“You what?” He knew that human was responsible for the attack, but he hadn’t spared a thought for what would happen to him. Honestly, he’d expected the paladins to deal with it, but he wasn’t surprised Talon decided to take matters into his own hands.
Talon rolled his eyes. “Right, you weren’t here for that. Nathan asked me to do it. The others agreed Weston was too dangerous to let live. So I went there while the wards were still down to take care of him. And while I was there, I overheard their Commander Sloan talking to one of the paladins. One they’ve all vouched for in the past, someone named Isaac. He’s been reporting on them, telling Sloan about secret meetings some of the remaining paladins have been having. Dissenters, Sloan called them. Nathan and Ira were once a part of that little group, where they shared concerns over Sloan’s leadership.”
“This human betrayed them,” Shadrach said. That changed things significantly.
“Yes. It also means he’s had Sloan’s ear for some time. He may know Sloan’s plans for us.”
Shadrach brightened. This was promising. “You want to torture him for information?”
Talon smirked, gesturing toward him. “See,thisis why I called you. No one else would share my excitement.”
“They just don’t have the refined sense of entertainmentthat we have,” Shadrach crooned. It had been a long time since he and Talon had worked together in such a manner. He’d thought Talon had lost his taste for the more visceral pastimes. “You don’t think the humans will mind if we stain their storage room?”
“I think they’ll mind who we’re staining itwith. I was hoping we could get started before they arrived, maybe learn a few things before they reel us in.”
Shadrach took a breath to speak when the door behind him swung open.
“Stop right there!” Ira called. Wolf trailed in after him, grimacing apologetically.
“Oh,dammit,” Talon murmured.
“The others are on their way,” Ira said. “Neither of you is doing anything until we’ve had a chance to talk this out.God, we were right in the middle of—you know what? Never mind.” His face flushed, and Shadrach smirked at Wolf, who rolled his eyes.
Talon raised a hand as though to halt them. “Wait. The others?”
“Yes, of course I called them all. You’re holding Isaac hostage.”
“Goddamn you and your visions, Ira Faer,” Talon declared.
Ira put his hands on his hips, mirroring Talon. “Don’t use that language with me, Talon. You thought you could keep this a secret!”
“None of you needs to be here for this! Some of the others were friends with him, weren’t they?”
“All the more reason to include them!” Ira said. Behind him, Wolf cracked open a beer and took a long pull.
“It’s seven o’clock in the morning, Wolfman,” Shadrach said, amused.
Wolf nodded pointedly. “Exactly. It’s too damn early for this drama.”
That was fair. “You know what, give me one of those.”
Wolf opened another and set it on the counter for him. Shadrach took a sip, letting the cool liquid wash down his throat. Then he pulled out a cigarette and lit it.
“Take that outside,” Ira said absently.
“Why? We’re all immortals here.” Shadrach pulled himself up to sit on the half-wall. Ira, like all the other humans with demonic partners, regularly ingested demon blood, which made them functionally immortal. They could still die, but very few injuries would actually be severe enough to kill them, and sickness was nonexistent.
Within minutes, the rest of the humans filed into the Rink. They were in various states of undress. Luke wore one of Malachi’s band shirts with the sleeves cut off, and while it was baggy on Malachi, it barely fit his thickly muscled human. Nathan slurped at a fresh coffee, leaning heavily on Storm, his white-haired halfling partner, who was murmuring quietly in his ear.
“What’s going on?” Alex asked. He was in joggers and a baggy T-shirt, his hair still mussed from sleep. “Why are we here? Talon, when did youleave?”
“I went to go take care of Weston just before dawn,” Talon said, sighing as though accepting his fate. “While I was there, I overheard something.”
The humans exchanged a grim look with each other. “What’d you overhear?” Nathan asked, tucking himself under Storm’s arm.
“One of your friends has betrayed you. One of thepaladins you all trusted has been working with Sloan against the allies you had in the guild, the ones who were questioning Sloan’s leadership.”
“No,” Nathan muttered.
