“I’ll…” Shadrach hesitated, uncertain whether any of this would even work. “I’ll try to go into his dreams and find out what he’s going to tell them.”
“Yes, because that’s worked out so well so far,” Talon sniped.
Alex snagged Talon’s hand and drew him close, whispering something about ‘laying off.’
But it didn’t matter. None of it mattered. Shadrach turned away, his mind already racing ahead of his body. He would go to the guild, as close as he dared, and he would find Isaac the moment he fell asleep.
Chapter 11
Isaac
Isaac haileda cab as soon as he found a busy road and promised the driver payment on arrival. Luckily the driver was understanding. The world outside passed in a midnight blur as Isaac barreled toward HQ. Toward home.
Itwasstill home. So why did it feel like he’d left a part of himself behind?
The feeling of wrongness continued as the cab pulled up in the circular drive before the ruined administrative building.
“Whoa,” the driver breathed, staring at the wreckage. “What happened here?”
“Fire,” Isaac said dully. “Wait right here. “I’ll be back with payment. Keep the meter running until I get back.” He didn’t mind paying a little extra to thank the man for trusting him.
“If you insist.”
He unfolded himself from the car and inhaled the sweet scent of the grove behind the buildings, carried on a cool breeze. Wispy clouds passed in front of the moon, and Isaacfought the urge to get back in the car. It was stupid. He didn’twantto go back to being a captive, did he? Whatever happened back in that shower was a moment of weakness. Surely demons like Shadrach couldn’t really feel emotions the way humans did. It wasn’t like hecaredabout Isaac. That would be… ludicrous. He was tempting Isaac, that was all. Halflings liked to tempt humans to commit their sins willingly, or so he’d heard. That was why they ran that club. They lured humans in and urged them to give in to all their darkest desires.
Shaking himself, he strode toward the apartment building. Gravel crunched under his sneakers—the only thing left from his original outfit—and he drew up short when the side door opened and a familiar figure emerged.
A fresh-faced paladin who’d just graduated last spring—and whose name Isaac couldn’t remember for the life of him—staggered down the steps as his eyes landed on Isaac. They’d never exchanged more than casual greetings, but now, the boy’s face broke into a grin like Isaac was the best thing he’d ever seen.
“Holy crap, it’s you!”
Isaac was so tired he glanced behind him to see if the kid was actually addressing someone else.
“Morrow, we’ve been looking everywhere for you!” he exclaimed, leaping off the stoop and stopping in front of him, looking him up and down as though inspecting him for injury. “Are you okay? Where the hell have you been?”
“I’ve—I’ve been…” He stopped, glancing over his shoulder. “I need to pay the driver.”
The young paladin reached into the pocket of his flannel pajamas and withdrew his wallet. “I’ll take care of that.” He waved his wallet with a weak grin. “Lucky I brought this. Iwas going to get some snacks out of the rec center machines. Here, take my phone and call Sloan. He’ll be ecstatic you’re back.”
There had never been a time in his life that Sloan wasecstaticto see him. Although, there had never been a time when he’d gone missing for two days, either.
The kid started toward the cab, but Isaac snagged his arm.
“Wait. Weston. Somebody found his body, right?”
The kid’s eyes widened again. “Oh, yeah. Along with the breakfast food Sloan said he’d given you to give to him.”
“What do they think happened?” He needed to know. Did they blame him? Did they suspect the Sentinels?
The kid shrugged one shoulder. “A demon snuck in while the wards have been down, killed Weston and possibly you.” He gestured to the phone in Isaac’s hands. “Call Sloan. I’ll be right back.”
“Right.”
He’d never wanted to do anything less. Sloan would have questions, and it would be wrong for Isaac not to answer. But knowing that didn’t settle the nervous twist to his stomach. Reluctantly, he dialed Sloan’s number and raised the phone to his ear.
Because the administrativebuilding was unsafe until a full inspection had been done and restoration had begun, Isaac was led to Sloan’s apartment on the first floor. It was bigger than Isaac’s little studio, practically sprawling in comparison, with a wall that separated his living room from his kitchen and a full-sized dining table in front of the windows.It seemed like a waste of space to Isaac, since Sloan had no family.
He sat at the head of the table with a cup of coffee while Sloan paced in front of the windows to his left, wearing jeans and a plain T-shirt that looked hastily thrown on. Even like this, he was imposing, his gaze raking over Isaac when his pacing brought him close.
