“Wanted more. He said no.”
Ira brightened. “And you listened.”
“Yes.” He scowled, though they couldn’t see it thanks to the shadowed hood. Of course he’d listened. The last thing he wanted was to hurt the human.
“So this paladin,” Shadrach said, “has no idea who you are orwhatyou are. You approached him out of nowhere and he just let you put your hands on him?”
“Killed his squad,” Ashmedai said, lowering his gaze. His human had felt guilt for that. He’d seen it darkening his soul. He would never forgive himself for dulling his shine. He’d tried to explain that the ones he’d killed were evil, but his grasp of human language was tricky.
“Youkilled his squadand then made out with him?” Shadrach exclaimed. “And heallowedit?”
“Evil,” Ashmedai snarled. Why did everyone keep overlooking that? His human wasn’t safe with those other ones. “Ate their sins. Dark souls.Evil!” They didn’t deserve to be in his human’s presence. He’d done the surface a favor by removing them from it.
“Okay, okay,” Ira said, raising his hands for calm. “We believe you. I imagine your human was very confused about what was happening, that’s all. Then what?”
“He left.” Ashmedai sighed, subdued. “Called others. Returned to… guild.”
“What are they going to think about this human beingthe lone survivor of an attack like that?” Julian asked, looking from face to face. “Ashmedai, the guild has eight people in a squad. Did you kill seven and leave only him alive?”
“Yes. His soul—bright.”
“They won’t understand why he survived.”
“Do you think they’ll suspect something?” Valac asked.
“I think they’re far too paranoid these days not to,” Julian said solemnly.
“Meaning?” Ashmedai asked, glancing between them. What did that mean? What were they saying?
“Your human might be in danger,” Valac said. “And he might not even realize it.”
Chapter 3
Nicolas
After they loadedthe bodies into a discreet service van and returned to HQ, Nicolas was directed to a conference room in the administrative building to give his statement about what happened. On routine nights, he would turn in a written statement about his squad’s patrol, but when something went wrong—like seven people in a squad dying in a single night—that would require answering some questions. His only saving grace was that there was a coffee machine inside the room with him, with a stack of disposable cups. It was the cheap stuff, but it was better than nothing.
When Sloan joined him, his cold expression gave nothing away. They sat across from each other at the conference table while Nicolas gave his carefully curated statement. Again. And again. And again. Yes, his squad ran ahead of him. Yes, he tried to order them to stop. No, they didn’t listen. Yes, he tried to rush after them and help. No, he wasn’t fast enough. The demon used some kind of power to blow him backward and pin him still, and by the time he could move again, it was over.
Each time, Sloan stood, offered Nicolas a few moments to collect himself, and then he left. When he returned, they did it all over again.
Nicolas was exhausted. His head throbbed, and the coffee had made him jittery. He just wanted to go home. Was Sloan questioning him repeatedly because he suspected Nicolas’s story was full of lies? Itwas. He couldn’t tell them the truth, that the demon had pressed his mouth to Nicolas’s neck and all sense and reason had left him. That they’dtalked. He couldn’t tell them how terrifying and arousing it had been. They would kill him. Maybe he would deserve it.
The door opened, pulling him from his thoughts, and he raised his head from the conference table and reflexively pulled his cold cup of coffee closer. Sloan sat down across from him and leveled him with a cold look.
“Let’s run through this again.” It was the same thing he said every time.
Nicolas sighed. “I don’t know how many times I can do this?—”
“You’ll do it as many times as I order you to, Captain. Again.”
Nicolas sighed, staring down into his coffee. “We were patrolling Sector 93. We saw a hooded figure go inside the metal-working plant. The others charged in right away and ignored my order for them to wait. I wanted to go in with a plan, but they didn’t listen. I chased after them, but by the time I reached them, they were all on the floor. Their bodies were… broken. They were screaming in pain. I tried to rush in and help, but the demon used some kind of power that blew me back out of the room. I watched it… suck the life out of each one of them. One after the next.”
“Sucked the life out of them how?” Sloan asked. The same thing he asked every time.
“It grabbed their heads, pulled them up, and bent over them. It sucked some kind of dark… essence out of them. I screamed for it to stop, tried to get free, but I couldn’t.”
“What happened when it was done with your squad?”
