Ian grabs it for me, since I'm still cradling Heidi close. He checks the ID and snorts.
"Sure, why not piss off an ice elemental at four in the morning for not keeping my distance like he asked? Today is already turning out to be a bag of ass compared to yesterday."
"It is cock," Kaenon agrees, rubbing his face like he's tired.
Ian gives him a perplexed look before answering my phone, putting it on speaker.
"Need something, Evie?"
The thrall is clearly expecting to make Frost mad by answering. Still, there's barely even a pause on the other end before Everett demands, "Where's Douglas?"
There's a desperate, broken edge to his voice that I recognize at once.
In the last couple of months, ever since I've really recovered from the coma, the Amato quintet has reached out to me once or twice whenever one of them got really hurt while hunting the fiends in the Nether. Particularly whenever Maven got injured, even if it was mild.
The thing is, she can really only be healed from severe injuries through holy magic now—although thanks to the way her holy demigoddess blood interacts uniquely with magic, Silas can heal her a bit anytime he's fed recently on her.
If Everett sounds like this, it's because his keeper is hurt.
"I'm here," I tell him. Not one for stupid questions that I can just ask when they get here, I rattle off our coordinates.
"We're transporting," he says before the call ends with a click.
Kaenon looks at me, confused. "Who was that?"
Heidi sits up in my arms, finally looking a bit less pale and withdrawn. "That was my brother. Is he okay? Why are they coming here?"
"I think Maven is injured," I explain, gently moving her onto Ian's lap before I slip out of bed to get my boots back on.
Zak peeks open an eye, curious. "Thetelumis going to be here?"
"You're not going near her," I inform him immediately.
"Why? Worried a half-demon mutt like me's gonna hurt the world's oh-so-precious demigoddess or something?"
A sharp, humorless laugh escapes me.
"Not remotely. I just know this psychotic quintet—if their freaky keeper is hurt in any way, they'll be more bloodthirsty than usual. Which means if you go up there and so much as breathe near her, one of those fuckers will probably snap your neck. Just stay down here and try to go back to sleep," I add, looking into Heidi's eyes so she knows I mean her, too. "I'll heal whoever is hurt quickly, and I'll be right back."
A minute later, I'm knocking lightly on Jada's door. She should know she's about to have visitors, and if Crypt is with them, she'll have to invite that bastard siphon inside.
I didn't hear Jada's quintet screaming up here fromVeld'svisit, so I'm hoping he ignored them. Then again, my hearing isn't perfect these days.
One of Jada's quintet members opens the door, blinking groggily at me. "Oh. Asher. Is something wrong?"
At least I know we didn't wake them up with all that screaming.
"We might have company of the Amato variety in a second. If you don't want them inside, I get it because this is late notice. I can just go outside?—"
Her mouth drops open, her eyes wide. "Are you serious?Yes,that's okay! We're all big fans. We'll be right down to welcomethem." Then she looks down at her pajamas. "Oh, gods. I can't let the demigoddess see me inthis!"
She shuts the door to wake her quintet while I go downstairs to the combined living room entry area. I've just finished turning on lights, scooting the coffee table and couches back, and rolling a rug inside in case there's blood when Silas Crane's intense magical signature sears through my senses, telling me they're here somewhere.
The front doors of Jada's house are thrown open with a loud bang, making me swear. Crypt motherfucking DeLune is standing at the doors he can't walk through since he hasn't been invited in. The purple-eyed bastard is covered in gore and looks like madness personified as he calls over his shoulder urgently.
"This way. Quickly, Decimus!"
38
