by Callie Rose
This was the second time in the space of a day that we’d been referred to as puppies. I caught Jayce’s gaze and almost grinned.
“Did you find her?” I asked gently, turning my attention back to Michael.
He shook his head. “Naw. That rat bastard must’ve got her. I’m sick of this shit, pardon my French. Fuckin’ tired of hiding out. Living like a goddamn savage in this refugee town. Ain’t got running water, ain’t got electricity. Holed up like a goddamn Mennonite in here.” He spat to the side. “Good enough if you choose it, but nobody here chose this. Alls anybody wants is to live in peace without that tyrant breathing down our necks.”
“We want to help you,” Jayce said, and I was surprised by the fire in his voice. “All of you. And earth too. Gavriel needs to be stopped.”
Michael looked at him sharply. “And y’all think you’re gonna stop him?”
“We don’t know what we can do until we know what we’re facing,” I said. “Now that we’re cut off from the school and the Custodians, we have to start from scratch. I already know what the Custodians are doing, and it’s not enough.”
“Yeah? What are they doing? Apart from banishing good people.”
I acknowledged the compliment with a nod. “Same as they’ve always done. Cleaning up the mess after the fact. Taking on raids one by one. Picking off stray fallen. They’ve stopped even giving fallen that they round up the option to join their side.”
He shook his head disgustedly. “Idiots. So you all got banished to the underworld. And you came to this place because…?”
He trailed off, gesturing around at the small, hidden town.
“Well, because an old man told us to,” I admitted. “We ran into Maori, who told us to come here for rest and provisions though we’re pretty much set on both. I wanted to have a place to come back to. We’re still trying to map out the underworld. For as much traveling as we’ve done around here, we haven’t found a whole lot of places with people.”
“And you won’t, unless you know where to look. No one lives in the open anymore. I knew about this place from the witch I used to know, or I never would’ve found it. Everybody’s hiding out.”
“So we’ve heard,” Kingston said.
“Mm. Well, I’ll tell you what. I was fittin’ to go storm Gavriel’s camp my damn self, before I thought better of it. Decided maybe I didn’t want to die this week after all.” He grinned, and there was something almost feral in the lupine smile. “But it ain’t far. I’ll take you there myself.”
Chapter Fifteen
Instead of taking us back the way we’d come, Michael led us out through a second tunnel. The town seemed to be set up like a rabbit burrow, except that the top was open to the sky, with a bunch of little entrances and exits dug out of the mountain around it.
When I got a peek at our surroundings, I realized we were no longer following the destroyed landscape.
“Are you sure they went this way?” Jayce asked tentatively.
“It’s a shortcut,” Michael grunted. “They had to go the long way round.”
I could see why almost immediately. Sharp, jagged mountains stood in our way. Michael led us through narrow passages and up steep trails where we were forced to walk single-file and occasionally creep sideways along a narrow ledge. We never reached the top, but entered a maze of tunnels instead.
“Old mines,” Michael informed us as we walked. “Before Gavriel got it into his head to invade earth, he spent all his time mining for those damn stones. We’re almost out, now. Keep your heads down and stay behind the rocks. It’s dark out, but they got night vision, some of ’em.”
We followed him carefully, making sure to keep hidden.
When I finally managed to catch a glimpse of Gavriel’s army, my heart plummeted to my toes. The encampment spread out for miles, like a massive oil spill across the valley. Fires burned every quarter-mile or so, creating a lattice-work of inky black around pools of threatening light. Shadowy figures, ranging in size from massive to tiny, moved around in front of the fires.
“Are they all going to be, uh… recruiting for Gavriel?” Hannah’s voice quivered.
I shook my head. “I don’t think this is their recruitment office,” I said, grimacing at the word. That was the most euphemistic term possible for turning people into demons. “This looks more like an invasion.”
“What do you mean? You think Gavriel is going to go up against all of the human armies of earth?”
I felt sick at the thought. “Shit. I hope not. I really, really hope not.”
She shook her head. “There’s no way. Humans have nuclear warheads. He can’t magic those out of the sky. It’s probably just a huge training camp or something, like a retreat for recruiters.”
God, what I would do for an ounce of her optimism. “There’s only one way to find out.”
We crept farther down the hill, moving slowly so as not to disturb any rocks or slip on the steep slope, until we were level with the encampment.
“What’s the plan, Piper?” Kingston murmured, leaning down to speak near my ear, his gaze still trained on the camp before us.
For the first time in a long time, it felt right to be asked for guidance. Something about being cut off from the school made me feel at home. I’d always worked best outside of the establishment anyway—outside of the rules and bureaucracy. I guessed getting turned into a demon hadn’t really changed that part of my personality. If anything, it’d heightened it.
“Some of us need to sneak in there and pick up intel. The rest need to stay here in case we don’t make it out.”
“We? So you’re going in to do the eavesdropping?” Kai asked. The concern in his voice warmed my heart.
“I am. This is one of those subtle things where my skills are actually useful.”
“I’m comin’ too,” Michael said. “I told Jemma I’d get her some information.”
We still hadn’t gotten a chance to speak with the woman Maori had sent us to find. When Michael had offered to bring us to the army’s encampment, we had taken him up on it immediately.
“Two is good, three is better,” I said, nodding at the werewolf. I looked over my group with a critical eye. “Jayce. You up for it?”
He perked up, delighted and surprised. “Yeah! I’m so down!”
“Keep your voice down,” Kai growled. “Piper. Are you serious? He’s a klutz. No offense, Jayce, but you aren’t exactly the sneakiest person in the world.”
“He is when he’s a hellhound,” I said, and the blond man beamed at me. “And he’s got the best ears of everybody.”
“Why not Xero? Or me?” Kingston asked. “Xero could blend right in, and I can get all dragon over you and nobody would even notice you.”
“Too many people know Xero.” I shook my head. “He’s spent the most time here, so the odds of him being recognized or scented are higher. And while I appreciate you using your possessive nature for good, I can see about a dozen ways that could backfire. Look.”
I pointed at the sky above the encampment. Several dragons were flying in lazy but orchestrated circles around the perimeter.
“You’re territorial creatures, aren’t you? They’ve already taken possession of the camp and everything in it. If you go in there possessively, you’re probably going to draw attention.”
“You were paying attention!” Hannah beamed at me delightedly. “See? Class lectures can be fun!”
“What about you?” Kai asked Hannah. “Piper, what about her? She knows everything.”
“First, no, she doesn’t. She knows lots of things, but not everything. Second, she doesn’t have experience in the underworld the same way you guys do. I want her to hang back and observe.”
“Third, I wouldn’t go if you paid me because I know I’d say the wrong thing to the wrong person and blow our cover all the way off,” Hannah added. “Jayce is the best choice.”
“Then it’s decided,” I said, rolling my neck. “Jayce, Michael, let’s go. Quietly. Yo
u should both be in your animal forms, probably. Just to be on the safe side.”
And that’s how I ended up creeping over brush and stone in the middle of the night, flanked by a wolf and a hellhound.
My life is so fucking weird.
There were no fences around the encampment, but there were guards circling the perimeter on the ground just like the dragons were circling the sky. The sky and ground patrols were even synchronized—a terrible decision on somebody’s part—so it was easy to time our approach.
We wended our way through the tents and makeshift shelters, looking for the nicest one we could find. The more important people would have better accommodations, I assumed.
I ducked my head, letting my hair fall in a curtain around my face, then curled up next to a tent like I was a demon soldier exhausted from the march. The other two followed my lead, lying down on either side of me. We waited, listening. There was nothing useful for a while, long enough to make me think we’d chosen a poor spot, but before I could suggest we move, a large minotaur stormed into the tent.
“General. A word.”
“Make it a quick one, Forin,” a low voice said. “I’m busy.”
“The men are exhausted. Rumblings of mass desertion and mutiny are spreading. We’re low on supplies and even lower on morale.”
“Morale? What does this look like, a fucking day camp? You tell your men that we are nearly there.”
“Where? No one knows where we’re going or what the plan is, and I can only force them to march for so long without giving them something to look forward to. Death. Destruction. Freedom. Any fucking thing they can sink their teeth into.”
There was a long pause followed by a heavy sigh. “Very well. Tell your men that we are headed for the First Temple. Our supplies are intended to be minimal to ease the crossing.”
“The crossing? You don’t mean the whole army.”
“I do. Gavriel is certain that his magic and the power of the portal will be enough to move the whole army from this plane to the other. How many days of provisions are left?”
“Ten.”
“We’ll be there in seven.”
There was a pause. The minotaur seemed to be grasping for a new argument. Finally, he spoke again, his voice gruff.
“They aren’t trained for recruitment. They won’t be happy about being sent to earth.”
“Did I say they would be tasked with recruiting?”
“Then what?”
“Use your head for something other than goring, Forin. We are an army, are we not?”
“Well, yes, but—”
“But nothing. Gavriel is tired of playing number games with the Custodians. He wants earth.”
“Earth’s a big place with a lot of armies. Where does he intend to send us?”
“Here.” I heard the tap of a claw against paper and wished I had the ability to project my consciousness into someone else’s head. I would’ve given anything to see through Forin’s eyes. “Not as close to the nerve center as I would like, but it’s where the portal naturally opens. It’s going to be an uphill climb on all sides. That’s where the pentagram formation comes in. If Gavriel’s right, the portal should—”
I never heard what the portal should do, because at that moment Jayce stood up, ears and tail erect. He bristled, growling softly toward the shadows in front of us.
Shit. Time to go.
I shoved at Michael, who caught on quickly and crept around the back of the tent. I followed silently, and Jayce followed me but kept his sharp gaze on the shadows around us.
As we crept back through the camp, Jayce whined softly, then nudged me quickly around the side of a large, worn-looking tent, pressing me up against it gently with his body. Michael stood in front of me too, and we all waited, holding our breath.
A moment later, a couple of ogres wielding spiked clubs passed by.
“They were here a minute ago!” one of them grunted.
“The dragons are seeing things. They’re bored. It was probably just a couple of drunken soldiers getting it on before the march.”
“What if it was spies? Or deserters?”
“What spies? What would they do? Get an army of babies together? We have all the able-bodied already. The dragons are just bored. Come on, I’m thirsty.”
“You’re always thirsty.”
There was nothing but a grunt in response to that, and I gripped Jayce’s fur tightly, digging my fingers into the thick strands of his pelt.
Keep walking, you fuckers. Keep walking.
Chapter Sixteen
My lungs burned with the need to drag in a breath, but I stayed perfectly still. It was fully dark by now, which should help conceal us. But who knew which creatures around here had heightened night vision.
“Look at those fuckin’ things. They do look bored. Can’t believe Gavriel trusts dragons to be good at any damn thing,” one of the ogres said, and his buddy chuckled.
When they mentioned dragons again, I chanced a peek overhead—just in time to see a burst of flame in the sky a quarter mile from where we stood.
I should have been paying more attention to them.
“Yeah, all right. Let’s get that drink.”
As soon as the ogres stalked away, we made a break for the dark wilderness outside of the camp.
I followed Jayce and Michael back, since they could see better in the dark than I could. The others had been watching us approach the last few yards and dragged us into a small hollow as soon as we were close enough to touch.
“Sorry,” Xero breathed, his eyes sparking with worry. “We had to hide. The dragons have been doing random wide loops.”
“That’s our fault,” I said. “They saw us go into the camp. If it wasn’t for Jayce’s ears, we would have been caught.”
“What did you learn?” Kai leaned forward, his muscles taut.
“There’s some kind of big portal, I think. They called it the First Temple?” I looked at Xero and Hannah, our resident experts.
The fire demon frowned. “I’ve heard of it. I don’t know a lot about it, except that it’s like a big natural deposit of stones. People kept saying we should mine it, but Gavriel declared it sacred ground for some reason.”
“According to them, it’s big enough to transport the whole fallen army to earth,” Jayce said grimly. “That’s what they’re planning. They’re going to get to the temple, and Gavriel is going to send the whole fuckton of them through to earth. It’s his big end game.”
Shocked silence answered him. Then Kai cleared his throat, forcing nonchalance into his voice.
“Then I guess it’s good we’re not on earth. Banishment doesn’t sound so bad now, does it?”
“Kai, you can’t mean that.” Hannah sounded close to tears. She’d put on a brave face ever since she’d thrown her lot in with us the day we were banished, but the stress was finally starting to get to her.
“I do. The Custodians brought this on themselves. Let them deal with the consequences.”
“It ain’t just the Custodians who’re gonna suffer,” Michael said. “If he wins up there, think how powerful he’s gonna be when he comes back. He’ll turn whoever is easy. He’ll burn everyone else. He’ll leave with one army and come back with four.” He paused for a long moment, and when he spoke, his voice was thick. “Besides. There are still people up there worth caring about.”
“There’s no way I can sit this out,” I said, my heart pounding hard in my chest. “I have to get back to earth. The Custodians are assholes, but earth doesn’t deserve this. I’m going to try to stop it.”
“How?” Kingston crossed his arms over his chest, his expression serious.
I shook my head. “I don’t know. But I have to try. You guys don’t have to come. It might actually be better if you stayed—then I won’t be worried about you getting hurt.”
“You’re right.” Xero looked at me with an unreadable expression on his face. “We should all stay here and let you take on Gavriel’s entir
e army all by yourself.”
My heart sank a little. It felt like someone had sucked out a piece of my soul—I’d gotten so used to all of us being a team. But he was just doing what I’d said, going along with my suggestion.
And it would be fine. I would know they were safe, and when it was all over, I could come back for them. I would find a way to get it done.
“Good,” I said, keeping the waver out of my voice.
Xero’s expression shifted suddenly, something like anger mixing with the pride that passed over his face. He pulled me toward him, the movement so sharp that I practically plowed into his chest, but he caught me with his arms around my waist.
His eyes blazed as he looked down at me. “Shut up, Piper. You thought I was serious? There’s no fucking way we’d let you go alone. Ever. We’re coming.”
“Damn straight we are,” Kingston said. “We go where you go.”
Kai’s lips curled up into a smile as he stepped up beside Xero, and he shook his head, holding my gaze. “You really thought you could get away from us? I hate the Custodians. I hate their methods. But I love the fuck out of you. And I’m not letting you go all noble without me there to make sure you don’t get dead.”
My heart jumped in my chest, slamming so hard against my ribs I was sure Xero could feel it.
Kai loved me.
I had known that, or at least, I’d thought I did. But hearing him say it was something else entirely.
Fuck. I wish we weren’t hidden near the outskirts of Gavriel’s camp, spying on his demon army. I wish we had time to acknowledge this moment properly. Preferably naked.
Xero released me, smiling down at me as I stepped toward Kai, wrapping my arms around him and claiming his lips.
“I love you too,” I whispered into the kiss.
He kissed me back, plundering my mouth as if he didn’t give a shit who could see us—not even if it was Gavriel himself.
I could practically feel Xero’s pleased smile as he watched, and when I broke away from Kai, flushed and a little breathless, I saw Jayce and Kingston gazing at me with something intense in both of their eyes.