“How did you learn to do this?”Kael asked quietly, gesturing at the plants surrounding them.“This isn’t what your magic is usually like.”
“I think it’s the bond,” Nymon explained.He was grateful for the distraction.
“Maybe.”Kael huffed.“I can’t believe this.”
Neither could Nymon, but it was all very real.Nymon would hold up his magic until Tex came back to him, no matter how long it took.
He just hoped that by the end of this, he’d still be standing.
* * * *
THE ADDRESS GREGORYhad sent led them to the eastern edge of Starhaven.It was still cute in a small town kind of way, but it wasn’t as polished as the other parts of Starhaven Tex had seen.
He was careful as he moved, not knowing what they were about to walk in on.Through the bond, he could feel Nymon’s steady presence.Safe, and the reminder kept Tex focused.As soon as this was over, he and Nymon would leave, and Nymon would be safe.
“There.”Orlando tilted his chin toward a building that looked just like every other building on the street.Warm light spilled from the windows, and Tex could hear voices inside.
Too many voices.
“Thoughts?”Seymour asked quietly.“I really don’t want to have to kill anyone.”
They needed to approach this as carefully as possible.Their goal was to capture these people, not to kill them.“We go in fast, we knock them out, Seymour shimmers them to the shield.”
Seymour groaned.“I’m gonna have to drag all of them through the shield on my own, aren’t I?”
“Or you could come back to get me and Orlando.We’ll know more when we see what’s happening in there.”Tex was glad that their job was limited to the extraction of these people.He doubted it would be easy to get information out of them.
“And if they don’t want to be knocked out?”Orlando’s tone was amused.
“Then we do what we have to do, even if we don’t like it.”All three of them knew it, and they’d do it if they didn’t have a choice.
Seymour nodded.“Give me thirty seconds to get in there and see what’s up.”
It was easy to fall back into their training.They worked together seamlessly, just like they had during training, and it helped soothe something inside Tex.He was still anxious, but he knew they could do this.
Seymour vanished.Tex counted the seconds in his head.After what felt like an hour, but was closer to a minute and a half, Seymour reappeared.
“We have at least six people in there, possibly more.They’re distracted right now.Two of them are arguing, so we should take advantage of that.”
Tex nodded.They all knew what to do.They moved together, Seymour grabbing both Orlando and Tex and shimmering them into the building.
The interior of the bar was what Tex had expected.Tables and chairs were scattered in the room, while stools were lined up under the bar.A small group of demons was gathered there, two of them arguing while the others watched.One demon was behind the bar and held a dish towel.What he hadn’t expected was the scene of chaos already unfolding.
It took them a second to realize something was happening, and Tex, Seymour, and Orlando took advantage of that.Tex knocked out one orange demon before the demon could even move.He was sure that Orlando and Seymour were working just as quickly.
Tex wished Gregory had been able to tell him more about the different magical abilities these demons had, or that he’d had time to ask Nymon.He wasn’t prepared when the shadows in the room came alive, stretching and twisting into a darkness that reached for them like grasping hands.Tex felt one wrap around his ankle, cold and strong, startling him.
“What the fuck!”he shouted, already starting to shift.He slashed at the shadow as soon as he was in his wolf form and felt resistance, as if the darkness was solid enough to grab and hold.It certainly seemed to be.
Orlando snarled, but he didn’t shift.He’d need his hands to neutralize these demons.Dark tendrils tried to wrap around Tex’s legs and throat, and he jumped out of the way.What was he supposed to do about this?
The demon controlling the darkness was moving toward a door markedPrivate, probably hoping to sneak out while Tex and the others were distracted by his associates.Tex pounced, driving the shadow demon to the floor.The demon struggled, his eyes wide as his magic flared.The shadows around them intensified and tried to push Tex off, wrapping around his legs and chest and squeezing too hard.
Tex gritted his teeth and pressed his teeth to the demon’s throat, not breaking skin but making the threat clear.
“Stop moving,” Seymour said from above them.“He won’t hesitate to bite if you don’t.”
The demon’s eyes flickered to Seymour, then around the room.He was trapped, and he knew it.Finally, the shadows began to recede, losing their solid form and fading back into natural darkness.Tex could breathe more easily, and he let go of the demon’s throat, but he didn’t move from where he was pinning him down.
