I sat back in the chair and watched the exchange, increasingly convinced that this place right here was where I was meant to be. It was better for everyone if I just gave in to my fate and accepted what I was becoming. These were my people now. This was my home.
Suddenly, the radio crackle cut through the banter. The demons all jerked toward it as a voice rang out over the line. I was only half paying attention, still focused on Caim. He’d been acting so strange since he returned from wherever the hell he’d been. And he was trying to hide it from me. He’d changed the conversation when I’d asked him where he’d gone, which meant he didn’t want me to know.
And here I thought we were past all that. No more secrets. No more hidden agendas. We told each other everything. Or, at least, I’d thought we did.
“...reports of assault on the corner of 3rdand 33rd. Seven attackers. Heavily armed. Triple D alert.”
The demons were on their feet faster than I could blink, the poker game immediately forgotten. Weapons appeared in hands. Eyes narrowed. Lips twisted into scowls.
Caim turned to me. “It’s time, Eva. Are you ready for this?”
No. Not really. But I was as ready as I would ever be.
With a rock lodged in my throat, I nodded. “Let’s go stop this cult once and for all.”
30
Eva
“We’ll approach from the north while the others come in from the south. It will trap the cult in the middle. They’ll have nowhere to run.”
Caim and I stood on a rooftop two blocks north of the reported demon attack. From the streets below came the unmistakable blare of sirens. A scream echoed through the night. I swallowed hard, fear and rage tangling together in my gut. The cult had to be stopped. They’d caused so much death and destruction, and so much more would come if we didn’t move fast.
Caim held out his hand. I slid my fingers through his, and he squeezed tight as his dark gaze met mine. “Come on. Stay with me. If I tell you to run, run. And only use that dagger if absolutely necessary. Now, hold tight. I can steer you in the right direction.”
I nodded and fiddled with my fancy new top, a strappy black sports bra shaped to fit around my wings.
My feathers spread from my back as we took off from the roof. With my feet dangling beneath me, I rushed across the top of the buildings, my eyes wide as I scanned the streets below. Several girls raced down the sidewalk with screams ripping from their throats.
I caught Caim’s gaze and pointed at the terror-charged girls. “There.”
He gave me a grim nod, and we swooped down below, not the least bit bothered about humans seeing a pair of flying people with black wings the length of an entire car. There was little point in hiding anymore. Let them see the truth.
Feet thundering onto the sidewalk, we turned in the direction the girls had run, and then twisted back toward whatever had caused them to flee screaming their lungs out. Fire raged in the distance, lapping up the side of a building that had the symbol of the New York police department etched onto the brick wall.
“Oh.” I swallowed, my heart cantering up into my throat. “That’s not great.”
Caim glanced around, and then clenched his jaw. I followed his gaze. A few more humans raced past, screaming. Other than that, and the raging fire at the police station, the streets were eerily silent and empty. The demons were nowhere to be seen. In any other situation, a silent 33rdStreet would be pretty odd, but this felt downright terrifying. Midtown was always alive, even in the deepest part of the night.
“Where are the others?” I whispered, glancing up at the skies for any sign of big black wings.
Caim shook his head, scanning the streets. “They must have run into the cult. Because the newborn demons sure as hell aren’t here. They must have fled.”
I pressed my lips together, choosing not to voice my thoughts out loud. It sure didn’t look like the cult members hadfledto me. It looked like they’d rampaged through the streets, terrifying all the humans away from here. Luckily, I didn’t spot any blood on the sidewalks. The demons might have set fire to the police station, but they hadn’t killed anyone. Yet.
“Come on,” Caim said, jerking his chin toward the street leading past the police station. “Let’s follow the trail. See if we can find the others.” And the cult.
We strode down the street, eyeing every building we passed, just in case the cult members had ducked inside to trash something else. Every window was silent and empty with only the flickering glow of the fire lighting up the darkened shops and restaurants.
“Is it weird that none of these places are open?” I asked as I glanced at a pizza place where most of the windows had been completely boarded up. “It’s only eleven. This is Midtown.”
“There’s a lot about this whole thing that’s weird,” Caim muttered back. I turned toward him to find he’d drawn his sword from his back. The steel glinted against the firelight.
My heart pounded my ribs. “What do you think is going on?”
“I have no fucking clue. Take out your dagger.”
All the blood drained from my face as my trembling fingers wrapped around the dagger hilt, and I pulled it out of the sheath. Swallowing hard, I fell into step beside Caim, my eyes darting toward every shadow. We inched closer and closer to the fiery building. Heat washed across me, but it only made me feel cold.
