Good thing, too, because it would take a lot more willpower than I thought I had to say no if he kept pushing for it.
“There might be a time for this,” I said, and he stood up and hugged me.
“I know,” he replied. “I just like you so much, I just want to advance that time.”
I pulled back and looked in his drop-dead gorgeous blue eyes.
“Half the fun is the anticipation, you know,” I said as I patted his chest. “Come on.”
I could see the frustration on his face. I knew I wore it too. But we were going to be hands off with each other until we’d rescued Brady.
I first popped into the Brits room. Nicholas surprised me with a giant hug, which Richard followed up with a much gentler one.
“You’ve got to teach us how to fight, Sonya,” he said. “We’re bloody tired of playing cheerleader.”
“You guys,” I said with a short laugh. “Thanks. I’ll do that soon, but right now, we’ve got a rescue mission. And I can’t have it turn into a group rescue, so can you guys stay here?”
The two boys glanced at each other and laughed.
“Love, we had no plans of leaving.”
“Thank heavens,” I said, so grateful I chose to ignore the “love” moniker. “Just stay in the house. If you need anything, well, call for delivery.”
After that, DJ and I headed downstairs after DJ had put on more appropriate attire for the day—I was glad he didn’t try and get sexual with the wardrobe swap—and found Caitlin watching TV in silence. As soon as she saw us, she motioned toward the door.
“Some guy named Cartis or something says he’s waiting for you outside.”
“Great, thanks,” I said, immediately heading to the door. When I swung it open, I found Carsis sitting on a chair on the porch, casually holding a ball of magic energy in his hand which he tossed back and forth. “You want that out in the open?”
“An angel’s got to entertain himself somehow while his allies are busy,” he said. “I got some intel on your situation. Paul is holding your brother with the help of several other demons. He’s in the spiritual realm on this level, not hell, which will help, but I’m still concerned that there could be a trap that he wants you to walk into. The spiritual realm location is right by the Berlin Wall.”
“Told you,” DJ said, elbowing me.
“Shocking,” I said, but I smiled nevertheless. “So what’s the game plan?”
“It’s simple,” Carsis said, which seemed like an understatement with demons. “We can take the metro there and get there much faster than walking. I still wouldn’t take a taxi or Uber, I suspect the demons are hoping we do the same.”
“But wouldn’t they hang out on a metro too?” DJ said.
“Less likely to, they’re still in the stage where they don’t want to cause a scene. Once we get to the Berlin Wall, we go to the spiritual realm, rescue Brady, and call it a day.”
I wished missions went that easily.
“You seem to be awfully certain of the plan,” I said to Carsis.
Carsis shrugged, his expression unchanging.
“It’s not exactly a joyful job I have, straddling the human and spiritual realms here on Earth. A lot of risks and very little reward. But what reward does come, it comes in the form of helping us figure out what to do. Come on. Let’s go.”
Carsis stood, extinguishing the magic spell with a single clap of his hands. DJ stretched out his arms, the long-sleeve shirt perfectly conforming to his body and showing his muscles that would soon turn into wings and the fire of a dragon. I patted my guns and prepared to kick some demon ass.
Chapter 9
Our quick walk to the underground subway system, the U-Bahn, saw no conversation and plenty of watchful eyes. I didn’t get the sense other shifters or demons saw us, but I also had a feeling that they weren’t as obvious in Amsterdam. They couldn’t intimidate us into quitting.
When we got to the station, we walked down an escalator toward the platform for the U5 line. I had expected, having come from Boston and New York City, for these subways to be filled to the brim with hurried people, to feel like a crowded flock of sheep in New Zealand, with the conductors serving as the dogs herding us in.
But after paying about seven euros for a day pass, not only was I shocked to find that there was no guard and no turnstile that took our ticket for validation, but that hardly anyone was down here waiting for the U5. There were two other people, standing far away, listening to their headphones, ignoring us. That was fine by me. If I hadn’t had to keep my ears open to the surroundings, I might have thrown on some headphones too, just so I wouldn’t have to deal with the obnoxious performers and salesmen that tended to wander metro stations and subway cars.
I looked at the schedule above me, showing we had four minutes.
“Once we get to Alexanderplatz, we’re going to get on the U8,” Carsis said. “Once on the U8, we’re going to take that to Bernauer Street. From there, it’s walking distance. I suggest you stay prepared at all times. I don’t like how quiet it is here.”
I, too, didn’t like the silence either. I had nothing to compare it to in Europe, so maybe this was just how the Berlin metro worked, but I found that incredibly unlikely. Even at “off hours” in an American city, the metro still had a decent number of people, especially in the heart of a city, which is where we were headed.
Nevertheless, as I kept my hands in my pockets, prepared to unleash Ebony and Ivory, nothing sounded any alarms. When I heard the train creaking ahead, I leaned forward to get a glance at the conductor… who seemed entirely human, bored, and going through the motions. I leaned back and let the train whirl by, the reflection of DJ standing behind me providing a nice shot. If we ever became an action movie duo, this is what shot they would use, I thought, observing how both of us had rigid, badass expressions, me with my hands by my guns and Brady with his muscular arms crossed, looking like a bouncer.
But illusions of Hollywood and Netflix vanished as the train stopped and the doors opened. Much like the station itself, the subway car, similar to every other subway car I’d ever been on with the orange seats and poles that got used to practice stripper skills by drunk frat boys after 2 a.m., was empty. It was worse than the station—it had absolutely no one. Because of this, I became entirely convinced demons now had invisibility skills.
“Spread out a bit,” I said to DJ. “We need to be able to keep eyes in as many places as possible. Don’t go far. We just have to cover all angles.”
DJ didn’t even argue the point, didn’t make any smart remarks about angles; he just went to a seat about ten feet away from me and turned toward the far end of the car. Carsis went to my left, and the three of us looked like three individuals going about their own separate business, not at all connected.
Even as we stopped, no one got on the subway. Glancing out the window showed only the occasional guest waiting, and he inevitably would get in a subway car that was not the one we occupied. My mind shifted from worried to suspicious, convinced that we were being isolated for something—poisonous gas, an ambush, something dangerous. Being alone, I dropped the subtlety and wrapped my fingers around the triggers of Ebony and Ivory. It wouldn’t surprise me to have some demon jump from behind through the cars, and any time spent trying to grab my guns was time the demon could bite me.
But finally, I heard the automatic announcer say “Alexanderplatz.” I hadn’t even felt an unusual bump on the ride, let alone encountered a demon. I stood up, removing my hands from the triggers, making the guns invisible once more beneath my jacket. I went out the exit which DJ took. We went over to Carsis, who was examining the stop for any danger.
“We have to go above ground to get to the Berlin Wall,” he said with a disturbed voice. “The U8 is out.”
Of course. The part in the movie where the hero is funneled into complete danger. At least it’s not Aliens. That shit would actually make me quit.
“Well, wouldn’t be an adventure without
some obstacles,” I said, my hands ready to twitch at a moment’s notice.
“Or, wait,” Carsis said. “Let’s take the U2 to the Eberswalder Straße, and then we can take a metro bus from there. I think that will work.”
“I guess we go above ground later, huh?” I said.
“The less we’re out in the open, the better,” Carsis said.
“Why do I feel like demons are saying the same thing right now,” I muttered, but I didn’t care enough to bring my concerns to Carsis. I could kick any demon’s ass and sort of craved destroying some of them after seeing my brother captured.
We switched platforms to board the U2 train, and once more, the platform was empty. I became more proactive in searching, trying to see if there were a portal hidden anywhere—I even crouched on the side of the platforms and looked down, convinced the demons would place a portal in a spot where no one would look.
But I found nothing. My gut told me if there were demons here, they hadn’t teleported here. And frankly, my gut kept telling me there were no demons to be found.
Which means either they’re all waiting for us in the spirit realm, or they’re planning something much worse elsewhere.
The U2 train came. Not surprisingly by now, the car was empty. With the privacy we had, I unveiled Ebony and Ivory.
“Put those away, will you?” Carsis said.
I was surprised to hear that from the Power angel.
“And leave me at risk of being preempted? No thanks.”
“What do you think will happen if someone here sees them? This isn’t America. You can’t just open carry.”
“Who said anything about open carry?” I said, sliding my jacket over the guns as the train slowed down. “I’ll close carry now. I’ll open carry if I’m alone and suspect something.”
Carsis looked aggravated, perhaps not used to people questioning him, but he let it go, albeit not returning to his focused state. He seemed more agitated than before.
On the one hand, this seemed very unangelic. I would have to meet more angels before I could confirm if Carsis were an outlier or not. But on the other hand, I couldn’t blame him. We were all on edge in our own way, either from a lack of sleep or a concern for someone else or both. The whole public transportation ride reeked of suspicious activity, as if at any moment, a demon—
I heard a growl. Immediately I stood up and held out Ebony and Ivory.
No, no I didn’t. That was just the subway making an unusually sharp turn, the grinding producing a sound similar to a growl. My heartbeat slowly deescalated from the presumed battle. I sat back down, placing my guns back in their holsters, though I kept my fingers close to the weapons.
Finally, we came to our stop and got out quickly, my guns invisible to everyone. Well, no one too, since there wasn’t anyone else at this subway stop either.
But strangely, we heard a ton of music from above us, coming through the walls from the street. It sounded like someone was playing Billboard Top 40 music—but that didn’t make sense. We weren’t near the club district, and it was barely noon, not midnight.
Maybe someone was just being a huge asshole and blaring music for all his neighbors to hear. Happened all the time in the USA.
We climbed the stairs quickly and heard something else confusing—cheering. What the hell was going on?
The answer came when I reached the top, and it immediately put a pit in my stomach.
Thousands, probably tens of thousands, of people either ran or supported runners of The Berlin Marathon.
We were only about a kilometer from the finish line. Hundreds of runners were pouring through the line—some fit, some not, some looking like they’d spent over a thousand bucks on equipment, others appearing as if they’d rolled out of bed. All of them had their eyes squinting against the sun, their mouths open and breathing heavily, and their legs chugging along toward the finish line. Lining the streets had to be thousands of people, some waving flags, some holding signs, some ringing cowbells, all of them cheering and encouraging the runners.
This was, frankly, a fucking disaster. Not because it became obvious immediately that the bus wouldn’t be running at this time. Not because it would take us more time to get to the Berlin Wall.
It was because this was like placing a fresh slab of meat in front of a bear that just woke up from hibernation. The entire city might as well have been here, and there was absolutely no telling what the demons would do if they felt emboldened.
“Change of plans,” I said. “We go to the finish line for a bit.”
“Sonya, are you sure,” Carsis said. “I know what you’re thinking, and you’re not wrong. But your brother is being held captive, and—”
“Won’t be killed as long as I can be drawn out,” I said. “They might turn him into a shifter, but if he’s anything like DJ—and he is, he’s tough—he won’t immediately become a slave for Mundus. I’m more concerned about the demons doing something here. Think about it. Public transportation is spotty, making escape difficult. There’s a huge concentration of people, most of whom will be fatigued and too tired to run or fight. What better place than to do something like this?”
“I’m sorry, Sonya, but I actually think it’s the opposite,” Carsis said. “The demons will pick off anyone who isn’t here. The last thing they want to do is create public mayhem. That’ll only make it more difficult for them.”
I still didn’t feel great, especially as a man in a fake devil’s outfit ran by, screaming in celebration and drawing laughter. What made it even worse was that there didn’t seem to be an easy way around the marathon. The event organizers had blocked off numerous roads.
“It works perfectly for hell, however it’s swung,” I said.
I looked behind Carsis, in the direction of the Berlin Wall. We would have to run at this point to the wall, not take a bus. We couldn’t take the actual short way because of the blockades. We could just leap those, but if I could avoid bringing attention to myself, I would.
“Come on,” I said begrudgingly.
We ran past a mass of people, so thick that cops had to direct foot traffic. We went under the Brandenburger Tor, past the finish line, and then paused. To get to the crossway that would allow us to cross the street and then toward the Berlin Wall, we had to get through security. Security which would pat us down and would probably not recognize my CIA agent status.
“Fucking hell,” I said.
I looked for a long way around when Carsis cleared his throat.
“Sonya, you’re going to have to do what I told you already,” he said. “You have to give me your guns. I can transport to the spirit realm and take them with me.”
The look I gave Carsis could not have been more disgusted if I gagged. But what sucked even worse was knowing how right he was.
“I will kill you before Mundus if I don’t get these back.”
“Deal. Meet by the trees to the left of security.”
We went to a corner. I hesitantly handed my guns to Carsis, who vanished a second later.
“Let’s go,” I said to DJ, beyond aggravated.
We passed through security, which didn’t even give us pat downs—only asked us to expose our pockets. I suppose I could’ve said better safe than sorry, except this left me less safe and sorrier at what I’d done.
Fortunately, when I reached the trees, Carsis appeared and handed me my guns.
“Told you you could trust me,” he said.
I took them without a word.
A loud scream filled the air far off in the distance, deep in the forest.
“Fucking hell,” I said as I took off in a sprint.
I followed the sound of the scream, which sounded like a young woman’s terrified cry, deep in the woods of whatever park we’d just entered.
“Don’t use your… you know what, Sonya!” Carsis yelled behind me. “Don’t draw attention—”
But a demonic laugh filled the air. I took note of how no one else noticed or followed us and was convi
nced this was a trap. No matter—if someone was, in fact, in danger, I had to save her.
“Don’t shift, DJ!” Carsis cried out, but that wasn’t going to be a problem, either, because we weren’t in the spiritual realm and DJ didn’t have the skills that I did.
Which, I realized, made DJ utterly useless in battle.
“DJ!” I yelled, stopping in my tracks. “Get out of here. Go to the Berlin Wall and scout out the area.”
“What, why?” he said.
“You can’t fight here,” I said.
The look on his face was one of pure disappointment and sadness. He knew I was right.
“You’re a sleuth, right? You like figuring things out? Go to the Berlin Wall and analyze the area. The last thing I need to do is have you join me and get hurt.”
“And how will I find you?”
I gave a knowing smile.
“I still have to go to the Berlin Wall, remember?”
He finally smiled, and to my surprise, he reached in and kissed me. The kiss didn’t last long because of another scream, but I unexpectedly enjoyed it and appreciated it. It was nice to have something like this in daylight without the influence of a nightclub or alcohol.
“I’ll see you there!”
I resumed running toward the sounds of the screaming, which were getting closer. I kept my guns out. There were people nearby, yeah, but they didn’t even seem to register the scream. I—
A firm hand grabbed me from behind and my shoulder burned. I threw my elbow back, but I hit air. Seconds later, I had entered into the spirit realm.
Standing before me was a giant Arachtar, probably about ten feet tall, blasting energy spells at me with a dozen demons behind it. Behind the demons, I saw a lanky woman on the ground, wearing a police uniform with a brown ponytail. She was bound by magic in place. Take the police, who would be alert, and then feast on the humans.
“Hi guys,” I said with a smirk as I sidestepped a magic blast from the Arachtar. “It’s poor form to steal a police officer from our realm, you know. Law and order.”
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