Nicolas looked stricken. “No, not me! God, Julian. I never wanted you todie. Danny and I were devastated when we heard what Wallace and his squad had done. I’m—” He broke off, his breath hitching. “I’m really glad you’re okay. Truly.”
Julian’s mouth twisted as he struggled not to give in to his emotions. “You never… I resigned, and then I never heard from you guys again. I thought you just didn’t want to see me.”
“No.” Nicolas stepped closer, his expression furious, and halted when Valac growled again. “No, that wasn’t true at all. They told us that if we went near you, we’d be punished. Us, specifically, because they knew we were friends. They told us you were a traitor, and associating with you would label us the same. I didn’t want them to hurt Daniel again, so I told him we had to stay away.”
It was hard to hear, but Julian understood. “What changed, then? Why are you here now?”
“You came back out of the woodwork. I couldn’t let them take you by surprise again. I’m here to warn you. They know you’re still alive, and they want to correct their error. They’ll come for you.”
“Let them,” Valac snarled.
Nicolas eyed Valac warily, but when he looked at Julian again, he smiled. “I’m glad you joined the… traitors?” He winced at the word.
“Sentinels,” Julian said. “They—wecall ourselves the Sentinels.”
Nic grinned. “I like it. I hope they have your back.”
“They do.”
“Good. Because the paladins are coming. I don’t know what the exact plan is, or I’d tell you. I’m not exactly in the inner circle these days. They moved Daniel out of my squad, said we weren’t a good influence on each other.”
“Bullshit,” Julian said.
Nicolas’s mouth quirked. “I agree. The others, they all toe the party line pretty hard. I’ve been having some trouble keeping them in line. I try to be the voice of reason, but they don’t want to hear it. I can’t believe some of the things they say about you and the Sentinels. We’re supposed to hunt the monsters. We aren’t supposed tobethem.” His voice shook with emotion.
Julian closed the distance between them, hauling Nicolas in for a hug. It was pretty unfair that everyone was taller than him, because he couldn’t adequately wrap Nicolas up the way he wanted, but Nicolas curled around him anyway, sniffing loudly in his ear.
“I’m so sorry,” Nicolas rasped. “We shouldn’t have stayed away.”
“Yes, you should,” Julian said, ignoring the pain that stabbed his heart. “It wasn’t safe. It’s still not. You…” He pulled away, taking Nic by the shoulders and meeting his mournful brown eyes. “You should leave the guild. Don’t announce it like I did. That was stupid. Just disappear. The Sentinels can help.”
Nicolas shook his head. “We can’t.”
“Youcan.”
“You need someone on the inside.”
Julian froze. “What?”
“You need people on the inside who can tell you what the guild is doing. This is going to get worse before it gets better, I can tell.” His eyes moved between Julian and Valac, who’d come closer and hovered by Julian’s side. “They’ve started checking people’s rooms. Not just phone and bag checks, but looking in closets and drawers. Everything. It’s a witch hunt, Jules. Anyone who has said anything Sloan doesn’t approve of, they’re punished.”
“Soleave,” Julian begged. “Please just leave. Get Danny and get the hell out of there. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“We fight monsters,” Nicolas said, sighing hard. “Now, the monsters aren’t the demons.” He looked at Valac as he said it. “They’re us. They’re masquerading as white knights. But I have to believe there’s still some good there. It’s all I’ve ever known, and I’m not willing to give up on it just yet.”
“But if it gets worse…” Julian started, then stopped. Fear lodged itself like a block of ice in his stomach, but he had to trustthat his former captain knew what he was doing. Nicolas was smart, and he and Daniel could watch each other’s backs.
Nicolas patted his forearms. “I know. I promise, I’ll reach out if we need to make our escape. Be safe, little brother. They’ll come for you, so be ready.”
“If they come for me again, we’ll kill them,” Julian promised.
Nicolas nodded, bleak but resigned. “Good. I think that might be for the best.”
“Yoube safe,” Julian said. “You and Danny, look out for each other. If things get bad, please promise me you’ll both come to the Rink. We’ll help you, I swear.”
“We will. If we have to.” Turning toward Valac, Nicolas stuck out his hand. “We haven’t met, but if Julian has placed his trust in you, you must be a good man. I’m Nicolas Garcia, Julian’s old squad captain.”
Cocking his head curiously, Valac shook his hand. “Thank you. I’m Valac, behemoth of the underworld.”
