My feet had just touched down on dirt, the scent of pine in the early evening flooding my nostrils, when a scream cut through the chatter.
My heart rate ratcheted up, and my eyes darted over the crowd in time to catch a middle-aged witch fall, followed by a fae. And then I saw a winged woman with glowing, red eyes set in a human face. A cambion.
I flew into motion, calling my shadows, and sprayed a spider web of blackness over the crowd. My aim was true, and it wrapped around the demon’s neck and cinched tight. Once I had her locked down, another net flew from me, and I bundled her up.
“You bitch!” someone screamed, and green acid soared toward me.
“Oh, hell no!” Eva’s voice filled my ears, then she sent a wave of darkness to gobble up the succubus’ poison right before it slammed into my stomach. Pivoting, she sent her own net of darkness at the greater demon.
The succubus growled, but when Eva’s demon magic hit her, she crumpled to the ground with a screech.
Two demons down. Were there more hiding nearby?
“Everyone, spread out!” Hunter gripped Eva’s wrist, studying her as he took charge. “Look for anyone with red eyes.”
“Why were they here?” Eva asked. “This was supposed to be safe ground.”
After realizing that one was wearing thick tights, and no skirt, it took only a few minutes of searching the cottage to deduce why the demons were in the area.
“We found a skirt, a cardigan, and two pairs of shoes in the cottage. Please don’t tell me you use this disgusting cabin to get your jollies?” I approached the demons with a sneer on my face.
“We use it forprivacy,” the succubus snapped. “There are so many of us at that dreadful school that alone time is hard to find.”
‘So many of us,’ freaking wonderful.
“How many more are there in the area? In Wandstown?” Hunter was holding his totem to the succubus’ neck.
I couldn’t help but notice that he despised the succubus in particular. Probably because that was the exact race of demon that had scarred Eva.
“Somany,” the demoness said with a smirk. “They’ll be here any minute now.”
A pit formed in my stomach, only to vanish a moment later when Eva spoke.
“She’s lying.”
I twisted to face my best friend. “How do you know?”
“Efraim told me. He can hear what’s in her mind.”
The succubus growled, and Hunter’s blade pressed tighter against the skin of her neck.
“For instance, she’s thinking right now that she would like nothing more than to pour her acid all over me. Finish the job that the other succubus started.” Eva’s voice got tighter as she spoke.
“Oh, hell no,” Hunter said, and without further preamble, he sliced the demon’s neck open. She fell to the ground, blood spilling on the dirt around her.
The room quieted. We were here for a war, but no one had expected that.
A heartbeat later, Hunter dragged his eyes up from the body of the demon. “I’m sorry. It’s just that she threatened Eva, and—”
Alex placed a hand on his cousin’s forearm. “We get it. It was a little startling, but we understand.”
It was only then that I became aware of the cambion growling low in her throat.
“You’re going to let him do that? Kill somebody and not get reprimanded?” Her burning red eyes flashed up at me with pure loathing. “It seems that you’re not as different from us as you think.”
“Don’t try to screw with my head,” I said. “It won’t work.”
“If you want to live more than the next minute, you’ll leave my daughter alone and answer my questions.” Dad’s magic, a burning ball of silver, swirled in his hand. “Believe me, I know all the sacred incantations, and I’m not afraid to use them.”
