“Six demons down,” Ty replied, “and I found something you’re going to want to see.There’s a control room hidden behind the north wall.It looks like they’ve been coordinating the entire operation from here.”
A chill moved down Caleb’s spine, and he looked over to see Delia’s arms wrapped around herself, as if she, too, suffered from a cold that had nothing to do with the temperature inside the chapel.
If this was just one control room, how many others were there?
“Pru,” he said into his mic, “we could really use that map of critical locations.”
“Working on it,” she replied.“But based on what I’ve found so far, I think this was just the beginning.The real target isn’t the individual chapels.”
He frowned.“What do you mean?”
A pause that seemed to stretch forever.Then she said, “I’m not an expert or anything, but I think they’re building a citywide summoning circle.Every location and every ley line is all part of one massive ritual.”
Caleb looked at Delia, seeing his own realization reflected in her face.This wasn’t about stopping one wedding or protecting one chapel from turning into a hellmouth.
No, this was about preventing a full-scale invasion.
“Well, hell,” he said.
ChapterSix
The silencein Caleb’s Mercedes seemed almost oppressive as they drove away from the Silver Bell Wedding Chapel.Delia kept stealing glances at him, noting the tight set of his jaw and the way his knuckles had gone white where he gripped the steering wheel.The adrenaline from their confrontation with the demons was still coursing through her system, making her jittery and hyperaware of every sound, every shadow that passed by the car windows.
And if she was feeling like that, she could only imagine what Caleb must be experiencing.Although she’d seen him use his demonic abilities before, something had seemed different about this last battle, as though his demon blood had ramped up a few levels.
She wasn’t sure what to think about that.
“Your place or mine?”Caleb asked, his voice almost harsh, deeper and rougher than usual.
Some kind of lingering effects from the almost berserker fury he’d exhibited a few minutes ago?
That possibility scared the hell out of her.What if he allowed his demon blood to take over so much that he couldn’t find his way back to the man she loved?
That’s not going to happen,she told herself.He knows what he’s doing.
At least, she hoped he did.
“My place,” she said, and prayed that was the right answer.Maybe Caleb would have preferred to be at his house, but her home was a little closer to Pru’s, and right now, Delia thought the familiar comforts of her own space were exactly what she needed.“I’ve got some of that wine left over from dinner last night, and I think we both could use a drink.”
He nodded, and they drove the rest of the way in an uncomfortable silence.Every so often, Delia found herself touching the small cuts on her arms where she’d been scraped by debris during the fight, doing her best to reassure herself that the injuries were minor and the important thing was that they’d both made it out in one piece.
She definitely couldn’t say the same for the demons.
When they pulled into her driveway, she noticed her porch light was still flickering in that odd pattern from the night before.She looked over at Caleb and wondered if she should say anything, but then decided that right now, a twitchy lightbulb seemed like the least of their concerns.
Inside, she headed straight for the kitchen while Caleb sat down on the couch, something about his ongoing silence and the stiff set of his shoulders telling her that he was probably dealing with his own doubts after that ferocious battle.She got out a couple of stemless wine glasses and poured Montepulciano into each of them.Once that was done, she put the now-empty bottle in the trash and headed into the living room.
Even a month earlier, she might have taken one of the chairs that faced the couch.Now, though, she sat down next to him, so close that her knee almost brushed against his.
Whatever else, she needed to let him know that seeing him in action like that hadn’t changed anything about the way she felt about him.
“So,” she said, then took a sip of wine and did her best to relax into the sensation of its rich, fruity warmth sliding down her throat.“That was educational.”
Caleb chuckled, but there wasn’t much humor in the sound.“I suppose that’s one word for it.”He picked up his wine glass but didn’t drink from it, instead staring down into the dark liquid as if it held answers he desperately needed.“I keep thinking about what could have happened if you’d been hurt in there.”
The quiet intensity in his voice made her reach over and lay a gentle hand on his knee.She’d seen him worried before, but this felt different.
Was it simply because he thought the stakes were a lot higher now that they’d both made their feelings for one another clear?
