Kynan pressed a button near the barrel of the pistol-sized weapon. Two wings popped out, and a cable snapped into the retention spring.
“Cool,” Scotty said. “It looks like a miniature crossbow.”
“It works a lot like one too,” Kynan said. “But there are some key differences.” He handed the weapon to Tayla and held up a bolt. “First, the projectile is smaller and thicker.”
“Why?” Scotty scowled at the bolt as if personally offended. “That’s clumsy. The circumference will slow it down.”
Leave it to Scotty to instantly zero in on the weapon’s weakness. She was just like her father.
“The shaft has to be larger than a typical bolt because it contains adecipula,” Ky explained. “StryTech couldn’t shrink the soul traps down any smaller.”
Blade glanced up at Ky. “But won’t that make it less lethal?”
“The point of this weapon is to capture souls, not kill,” Kynan said, although Stryke assured him that his company’s continuing research would find a way to make the Reaper as lethal as possible. “As long as the bolt is embedded in the demon when it dies from any injury, thedecipulawill capture its spirit.”
With the destruction of Sheoul-gra, the souls of deceased demons had nowhere to go and had been wreaking havoc in both the human and demon realms. StryTech had developed traps to catch and store the souls until Hades could rebuild Sheoul-gra, but deployment of the traps required the ability to see the souls. With the Reaper, anyone could catch a demon spirit.
“What about humans?” Mace asked.
“The Reaper will definitely kill humans,” Kynan said, “but it won’t capture their souls. This weapon is designed to work against demons only.”
“Okay,” Blade said. “But how will we know if the bolt has trapped a soul?”
He plucked another bolt from the container. “This one contains a soul. You can tell by the glowing symbols etched into the shaft.” He carefully replaced the projectile inside its velvet-lined case. “They’re equipped with a guidance system, so no matter where you aim the Reaper, the bolts will seek out the most injured enemy demon.”
Tayla turned the weapon around and showed them the pencil eraser-sized white button on the right side. “If needed, push this, and you can deactivate the guidance system.”
“Why would you ever do that?” Scotty asked.
“To protect the good guys.” Tayla placed the weapon on the table and gestured to a flat panel on the handle grip. “Before a battle, everyone in your party needs to touch the panel to identify themselves asallies. That’ll prevent the projectile from seeking out any injured associates. But let’s say there are civilians around, or more help arrives on scene, and you don’t have a chance to get their energy signature imprints. You’ll need to disable the guidance system, so the bolt won’t seek them out as the most injured person in the fight.”
“Ah.” Scotty toyed with her ponytail. “Makes sense.”
“Anyone else have any questions?” Tayla looked between the teammates. “No? Then get ready for the mission.” She placed the weapon back in its case and slid it across the desk. “I know you don’t need it, but good luck.”
No, Kynan thought as the team filed out, all swagger and cocksure attitudes, they didn’t need luck. They had more talent and skill between them than the entirety of most nations’ armies. And they were attuned to each other, so tight that not a single molecule of oxygen could get between them.
And that was what concerned Kynan from time to time. For all the trio had gone through, their friendship had never been tested. It had never even been strained.
What if somethingwereto happen to test their bond? He knew all too well how quickly shit could fall apart when cracks formed in a foundation.
“Hey.”
He looked over at Tay as his office door closed behind Blade. “Yeah. What’s up?”
She cocked her head, the pink streak in her hair dipping behind her shoulder. “You look worried.”
“Worried?” He scoffed. “Nah. They’ve faced worse. I was just thinking about the old days.”
“Which ones?”
The worst ones. “Our Aegis days.”
She drew in a long, heavy breath. “Oh.”
“Yeah.” He threw his head back against his chair, his time as a demon hunter in charge of an entire cell of slayers flashing through his mind. Tayla had been one of his best fighters…until she hooked up with the demon doctor who ran the hospital she’d been tasked to destroy. “We thought we knew it all.”
She snorted. “We didn’t know jack shit. But hey, we’re both in a good place now. We have amazing mates, the best kids, and awesome jobs.”
