“I can’t protect him there.”
“He’s only there part of the time, though,” Daniel said, scowling. “I don’t like that he’s isolating himself from everybody while he does this. You, me. He needs us. I can’t go to him without risking being seen, but you can teleport straight to him.”
“Doesn’t want me.”
“That’s a damn lie. He does. And that’s why I said he’s using all of this as an excuse to push you away. He’s too afraid to admit it.”
That wasn’t helpful. How did Ashmedai get Nicolas to admit he wanted this?
His hand had tightened into a fist on his knee. He loosened it now, unfurling his fingers and laying them flat. His coal black skin and sharp claws looked nothing like a human hand. Why would Nicolas ever want a monster like him?
“Aren’t we… too different?” he asked.
A line appeared between Daniel’s brows. “I don’t think so. I mean, have you seen Julian and Valac?”
“Valac is not confined to darkness. Heis not… this.” Ashmedai lifted his hand, drawing Daniel’s attention to his claws and skin.
Daniel didn’t look swayed. “You’re a little different, yeah. Based on what I’ve learned from the rest of the guys here, though, and their relationships with their demons, you’re exactly what Nicolas needs.”
Chapter 13
Nicolas
The city rolledby outside the window. Nicolas counted the passing street lights for want of something to do, trying to tune out the conversation of the others in the car. He’d rather be anywhere else than headed out on a patrol with his new squad. Personally, he didn’t think it was wise for Sloan to send anyone out on patrol while they still thought the sin eater was active, but maybe that was part of the test. Maybe they thought Ashmedai would show up again if they sent Nicolas back out into the field. Maybe they were hoping it would attack again because of Nicolas’s presence.
If what Danny said was true, Ashmedai wouldn’t show, and that would be the first step toward convincing Sloan that Ashmedai was gone.
“Can’t believe Commander Sloan actually let us go out tonight,” Ashton said from the passenger seat. “I thought for sure he’d call off all the patrols because of the deaths.”
“We won’t stop patrolling because of one demon,” James said confidently from the driver’s seat. “The world needs ourprotection.”
Nicolas bit his tongue. The world was still protected even if they didn’t patrol. The Sentinels were probably doing a far better job, with their connections to the demon world, than the paladins could even imagine. But he wasn’t dumb enough to say as much aloud.
“I hope we see some action tonight,” Kyle added, on Nicolas’s right. “This demon’s had us on our back foot for too long.”
“God willing,” James agreed.
The SUV came to a stop behind a shopping center that was closed for the night. The city was alive around them, the rush of cars on the highway nearby and occasional honking horns or blaring sirens reminding them that the world continued to turn beyond their little pocket of darkness. Nicolas wordlessly followed the others from the car and grabbed his sword and knives from the trunk.
“Commander Sloan and I discussed how to handle the patrol tonight,” James said when they were all ready. “At first, we thought it might be best for the squad to stick together as a whole. There’s strength in numbers, supposedly, but we know this demon can handle groups with ease. Because of that, I thought it was best to split up, make us harder to track down. We’ll separate and meet back here in an hour. Take your time. Stay in contact via the radios. If you see anything suspicious, call it in immediately, and we’ll all come running. But we don’t want to stay bunched together and make it too easy for this beast to find us.”
Murmurs of agreement moved through the squad, and Nicolas jerked his head in a belated nod.
“All right, you know what to do, then. Move out.”
The squad split up. Everyone went in different directions. Nicolas was used to partnering up with someone, sostepping away from the cars completely on his own felt foreign. Everyone else went down side streets and quickly disappeared from sight, leaving Nicolas to wander down the back side of the shopping center alone. He kept one hand on the hilt of a knife at his hip, unwilling to draw it yet. There was always a chance he would come across a human on the streets of LA. It had happened before, and seeing someone emerge from the darkness holding a knife or aswordalways scared the shit out of them—totally reasonably. He liked to avoid giving the civilians heart attacks where possible. It was bad enough when people saw themwearingthe blades. Back when he was still captain of his own squad, he occasionally had them patrol without the swords entirely, if they were too close to a populated area.
But here, the only signs of life were in the distant noises of the city. He checked over his shoulder every now and then. The SUVs shrank into the distance as he walked, and his footsteps seemed loud, grit crunching underfoot on the pavement. He turned down the first alley he came across.
Halfway down the alley, a door hung open. Nicolas stopped in front of it, frowning. He couldn’t tell what type of business it was, but the interior was pitch black. The door definitely shouldn’t be standing wide open at this hour. There was no one around.
And then two orange eyes appeared in the darkness within.
Nicolas’s heart lurched. He took a step closer without thinking.
“Ash?”
The eyes blinked at him, waiting.
