When Winnie told him she was goingto hang with Penelope, Asmia, and Acadia for movie night, Reidar decided it was time to hit the streets.
Truth was, he was feeling a bit claustrophobic these days. Ever since he’d brought Winnie back to the mansion, everyone was treating him as though he was made of glass. Sure, he knew they were simply trying to keep him with hisamsouelotrather than out fighting demons, but Reidar could only handle so much. Not only was he feeling as though two thousand pounds were riding shotgun on his chest, he needed some time away, a few minutes of fresh air to clear his head.
Whatever was going on with Winnie … with both of them, actually … well, it was more than he could take. Not for the first time, he wondered if he’d jumped the gun in assuming Winnie was hisamsouelot. Something was seriously off between them, and he couldn’t imagine two souls destined to be together could end up with a disconnect the size of Texas.
So here he was, out of the mansion, breathing in the fresh mountain air, and looking for a fight. Exactly what he needed to clear his head.
“Not sure how I drew the short stick,” Rinc grumbled as they strolled through the empty downtown area. “What exactly are you hoping to find out here?”
Reidar had no idea how to answer that, honestly. For the past few weeks, thefiestreighhad been patrolling the streets of Darkness and the surrounding small towns, looking for any signs of Perfidious only to come up with nothing. Themesonneirhad gone to ground, likely biding his time after he’d pulled that stunt with Asmia. As for what he was waiting for … well, that was the million-dollar question. Now that Penelope’s soul was safely ensconced in Heaven alongside Obsidian’s, she couldn’t be their target.
“I was thinking the same thing,” Zadok huffed, thelieterra’sattention scanning the group of people who sauntered down the empty street, seeming to have ventured too far off the beaten path.
Being that it was a couple hours after the rowdy Friday night crowd had called it a night, Reidar hadn’t expected to encounter any humans. This tiny town was usually locked up tight. The only humans out were usually of the adolescent variety, attempting to wreak a little havoc.
“Is it just me or does something feel off? By this point in a night,” Rinc stated, “we would’ve encountered a couple dozenimpietansalready. Where the hell are they?”
“This isn’t the big city,” Reidar told the male. “Be grateful for the reprieve.”
“Reprieve? I’m starting to think Perfidious and his band of merry assholes are on vacation,” Zadok uttered.
“Maybe.” He wished they could get that lucky, but Reidar doubted the demon was off on some island, sipping margaritas and enjoying the atmosphere.
A shrill sound from behind him had Reidar pausing, allowing his senses to sweep out over the area.
“Demon.”Finally!
“Three of them,” Zadok corrected.
Rinc grinned as though that was good news. “One for each of us.”
Working as a cohesive unit, they reversed their path, heading down the darkened street that ran parallel to the main thoroughfare through town, leading deeper into what passed for an industrial section.
“Make that four,” Reidar noted as they turned the corner to see a cluster of demons making a beeline to the humans on the next block over.
Great.
“These aren’timpietans.” Rinc’s frown denoted his confusion.
“Neillohs?” Zadok asked, referring to demons sent to Earth from Hell, rather than humans who were turned.
“Definitely not,” Reidar answered. The question was, who the fuck were they? It had been eons since they’d encountered any without the IQ of a bag of rocks.
Rinc went to the right, Zadok to the left, allowing them the opportunity to surround the demons, hopefully get the humans to safety.
“Look at this one,” one of the female demons said as she surveyed a human male. “So handsome. The attractive ones always taste better.”
“Taste?” The male laughed, then peered over at his buddy with a grin. “Honey, I’ll give you something to taste.”
Fucking lovely. The idiot was taunting the thing.
This was going to be fun.
The problem with demons was that they didn’t care to fight. Though they were a worthy opponent when engaged, it wasn’t easy to redirect their attention once they’d set their sights on their goal. And this female was already in pursuit of the human male who hadn’t quite realized what she was.
“Don’t mean to crash the party,” Rinc announced, “but we’d like to have a word.”
Several high-pitched growls sounded as the demons spun to face the oncoming threat. All except the female. She was taking full advantage of the distraction.
