“Are you okay?” I asked Vas. “You seem sad.”
He clenched his jaw as we flew over the city. The wind on my face was a welcome relief in the heat.
“The demon who was attacked today is one of my close friends.”
My stomach sank. “I’m so sorry.”
He nodded, his gaze focused on the distance. “We need to find whoever’s doing this, Danica.”
“We will,” I swore. My chest tightened at the hopelessness in his voice and something that felt uncomfortably close to shame twisted my stomach. Before I got caught in Samael’s territory, I’d thought of demons with nothing but disdain— and let’s be honest— terror. They weren’t human, would never come close to having the same moral code, and I’d listened to the rumors, which said demons were incapable of love.
I’d nodded in agreement when people talked about how much better this world would be if the demons hadn’t come through those portals. I’d sneered at those who found them compelling— who weren’t smart enough to stay the fuck away from creatures who could snap their necks with little more than a thought.
But demonswerecapable of what I’d arrogantly always assumed were human emotions. Vas was proof of that. His love for his uncle, his rage and concern for his friend. His deep respect for Samael— he felt things. Just as deeply as I did.
And Samael felt things too.
I didn’t quite know what to do with this revelation.
I stiffened in his arms as we approached the site. “No,” I barked. “Don’t land in front of everyone! Good God, man. Take me around the corner or something.”
Vas heaved a sigh, rolling his eyes, but my dramatics seemed to have distracted him from his brooding. The demons were tiny dots below us, but one of those dots glanced up as we flew lower, and I instinctively knew it was Samael.
The other demons hadn’t noticed me yet, but they would soon, and my ass-kicker image would take a hit if I arrived clutched in Vas’s arms like a baby. If he was going to haul me around, we needed something that would work better. Maybe some kind of rope system?
I closed my eyes as the ground got closer, and Vas grunted as he landed, bouncing me slightly in his arms as his body absorbed the impact. He placed me on the ground and led me around the corner to where a group of demons were gathered.
“Hey Vas? What’s a group of demon’s called?”
He dragged his gaze away from where it had gotten stuck on a wide pool of blood on the ground and the corner of his mouth curled up.
“An envy. I know what you’re doing, you know. You don’t have to distract me. I can handle this.”
I sniffed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I ignored Vas’s snort and rolled my shoulders as we walked toward Samael. The demon’s eyes met mine and heat flared in them. It was as if the air crackled between us, and the voices went silent.
I glanced over my shoulder, where a group of humans had already gathered, their phones flashing as they took pictures in the morning light.
We weren’t downtown. This was a residential neighborhood in Old North Durham, and yet the word had already spread, and more cars were arriving as humans fought to get a picture of Samael.
I now understood why Samael was sending us out to do the legwork of this investigation. All the awe was downright distracting. I eyed him as I approached.
“Tell me, does all the bowing and scraping ever get to be too much?”
He stared at me, his eyes wintery. They lightened slightly as I put my hands on my hips, shaking my head as a woman walked past, her eyes firmly glued to Samael’s butt.
“Bow for me, bounty hunter,” he purred, “and I’ll tell you if it’s too much.”
The moment stretched between us, and his lips quirked before Bael cleared his throat.
Samael gestured at the blood. “This was where Fecor was attacked,” he said. “His friend surprised them and injured one of their people. The attackers were so focused on helping their injured that they left this one behind.” He jerked his head and I froze.
Around the side of the nearest house—a shabby white duplex that needed a refresh—ten or more demons were gathered.
Three of them moved aside and my mouth dropped open. The woman sitting on the ground was draped in chains. She was probably in her fifties, with lines etched into her face that spoke of a hard life.
She let out a growl and I glanced at Samael. “You gagged her with your power.”
He merely nodded. “And now she’s going to tell us everything she knows.”
