“Jesus,” Luke breathed.
“Council members, too. Those who had been voting down all of Sloan’s attempts to come after you guys. Maxwell, Lang, and Barker. He’s dismantled the council altogether, and now he rules like a dictator. We’re all afraid to speak up, because anyone considered a sympathizer is punished and shunned.” He paused,his voice barely above a whisper as he finally said, “They’ll kill me if they find out I helped you tonight.”
Ira nodded like he was unsurprised by Julian’s words. “It’s not supposed to be like this, Paladin Heroux,” he said kindly. “They aren’t supposed to be the threat that hangs over your head.”
“What should I do instead, then?” Julian rasped. “Leave? Join up with you guys and make enemies of my friends, my shield-brothers?”
“What’s the alternative?” Ira pressed. “Obeying orders you don’t agree with? Keeping your mouth shut because you’re too afraid to share your opinion?”
Julian scowled, but uncertainty lurked in his eyes. Valac resisted the urge to reach for him.
“The hive mind is too great with this one,” Talon said dismissively. “There’s no point in arguing with someone who can’t think for himself.”
Julian drew himself up in offense. “I can think for myself just fine,” he said. “I helped, didn’t I?”
Talon rolled his eyes, turning away like Julian wasn’t even worth a response.
Julian deflated. “Yeah,” he said under his breath, mostly to himself. “I’m out of here. Try not to get yourselves killed.”
His eyes met Valac’s, a blue hue that reminded him of the place where the sky met the ocean. It was a color not often seen in Hell, but one he remembered from his time on Earth all those years ago in Rome. As beautiful as a rare jewel.
Julian lurched into motion, tearing his gaze away only when he had no other choice, and Valac reluctantly watched the mesmerizing human walk out the door.
No one spoke for a moment after the door fell shut behind him.
Luke broke the silence first, jerking his chin at Nathan. “Are you really okay?”
Nathan nodded, patting Storm’s thigh. “Storm patched me up. It’s healing quickly now that the bullet is out. I’ll be good as new after some sleep, I think.”
“Good. Fuck those halflings,” Malachi said. “Thoseotherhalflings.”
Storm snorted.
Talon folded his arms. “So, Valac, what’s the plan now that you know the story?”
It was unprofessional to glare at the leviathan for making Julian go away, so he reigned in the impulse to do so. It seemed even harder to focus now that Julian was gone. All he wanted to do was follow him.
“I’ll return to Astaroth with my report. Do you expect there to be more attacks on your people from her loyalists?”
Talon flapped a dismissive hand. “It’s a possibility. Wolf and Isaac just got started on the new nightclub. Once renovations are finished, that’ll put us at the head of the demon community. They’ll have to play nice if they want to keep coming there. We’re hopeful that things will calm down once they have somewhere to blow off steam again.”
Valac considered his options carefully. Astaroth had sent Valac here to investigate Lilith’s death because he could afford Valac’s absence. Behemoths patrolled the gates between Purgatory and Hell, which were rarely traveled by any but Hell-bound souls. Valac had never been one for spending time on the surface, but he found himself hesitant to leave it now. After he gave his report, he could return, keep an eye on things.
“I’m not sure I like that look,” Shadrach said, peering at him closely. “What are you thinking, behemoth?”
“Would my presence at your side help or hinder?”
Talon’s brows rose. “Help, probably. The halflings outside tried to turn tail and flee at the sight of you. I doubt many would be willing to risk their lives to avenge Lilith with you around to deter them. We weren’t her only enemies, and it doesn’t benefit them to hold this grudge, especially not with a behemoth overseeing the change.”
“A change in leadership is exactly what they need,” Valac agreed. “Not many would dare raise a hand against a leviathan stepping in where Lilith once sat, would they?”
Talon balked. “I-I never wanted to lead the halflings.”
“And yet you took out their leader. Left them adrift. Left Hell without a mouthpiece. She was Astaroth’s link to the surface. If he had orders for demons on the surface, he gave them through her.”
“Fuck,” Talon hissed under his breath. “How were we supposed to know that?”
Valac took vicious satisfaction in the leviathan’s discomfort. He didn’t even understandwhy. Something about him just grated. Was it only because of his treatment of Julian?
