Page 8 of Malice

“I did.”

“Tell me you didn’t sell your soul.”

“Not exactly,” I start, my heart speeding up. “There’s a caveat. The demon wants to be freed from the Order’s hold. I break whatever is binding it to them, and the contract will be torn up. My soul is mine and you’re good, don’t worry. I made sure to ask.”

“What is the demon’s name?”

“Vaelric.”

Antonio just nods, slowly inhaling as he thinks. “This isn’t going to be easy, Wren. We’re not just going up against a demon, but the whole fucking Order of the Mystic Realm.”

“I know,” I say and put my hand on his. “I knew what I was doing. The Order having a demon as their own personal puppet on a string is dangerous, Toni.”

“So is freeing it.”

“One of those options is the lesser of two evils.”

“Yeah,” he agrees. “But which one?”

“I don’t know. Hopefully the one I’m kinda forced to do.”

Antonio looks at me and we just silently stare at each other, knowing the gravity of this situation. Then he leans back, a grin coming to his face.

“Everyone thinks I’m dead. I could watch my own funeral.”

I laugh. “Oh my god, you would.”

“So would you.”

“True. Wait—everyone thinks you’re dead. We can use this.”

“We will use this.” He looks around the guest room. “Fuck, Wren, this…this…is a huge fucking mess. We’ve been in messes before, but this…I’m having a hard time seeing the forest through the trees.”

“Maybe it’s because you just died.”

He looks back at me and we laugh. “You’re still the only one in the house who hasn’t died.”

We laugh again, shaking our head at ourselves. “We should find Leo. Let him know what’s going on, right?”

Antonio’s face goes sullen. “He’s never been good at keeping secrets.”

“He's gonna think you’re dead. And Gia...what do we do?”

“We will find her,” Antonio says, sounding like such a confident hunter. He embodies what the Order is supposed to be: brave, loyal, always dedicated to doing the right thing for the world. “And we’ll break your contract. I’m kinda scared to ask, but how much time do you have?”

Fear prickles down my back. “One month.”

Chapter

Four

The whirl of metal on metal sounds all around us, echoing through the large house.

“It’s automatic blinds,” I tell Antonio. “They all go down right around sunrise and go back up after the sun sets.”

“Interesting,” he says, turning and looking out the window. “There’s already a bit of daylight.”

“Yeah,” I reply with a nod, feeling a little internal battle. Do I share the info Xavier has told me that the hunters didn’t know before? I suppose Antonio will find out. “Older vamps like Theo and Xavier can handle a little dim light with no issues.”