She huffed a laugh, followed by a hiss of pain. “Not your fault, new girl. You tore that thing a new asshole. That’s some—ow—crazy power you got.”
“Nathan?” A familiar gasp, a flash of shiny red. “Lexi?!”
As Sophie reached us and helped Nathan wrangle Sasha into the back of my Jeep, the ice in my head began to melt. And as the ice melted, the pain in my arm pushed me toward unconsciousness.
I climbed into the passenger seat and stepped off the edge into oblivion.
Chapter 9
Lucifer
Acute agony and a panic that wasn’t my own speared through my chest. Metal crashed to the floor, along with the cookies on the tray.
“Mr. Rivers, oh my gosh! Are you okay?” Izumi reached for me, but stopped just short of touching me. Her brown eyes were full of worry that felt genuine. Then her eyebrows dipped in concentration, the worry eclipsed behind the golden luminescence of her power. “Lexi. Something’s happened across town.”
She whipped her phone out, fingers flying across the screen. Her abilities as a messenger weren’t relegated to today’s technology, but it was the preferred method of communication between the demigods of her generation. Text messages were faster than her feet could carry her unless they were in the city.
Chloe poked her head into the kitchen. “Everything okay back here?”
“Fine,” I replied, nodding to her. “Just had an accident.”
She lifted her eyebrows, but didn’t say anything else, simply returned to her position at the register. The day was winding down and I needed to go, to find Lexi, to know what the hell just happened. I’d been giving her the space Loki believed she needed to calm down before I explained what she’d seen, despite the unbearable urge to correct her assumption immediately.
I couldn’t wait anymore.
“Izumi, can you handle the kitchen until closing?”
She glanced up from her phone. “Sure thing, Mr. Rivers. It’s only an hour. Are you going to find Lexi?”
If she was wearing her amulet, it would make the task more difficult, but I was determined to try. “Yes.”
“You should know there were demons involved, and I can’t get a hold of Nathan or Sasha,” she said, tucking the device back in her pocket. “Nathan’s supposed to be with her, right?”
My teeth ground together, but I gave her a tight nod. “Contact me if anything changes or you hear back from them.”
Izumi stiffened her spine and saluted. “Yes, sir.”
I stepped out the back door and closed my eyes, drifting through the multitude of powers that’d relocated to Boston recently. If something demonic happened, there would be a sign, a residue in the city that I could trace. The moment I found the stomach-churning sensation near South Boston, I teleported there, and the sight that greeted me made the annoying popping in my ears seem insignificant. Lesser demon bodies were strewn across an empty lot, and in various stages of dissolving. Power made the air thick here, Lexi’s familiar spicey brand tinged with an unknown salty tang under the infernal stench.
Why didn’t I feel the demons when they entered the city?
And where was Lexi now?
My phone was pressed to my ear before I’d made any conscious decisions, but it went straight to Lexi’s voicemail. I dialed again as I circled around, trying to picture the fight and figure out what happened, where they would’ve gone. Lexi’s energy signature hovered only in this spot with no discernible trail leading away, which meant she was likely wearing her amulet. Whether she’d been victorious or not, I couldn’t track her with that fucking thing on.
The mangled human remains didn’t do much to improve my mood, but the residual energy told me it was no one I knew. When I turned back to the scene, another realization clicked. Some of these remains were from a single demon. I knelt down and touched the charred edge of a chunk of red flesh. Pride in Lexi’s ability warred with fear for her safety. If she’d come out of this alive, then where the hell was she?
Giving up on her phone, I called out, “Loki!”
It never took him long to respond, on the rare occasion I actually called for him, but there was nothing. Not even the slightest hint of acknowledgment Which I hoped beyond reason that meant he was with Lexi now, rather than him being out searching for her himself—
Dammit, I need to stop thinking that shit!
The next number I tried rang until it kicked me to Miranda’s voicemail. I yelled for Loki again in between calls to Miranda, to Lexi, to fucking Nathan Decker who was supposed to be watching her and reporting to me. My initial thought was that she might be getting her revenge on me with the blonde bodybuilder, but that wasn’t Lexi’s style. It didn’t stop me from running through the scenarios, though, and I needed to punch his stupid face at least once for my own peace of mind.
With no other leads, I teleported to my home away from home, hoping she’d come there for safety. Loki’s barrier around the place still held, but the place was empty.
My phone creaked in my grip, and I glanced down at it, deciding there was one more option to pursue. I dialed Miranda’s shop in Salem. After two rings, someone picked up, and relief washed over me.
