“When a human drinks demon blood,” Julian explained patiently, “they’re given some… enhancements. We’re faster, stronger, and we heal much quicker.”
“Broken bones in hours?”
“Usually less,” Julian replied, “but these were… extensive.”
“This is how you managed not to die when Wallace’s squad attacked you,” Nicolas said.
Julian pursed his lips. “Yeah. I didn’t have it in my system at the time, but Valac got to me quickly enough for it to help. Everybody here with a demon partner has been regularly ingesting their blood. It helps protect us, and…” He glanced over his shoulder at the others. Talon was ignoring them all now, and Valac gave Julian an encouraging nod.
“And?”
“We heal so quickly that our cells regenerate, basically. As long as we aren’t killed, which is significantly harder to do with demon blood, we can live for a very long time. Indefinitely, really.” He looked almost sheepish as he said it, like he expected Nicolas to deny it.
Daniel was nodding like this was old news, and all Nicolas could do was gape in shock—until Ashmedai’s hand slid up from his chest to cradle his throat, guiding his head to turn. Their eyes met, and Ashmedai leaned in, fairly looming over him, and all Nicolas’s other thoughts ground to a halt in favor of:Oh. This was something they would have to talk about. This was something Ashmedai wanted. The chance to spend eternity with Nicolas.
Eternity. He could barely wrap his mind around a week from now.
The moment was broken only when Alex groaned. Nicolas turned, wincing sympathetically, as Alex blew out a breath and slackened.
“Okay, I think it’s over.”
Talon rose up and kissed him gently, murmuring, “Fucking hate when you get hurt, little bird.”
“I’m not a fan of it, either,” Alex said.
“I meant what I said. No more patrolling for a while.”
Alex sighed. “Talon…”
“It’s too dangerous,” he insisted.
“It’s always dangerous,” Alex argued.
“Talon’s right,” Nicolas said, and everyone in the room turned toward him in surprise. “Danny killed Casey tonight. He died when we got him back to HQ.”
Daniel’s face twisted with grief. He’d never killed anyone before. Nicolas squeezed his shoulder. Better Casey than him. It was a no-brainer, as far as he was concerned, even if it did complicate things.
“They’ll be out for blood now. I mean, they already were. You should hear the things they say about you guys. They call you monsters, traitors, enemies. Casey went out tonight with the intention of killing any of you if he saw you.”
“But we have a job to do,” Nathan said, albeit weakly, carding his fingers through his chestnut hair.
“I understand that, but let the paladins hunt the monsters for now. Sloan’s sending out more squads now that he thinks Ashmedai is gone. They can hunt the demons. But they’re also huntingyou, so it’s important that you aren’t caught by surprise like tonight. And they didn’t split up to patrol this sector tonight. I don’t know if that was because I was there, or because they hoped they would outnumber any of you they found. Either way, it’s too big a risk right now.”
“Wait, it wasn’t eight tonight,” Julian said. “It was six, right? I thought for sure I counted six.”
“Yeah. Two of our guys were absent. James said Sloan sent them on a separate mission. He didn’t say what. I think it’s probably worth following them for a few days. They might have been with the Alvarez kids.”
“Wipe your burner phone and plant it on one of themwith the location shared,” Shadrach said. “We’ll be able to track where they go.”
“Plant it on them how?” Nicolas asked.
“Duct tape it to the bottom of their car,” Talon said. “Or hide it under their seat or in their trunk, if they’re trusting enough to leave their cars unlocked at HQ.”
That was very likely. Nicolas remembered a time when he felt comfortable enough to leave his car unlocked at HQ. Not anymore, though. Not since they started whipping people in the courtyard. He was sure people like Kyle and Ashton felt as comfortable there as ever, which would make this doable.
“Okay,” he said. “I can do that.”
Chapter 18
