“And you?” he prompted his brother.
“Still no luck,” Stygian said with a heavy sigh. “But Aphotic’s got the scent of his female. He’s heading to Texas as we speak. What’s your plan?”
“For now, I don’t have one. The second I can get her out of town, I’ll head back to Colorado.”
“Good. If we’re as lucky as you are, we won’t be far behind,” Stygian stated. “There’s safety in numbers, and theamsouelotswill be better off with all of us protecting them.”
Obsidian agreed. It was the reason they lived on the thirty-five-acre ranch, situated in an easily defendable area known as Darkness, Colorado, which didn’t exist on any map. They’d built the mansion from the ground up, modified it so it was a modern-day fortress.
“We’re dealing with Perfidious,” he informed Stygian. “And from what I gather, he’s working with Seraphina.”
“Son of a bitch. They make a move yet?”
“I think he’s playing games. Probably thinks he’s got the upper hand.” Though they’d been making valiant efforts to eliminate themesonneirfor centuries, they proved elusive. There was a reason Lucifer had selected them as his lieutenants.
However, Perfidious’s one major flaw was his need to drag shit out, to play with his prey. In this case, it would likely work in Obsidian’s favor.
“Let me know if you need backup,” Stygian offered. “We can be there in a breath.”
“I will.” Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that. “What about you? How’re things going?”
“Slow. Too damn slow. And I think we picked up a tail a few days ago. Mordecai’s almost positive he detected Valdis.”
“Hopefully you can keep him back.” As it was, that particular demon made Perfidious look like a boy scout.
“That’s certainly the plan. I’ll check back in with you soon.”
“Keep in touch,” he told his brother.
“You do the same.”
The call disconnected and Obsidian headed back into the house. He found Reidar sitting at the kitchen island, scarfing down the meal the females had put out.
“Sit. Eat,” Acadia ordered, her voice soft and sweet but ripe with insistence.
“I’m good for now, but I’ll take coffee.”
“Coming right up.”
“Tell me about Stig,” Obsidian commanded Reidar when the male pushed his plate away.
Reidar wiped his mouth. “I apprised him of the situation. He said he’d keep his eye on her, but he’s inundated with the other forty-nine he’s looking after.”
“Wow. They’re taking on fifty souls now?”
There was no doubt the guardian angels were overloaded. Because of the extensive requirements, they were in short supply. Those who’d been doing it for a while were being overloaded with more assignments. But it paid to have them as backup since they were capable of going out during daylight hours.
While Obsidian would’ve preferred Penelope was Stig’s only human to look after, he knew it wasn’t possible.
“And Perfidious?”
Reidar rolled his eyes, exhaled heavily. “Bastard’s sneaky. Penelope’s definitely his prime target, but I think it’s safe to say he’s distracted. He’s like a kid in an amusement park, not sure which ride to hop on first but wanting to try them all.”
“Might keep him looking elsewhere temporarily, but he’s not alone.” Obsidian took a sip of the coffee Acadia handed him. “Penelope informed me her brother’s dating a female named Seraphina.”
Reidar’s blue eyes widened. “No fucking way. You think it’s the demon?”
“No doubt. They’re getting their claws in her family. Probably intending to use the brother as leverage.”
