But not you,” he tells the demon.

  “He’s the angel,” Easton states, though I hear the question in his voice. Julian is just Julian to me, but to others he vibrates with divinity.

  “Yeah, he’s my cousin in a sense,” I say, happy to see him, though he’s looking rough today, with dirty clothes, messy hair, and something that looks like blood smeared over his cheek. Freya shadows around the demon, keeping a close eye on him while I turn to talk to Julian. “What happened?”

  “Some of the others were getting suspicious and I had to plant evidence in the demon prison where Bael was being held to make it look like Remiel had been there.”

  “Did it work?” I ask.

  “Time will tell. While I was there, I heard chatter from the underworld.” He looks at the demon. “What has he told you?”

  “Some demon named Tozaryn wants to be the new king and is opening the gates to Hell,” I say and see Melinda jump. I don’t think she’d come to the same conclusion I had, and the news is startling.

  “Yes,” Julian tells me and looks at the demon. “Are you done with him?”

  “I got all the info I could from him. He’s in a fresh body, and I’d like to return it to the ambulance he walked out of.”

  “May I?” Julian asks, tipping his head as he looks at the demon.

  “Be my guest.” I step to the side and Julian goes right up to the demon, holding out his hand. Light glows around his fingers, and the demon’s black eyes begin to lighten until blue light pours from the sockets. The demon screeches, sounding like a thousand harrowing cries in the dark.

  The body slumps forward, looking very dead again, and Julian lowers his hand. “I don’t have much time,” Julian says, words coming out a little rushed. He’s always so calm and aloof. Seeing him looking slightly frazzled makes me even more frazzled in return. “But I had to tell you. The demons aren’t opening some of the gates. They want to open all of the gates.”

  “At the same time?” Lucas comes over to me, resting a hand protectively on my shoulder.

  “Yes,” Julian answers.

  “But they can’t do that, right?” I ask, heart hammering.

  “The rituals they’ve been doing aren’t opening the gates but using the power of the Ley line to break the seals that hold them all shut. Once the third seal is broken, every single gate will open.”

  “And you’re the queen of Hell?” Easton asks incredulously, leaning back and setting his beer on the table. Julian left right after he told us all the gates will open at the same time, having to fly out because he thought someone was looking for him. I didn’t get any more information, and I know I have hours of research ahead of me.

  “Future queen, technically,” I say. “I put a claim on the throne but haven’t been inducted or anything, if that’s even how things work in Hell.”

  “And it’s because Lucifer left,” Melinda goes on, making sure she’s following.

  “Yes.”

  “So if he’d go back, all this would be over?”

  “Yes,” Lucas says definitely.

  “We don’t know that,” I counter, unable to help but defend Lucifer.

  “Really?” Lucas raises and eyebrow. “If there was a king in Hell no one would be trying to fill his spot.”

  “I know. But Julian did say demons try to take over all the time.”

  “And they’ve never been successful.

  Melinda twists her napkin between her fingers. “What’s the plan then? If two of the three seals are already broken, we’re—”

  “Fucked?” Easton supplies and th
e couple next to us turn with a glare.

  “I’m not giving up hope yet,” I say. “Tabatha is organizing a nationwide spellcasting on the night of the new moon with the covens closest to the hot spots.”

  “Nationwide,” Lucas muses. “There are Ley lines all over the world.”

  “Right. I’m banking on them needing to be within some sort of close proximity. The Ley lines that travel under the oceans are very difficult to tap into.”

  “That makes sense,” Easton says with a nod. “And I hope it works.”

  “Me too.” I let out a sigh and stab my salad with my fork. I’m either having another bout of morning sickness or the stress of everything is making me feel icky. A salad sounded so good when we got here, and when I saw one being set on a table near us, I had to have it. I’ve eaten two cherry tomatoes and that’s it so far, and I don’t think I can stomach any more.

  Lucas rests his hand on my thigh. “It will work. If anyone can face impossible odds and come out on the other side, it’s you.”

  “Don’t jinx it,” I tell him, knowing he doesn’t believe in jinxes. “And I think we should postpone the baby shower. It’s the day after the new moon phase, and there’s not really any point having one if the world is going to end.”

  Lucas frowns. “The world isn’t going to end. And if you want to postpone it, then that is what we’ll do.”

  “Eliza is going to be pissed.”

  “She can deal with it.” Lucas gives my thigh a squeeze and Elena kicks me hard again, right in the ribs.

  “Feel,” I tell Lucas, moving his hand to my stomach.

  “Eliza is planning your baby shower?” Melinda asks. She got her invitation and already RSVP’d. “That’s…unexpected.”

  “She planned our wedding too,” I say, leaning back and swallowing hard. I taste bile and my stomach churns, making me grimace.