The tension in Merri’s jaw meant she wasn’t fully on board, but she surprised me by not arguing further. With a sigh, she claimed a seat on one of the sofas.
“Right then. So our hunting party is as follows: me, Grim?—”
“All four of us are going,” Chaos said in a tone that brooked no argument.
“Aren’t you the cutest musketeers?” At his glower, I simply rolled my eyes and finished my list, “And Evander. Anyone else?”
“The six of you should be more than capable of handling a simple recovery mission. Last we heard, Paris was mostly wiped out,” Lilith said.
“Except for the demons,” Crombie added. “There have been sightings of them roaming all over.”
“Right, but a handful of demons against the lot of them? Child’s play.”
“They wouldn’t stand a chance against me alone,” I said, offended that they thought I needed assistance. I was the king of demons. The lord on high. The leader of their realm. They would cower at my feet.
“Look to your mate if you want your ego stroked, Lucifer.”
I narrowed my eyes at Lilith’s sharp tongue, but didn’t respond to her goading further. Instead, I glanced at each of my babysitters in turn. “All right, then. Shall we?”
“Shit,it’s worse than I thought it would be,” Sin breathed as soon as we winked into existence outside of what once was the grandest cathedral ever built.
Now all that remained was so much rubble. Piles of stone and dust surrounded the remnants of the famous facade, the shards of stained glass littering the ground a pale reminder of the iconic window known across the world.
“Are you certain it’s still here?” Chaos asked.
“As certain as I can be.”
Evander closed his eyes, and I could only assume he was tapping into his celestial abilities before murmuring, “It’s here.”
“You can sense it?” Malice asked.
He nodded. “Angels can always sense things touched by the divine. Just as you four can likely sense that which falls under your various mantles.”
“Like real-life metal detectors,” Sin said.
Evander blinked at him. “Sure.”
Grim closed his eyes, mirroring Evander’s previous actions. Brows pulling together, he hummed. “Something, yes. I can’t get a strong enough hold on it to follow the trail, though.”
A slow shuffling followed by the sound of rocks falling and shifting caught my attention. All around us, demons began their careful approach, crawling out of the holes where they’d been hiding.
“What are the odds they attack?” Sin asked.
“Slim,” I answered.
“What about sending word we were here?” Malice ventured.
“Much higher.”
“We should move quickly then,” Grim said.
“Already ahead of you,” I said, angling myself in the direction of the axial chapel’s reliquary shrine. Or rather, what was left of it. Ugh, I was going to dirty my suit.
Glancing at the pile of debris with distaste, I cocked a brow and turned my attention to Chaos. “You, put those muscles to good use and clear a path, would you?”
Chaos’s entire body tensed, but he acquiesced, as he should have. In moments the path was once again walkable, and I strode toward the shrine, just a titch worried the bone wouldn’t be there any longer.
But no, Evander already confirmed its presence. Wait. He just confirmed the presence of something divine. Fuck.
