by Sadie Moss
“I keep telling you,” Beck says, the green of his eyes flaring slightly, “you could make a fortune marketing flavored potions.”
Ryland rolls his eyes, although his tone is hard as glass. “Don’t make me sic another restraining order on you.”
Isaac just laughs.
I’m guessing that it must be a pretty big deal, somehow, being able to make potions tasty. Maybe it’s because magical potions and spells have to be extremely exact. I don’t know a lot about magic, but I know that much. Maybe adding another ingredient to make it taste good could ruin the entire potion? So if he’s found a way to add flavor while keeping the potion potent…
Ugh. I’m stalling.
I take the stopper off the bottle and down it in one gulp.
“Excellent.” Isaac takes the bottle back, gazing at me with undisguised interest, like I’m a fascinating test subject. “You should be all set.”
“Thank you,” Ryland says. Some of the cold hardness has drained from his voice, and he actually sounds genuine. I’m in shock.
“Why don’t we have to take one?” Ford growls suspiciously.
“She’s the only one giving off an angelic signal,” Isaac points out. “This’ll dampen it. Screw with her heavenly nature so demons won’t come gunning for you right away.”
“How long will it last?” Beck asks, his shoulders tense.
“I’m not sure exactly. A day up here on Earth, but you know how time works on other planes.” Isaac shrugs. “I’d move as fast as possible. And it only dampens her signal. Doesn’t block it entirely. So…”
“Be careful,” Ryland finishes dryly.
Isaac gives him a big smile and a shrug.
We all go to stand in the circle, crowding together with me in the middle. It’s a tight fit, and I’m pretty sure that Isaac hasn’t ever tried to cram this many people or creatures into this circle before.
The sorcerer stretches his hands out, and I slide my own hands into Remi’s and Nix’s, squeezing tightly. Isaac has a strong, imperious voice, and I don’t understand any of the words coming out of his mouth, but they definitely sound authoritative.
I grip tight and close my eyes as a strange feeling washes over me, like a wave made of light. Then I’m being transported. It’s a lot more pleasant than when we transported to Brazil, but when the dizzying feeling of traveling through the ether fades, a wave of heat hits me.
It’s almost but not quite unbearable, the kind of heat that steals the breath from your lungs and clings to your skin and makes the inside of your mouth stick together. I don’t want to open my eyes—but I have to. I know I have to. One at a time, I pry my eyelids open and stare at the world around me.
We’re here.
“Shit,” Ford mutters.
We’ve landed not in the middle of nowhere like I was hoping but in the midst of what seems to be a large city. Tall, crooked spires made out of what looks like bone rise up around us, crumbling buildings covered in scorch marks with pikes at the base.
There are corrupted all around us, going about their business and walking down the street. Some of them stop and sniff the air, glancing over at us—as if they can sense my mark, sense my angelic nature.
Uh oh.
Chapter Ten
BECKETT
My muscles tense.
Fuck.
I know Isaac doesn’t have precise control over where he sends people when he uses his portal to Below, but damn, this is bad.
All around me, I can feel my brothers reacting the same way I have, their gazes swinging left and right as they fall into a tight formation around Trinity, forming a physical wall around her. We’re all bigger than the petite little angel is, so if nothing else, we’ve at least blocked her from everyone’s sight.
But with her demon mark giving off even a low-level signal, will that be enough?
“Shit,” I mutter, sharing a look with Ryland. “We need to get her away from the crowds. Somewhere less populated. Now.”
He nods once and then veers sharply left down a side street. The rest of us follow smoothly, moving with unconscious coordination like a school of fish darting through the ocean.
My heart thuds in my chest, and I move a little closer to Trin—so close that my arm brushes against hers. I feel the tension in her body too, but the angel is tough as a warrior. She doesn’t cower or panic, but moves along with us, peering through the small gaps in the cluster of bodies around her to watch for any incoming threats.
This street is quieter, but it’s still too heavily populated. Too many corrupted walk past us, curious gazes tracking us as they turn their heads.
“This isn’t fuckin’ working,” Ford mutters, his voice thick with adrenaline and anger. “We need to fight. If we run and they catch on to us, they’ll get the jump on us. We should strike first. Only one side gets the element of surprise, and it better fuckin’ be us.”
“Shut up,” Ryland tells him in a clipped tone, turning down another street as we all pick up our pace.
“Fucking corrupted,” Ford growls.
His wrath seeps out of him, and I feel my own anger stirring as his magic fills the air around us.
Anger at whoever put the demon mark on Trinity.
Anger that Isaac couldn’t send us to a better location.
Anger that for all our power, there’s no guarantee my brothers and I can keep Trinity safe down here.
My hands curl into fists, and I find myself beginning to agree with my brother. Maybe it’s better if we do stop and fight. I’m itching to land my fist in the face of a demon or two, to take out my anger on someone who deserves it.
But even as the thought filters through my mind, I notice that several of the demons who have taken notice of us look angry too. One’s lips curl back, baring sharp teeth, and another glares at us with red eyes.
Fuck.
If Ford keeps pumping wrath into the air, we won’t have any choice but to fight.
Shoving down my own fury, I call upon the iron control that I’ve cultivated over the years, forcing myself to think logically and strategically.
“Ford,” I mutter as Ryland turns down another street. “Get it the fuck together. You’re riling up the demons.”
“Oh, shit,” Trinity murmurs. Then, before I realize what she’s doing, she reaches out and grasps my brother’s forearm. “Calm down, Ford. Please. I know you want to fight them. I mean, to be honest, I kind of do too. Demons are literally the antithesis of angels. My whole purpose for being is to fight them. But we have to pick our battles, and this isn’t one we need to fight. Okay?”
Ford’s body jerks, and I expect him to shake off her hold on his arm. But instead, he lets out a sharp breath. A little of the anger pouring from him dissipates, and the demons around us begin to act less agitated.
Holy fuck. It’s working.
I’ve seen Trinity affect my brothers before, and every time it happens, I’m unsure what to do or how to feel about it.
She’s changed all of us. I can feel it. Part of me resents that fact and still resists it, fighting against the influence of the soft little angel who somehow landed in our midst.
While I’ve been traipsing all over the globe working to destroy the portals and protect Trinity, my company has been running without me. It’s a massive operation, and I have plenty of people I trust to keep things going smoothly in my absence. So it’s not like the whole thing will fall apart. But without me there, checking up on things and managing the day-to-day operations, it won’t be as profitable as it usually is.
I’m losing money while I’m on this wild goose chase.
But at the same time, it’s not as if my greed has abated. It’s just shifted. I’m still just as greedy as I’ve ever been, but the things I crave are different than they once were.
Now I’m greedy for different things.
For Trinity.
For family.
I crave both of those things with a fierceness that’s almost shocking. Since Ryland and I f
ell out, our entire family splintered. I convinced myself I didn’t miss my brothers, burying myself in work, sparring with Ryland, and amassing as much wealth as I could to fill the hole in my life that their absence left.
It’s far too sentimental to ever admit out loud, but I missed them. Now that I have them back, I’m greedy to keep them in my orbit.
“Good, angel,” Ryland mutters, a note of approval in his voice. He looks at Trinity with something almost like affection, although his features harden as soon as he sees me glance at him.
We continue to move as a tight group, Trinity still murmuring comforting, calming words to Ford as we stride down the street. A few more turns, and we’re well and truly away from anyone else. I don’t see a single demon on the street where we are now.
It’s only a minor relief. Desolate areas are sometimes where the most dangerous monsters lurk, so just because we don’t see anyone, it doesn’t mean we’re safe.
“We need to find the demon Isaac told you about,” I say to Ryland under my breath. When he set up our deal with the sorcerer, they also discussed a plan for how we would get the information we need once in Hell.
Apparently, there’s a demon Isaac has summoned several times who might be both willing and able to help us. The very fact that he’s been summoned through a portal several times and has never killed Isaac lets me know that he’s not nearly as vicious as many of the corrupted.
Whether he’ll actually agree to help us remains to be seen.
“I know.” Ryland keeps his gaze focused on our surroundings as he answers me. “I think we’re actually close. Isaac dumped us in the middle of a public space, but it was closer to where we need to go than I initially thought.”
He leads us down several more streets, sometimes taking a longer way around to avoid busier areas. Even though Trinity has managed to calm Ford to the point where he’s not radiating fury anymore, we still get the odd look here and there. I’m sure the way the seven of us are clustered so tightly around Trinity looks a bit strange, but there’s nothing to be done about that. I’m not leaving her exposed to the leering eyes of the corrupted, even with her demon mark partially obscured.
Just when I’m about to question Ryland about whether he actually knows where we’re going, he slows his pace slightly, lifting his chin. “There.”
I look where he’s indicating and see a battered wooden sign hanging outside a building. Most of the structures in this city are made of stone, looking more like they rose up out of the ground than were built by any sort of design. The surfaces are rough and uneven, and a layer of grime seems to coat everything.
The sign itself is so dirty that it’s hard to read, but as it sways in the hot breeze, I pick up the words scrawled into the wood.
Flynn’s Knicks, Knacks, and Other Things.
“Is that it?” Trinity whispers. I’m not sure who she’s asking, but both Ryland and I nod. “That name would almost be cute,” she adds, “if the sign didn’t look like a serial killer wrote it.”
I suppress an amused snort. She’s not wrong about that. Instead of flowing calligraphy, the letters look like they were scratched into the wood with a rusty nail. It makes the sign look more like a warning than an invitation to enter the shop.
Not that it stops any of us.
Ryland pushes open the door and steps inside, and the rest of us wait for Trinity to follow after him before slipping in after her. Her grip on Ford’s arm falls away as he looks around the dark interior of the space curiously.
The second the door closes behind us, a ball of fire hurtles toward us from the back of the store.
“Fuck!” Remi curses as he and Knight dive for cover.
A second fireball flies through the air, and Ford wraps his arms around Trinity, whirling around so that his back is to the flaming ball of magic. He grunts as he takes the hit, his enchanted leather jacket repelling the worst of the flames.
“We come peacefully! Isaac sent us!” I bellow, my voice cutting across the commotion. The sorcerer warned us that his contact could be skittish, and if we don’t get the situation under control quickly, we’ll end up having to hurt the man we came here to ask for help.
Not that I particularly have any moral qualms about that, but it would be impractical and counterproductive, two things I loathe.
“Isaac?” The voice that emerges from the back is husky and raspy, and when a man pops his head around the corner, I notice that his gray skin seems to smolder. “He sent you? What does he want?”
“He wants nothing,” Ryland says smoothly, taking a step forward. “We want something, and he believes you can help us.”
“So you’re not here for Kai?” the demon presses.
“No.”
“Then fuck off.”
“But we haven’t even told you what we need yet!” Trinity interjects, looking flabbergasted by the idea that the demon would send us packing without even asking our business. I almost laugh. She looks adorable when she’s incensed, her deep brown eyes flaring wide as her jaw sets. If that expression were directed at me, I’d pull her into my arms and kiss those beautiful lips until they softened against mine. Until they parted to allow my tongue entry.
Of course, if this corrupted tries that, I’ll fucking kill him.
“Don’t care,” he calls from the back, and I stride forward, annoyed by the stubbornness I can hear in his tone.
“I think you will care,” I say, keeping my voice cool and measured. “When you find out what we’re willing to offer for your help.”
“What?” The man steps a little farther out, more of his body appearing in the doorframe. “What are you offering?”
My greed flares as my instincts rebel at offering him anything. But I can smell his own greed from where I stand, and I know I’ve piqued his interest. I name a figure that makes Trinity let out a little squeak of surprise, and the demon’s eyes widen. He takes another step forward, watching us warily.
“And what do you want in exchange?” he demands.
“One of us bears a demon mark. We want you to remove it.”
He grimaces. “Remove a demon mark? You know that goes against my own kind, right?”
I shrug. “That’s for you to decide. We’ve told you what we want and offered our price. You can choose whether to accept it or not.”
To my left, Knight gestures subtly with his hands. And what do we do if he chooses not to accept?
Remi catches his gaze and shrugs as if to say, your guess is as good as mine.
I ignore them both, keeping my focus entirely on the demon. I don’t feed any greed into him, certain that he’ll know if I try to manipulate him. He’s already skittish, and I’m sure that would make him reject our offer. So instead of pushing greed toward him, I just breathe deeply, testing the greed that emanates from him.
It’s strong. He wants this. Badly.
And it’s not just the money he seems greedy for. It’s what the money represents.
Freedom.
“You go to Earth to escape, don’t you?” I ask, watching him carefully. “When Isaac summons you, you’re only too happy to go. If you take our offer, you could escape Hell permanently.”
“What makes you think I want to escape?” The demon scoffs, but I can hear the lie in his voice.
“Very well. We’ll look for a solution to our problem elsewhere.”
I turn to leave. Ryland shoots me a sharp look, and I can tell he thinks I’ve played this card too early, but his pride won’t let him look the fool by staying behind. So he turns too, and the others follow our lead.
My hand is on the doorknob when the demon’s voice cuts through the silence behind me.
“Wait.”
I do. My fingers remain wrapped around the knob, but I grow still, waiting for him to continue.
“I’ll do it,” he says, and if there’s a note of defeat in his voice, there’s a note of excitement too. “If it gives me the chance to get out, I’ll do it.”
All eight of us tur
n back to face him. Trinity steps forward, her eyes shining. “Can you really remove the mark?”
The demon grins, revealing slightly jagged teeth. “Isaac didn’t send you to me for nothing. I’m the best at what I do.”
Now that a deal has been struck, he seems to relax a little. He ushers us deeper inside his shop, which is little more than a grungy, mostly empty room. He directs Trinity to take off her shirt, which nearly earns him a decapitation at Ford’s hands. This time, not even Trin’s sweet, calming words can get Ford to calm all the way down, but Remi and Knight pull him away, restraining him and keeping him from attacking Flynn as the demon gets to work.
My jaw clenches so tightly that my teeth ache as I watch him trace a claw-tipped finger over her left shoulder blade. Every one of my brothers looks agitated—even Knight and Remi, who are still doing their best to contain Ford.
“Ah. Hmm…” Flynn makes a face, his gray skin wrinkling. “This is a powerful mark. It’ll take a bit of time to remove it.”
“Then we’d better get started right away,” I say, a command in my tone.
He nods absently, his fingers still tracing a pattern over Trinity’s skin. I’m about to pull his hand away and break every one of his bony fingers when he looks up, meeting my gaze. “You know, even though the mark can’t be seen, it has a shape.”
“So?”
I shift my weight in agitation. He’d better not be stalling just to delay removing Trinity’s mark. Every second that it remains on her is a second we’re at risk of being attacked—especially down here in Hell, where there are thousands of demons who could be attracted to the pull of the mark.
“So I can draw the shape for you if you like.” He speaks slowly, like he’s explaining something to a child, and I have to resist the urge to reach out and grab him by the throat. “Whoever put this on her, this is their mark. It’s very likely you’d be able to find out who did it if you found the mark.”
I hesitate, blinking at him. The most important thing is getting the target off Trin’s back—but this? This is more than we hoped to achieve. If we’re able to leave here with a solid lead on what demon is after Trin, that would put us in a better position to be able to defend her from future attacks.