Time would tell, of course. But I had a good feeling about the two of us.
“All right, lovebirds.” Sage snapped her fingers, bringing us back into focus. “Now that we’re four instead of three, what’s the best way to work Thomas into our plan?”
“It’s been working best with the girls baiting the demons,” Noah said to Thomas. “They pretend they’ve been drinking. With Sage wearing her cloaking ring, the demons assume Sage and Raven are two drunk human girls. The demons get cocky, making it ridiculously easy to lure them into the alley.”
“It’s easy unless the demon has backup,” Thomas said. “Like the last one with the red-eyed shifter.”
“Which is where you’ll come into play,” Noah said. “You’ll stay back with me. We’ll make sure no demonic supernaturals are following the demon and the girls. If we spot any, we’ll take them down before they can follow them into the alley.”
“Let’s say we do find a red-eyed shifter,” Thomas supposed. “While we’re fighting it, what happens to the girls with the demon in the alley?”
“I can hold my own in a fight.” Sage raised her chin stubbornly. “At least, long enough until Noah can swoop in with the slicer and turn the demon to ashes.”
“And what about you?” Thomas looked at me.
“The demon won’t come into the alley without me,” I said. “I might not be supernatural, but I’m the key to this whole plan working. Plus, Noah’s been teaching me some self defense moves.”
“I hope you don’t have to use them,” Thomas said. “Because if a demon attacks you, you don’t stand a chance. Humans can be broken like twigs by supernaturals.”
“It’s a good thing the demons want me alive, then, isn’t it?” I held his gaze, wanting him to know I wouldn’t back down so easily.
He gave me a small smile of approval. “The Earth Angel is lucky to have someone as brave as you coming to Avalon to join her army,” he said.
My cheeks heated, humbled by the compliment. At first, I’d only wanted to go to Avalon to save my mom. And of course I still wanted to save her—I planned on saving her. But as I’d been traveling with Noah and Sage, this fight had slowly become my own.
I couldn’t wait to do my part in ridding the demons from the Earth once and for all.
“Raven’s going to kick serious ass in the Angel Trials,” Noah said, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze.
My stomach turned at the reminder that my journey had still barely begun. But I remained smiling, trying to stay strong.
“She’ll make a powerful Nephilim,” Thomas said. “But right now she’s still human. And I’m not liking the idea of leaving the girls on their own tonight.”
“They’re not on their own,” Noah said. “We’ll be watching their backs, protecting them.”
“I understand that,” he said. “But what if we switch it up this time? You partner with Raven to lure the demon, and Sage and I will keep watch.”
“The plan works best with two girls as bait,” Sage said, scowling. “Don’t you trust that I can hold my own until you and Noah arrive?"
“I know you can.” Thomas gazed down at her, love and worry shining in his eyes. “But I just got you back. I don’t want to let you out of my sight so soon.”
Her expression softened—Thomas had clearly gotten to her. “I’ll never be out of your sight,” she said with a small smile. “You’ll be following behind, able to see me the entire time. You’ll be making sure Raven and I stay safe.”
I looked back and forth between the two of them, more positive than ever from the adoring ways they were staring at each other that something big had just happened between them.
Resolve passed over Thomas’s eyes, and he looked over at Noah. “You never let the girls out of your sight?” he asked.
“Never.” Noah straightened. “I protect them with my life.”
“As I will as well,” Thomas said.
“I know you will,” Noah said. “Welcome to the team.” He held out his hand, and Thomas shook it with a single pump.
“Thanks for having me on it.” Thomas glanced at each of us, and I could tell from the energy buzzing between the four of us that we were ready to roll. “So, what are we waiting around here for?” he asked, mischief creeping into his tone. “Don’t we have a demon to hunt?”
Raven
Before turning the corner onto the main street, Sage stopped at the end of the alley and uncapped the flask she was carrying in her jacket. She took a sip, swished the vodka in her mouth, and spit it out on the sidewalk. She handed it to me, and I did the same.
We couldn’t afford to be drunk on the job, but we needed to convince the demons we were drinking. Swishing and spitting did the trick. That way we smelled like alcohol, but didn’t have to deal with the dizzying effects of it.
The outside of the club had a line all the way out the door. But lines apparently didn’t apply to Thomas. He simply walked up to the bouncer, looked him in the eyes, and said, “The four of us are on the list. Let us in.”
The bouncer’s face went slack and he unhooked the rope, allowing us to walk inside without question. A few people in line—who I assumed had been waiting for quite some time—whined and complained. But we ignored them and walked on by.
It was definitely useful having a vampire prince on the team.
Inside was loud, bright, and so crowded that there was barely space to walk—just like every other bar or club we’d tracked the demons down in so far. It was a massive club, with multiple floors looking down from balconies to the center.
“There are five bars in here.” Thomas stared blankly ahead, not focused on anything in particular. “The one in the back is the most crowded. Our friend is there.” He blinked and refocused on Sage once he was done speaking.
Earlier, we’d filled him in on our lingo—how we called the demon our “friend” so we didn’t sound suspicious.
“How do you know that?” I asked. Supernatural vision was better than human vision, but it didn’t allow them to see through walls.
Or did it? It was probably safe not to assume anything anymore.
“I linked into the security cameras.” He tapped his forehead. “I can see every inch of this place right in here.”
Technopath. Right.
Thomas was definitely coming in handy.
“Let’s go.” Sage linked her arm with mine, and we headed to the back bar. As a supernatural, Sage could see the demon’s true form, so she always took the lead at this part.
I could only see a demon’s true form when I knew to look for it. Even then, it only came in flashes. So I allowed Sage to pull me through the crowd. Unsure when the demon would spot us, I added in a few stumbles here and there.
It was important to keep up the facade of a drunk college girl from the start.
Sage pushed our way through the rows of people crowding around the bar. With her supernatural strength, she could have gotten to the front of all these humans with no problem. But she stopped midway through, peered over the sea of people, and let out a frustrated huff.
An attractive, well-dressed man in his mid-twenties was instantly by our side. The demon. It figured—the demons always took similar forms. Being attractive and appearing well off probably made it easier for them to lure in their prey.
“Do you ladies need help getting a drink from the bar?” He focused on me as he spoke. “On me, of course.”
“Water.” I giggled and stumbled into Sage.
She leaned into me and giggled as well, the two of us making a show of propping each other up. “I think we might have pre-gamed a bit too hard before coming out tonight.” She laughed again and covered her mouth, as if she’d just revealed something she shouldn’t have.
“Pre-gamed?” He glanced back and forth between us, looking truly confused. “What do you mean by that?”
Right—the demons had been locked in Hell for centuries. They understood English—during our drives, Sage and Noah had told me that both angel
s and demons were able to speak any language in the world.
But understanding English didn’t make them versed in recent slang.
“We drank before coming out,” Sage drawled. “A lot.” She punctuated that with another stumble into me.
I pretended to lose my footing and fall straight into the demon.
“Ah.” He caught my arm to steady me and eyed me up, smirking. “That explains your current inebriated state.”
I swallowed down a shudder at his touch, forcing myself to smile instead.
I hated when the demons touched me. But practice was making me good at this.
“I can’t believe you don’t know what pre-gaming means!” I giggled again and tilted my head, like he entranced me. His eyes flashed red, and despite the urge to recoil, I pretended everything was normal. “You must not be from here,” I continued without waiting for a reply. “Where are you from?”
“You’re right that I’m not from here.” He smirked. “I’m from down south.”
“Ohhh.” I raised my eyebrows, as if intrigued. “Like, Florida?”
“Nice,” Sage said. “My grandparents live in Boca.”
I couldn’t help laughing—her grandparents totally didn’t live in Boca. Actually, I didn’t know much about her family besides Flint. If her parents or grandparents were still alive, she hadn’t mentioned them.
The demon nodded, clearly having no idea where Boca was. “Are you girls from here?” he asked us.
“I have family out here and have been staying with them each summer for years,” Sage said, swinging an arm around my neck and pulling me close. “Rebekah’s my bestie, and she’s staying with us for the week.”
That was my code name for this hunt. Hers was Samantha.
“Rebekah.” The demon eyed me up like a piece of meat. “A beautiful name for a beautiful woman.”
Ugh. So cringe-worthy.
But I smiled anyway, since we had an act to keep up. “What’s your name?” I asked, leaning forward in interest.
“Alex,” he said.
Of course it was. The demons used code names too, and they picked the most common ones possible.
“Nice to meet you Alex,” I said. Then I wrapped my arms around my stomach and groaned. “All that vodka’s hitting me harder than I expected.” I looked at Sage, pouting as if in pain. “I need food.”
“Me too,” she agreed. “Pizza?”
The demon’s eyes lit up. “I’m getting hungry myself,” he said. “Mind if I join?”
“Really?” I widened my eyes, as if thrilled he was offering to grace us with his presence. “I mean, I’d think someone like you would want to stay out, but if you want to join, that would be awesome!”
“Someone like me?” He studied me, suspicion sneaking into his tone.
My stomach dropped—had I just given away that I knew what he truly was?
I needed to cover, fast.
“I mean, someone as attractive as you.” I lowered my eyes, as if embarrassed for admitting it. Then I raised them slowly to meet his. “I thought you’d want to stay here partying.”
“No need to stay out after meeting you.” He smiled—predatory, again. “I found a great pizza place the other day—it’s only a few blocks away. I hear it has the best pizza in Chicago. Want to check it out?”
“I’ve been coming here every summer since I was twelve,” Sage cut in. “And despite my appearance, I have a voracious appetite. I know the best pizza place in all of Chicago. You can trust me on that.”
“Maybe we’re talking about the same place,” he said.
“I doubt it.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder and smiled. “It’s a hidden gem—only locals know about it.”
“She’s right,” I added. “It’s amazing.”
“Fine, fine.” The demon held his hands up in defeat. “You win. Let’s see if this pizza is as good as you claim.”
That was quicker than expected—usually they put up more of a fight for us to go where they wanted. It was easier to get us to their designated alley that way.
At this point in the conversation, I typically had to pretend to get a text from a “twin sister” of mine saying she was going to meet us at the place we’d told the demon we were going. Since there was something about me the demons wanted, they never turned down the possibility of two for the price of one.
This demon was off his game. Maybe he’d indulged in one too many bourbons at the bar.
Bad for him—easier for us.
Sage and I led him out of the club, one of us hanging onto each of his arms. Judging by the sleazy grin on his face, he felt like the pimp of the century.
I couldn’t wait to see his reaction when Noah followed us into the alley and rammed the slicer through his heart.
As we made our way out, a wave of warmth passed through my soul. Unsurprisingly, I caught a glimpse of Noah and Thomas standing near the exit.
At least now I understood why my soul felt like it was singing whenever Noah was nearby. It was because of the imprint bond.
Once out of the club, we led the way to the alley we’d chosen ahead of time. We continued with the charade of being drunk, and the demon was more than happy to keep his arms linked with ours to help us walk straight.
Thanks to the warmth of the imprint bond, I didn’t have to turn around to know that Noah and Thomas were trailing behind. I also knew they hadn’t encountered any of the red-eyed shifters. Good.
The hunt tonight had been easy so far. We were getting better at this. Or maybe the universe was rewarding us for a job well done.
I couldn’t wait for Noah to finish this demon off so we could get to Avalon and I could learn how to kick demon ass like the best of them.
As Sage turned the three of us onto a less crowded street, we were so close to ending this that I could practically taste it.
“Where exactly is this place?” the demon asked, glancing around at the thinning crowd.
“Just a little bit further,” she said flirtatiously, stopping at the alley we’d selected. “Through here.”
The demon stared into the alley, his eyes blank. “You girls are good.” He smirked at Sage, and then turned his menacing gaze to me. He smiled, and I saw a flash of his pointed yellow teeth—what he truly looked like under the glamour. “Too bad I’m better.”
Before I could ask what he meant, the buildings swirled around us, my stomach dropped down to my feet, and everything went dark.
Noah
One second the girls were outside the alley, their arms linked through the demon’s.
The next, all three of them were gone.
“Raven!” I screamed, slicer in hand as I ran to where they’d been standing. Icy dread coursed through my body. I felt around me, hoping they’d used invisibility potion or something, but the space was empty.
They were gone.
The warmth I felt from being near Raven was missing. The imprint bond was still there, but my chest felt hollow with a void I hadn’t felt since leaving my pack behind in the Vale.
How could they be gone? I’d seen them. They were right there. This couldn’t be possible…
I ran down the alley, hoping to find them there. Thomas followed at my heels.
Two red-eyed wolf shifters waited at the dead end.
I muttered a curse, shoved my slicer back into my weapons belt, and started to shift. Slicers were only useful on demons, and while these creatures did have the same red eyes as demons, Sage hadn’t needed a slicer to kill whatever these creatures were. And we were better fighters in our animal forms.
Thomas was already expertly fighting the one on the left, and the one on the right jumped straight at me. I jumped as well, finishing shifting mid-air and sinking my teeth into his neck.
All of my anger from Raven’s disappearance channeled through me, and I ripped the creature’s head off with a ferocity I’d never fought with before. Blood splattered against the wall, and I dropped his body to the ground.
Whatever
greater demon had taken Raven and Sage—and he had to be a greater demon, since he’d teleported away with them—had clearly been ready for us. He’d sent these demonic shifters to finish me off once he was gone.
Clearly he hadn’t anticipated Thomas hunting with us, or he would have sent more than two of them. He’d also underestimated me, since I could have handled two of them on my own, but that was beside the point. Because with Thomas on my side, the demonic shifters didn’t stand a chance.
I shifted back into human form just as Thomas was getting ready to finish his demonic shifter off.
But instead of going in for the final kill, Thomas held the shifter to the ground.
The wolf struggled against his hold, lying in a puddle of his own blood.
“What are you waiting for?” I growled and marched toward him. “Kill it so we can get out of here and figure out which greater demon just took our girls.”
“We need to figure out what these shifters are and who they’re working for,” Thomas said calmly, not breaking his gaze from the red-eyed beast’s. “We can’t do that if they’re both dead.”
As badly as I wanted to shift back into wolf form and tear my teeth through the demonic shifter’s throat, Thomas did have a point.
So I walked up to inspect the shifter, slicer in hand. The creature took deep, rattling breaths, his fur matted with blood. But despite how bad the wounds looked, he was already starting to heal. The blood loss would weaken him, but it wouldn’t be long until he was ready to fight again.
We couldn’t have that.
So I raised the slicer and jammed it through the wolf’s shoulder.
The wolf howled in pain, going limp as I pulled the slicer out of the wound.
“What was that?” Thomas glared at me before turning his attention back to the demonic shifter still under his grip.
“An experiment.” I twirled the slicer around in my hands, studying the shifter as he opened his red eyes again. “You see, this isn’t any average blade. It was dipped in heavenly water by an angel, giving it the power to kill demons.” I was saying this for the shifter’s benefit, since Thomas knew all of this already. “You have the eyes of a demon, so I figured it would be fun to see what the blade would do to you.”
The Angel Trap (Dark World: The Angel Trials Book 3) Page 12
