Nathan wanted to sink into the floor. “We didn’t do much interrogating.”
“Lilith likely wouldn’t have answered any of your questions anyway,” Talon said.
“Let’s pass out the food before we get into this,” Luke suggested.
Nathan picked out a carton of chicken lo mein for himself and sat in one of the folding metal chairs in the loose circle at the back of the room near the sofa, which had seen better days. Storm grabbed another chair and dragged it right next to his, crossing his ankles and stretching one arm out along Nathan’s backrest.
It was strange to be allowed to touch Storm without fear of being condemned here, like none of them cared at all that Nathan was sleeping with a demon. But then, why would they? Strange to be able to accept these comforting, casual touches as easily as the others accepted the same from their own demonic partners. Was this what it would be like all the time, when he no longer had the guild to contend with? Could he love Storm out in the open and damn anyone who hated them for it?
It seemed like a dream.
When they were all seated—Alex, Shadrach and Ira on the sofa with Angela and Zachary cross-legged on the floor and everyone else in folding chairs—Nathan cleared his throat, picking at the noodles in his carton with his chopsticks.
“Maxwell called on our way over here and told me he finished his analysis on the pill I gave him.”
“And?” Luke asked, grimacing as though in anticipation of the answer.
Nathan nodded. “The contents matched what was found in the boy’s stomach. Bone dust, sulfur, salt, wormwood, and cedar. He agreed that it seems likely enough doses would allow for a demonic possession, which just confirms what we learned at In Extremis.”
“Who in the hell is Lilith’s lover?” Storm asked. “I didn’t even know she had a lover.”
“Whoever it is, she’s been keeping them a secret for a long time,” Wolf said. “I had no idea, either.”
“I’ve heard rumors,” Shadrach said, and all eyes turned toward him. He did a double-take at the sudden attention.
“Who is it?” Talon asked.
“I don’t know his name. Some kalmach.”
“A kalmach?” Talon repeated. “Really? I didn’t know any of them were topside.”
“They weren’t, last I heard. If one is now, it’s recent.”
“Kalmachs are shapeshifters, aren’t they?” Alex asked.
Talon nodded, then moved his head from side to side in a so-so manner. “Kind of. Not in the sense that they can look like anyone. They have a human form and a demonic one, and they can transform between the two.”
“Their demonic one has wings,” Shadrach added cheerfully. “I always wondered what that was like.”
“I didn’t think a kalmach would get involved in something like this. They usually keep to their own kind,” Talon said.
“If Lilith has cozied up to one, their loyalty may be divided,” Shadrach suggested.
“If we had a name, we could summon him,” Wolf said.
“She wasn’t stupid enough to give us a name,” Storm said.
“She didn’t even give us his species,” Talon pointed out.
“How do we find this guy, then?” Luke asked.
“I’d like to go back to the campus,” Nathan said. “There have been two verified attacks on campus. David Simms and the boy who attacked my squad and me during our patrol.”
“Maybe those two just so happened to be regulars at In Extremis,” Talon argued, albeit lightly.
“Or maybe they’re flooding the campus with drugs to get as many victims as they can. It would be stupid for their only victims to be coming and going from the club. That puts a target on Lilith’s business. We didn’t actually track a single victim back to the club, either. We just went there on the off-chance that a halfling knew something because of their connection to the supernatural.”
“True,” Alex agreed.
