Chapter1
Nathan
The morning dawned.That was its only worthwhile contribution to the day as Nathan Accardi strode out into the pouring rain, juggling his coffee, his keys, and the rain jacket he’d neglected to put on before walking out the front door.
The trees surrounding his humble house did little to protect him from the downfall, fat droplets dripping from the leaves and landing in uncomfortable places as he opened the driver’s side door and dove inside.
He had a meeting with Commander Sloan and some of the other captains today, and anxiety churned within him. Nathan was the captain of his very own squad of demon-hunting paladins, of the Paladin Guild of Los Angeles. As such, he answered directly to Commander Derek Sloan, but things at the guild hadn’t been right for a while.
Nathan used to have the utmost respect for his commander, but Sloan hadn’t been the same since Alex Hawk was banished nine months ago.Nothingwas the same. God, had it really been nine months? It seemed like just yesterday he was still pairing off with Alex during patrols. Alex was an angry young man but a good one. He’d been on Nathan’s squad, and it felt like a bullseye had been placed on Nathan since then, like he was somehow to blame for Alex choosing a demon over his duty. Nathan hadn’t understood Alex’s choices any better than anyone else. He’d always liked the young man, despite his simmering anger over what had happened to his family. It was a tale of vengeance not uncommon in the guild. The difference with Alex was that he’d taken matters into his own hands. When Sloan denied him the chance to go after the demon responsible for killing his family, Alex disobeyed and hunted it down anyway—with another demon’s help.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, a second paladin had fallen in with a demon just three months after that. Luke Morgan had been one of their best soldiers, and healsochose a demon over the guild. But then, according to the rumors he’d heard, they hadn’t given Luke much choice. Attempted murder tended to turn people away from the cause.
But what really sent Sloan over the edge was losing the prophet, Ira Faer. Prophets were precious to the guild, because their visions guided the paladins on their missions. Without them, the guild wouldn’t be able to operate. Sloan believed the demons were staging some sort of quiet coup, corrupting people away from the guild one by one. Nathan had trouble believing that was true, because he knew those men, and he didn’t believe they would fall for something like that. He doubted he’d ever get a chance to listen to their side of the story, but he would be interested to hear it, if he could.
He didn’t understand why Sloan and many other loyalists were personally offended by Alex, Luke, and Ira’s departure from the guild. It wasn’t against the rules to leave. No one had ever done it before, but that didn’t make it wrong. The fact that they’d chosen to leave and be with demons was, ultimately, their own decision. They weren’t hurting anyone, as far as he knew, and if they were guilty of some grievous sin, they would answer for that in the afterlife. It wasn’t up to Nathan or Sloan or anyone else in the guild to cast judgment.
But Sloan didn’t see it that way. And in an attempt to prevent anyone else from ‘falling prey’ to the demons, as Sloan called it, he’d issued a curfew for those living on the grounds of HQ and required daily check-ins every morning for those who did not. Paladins were required to show up and check in with their captains, and captains had to meet with Sloan himself. It was exhausting.
Nathan took his time driving to HQ. The rain came down in blinding sheets against the windshield. This kind of rain was unusual at this time of year. Maybe it was God’s way of helping him stall his meeting. It gave him an excuse to be late, but all too soon he found himself rolling past the iron gate and into the compound.
It looked more like a college campus than a guild of elite demon hunters. The administrative building, recreational center, schoolhouse, orphanage, and apartment complex were all made of matching red brick, while the white church stood out like a beacon. There was a carefully landscaped circular drive in front of the admin building. Nathan followed it sedately, turning into one of the parking lots off the circle and swooping into a parking spot.
With a sigh, he gathered his things, held his jacket over his head, and ran from the wet parking lot toward the stately building. When he barreled into the tasteful foyer, he nearly slipped on the polished wood floor.
“Easy, Nate,” Julian called, holding his styrofoam cup from the cafeteria up and away from Nathan’s damp flailing. He was standing with brothers Daniel and Nicolas Garcia, the latter of which was one of the captains who would also be in the meeting with Sloan. Daniel, the younger brother, was the same age as Julian, and both were in Nicolas’s squad. Nathan had spent more time around Nicolas, who was the same rank and closer to his age, but he’d heard good things about the younger two. The three of them were thick as thieves, Julian’s pale blond hair standing out starkly against the Garcia brothers’ short, dark curls.
“Sorry, sorry,” Nathan gasped, shaking the rain from his jacket and closing the door behind him. “It’s raining.”
Daniel looked like he was fighting a smile, his golden brown eyes sparkling with mirth. “You don’t say.”
Nicolas cast him an amused grin.
“Nic says there’s a captain meeting,” Julian said, glancing over his shoulder to make sure no one was near.
Nathan nodded, looking at Nicolas. “Yes, there is. Do you have any idea what it’s about?”
Nicolas shrugged. His short curls were highlighted with honey-gold beneath the warm glow of the chandelier above them, his deep brown eyes cool. “I have my theories.”
Nathan hummed. “As do I.” And none of them spelled anything good for the guild. He wanted to oppose any more violence against the defectors and the halflings. They weren’t hurting anyone, and whipping themselves up into a frenzy about the choices they’d made did nothing but hurt the guild’s true cause.
Sloan had been on the warpath since Ira escaped the guild’s prison. They’d been holding him while they debated how to keep him from leaving—and taking his visions with him. Nathan had his suspicions about how he managed it, but there were no witnesses, and no one came forward after the fact. He suspected someone from their little pocket of dissenters helped him, but it was better for all of them if they didn’t come forward. Plausible deniability could go far.
Julian bobbed his head, sipping something that could be coffee or hot cocoa, based on the color. He looked back and forth between them.
“The curfews and check-ins aren’t a great look,” Julian said.
“Nor is the fact that some of our people tried to kill one of them,” Daniel said.
Nicolas looked around sharply, but luckily, they were alone. Arguments in favor of the defectors didn’t go well these days. Nathan had seen more than one person laid out on the training yard for sharing an opposing viewpoint.
“Don’t discuss it here,” Nicolas warned, then shot Nathan a pointed look. “And it’s probably not a good idea to have any more of those meetings of yours.”
They hadn’t had a meeting in a while. He and a handful of like-minded paladins had met up after Commander Sloan and the council changed the halflings’ threat level to a Category A, which meant they could be killed on-sight. It hadn’t set right with many of them, and they’d congregated in the library to exchange numbers and discuss what to do. Ultimately, they’d decided on nothing. Nathan wasn’t sure that had been the right call. Now, it felt too dangerous to speak up. Dissent wasn’t welcome, but staying silent wasn’t the answer, either. Something would have to give eventually.
Nicolas hadn’t been in that meeting, but his little brother Daniel had. Nathan wasn’t surprised Daniel had filled him in, and he didn’t mind. Nicolas was trustworthy.
“I’m not sure that’s the answer,” he finally said.
