“Wait, so this rift isn’t a portal to Hell, but to Mictlan?” I ask, my heart rate picking up speed. “We’ve been approaching this all wrong, treating it like any other daemon summoning circle we’ve encountered when it might emit a completely different type of energy. Maybe that’s why we’ve had trouble locating the source.”
Leigh averts her gaze.
“Dullahan aren’t in theDaemonic Codex,” Soter says, an annoyed bite to his tone. He shoots a look at Wendy, who has been nodding along to everything I’ve been saying. “It would have been nice to know we were dealing with creatures from a realm other than Hell before now. How could you miss a detail this huge?”
“It was an honest mistake, Commander,” Wendy replies firmly.
“Yeah, simmer down,Commander,” Jax grumbles at Soter. “You’re new to this, while Wendy and I have spent countless sleepless nights chasing these daemons. I can assure you that nothing pointed to us needing to look for a rift between our world and Mictlan rather than Hell. So back off.”
Taking the tablet back from Janus, I press replay on the digital footage. The red-haired commander, who reminds me of Marlowe—who couldn’t make it to our wedding because she’s on another continent still trying to find herself—stands with her hands on her hips. Her light eyes are lost in thought as I examine the creature again for signs of weakness.
“Who is this child?” I ask. If the Dullahan serves this Kosac, why target him specifically?
“A little boy from the Lethe Orphanage,” Wendy replies, her voice thick. “His name is Fynn Cygnus and he’s four years old.”
“Wait, what?” Jaxson exclaims, snatching the tablet from my hands. The footage of the Dullahan flickers in his concerned eyes. That orphanage must be in Jax’s jurisdiction. He’s going to beat himself up over this. “How did that thing break into the orphanage? There’s security—those kids were supposed to be safe there!”
“Easy. We’re going to do everything we can to get him back safely,” I assure Jax. Turning to Wendy, I say, “Send an extra unit to the orphanage. Just in case the Dullahan comes back.”
Wendy nods, already pulling out her phone. “On it.”
“Where did the creature go after the orphanage? Is this the only footage we have?” Soter barks.
“We don’t know; the footage cuts out here, where the sidewalk meets the trees,” Wendy says. A vein in Soter’s temple throbs. “The second the creature enters the forest, the cameras stop. I bet the rift is somewhere in there. I hate to say it, but I think the Dullahan took the boy back to Mictlan.”
“What?” Leigh gasps.
“A baby,” Jax whispers, his hands shaking. Jax has two younger brothers whom he helped raise. Although he wasn’t excited about the responsibility of looking after them in high school, he loves them. He’s always had a soft spot for kids. “He’s just a baby. Four years old and probably terrified out of his mind?—”
“We need to move,” I say at the same time Soter says, “Let’s go after the daemon.”
He glares at me.
“Are you suggesting we go inside the rift?” Wendy asks.
We both nod. Soter’s mouth pinches. I narrow my eyes. What’s his fucking deal? He’s acting like a child himself. Ifigured his promotion would give him confidence and ease his temper, but it’s had the opposite effect.
The incident happened nearly thirty minutes ago; if we don’t act soon, the trail will go cold. Some horseman, monster, Dullahan, whatever it is, entered the town, dashed to the orphanage, and snatched a child. If we want Fynn back, we need to go now.
There’s a knock at the door. Janus opens it, inviting Ry and Isolde inside.
“Gianna has everything under control,” Ry says.
“Thank you,” Janus replies.
“We need to save Fynn. Standing around talking about it solves nothing,” Jaxson urges.
“The plan is to save the child,” Soter begins, “but we need tofindthe rift first. I say we split into teams. Isolde and Ry are with me?—”
“It is also worthwhile to learn how to fight one of these Dullahans, so we know what we’re up against when we send a team to retrieve the boy,” I say. “Do we think sunstone bullets will still do the trick?”
Soter catches one of his two lip piercings between his teeth. “You’re not Blade Commander anymore, Wilder. I am. So stop talking aboutwe. There’s onlyus.” He gestures to everyone except for Janus, Leigh, and me.
“Fynn?” Leigh’s nails dig into my arm as she stares off into nothing. “His name isFynn? And he’s in Mictlan?”
I turn.
All the color has drained from her face. She’s trembling.Fuck.I’m just like my dad. How many times did he forget I was in the room when a case consumed him? Too many to count.
