Might as well drown the taste of the brown water as much as possible. Not that I hadanyintention of consuming anything that came out of that kitchen. I refused to go down in the fourth quarter from some poisonous coffee. I’d made that mistake once. Never touch something an enemy supernatural tries to offer you.
Or you might end up bound and gagged in the middle of a demon seal, ready for sacrifice.
After she’d bustled into her kitchen, I whirled to Az and hissed my words. “What the hell do we do now?”
“We find the thing,” he said gruffly.
I folded my arms. “And what is the thing?”
His lips flattened as he gazed around at the mess. “Something in this room.”
“Yep. You’re right. That’s very helpful.” I twisted toward the sound of boiling water, frowning. “What do you think she is?”
“She’s what Eisheth said she is,” he murmured back. “A demon. She’s been hidden by a scent and appearance glamor. It’s likely how she’s been able to collect all this stuff. No one looks twice at an old woman hobbling around.”
“Do you think she’s powerful?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“I think she is far more deadly than she looks. But I also think she has no plans to fight us unless we get too close to the object she’s hiding.”
“So, we just need to poke around until she gets angry.”
Az’s lips twisted, his expression darkening. “Are you sure you meant what you said outside?”
“About you doing your worst?” My heart pounded. “You know I did...why?”
“It would take weeks to sort through all this stuff, and she knows it.” Az reached behind his back and withdrew a sword that I had not seen until now. He’d kept it hidden, doused in his shadows. I swallowed hard. I remembered that sword. He’d named it Abaddon, and apparently, it had a mind of its own.
“Step back, Mia,” he warned in a low growl. The sword flickered in response.
“Yep. Got it.” I dove behind the sofa just as Rebecca Reynolds bustled out of her kitchen with two steaming mugs of coffee. A part of me felt guilty. She reminded me of my grandmother. Her sweet little face. That watery smile. The way she held the mugs as if they were struggle.
“Oh, I see. This is how we’re going to play.” She cackled and threw the mugs at my face.
20
Iyelped and ducked behind the sofa. The mugs shattered on the wall behind my head, breaking several photo frames. Gasping, I threw my arms over my head to protect my face from the shards that rained down on top of me. A few slivers of glass sliced into my arms. A stinging pain tore through my skin.
Meanwhile, I could hear Az locked in a brutal battle with the grandma demon. I popped up my head to find his sword ringing when it slammed into hers. She held a big, monstrous thing lined in jagged edges. Like a serrated knife. The hilt was black with a pair of gleaming red eyes.
And I swore those eyes were looking right at me.
“Give up!” Az roared. “Yield!”
The demon cackled once more and threw all her weight behind her sword. It arced toward his gut, and the sharp tip of it sliced through his black shirt. Az stilled, his eyes flashing with rage.
I wet my lips. Now, while I appreciate his swordplay, I had to admit this wasn’t the terrifying, destructive force I’d conjured in my head. My imagination had gotten a little carried away, it turned out. He couldn’t rip her apart with his mind or shatter her bones with a single touch. If he wasn’t currently locked in a dangerous sword battle, I might have laughed out loud at myself.
“I’ve had enough,” Az spat, releasing his sword.
Abaddon clattered against a stack of porcelain plates. My mind screamed as I watched in horror.What the hell is he doing?!He couldn’t just drop the damn sword. Heart shaking, I pushed up from behind the couch to rush to his aid. She’d destroy him like this. She had a massive sword and enough strength to shove it right into his gut.
Az held his hands out on either side of him and threw back his head. He opened his mouth, letting out a terrible, all-consuming roar. His shadows shot from his skin, a great massive swarm of them. I slowed to a stop, jaw dropping.
Rebecca let out a little squeal and turned to run, but the shadows swarmed her before she could get anywhere. They flew into her mouth, a swarm of darkness so thick it looked like billowing smoke. Her head dropped back, and she stilled, frozen in place by the shadows.
They still pulsed around her, weaving in and out of her open mouth and nose. Horror twisting through me, all I could do was stare.
Az strode toward her with vengeance in his eyes. “Tell me where the item is.”
