A muscle twitched in Agaliarept’s jaw. “We’ve had another attack. Three demon females.”
Bael cursed and my wings ached with the need to unfurl as I struggled to stay in control. In this world, demon males outnumbered females by almost two to one. Most females preferred to stay in the underworld, and those who did make it through the portal were often disappointed by what they found.
I shifted. “Where?”
“Trinity Heights.”
“Take the bounty hunter.”
He nodded. “I messaged her and she’s on the way. She questioned the werewolf alpha yesterday.”
I tilted my head. What had the alpha thought of the little witch? What had she thought of him?
Bael’s gaze was knowing and I forced the thought away, turning my attention back to Agaliarept. “Go.”
6
Danica
Agaliarept’s expression was stone when I arrived at the apartment in Trinity Heights the next morning. I hadn’t been summoned to Monday dinner last night, but I’d made sure I was away from my apartment running errands just in case anyone came for me. Talk about dodging a bullet. Agaliarept had obviously decided to mess with me by threatening me with a dinner at Samael’s tower, and I was definitely going to make him pay.
I glanced up at the apartment building and he gestured for me to precede him inside. In spite of the seriousness of the situation, I had to suppress a smirk. I highly doubted Agaliarept was an old-fashioned gentleman. He didn’t want me at his back.
Was he truly wary of little old me?
“Sixth floor,” he growled behind me and I pressed the button. The doors opened instantly and I stepped inside. Agaliarept scowled, shifting awkwardly, and I jumped as soft feathers brushed my cheek.
He cleared his throat and the sensation disappeared. “My apologies.”
I didn’t inform him I was barely suppressing the urge to reach out and stroke the invisible wings. I could hear them rustle, could see how cramped the demon was in the elevator, and yet they were still hidden.
“Why do you guys use glamor on your wings?”
“It’s not glamor. That’s a fae word. This is… an instinct. When we came through the portal, our wings were invisible. We can lower the veil over them, and sometimes the veil… falls. But most of us prefer to keep them hidden.”
“Why?”
He obviously decided he’d told me enough because he closed his mouth and stepped out of the elevator as soon as the doors opened.
I was guessing there wasn’t enough room for him to allow me to slide in front of him without touching his wings, because he kept walking, allowing me at his back as I followed him down the hall.
The Mistilteinn Dagger let out a sound like a low hum. I was wearing it in a sheath on my belt, hidden beneath my long t-shirt, and I couldn’t be sure if I was the only one who could hear the sound, or if it would be audible to anyone who got too close to me. I frowned down at it, my heart pounding. If Agaliarept found the dagger on me, I was in deep shit. As Samael’s second, I would bet Samael had informed him when the dagger went missing.
The apartment door was already open, and Agaliarept stepped aside, gesturing for me to walk through. From the look on his face, I didn’t want to see whatever was waiting for me in the apartment. I glanced down at the gold mark on my forearm and forced myself to step inside anyway.
My entire body went cold. So cold that I almost expected my breath to turn to fog. My teeth chattered, and I glanced back at the demon. His face was set in its usual inscrutable expression. If he was uncomfortable, I couldn’t tell.
Agaliarept gestured for me to keep walking and I squared my shoulders and forced myself to move. The entranceway opened to a small kitchen, and I noted an open bottle of wine and a small collection of take-out containers on the counter.
The kitchen led to a cramped living room, where three bodies lay in a heap on the floor. I knew what I’d find when I dropped my shields, so I used my eyes first. The bodies were… desiccated. They looked like every ounce of blood had been sucked from them, their jaws open in a soundless scream.
I glanced around the apartment. “Women?” I asked.
“Yes,” Agaliarept replied. “Demon females.” He glanced down.
“What were their names?”
Surprise flashed across his face, but he read the names off his phone. “Tataka, Labassu, and Ahchazu. Labassu and Ahchazu lived together a few blocks away. This is Tataka’s apartment.”
