“And now he doesn’t even answer to the council,” Julian said. “There’s nothing holding him back from doing whatever he wants.”
Talon nodded sagely. “I’m not surprised. If anyone can strong-arm the council into submission, it’s the guy who leadsthe soldiers of the guild. He’s openly whipping people who disagree with him now. I’m not surprised they were some of the first ones he made an example of. They were his opposition. Now everyone knows better than to try and stop him.”
Guilt and terror lurched through Julian. Was that what happened to Maxwell after he failed to give Sloan a medical reason to dismiss Julian’s resignation? Had Nicolas and Daniel suffered the same fate for associating with a traitor? Daniel had already been whipped once. Had they blamed him for Julian’s decision to leave?
“We can’t let him get away with this,” Julian said. “But what do we do? We can’t just wage war on the guild with…” He counted them all. “Twelve people.”
“Fourteen,” the teenage girl said stubbornly, and Julian caught Nathan and Luke exchanging a long-suffering look.
“Angela, you and Zach aren’t waging war on anybody,” Luke said. “You’re still trainees.”
“I’m fifteen now, y’know,” she said.
“None of us graduated into field work until we were eighteen,” Alex pointed out.
“I’m eighteen,” Zachary said.
“But you haven’t been training as long as we did,” Nathan said. “We have to make sure you’re prepared before you go into battle. We don’t want to see either of you get hurt.”
“Yeah, well, that was the way that stupid guild operated, and you don’t want to be like them, do you?” she shot back.
“Girl’s got a point,” Isaac said, folding his arms loosely.
“You’re not helping,” Nathan said.
Isaac scoffed. “Do I ever?”
“We’ll figure something out,” Talon said, trying to get them back on track.
“How?” Malachi asked from an armchair. He crossed his ankles in front of him and pushed his glossy black hair behindhis ear. “With the halflings still pissed and the paladins growing more volatile, we’re boxed in.”
Beside Julian, Valac straightened. “I can help with that.”
Julian looked up the long length of his muscular body.
“Oh?” Talon prompted. “How so?”
“I come bearing a decree from Astaroth himself,” Valac said. “Because of the part you played in eradicating Lilith, he wants you to take her place as the mouthpiece of Hell for the halflings here on the surface.”
As one, the Sentinels turned to stare at Talon, whose jaw loosened in shock. “What?”
“They need someone to lead them, to give them cohesion and direction. Lilith provided that for centuries.”
“I’m not a halfling,” Talon said firmly. “That isn’t my responsibility.”
“But you are the reason she’s gone,” Valac said. “Therefore Astaroth thinks it is your responsibility to take her place until a worthy halfling successor becomes apparent.”
Talon shook his head. “No. Absolutely not. No fucking way.”
“You cannot fight this,” Valac said sternly. “This is decreed from Hell itself.”
“Find someone else,” Talon snarled. “We’re dealing with enough as it is. You can’t make me do this.”
Valac drew himself up to his full, impressive height. “Do not fight me on this, leviathan, or you’ll find that I can.”
An inhuman growl rattled out of Talon. He snagged Alex’s hand and turned toward the door. “I’m not doing this. We’re leaving.”
They didn’t get far. Whip-like shadows bloomed in the air around Valac, rising up like snakes preparing to strike. In the blink of an eye, they launched toward Talon. He turned just before they made contact, cutting a hand through the air and severing them before they touched him.
