My cheeks burned as if they’d been touched by the sun itself. “Phenex can hear through the ceiling?”
“He has the best hearing out of all of us.” Stolas grinned. “Something to keep in mind next time you’re feeling a little frisky.”
Caim stood, ignoring him. “Did you look through the security footage from the past few days?”
“Yeah,” Stolas said after awkwardly clearing his throat and shooting me another glance. “There was no sign of them. The cult hasn’t tried to attack yet, but we need to decide what we’re going to do about tonight. Do we open the club and risk a bunch of newborn demons swarming the place? We’d have hundreds of supes inside.”
“Maybe that would be a good thing,” I said. “The more the merrier, right? You’d pretty much have an army against the twelve of them.”
“I wish that were the case, Eva, but it’s not,” Caim said, his voice low and edged in steel. “Not all supernaturals are as strong as demons. And the ones that are might not necessarily be trained to fight. Most of them just want to live normal lives. They aren’t warriors. Opening the club would be reckless.”
“That said,” Stolas argued, “it might work as a trap. Maybe we could pretend like the club is open. Lure them in. Fight them on our turf.”
The hidden door to the roof suddenly swung wide and Phenex stomped into the apartment in his big army boots. “We’re too late for that. There’s been an attack downtown, near the ferry to Staten Island.”
Caim spun around the sofa and stalked toward Phenex. My heart leapt into my throat. It was starting. The thing we’d feared the most. They were attacking innocent humans now. And if we didn’t do something fast, I’d soon be one of the monsters, too.
“Details, Phenex,” Caim demanded.
The red-headed demon sighed and ran a hand down his face. “Saw it on a news alert that just popped up on my phone. A group of crazed lunatics rushed out of a building and attacked some tourists. Blood everywhere. It looked...bad.”
I swallowed hard.
“How can we be sure it was the cult?” Stolas asked. “As much as I hate to say it, this wouldn’t be the first time humans fought amongst themselves.”
Phenex’s lips flattened. “There was talk of wings. Obviously, it’s impossible to know if someone made it up or not. No photos of the wings, and there’s been a lot of fake reports ever since Asmodeus let his wings be seen by humans. But it all fits.”
Caim nodded and glanced back at where I hugged one of the sofa cushions to my chest. “We need to go investigate.”
I could practically feel all the blood rushing from my cheeks. The idea of chasing down some out-of-control demons scared the living shit out of me, but that wouldn’t stop me from doing it. I couldn’t let it. Not when I was partly to blame for them being out there in the first place. My blood had transformed them. I needed to help stop this, regardless of how terrifying it was.
“Okay,” I whispered. “What do we do? What’s the plan?”
Caim’s brows winged upward. “Wearen’t doing a damn thing, Eva. You’re going to stay here where it’s safe while the Legion takes care of it. Phenex will stay with you. He won’t let a single enemy get through that door.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You’re kidding, right? I can’t sit here holed up in your apartment while the rest of you go chase down the demons.”
“You can. And you will.” Caim returned to my side and caught my hand in his, bringing it up to his chest. Our fingers laced together, and I could feel the heavy thump of his heart. “You and your roommates need to stay out of sight. Where it’s safe. Andrea wants more of your blood. I’m not about to deliver you right into her hands.”
My heart banged my tired ribs. I hadn’t even considered that, but he had an excellent point. If I went with him, she’d no doubt try to make a grab for me.
“Fine.” I sagged against the cushions. “I don’t like it, but I’ll stay here.”
His eyes sparked as his gaze roved across my face. “I know you want to be a part of this. But we just can’t risk it, Eva. I’m sorry.”
Caim gathered the Legion together in the living room and gave them a run-down of their mission. They’d sneak down to the ferry and look for any sign of the enemy while Phenex kept his guard up here. And if they came across the newborn demons, they’d do what they had to do in order to save this world.
Destroy every last one of them.
14
Eva
“What are we searching for exactly?” Sarah idly flipped through a book that sprayed dust up into the air. I wrinkled my nose and sneezed.
In my own hands was another book, much like the one she held. On the ancient leather cover, the writer had etched a demonic symbol, painted gold. Before the Legion had left, Stolas had informed me that it was the seal of Lucifer. It felt strange holding a book of writings from the King of Hell himself.
Anya sat on my other side, flipping through the TV channels while munching on the pizza we’d ordered. I’d gone through an entire pie myself before my hunger subsided long enough for me to focus on the demon research before me.
