Institute—about Enforcers. Adam thinks Stefan is alive. I’m getting Stefan back. You have to believe that.”
“The Enforcer murders...” She blinked. Her pale blue eyes widened, and the color drained from her face. “Your owner is behind it?” She pressed her hand against her neck. “I heard the Enforcers talking... Those poor women.”
“Yes. There’s no other way Damien could know about the Enforcers. He’s all demon, and as far as I know, he’s never crossed the veil before. He wouldn’t know how to catch a bus, let alone track an Enforcer, kill her, and then go back into hiding. Once Damien discovered I was alive and unclaimed, he would have used anything to get to me. Akil. Stefan. They have the knowledge Damien needed. I know, Nica. I do. Stefan is alive.”
“Akil could have told him… You nearly killed Akil, Muse. I saw you. You were… something else; terrifying. Akil would want you dead.” She spoke as though her thoughts were elsewhere. I wondered if she was remembering her days with Akil. The Institute had sent her in as a mole. He hadn’t appreciated it. “He could have told your owner about the Enforcers. Couldn’t he?” She pinned a hopeful gaze on me.
I’d thought about that. “No. Akil doesn’t know the inner workings of the Institute. He might want me dead, yeah, but he doesn’t know anything about Enforcers. It has to be Stefan.” Could Stefan have told Damien everything? “I don’t know why he would tell Damien.”
“I do. He tried to help you, and you told him to go to hell.” She bit into her bottom lip and swallowed hard. “I can’t believe you. He’s gone. He’s not coming back.” She gathered the books and tucked them into a canvas bag. “Even if he’s alive, which is highly unlikely, he can’t cross the veil again. He’s trapped there with Akil. That was the key to stopping Akil from coming back. Stefan’s trapped there in a world filled with demons who want him dead. Jesus, Muse, open your eyes.” She turned and glowered at me. “You need to let go.”
I watched her stalk out of the library and slumped back in my chair. Stefan and Nica had been close. Nica had been Stefan’s lifeline to the outside world. When he’d taken Akil beyond the veil, he’d left behind the only family he’d ever had—a sister he loved. He’d known it was a one way trip. And I’d told him to go to hell.
Chapter 9
T he demon’s scales shimmered beneath the streetlights. His scaled armor rattled, and he hissed a warning. He blinked inner eyelids over round green pupils and bolted down the suburban street. He had wings bunched against his back, but for whatever reason, he wasn’t using them. Head down, I dashed down the sidewalk after him. He swerved around a mailbox and leapt over a picket fence.
Things had taken a turn for the worse rather quickly. A routine call, Ryder had said. Drop by on your way back . Form filling exercise . The demon had known what I was as soon as I’d climbed from the non-descript Institute Nissan. The curtain in the front window of the house had twitched. From there, things went south before I had a chance to knock.
Mister Average had exited that quaint clapboard house with enough swagger in his stride to make me hesitate and reach for my gun right before his entire man-suit peeled apart to reveal the demon inside. Despite being an Enforcer, I hadn’t actually expected to come face to face with a seven-foot, winged-demon on a leafy suburban street. He lunged forward, lower jaw splitting apart to reveal four writhing tendrils, each tipped with barbs, then hissed a warning and bolted. Considering his armored bulk, he ran like the wind.
I took the picket fence in a leap and chased his shadow around the side of a house, into the back yard. He didn’t head out the back gate as I’d expected, but plowed straight through the glass sliding doors and into the house. Evidently, the demon knew the owners, and they’d invited him in sometime in
“The Enforcer murders...” She blinked. Her pale blue eyes widened, and the color drained from her face. “Your owner is behind it?” She pressed her hand against her neck. “I heard the Enforcers talking... Those poor women.”
“Yes. There’s no other way Damien could know about the Enforcers. He’s all demon, and as far as I know, he’s never crossed the veil before. He wouldn’t know how to catch a bus, let alone track an Enforcer, kill her, and then go back into hiding. Once Damien discovered I was alive and unclaimed, he would have used anything to get to me. Akil. Stefan. They have the knowledge Damien needed. I know, Nica. I do. Stefan is alive.”
“Akil could have told him… You nearly killed Akil, Muse. I saw you. You were… something else; terrifying. Akil would want you dead.” She spoke as though her thoughts were elsewhere. I wondered if she was remembering her days with Akil. The Institute had sent her in as a mole. He hadn’t appreciated it. “He could have told your owner about the Enforcers. Couldn’t he?” She pinned a hopeful gaze on me.
I’d thought about that. “No. Akil doesn’t know the inner workings of the Institute. He might want me dead, yeah, but he doesn’t know anything about Enforcers. It has to be Stefan.” Could Stefan have told Damien everything? “I don’t know why he would tell Damien.”
“I do. He tried to help you, and you told him to go to hell.” She bit into her bottom lip and swallowed hard. “I can’t believe you. He’s gone. He’s not coming back.” She gathered the books and tucked them into a canvas bag. “Even if he’s alive, which is highly unlikely, he can’t cross the veil again. He’s trapped there with Akil. That was the key to stopping Akil from coming back. Stefan’s trapped there in a world filled with demons who want him dead. Jesus, Muse, open your eyes.” She turned and glowered at me. “You need to let go.”
I watched her stalk out of the library and slumped back in my chair. Stefan and Nica had been close. Nica had been Stefan’s lifeline to the outside world. When he’d taken Akil beyond the veil, he’d left behind the only family he’d ever had—a sister he loved. He’d known it was a one way trip. And I’d told him to go to hell.
Chapter 9
T he demon’s scales shimmered beneath the streetlights. His scaled armor rattled, and he hissed a warning. He blinked inner eyelids over round green pupils and bolted down the suburban street. He had wings bunched against his back, but for whatever reason, he wasn’t using them. Head down, I dashed down the sidewalk after him. He swerved around a mailbox and leapt over a picket fence.
Things had taken a turn for the worse rather quickly. A routine call, Ryder had said. Drop by on your way back . Form filling exercise . The demon had known what I was as soon as I’d climbed from the non-descript Institute Nissan. The curtain in the front window of the house had twitched. From there, things went south before I had a chance to knock.
Mister Average had exited that quaint clapboard house with enough swagger in his stride to make me hesitate and reach for my gun right before his entire man-suit peeled apart to reveal the demon inside. Despite being an Enforcer, I hadn’t actually expected to come face to face with a seven-foot, winged-demon on a leafy suburban street. He lunged forward, lower jaw splitting apart to reveal four writhing tendrils, each tipped with barbs, then hissed a warning and bolted. Considering his armored bulk, he ran like the wind.
I took the picket fence in a leap and chased his shadow around the side of a house, into the back yard. He didn’t head out the back gate as I’d expected, but plowed straight through the glass sliding doors and into the house. Evidently, the demon knew the owners, and they’d invited him in sometime in
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