“Play along, then. You two keep walking when I stop. I’ll call you back.”
Shadrach hummed an affirmative, draping an arm around Isaac’s shoulders. Whether it was a protective measure or to play along with the ruse, Julian couldn’t say. He turned his gaze down the street to the right when they passed the corner and slowed his steps, pretending he’d seen something. Shadrach and Isaac kept walking, as agreed.
“Hey,” Julian said, and they turned.
“What’s up?” Shadrach asked.
“I thought I saw something. Can we check things out this way before we head back?”
Shadrach and Isaac exchanged a glance and a shrug.
“It’s been a quiet night,” Isaac said. “Sure, let’s check it out. Could be nothing, or we could get lucky and find a little excitement.”
Relieved to have an excuse now, Julian drew his sword. They crept down the road at their usual pace.
“Still behind us,” Shadrach murmured.
Isaac growled in frustration.
“Easy, killer. They’ll be all ours in a few minutes.”
Sweat trickled down Julian’s spine, soaking into his shirt. They needed to lead the paladins into the empty club somehow.
But the others already had it covered. When they reached the old warehouse, the door was standing open. Julian stopped in front of it, his heart pounding.
“Well,” Shadrach said, stopping beside him. “Pretty sure this isn’t supposed to be open.”
“It probably went inside, then,” Isaac said, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Can I go first?”
Julian snorted. That was exactly how he normally acted when they were tracking a demon. “Be my guest.”
It made sense for Shadrach to follow on Isaac’s heels, and Julian breathed a sigh of relief when they were both inside the dark warehouse. He’d rather be the last one in, if he had to choose. The paladins were after him, so he would rather take an attack from behind than Isaac or Shadrach. Besides, Valac’s blood would heal a wound from one of those swords at an accelerated rate for him. It was ironic, but Shadrach was actually more vulnerable in this situation than Julian or Isaac.
He didn’t dally. It was crucial to get the paladins to follow them inside, where they could be surrounded and outnumbered.
The darkness inside the old club was absolute. He barely managed to silence his squeak of alarm when hands grabbed him, dragging him deeper into the darkness.
“I’m really sorry about this,” Talon said, pinning him up against what felt like the bar, “but I’m going to choke you out, and when you go unconscious, I need you to tell Valac that it’s happening now.”
“What?” he hissed, adrenaline flooding his body.
“You’ll wake right back up. You’ll only be out for a few seconds. I won’t do any lasting damage, I swear. Tell him the paladins are coming. Understand?”
Hands tightened around his throat, cutting off his response, but he nodded frantically anyway. Someone slipped the sword from his hand, which was good, because he couldn’t stop his body from fighting Talon as his lungs screamed for air, clawing at his hands and forearms.
“I’m sorry, I really am sorry,” Talon whispered, his voice muffled and far away.
“Talon, they’re coming,” someone said urgently.
“Okay, he’s almost?—”
Julian hadno idea which way was up. One moment he was in darkness, and the next, Valac was before him, gripping his shoulders so tightly it would be painful if this wasn’t a dream.
“Something’s wrong,” Valac guessed. “This isn’t a normal sleep for you.”
“No.”
“Who did this to you?”
