Talon’s eyes narrowed. “Please do not tell me some paladin is going to fall for a fucking sin eater.”
Ira pressed his lips together. “Okay. I won’t tell you that.”
Talon didn’t look amused, but his glare had the rest of them fighting laughter.
“Tal, it’s a good thing,” Alex said. “It means we know we’ll have more allies.”
“Putting a sin eater in the room with the rest of us is going to be like…” Shadrach paused, shaking his head as he tried to come up with an example, “putting Tarzan in a room with a bunch of college grads.”
Isaac snorted out a laugh. “What?”
“Don’t laugh, I’m serious!” Shadrach said, and Julian noticed Talon and Valac were nodding in agreement. “It might behave a little more like an intelligent creature, but it’s still very much a monster at heart. This is a creature who’s never been to the surface,ever. What little it might know about Earth, it’slearned by consuming the sins of the damned. You might loosely consider it an ally, but don’t expect it to be like the rest of us.”
Julian looked at Ira, whose expression gave nothing away. He was more open about his visions here than any prophet Julian had ever met at the guild, but he still kept a lot to himself. It was probably for the best. If they knew too much, they might accidentally ruin things.
“But it’s what’s meant to happen,” Julian guessed, and Ira met his eyes. “Right?”
Ira smiled serenely. “That’s right.”
Nathan blew out a breath, pushing his fingers through his short, chestnut hair. “We’re really doing this? Going after the guild? Dismantling it piece by piece?”
Julian looked from human to human. The demons didn’t care, didn’t feel the gravity of this decision the way they did. Once they started down this path, there was no going back. War could not be undone.
“They aren’t giving us a choice,” Alex said. “It wasn’t enough to banish us. They’ve tried to kill everyone in this room. They’ll keep coming, no matter what we do.”
“What do we do about the guys coming for Julian?” Luke asked. “We can’t let them catch him by surprise.”
Isaac, with a dark, calculating look, asked, “How long would it take to get a sin eater here?”
Julian’s stomach twisted into a knot. Valac would have to be the one to go into Hell and get the sin eater. He’d said he didn’t mind if Valac traveled back and forth, but the idea of being left alone again when the paladins were hunting him had panic clawing up his throat.
“A few days, if I move quickly,” Valac said. “Getting to Astaroth took longer, because his is a remote location. Getting to a sin eater in the Pit would be a much faster trip.”
“What’s your plan, killer?” Shadrach asked Isaac.
“We’ve got the old In Extremis location just sitting there. If we dress it up like it’s still the bar, let Julian be seen heading there, we can draw the paladins in.”
“You want to use my human asbait?” Valac growled.
“It’s not a bad plan,” Julian said, though he didn’t like it. “They’re already looking for me.” What better way to lead them into a trap?
“And we’ll have your back,” Isaac said.
Valac straightened, a dangerous growl rattling out of him as he turned to meet Julian’s eyes. “You don’t make a move until I’ve returned with the sin eater.”
Julian’s mouth was dry, and it was a relief to agree. “Of course. I wouldn’t want to.”
Valac didn’t seem assuaged. His hand grasped Julian’s ankle tightly. “I don’t like the idea of leaving you. The last time I left, they nearly killed you.”
“Yeah,” Julian agreed glumly. “But I was alone then. I’m not alone now, and they don’t know where I’m staying. They know about the Rink, so as long as I avoid this place while you’re gone—or at least avoid being seen outside—I’ll be safe.”
“We’ll keep an eye on him,” Nathan offered. “He’s right; he won’t be alone again. This isn’t just his fight. It’s ours, too. We’ll have each other’s backs.”
Chapter 24
Valac
With plans madefor Valac to return to Hell at dawn the following morning, he and Julian returned to their apartment. Valac was eager to be alone with his human for his last night on Earth. He knew he was their best hope of convincing a sin eater to come to the surface, but the idea of leaving Julian alone for any length of time when paladins were hunting him grated at his nerves. Julian was his to protect. Leaving him, even in the capable company of the Sentinels, made him ache.
