Fuck, fuck, fuck.
I could grab Joseline and disappear in a blink, but if I can sense the hellbeast, it can likely sense me too. I’d either be leading it straight to the tour buses, which I refuse to do, or potentially trapping it in a hotel full of humans.
I shouldn’t care about human casualties; I never have before. If their death was for a more noble cause, like feeding an energy-starved demon, I might feel otherwise. But hellbeasts are foul, soulless creatures. Incapable of emotion, driven by their primal instinct to feed.
Nothing, including humans, should lose its life to feed one of those nasty fucks.
I crack my neck, debating silently, even though it feels like there’s only one course of action: kill the thing before it can harm anyone. Before it can find the band.
But Joseline is going to be a problem. I know I won’t be able to fight at full capacity if I’m worried about her safety, but I can’t just leave her. She’s drunk. What if she stumbles into the road and gets hit by a car? What if she gets injured? Kidnapped?
“Fuck,” I grumble, running a hand over my mask.
There’s also a chance I could investigate and not find anything. Whatever it is could disappear before I find it, but I have to at least try.
Mind made up, I turn back to Joseline, who’s standing there tapping her foot in anticipation.
“Done with your little mental break?” she asks, pursing her lips.
I grit my teeth and shake my head, deciding to ignore her. “You’re adorable when you're being a brat, but I really need you to listen to me right now. Can you do that? Please.” I grab her by the shoulders to make her focus.
She bats her long eyelashes at me. “Oh, I like it when you beg. Do it again.”
“Goddamn it, Joseline, I’m serious,” I growl. Suddenly, transporting her to her hotel and locking her in her room doesn’t sound so bad. “I need to go check on something, but I won’t be long. I need you to go back to the club and wait for me there.”
It’s only a couple of blocks. She’ll probably be fine, but I don’t have time to waste. If I wait, I risk losing the beast’s trail.
“Wait, let me get this straight,” she says, shaking her head and shrugging out of my hold. “First, you want to babysit me, and now you want me to just… go?”
I can see the hurt in her eyes, and it tugs something in my chest, but I don’t have time to investigate the feeling right now.
“Yes,” I say, keeping my voice level. “Go back to the club, and I’ll come for you in just a few minutes. Please,sweetheart. I have to do this to keep you safe—to keep Niki safe.” I know that will get through to her, no matter how tipsy she is.
Her jaw works back and forth as she stares at me, and I expect her to argue, to put up some kind of fight. I’m almost disappointed when she draws up her shoulders and spits out a simple, “Fine.”
She turns so fast her ponytail whips behind her, and she marches back down the sidewalk toward the club.
Fuck. I don’t like letting her out of my sight, but this is my only option.
Eliminating hellbeasts is my top priority. Keeping my band members, Niki, and the baby safe takes precedence over everything else. I have to do this.
When I’m certain Joseline’s within eyesight of the club bouncers, I turn and bolt into the darkness.
Fifteen minutes, I tell myself, scouring the dark shadows for any sign of movement. That’s all the time I’m giving myself. I’ll search the area, and if I don’t pick up on the demonic energy or find the hellbeast, I’ll head back to the nightclub and work out another plan.
Fifteen minutes, then I’ll go back for Joseline, assuming she doesn’t get pissed and order an Uber.
The important thing is that she’s away from me and safe. The hellbeasts are after me and my demon magic, not a human. She’ll just get caught in the crossfires.
I take a right, heading down a sideroad, reaching out in my mind toward the energy I sensed before, hoping it will be gone. To my horror, it’s stronger, which means I’m headed in the right direction.
I slow down on the next street. The dark energy is sopowerful now that I can feel it pulsing through the air. Holding my breath, I wait and listen.
A slithering sound hits my ears, almost too faint to hear. Slow, dragging,wet. Blegh.
Drawing on my own magic, black smoke pours out of me, wrapping around me and forming into a pitch black sword in my right hand. It’s short, a little over two feet long, slightly curved and serrated—my favorite weapon.
This isn’t the first time I’ve fought a hellcreature on my own, far from it. I’m probably the most experienced in dealing with them out of all our band members. Not to mention, I used to fight for sport before crawling out of Hell.
