Then, I felt it.
It was a strange prickling on my skin, my entire body screaming to run, to get away. Damien turned, his eyes meeting mine, horrified.
His name left my lips in a shaken whisper. “Damien?”
A screech rang out over the air, and my hands shot to my ears. The scream was so shrill it pierced into my mind. I gasped, hitting my knees, and I cracked an eye open to see Damien, Zephyr, and Barrett in similar positions.
Then, silence.
“What the fuck was that?” Barrett barked, releasing his ears, his eyes darting around the darkness.
Metal hissed against leather as Barrett and I drew our blades, and Zephyr shifted back into his immortal form, drawing his own weapon. We whipped around, backing into a tight circle. My senses heightened, heart hammering in my chest as I searched for something I couldn’t see. Something watched us, but I couldn’t understand what it was. It felt... cold. Ice crawled over my skin, the hair on the back of my neck standing on end.
Can you feel it, too?
Yeah, but what is it?
The same horrible clicking sound the darklings made echoed in the darkness. The way it bounced off the brick made it difficult to pinpoint where it was coming from. One thing I was certain of, though; this feeling, this sensation, it wasn’t from darklings. This presence was so much stronger, so much more terrifying.
Damien whispered, “Zephyr, if this gets bad, we fall back, and you get Cas out of here, no matter what.”
“I stay with you,” I said sharply before Zephyr could respond.
“Cas, I don’t know what this is.”
“We’ll take it down together or we’ll fall together.” My voice was unwavering. I felt Damien at my back, his presence an unexplainable reassurance.
I love you.
His voice echoed in my mind, and I took a deep breath, gripping my daggers.
I love you too, mea sol. Always. If we fall... I swallowed. We’ll find each other again, just as we always have.
Another screech spilled out into the alley, and I gasped as invisible claws sank into my mind. I ground my teeth, pushing through the agony as I opened my eyes, gripping my daggers tightly, prepared to fight off whatever stalked us.
“Above us!” Zephyr yelled.
I jerked my gaze up, and my blood ran cold at what stared back.
31
CASSIE
Brick crumbled under the massive black claws of the beast clinging to the edge of the roof. Dust and bits of brick tumbled to the concrete below, the clattering drowning everything else out as my adrenaline spiked. It growled as it stared down at us, and my heart hammered in my chest, hands shaking. This was unlike any darkling I’d ever seen, more beast than human.
Its very being was shadow and darkness. I could just barely make it out under the cover of night. Black liquid dripped from its maw of razor-sharp teeth. Its massive, oblong head jerked in our direction, thick neck twisting as it cocked its head to the side as if it were watching us. Only... it wasn’tlookingat us.
Its head tilted back and forth in short twitches, its neck rippling with each movement, the darkness rising like steam all the way to its arched back, where broken spikes jutted down its spine. It clung to the brick as it crept down off the roof and onto the wall in slow, calculated steps, as if stalking prey. That horrible clicking sound echoed from between its razor-sharp teeth. Was it calling to other darklings?
“Damien,” Zephyr whispered.
The beast perked, its body freezing as if it heard them.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Damien responded.
It lunged from the wall, dagger-like talons stretched out as it soared through the air at us, that horrifying scream piercing the air. My feet wouldn’t listen for a moment, my body freezing as the beast’s jaws opened wide.
Damien pulled me to the side as the others dodged in the opposite direction out of the creature’s way.
