Nadine shook her head. “I made sure all security cameras were scrambled when we went in and out of Smithfield Market.”
“Could’ve shown up elsewhere.”
“Which is why we all need to get out of England.” Patrick pointed his fork at Lucien. “Goes double for you.”
“My bargain with your government was restricted to London. It said nothing about Paris,” Lucien said flatly.
“You bargained to retrieve the staff for us, so you’re going to Paris. Call up your private jet or whatever, but you’re going.”
“It’ll cost you.”
“We already paid you.”
“I realize we have a staff problem and a necromancer problem, but we also have a demon problem. Let’s not forget that,” Spencer said as he half-heartedly tried to scrape what remained of the Sichuan chicken onto his plate. “If hunters and demons end up working with the Dominion Sect, we’re all fucked.”
Patrick grimaced. “We’re already fucked.”
“Andras.” Jono stole the fried rice box out of Wade’s hand, ignoring the teen’s squawk of protest. “Who was that demon?”
“A Great Marquis of Hell.” Spencer slumped against the kitchen island, still looking like he could’ve slept another twelve hours. “I hate trying to separate the upper echelons of demons from their hosts. Gives me such a fucking migraine.”
Patrick paused with a forkful of rice halfway to his mouth. “The demon was that high up?”
“High enough for my head to feel like it wanted to fall off like the headless fae we fought.”
“Does that mean we’re going to have to deal with angels at some point?”
Spencer winced. “For the sake of my head and soul, let’s hope not.”
“Demons have a rigid hierarchy?” Jono asked.
Patrick finished the motion of getting the fork to his mouth, talking after he chewed. “They’re part of some of the widest-spread religions. There’s some truth in the stories and myths about demons, the same way there’s truth about gods.”
“Demons worked with Ethan during the Thirty-Day War. What makes you think he won’t call on them again?” Lucien asked derisively.
Jono didn’t like the bleakness that settled on Patrick’s, Nadine’s, and Spencer’s faces.
Spencer rubbed at his eyes, his food momentarily forgotten. “The Dominion Sect called forth lesser demons during that war.”
“Didn’t think soultakers rated as lesser,” Jono said.
“There were exceptions. But if Ethan strikes a bargain with Andras or another higher-ranked demon, it’ll be bad.”
“Worse than the Thirty-Day War?”
“Ethan summoned demons back then, he didn’t bargain with them. He already has some alliances with different gods of hell. I’m guessing he hasn’t touched their godheads because he needs their help against the gods of the heavens. If he makes a deal with demons from hell, what happened in Cairo will look like a weekend party.” Spencer looked over at Patrick. “Am I right?”
Patrick nodded jerkily but didn’t say a word.
“Throw in the Morrígan’s staff and no one will be able to escape the hell Ethan wants to make of Earth,” Nadine said morosely.
Jono swallowed hard. “So what now?”
“Rossiter was working with Cressida, but I don’t think either were in contact with Ilya or the Dominion Sect. Rossiter wasn’t favoring any particular buyer over the other until the staff came up for bid,” Patrick said.
“Then all hell broke loose,” Wade snickered.
Sage rolled her eyes. “You’re not funny.”
