“No alcohol before breakfast,” Nathan chided.
“Coffee it is,” Wolf said, turning to start another pot.
Nathan pushed Julian to sit at one of the stools, and his stomach growled. Maybe he could eat, after all.
Julian landedhard on the training mat, his breath escaping in a whoosh. Coughing, he rolled over and pushed himself up with a groan. Isaac cackled, bouncing over and extending a hand to help him up. Julian slapped it away and stood on his own, which just made Isaac laugh harder. The twinkling lights overhead were annoyingly cheerful.
“Don’t be sour,” he said through his laughter. “You’re doing really good!”
“It’s true,” Luke called from the bench press. “I’ve seen him lay people out a lot faster than that.”
“You’re lasting a lot longer than you were when you first started training again,” Isaac said.
“It’s not good enough,” Julian said, bracing his hands on his knees while he panted.
“It is, actually,” Nathan said, joining them from the practice dummy he’d been working with. “Keep in mind, Isaac was always one of the best fighters in the guild. The fact that you’re regularly holding your own against him during spars is a very good thing, even if he does eventually get you down. Hell, I’ve been doing this for a long time and he still beatsmenine times out of ten.”
Isaac beamed at him.
“If you can hold your own against Isaac, you’ll be just fine against the paladins,” Nathan went on.
Julian’s gaze went distant, remembering the way they’d surrounded him in the parking lot. “I just don’t want to be taken by surprise again. What if they outnumber me like last time?”
“That’s why you have one of us with you at all times until Valac gets back,” Nathan said kindly.
“Two against eight?” Julian asked, because paladins didn’t do anything without a full squad these days. “That’s still not great odds.”
“It is when we’re the two,” Isaac said with a wink.
“Who’s on the roster to patrol tonight?” Alex asked from the air hockey table, where he was typing on a laptop.
“Luke, Angie, and me,” Nathan called. After much deliberation, they’d agreed to let the teens go on short, supervised patrols. These patrols were half as long, and the priority was letting the kids get used to carrying their weapons and navigating in the dark with threats about.
“Oh, it’s our turn tonight?” Malachi teased. He stood over Luke’s head, spotting the weight for him.
Luke racked the bar and said, “Ourturn? Are you tagging along tonight?”
“With assholes on the loose? You bet I am.” He bent over and smacked a kiss to Luke’s lips.
“None of that while we’re patrolling!” Angela warned. She was practicing her sword swings in the corner.
“You’re not the boss of me,” Malachi replied.
Julian snorted out a laugh as they continued to bicker, the centuries old demon and the teenage girl. Most of the demons treated Angela and Zachary like little siblings. They teased and antagonized each other, but there was a fondness to it. They all had a soft spot for the teens. It was unexpectedly heartwarming.
“Jules,” Talon said, “when did you last sleep? Did you see Valac?”
They’d all asked for regular updates about Valac’s progress through Hell. Everyone was on pins and needles waiting for him and the sin eater to return to the surface. They were all eager to make a move on the paladins.
“Yeah. He’s through Purgatory. Said he should be able to find a sin eater today and make them a proposal about bringing them to the surface.”
“Which one?” Shadrach asked.
“Which sin eater?” Julian clarified.
Shadrach nodded.
“No idea. I think he’s just planning to ask whichever one he finds first. Why? Do you have a preference?”
