“Leviathan, don’t make me do this,” Valac said.
Talon’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not making you do anything, behemoth.”
Valac shook his head. The other demons grabbed their humans and pulled them out of the way as the behemoth and leviathan squared off. Julian gripped the edges of his seat, uncertain whether he should move away or stay where he was. Ira, he noticed, sat down on the sofa beside Zachary with a sigh, looking unconcerned. Wolf perched on the armrest beside him, both of them seeming content to watch this unfold.
The shadows rushed forward a second time, and this time when Talon cut them down, new ones snapped right into place, wrapping around him and lifting him off the ground. Alex exclaimed in horror, and Talon was thrown through the air. He slammed into the drink fridge, shattering the glass door. The fridge sparked dangerously, and the light on the inside went out.
“No, not the fridge,” Malachi lamented.
Talon stood, brushing broken glass from his shoulders, and shot Valac a withering glare. He held a hand out toward Valac, and Valac grunted, his body winding tight with tension. Julian didn’t understand what was happening, but he knew Talon was using some kind of power against Valac.
“Your power is no match for mine,” Valac said. He shook himself, and Talon grunted with effort, like the movement had displaced whatever power he’d been using.
With the lackadaisical wave of his hand, Valac slammed Talon into the fridge once again. Alex shouted for him to stop, and Shadrach took a step toward Valac as though to intervene.
“No, Shadrach,” Talon growled as he stood for the second time. “I can handle this.”
“It doesn’t look like you’re doing much handling,” Shadrach drawled.
Julian had to agree. Talon might be a powerful demon, but he was no match for a behemoth like Valac. How long would this go on if no one intervened? They didn’t seem to be doing any real damage to each other, but the property damage might start to add up. Talon had been ordered by Hell to do something he didn’t want to do. Julian understood what that was like, but it sounded like following these orders would solve one of their problems. Talon was just too stubborn to admit it.
Julian stood. It took far more effort than he would prefer. With Talon and Valac facing off, Julian stepped between them, looking up at Valac.
“That’s enough,” he entreated.
Valac’s steely expression softened as he met Julian’s eyes. “This is a battle that must be fought,” he said. “He must accept his orders.”
“Is kicking his ass really the way to do that?” Julian asked.
“He wasn’t kicking my?—”
Someone shushed him. Probably Alex.
“What do you propose?” Valac asked.
Julian looked at Ira. He had been sitting calmly on the sofa since the fighting began. The others followed his gaze, and Ira looked from face to face with surprise. Julian half-turned, looking at Talon as he gestured to Ira.
“Your prophet is acting like this is yesterday’s news,” Julian pointed out.
Talon sighed in defeat, his shoulders slumping, and Alex drifted over to him, rubbing a hand up and down his back.
“It was always going to be you, Talon,” Alex said.
Talon blinked at him, then looked at Ira with a question in his eyes.
Alex shook his head. “He didn’t tell me anything. He didn’t have to. You’ve said before that the halflings would listen to a leviathan like you, and you just didn’t want the job.”
“I still don’t,” he said mulishly.
“It has to be you,” Alex said gently. “You’re always saying this is your town. Now it really will be. No one else can handle it. Shadrach is a psychopath.”
“Hey!” Shadrach protested.
Alex ignored him. “He and Wolf have given the halflings their club back, but they still need a leader to fill the space Lilith left behind. You don’t have to do all that she did. You don’t have to run the drugs or the guns or deal with the club. Delegate that crap to somebody else. They just need someone to look to.”
Talon’s dark eyes filled with desperate emotion as he tugged Alex closer. “Little bird,” he whispered.
Julian ducked his head, feeling as though he was intruding on an intimate moment. He got the impression Talon didn’t reveal his emotions to just anyone. The depths below his prickly surface were hidden to all but Alex, and watching that veneer peel away felt like seeing something he shouldn’t.
