by Becca Blake
“I can’t just ignore this. Those girls at the warehouse mentioned him during our last assignment, and today I found a note he left Dad. It can’t be a coincidence. We have to find out the truth. What about that emerald? Did you ever find out what it was? What were those girls trying to do with it? And who is Raxael?”
The questions poured out of me faster than I could stop them.
“Enough!” Orion stood up and pounded his fists on the table. “I would love to have someone else to blame for Owen’s death. Believe me. I really, really would. But digging into a cryptic note left by a lying Oathbreaker? That’s not how we need to grieve him.”
“But—”
“Riley, you need to drop this. I’m not saying this as your dad’s friend. I’m giving you an order as your commanding officer.”
Orion took his jacket from the back of his chair and stormed out of the house, leaving his meal unfinished on the table.
As soon as he was gone, I raced up the stairs, frustration fueling every stride. I’d never known Orion to act this way. He had to be just as curious as I was. If he wasn’t, it meant he knew something—something he wasn’t telling me.
“What are you doing?” Jacob stood in my doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed.
“I’m not giving up on this. You heard the way Orion dodged my questions. There’s something more going on.” I tossed clothes into a duffel bag, not paying much attention to what I was packing. I slung the bag over my shoulder and shoved past Jacob. “I can sit around here and mope and grieve, or I can go out there and do something about it.”
“So, what, you’re just going to leave?”
I let that question hang in the air as I picked up my new sword from next to the coat rack.
“You know I have to tell Orion about this, right?”
I paused my packing to look at him. “No, you don’t. You’re coming with me.”
“Like hell I’m defying my C.O. less than a week into the job. And I’m sure as hell not doing it for your sake, just because you want to hunt down some conspiracy theory on a whim.”
“We’re just going back to Omaha to find that other girl, Alexis. If we leave now, we can be back before anyone notices we’re gone.”
“Absolutely not.” Jacob stepped in front of me and leaned down, his face only inches away from mine. “If you go, Orion is the first call I make. My dad is the second, and it won’t be long before he tells the rest of the Council.”
“You said you want a spot on the Council, right?”
“Yes,” he said, suddenly uncertain. “Eventually. What’s your point?”
“It really sounds like there could be something big going on here. Don’t you think being the first to uncover something huge would win you some major points with your dad?”
“Orion was very clear when he said not to look into this. You aren’t worried about pissing him off?”
“If we do find something worthwhile, your dad is on the Council. All he has to do is give the order, and we’re clear.”
Jacob pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. “What’s your plan?”
“I’ll work on that while we drive.”
Chapter Eleven
I didn’t argue this time when Jacob insisted on taking his roomy SUV to Omaha. I wouldn’t admit it out loud, but his Toyota was much more pleasant than my beat up Cavalier, and it was nice to sit in the passenger seat for a change. He wasn’t supposed to be driving, but he refused to allow me behind the wheel of his car.
When we arrived at the warehouse the next morning, we found that someone—likely a cleanup team from Headquarters—had already been there to take care of the body and the mess of blood that we left behind. Only the hole in the ceiling remained as a reminder of the fight that had taken place. The building looked so different now, with daylight pouring in through the opening above.
The extra light also made the job of searching for evidence about Alexis’s whereabouts easier. Or, it would have, if there was any evidence to be found.
“This is a waste of time,” Jacob said.
As frustrating as it was, I had to agree with him. We’d spent the entire day there, had searched through every old room and scrapped car, and we had nothing to show for it. The golden glow of early evening was setting in, and we didn’t have much daylight left.
“We should get back to Haygrove before Orion decides to come back to your place to check on you.”
“He won’t be around anytime soon. He’s too angry with me,” I said.
“Was that your plan, then? Piss him off enough that he’d leave us alone?” Jacob asked.
“No, but it’s good that it worked out that way, isn’t it?”
“Look, I spent the day backing you up on this, but it’s getting ridiculous. There’s nothing to find here. We’re going to get caught, and we’re going to get into a ton of trouble for it. We’re going home. Now.” Jacob stormed out of the warehouse and got into his car, slamming the door shut behind him.
I took one last look around the empty warehouse before heading out to join him. He was right. We never should have returned to Omaha because a crusty old note had given me a misplaced sense of hope. What had I even expected to find? My dad alive and waiting for me? Even if we found whatever hidden truth the note hinted at, it wouldn’t change anything. Dad was gone. He wasn’t coming back.
Tears blurred my vision as I leaned forward on the dashboard, burying my face in my arms. “I really thought we’d find something here. I’m sorry.”
Jacob uncrossed his arms and leaned back in the chair with a sigh. “I’m sorry about your dad. I should have said something earlier. This has been really hard for you.”
The gravel crunched beneath the tires as he pulled away from the empty back road.
“You won’t say anything about this, will you?” I asked.
An uncomfortably long silence followed the question. The empty road stretched on far ahead of us, so I stole a glance at Jacob as he drove. Either he hadn’t heard me, or he knew I wouldn’t like his answer.
As I turned my head away, a woman stumbled out of the cornfield to our right. She clutched her arm as she ran into the street, looking over her shoulder.
“Watch out!” I yelled, grabbing the handle above the window.
Jacob yelled out a curse and slammed on the breaks, swerving the car to the side. The tires screeched, and stalks of corn snapped around the car as we plowed into the cornfield. I retrieved my sheathed sword from the back seat, then kicked the door open.
I followed the path the car left out to the street. The woman who caused the accident lay in the middle of the road, sprawled out on her stomach. She took ragged breaths as she tried to get to her feet, using only her right arm to push herself up.
A sea of blonde curls masked her face, but I didn’t need to see her clearly to recognize her.
“Alexis?” I asked.
She turned her head to look at me, her mouth open in surprise. Her hair fell away from her face to reveal her honey brown eyes, wide with fear as she looked from the sword, back up to my face. “Who are you?”
Alexis let me help her to her feet. She leaned all of her weight onto me, as though she might crumple back to the ground again the second I let go.
“I’ve been looking for you,” I said. “I had some questions—”
I froze as a crackling screech came from the cornfield.
“What’s that?” Jacob stepped out from the cornfield and drew his sword.
“We need to leave—it’s coming.” Her voice rose with panic, and she pulled away from my grip.
Before I could ask what she meant, a figure stepped out from the ruined corn stalks near Jacob’s car.
This demon’s cracked, yellow skin and red eyes had haunted my nightmares for weeks. His hellhound leaped out of the field an
d stood beside him in the road.
My sword was in my hands before I could even form a coherent thought. “You!”
The demon’s brow furrowed until recognition reached his glowing eyes. “I don’t have time to play around with you again tonight. I’m on a tight schedule. So, run along.”
“Why are you here?” My sword hummed beneath my tightening grip, as though it were just as eager as I was to tear this creature apart.
“My business is with the girl. She is a deserter, and I’m here to collect her death sentence on behalf of Lord Raxael.” The demon let out a wheezing laugh as he raised a single twisted finger to point at Alexis. “Now, step aside, Arbiters.”
I stepped in front of her and took a defensive stance. This demon had already taken away my best friend. I wouldn’t let him take my only lead, too.
Jacob lunged for the demon, who sent a stream of flame flying in his direction. He lifted his sword and put up a quick ward to deflect the magical attack. The demon’s fire bounced off of the barrier and flew across the street, setting the cornfield alight.
While my partner kept the demon occupied, the hellhound turned its attention to Alexis. Crouching next to her, I cloaked us both in invisibility. I helped her to her feet and pulled her out of the way just in time to avoid the lunging hellhound.
The creature let out a howl as it sniffed the air, searching for us.
I took advantage of its distraction to lead Alexis back to Jacob’s car.
“Stay here. We’ll take care of this,” I said.
I hurried back out to the road just as the demon sidestepped Jacob’s attack and kicked his feet out from under him.
Still shrouded by the invisibility spell, I rushed the demon from behind.
He screeched as my blade tore through his back with little resistance. Rotten flesh fell away and clung to my sword. The demon swung around wildly in a circle, clawing for me.
The hellhound gave up the search for Alexis and turned its attention to Jacob. With the demon between us, I couldn’t make it to him to help with the hound.
The demon raised his hand to shoot another blast of fire, and though he still couldn’t see me, his guess was close enough.
I dropped my invisibility just in time to form a ward in front of myself. The rushed ward caught part of the blast, but not all of it. The heat from the flames shot past me, barely missing my arm.
My breath caught in my throat as the cornfield behind me caught fire. The flames that surrounded us on both sides crawled through the corn stalks toward Jacob’s car.
The demon hadn’t been aiming for me at all.
I rushed for him again, but without the aid of my invisibility, he dodged my attack with ease. He swung out his arm to stop my momentum, and the blow caught me right in the chest, hard enough that my grip on my sword loosened.
We didn’t have much longer before the inferno made it to Jacob’s car. Even if we managed to kill the demon and the hellhound quickly, we would lose our only way out of here… and Alexis with it.
I leaped to my feet and started for the car as the engine roared to life. Dirt and corn husks shot up from the tires as the car swerved out of the field. I rolled out of the way, and Alexis sped past me in reverse. The car smashed into the hellhound, sending it flying into the fire raging on the other side of the road.
As I picked up my sword, its energy hummed in my arm once more.
Attack.
The word echoed through my thoughts until I obeyed. This time, when the demon tried to avoid my attack, I let my blade guide my strike. The soul bond did its work, and I drove the sword through the demon’s chest.
“That’s for Ayla.” I shoved him off of my blade, and as he stumbled away, I kicked him into the fiery field.
The demon’s skin melted away from his bones and caught on the pavement as he crawled out of the fire. His rotting flesh fell away as the flames engulfed him, and the putrid stench permeated the air. Jacob walked over to what was left of the burning demon and decapitated him. The gruesome mass of flesh and bone dissolved into a pile of dust, which blew away on the wind.
The hellhound leaped out from the flames. Embers coated its entire body, but the flames didn’t seem to affect it the way they did its master.
As the flaming mass of hell beast lumbered toward me, I dropped to the ground. When it dove for me, I thrust my sword up into its chest.
The hellhound wailed with its last breath as the flames on its coat crackled around me. The heat closed in, threatening to devour me along with the creature. I put up a quick ward and rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the body as it tumbled past me.
“Let’s get out of here,” Jacob yelled over the roar of the flames.
He hopped in the passenger seat, and I climbed into the back.
“Drive!” I said.
Alexis sped the car down the road, never stopping until we arrived at the abandoned warehouse. We all sat in silence for a while to catch our breath. Aside from Alexis’s arm, no one seemed to be injured.
“Thank you for saving me.” Alexis traced her finger along the steering wheel and stared at her lap.
“We didn’t do it for you.” Jacob snatched his keys out of the ignition.
Alexis winced, as though she expected him to hit her.
“We need information from you.” I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the two front seats.
“And after I tell you what you want to know, you’ll kill me.” There was no question in Alexis’s voice. “That’s okay. I’ve known I was going to die since Casey stole that emerald.”
“We’re not going to kill you,” I said, ignoring the glare from Jacob.
“You killed Casey.”
“She attacked us.”
“I suppose.” Alexis closed her eyes. “Casey is—was—my best friend. But after everything we’ve done, I guess all of this was just… inevitable.”
“You don’t sound like someone who wanted to be involved with this,” I said.
“I only joined the coven because I didn’t want Casey to be alone. She had such a rough life. Her mother left her with an abusive father when she was little, and she never had many friends aside from me.”
“And you wanted to help her?”
“I thought I could fix her, but instead, she dragged me down, too. She got arrested in our senior year of high school, thanks to the boyfriend she was with at the time. I thought it was just the drugs they were into, or something like that, but it was… this.” She let out a cynical laugh and shook her head.
“Dark magic and demons?”
She nodded as she wiped away fresh tears.
“When he died, Casey asked me to join the coven with her. I didn’t think any of it was real. I figured it was harmless, and if I joined, maybe I could get her out.” Her voice broke. “I didn’t know what I was agreeing to.”
I looked over at Jacob, whose expression was unreadable. The Council wouldn’t care about this woman’s story. They would want her dead, the same as any cultist. Did my partner feel the same way?
Did I?
“If you tell us the truth, we might be able to help you,” I said.
Alexis nodded and let out a shaky breath. “Okay. I can try. What do you want to know?”
I pushed the door open to let a gentle breeze into the stifling car. I needed the fresh air to help me think. I had so many questions for Alexis, and I wasn’t sure where to start.
“Who is Maki?”
“He’s the guy in charge right now. I don’t know much about him, except that he used to be one of you.”
“And the emerald? What was it?”
“I don’t know what it actually does, other than that it turned Casey into… well, you saw.”
So far, she hadn’t given us any new information. Orion already told us Maki was an Oathbreaker, and Alexis didn’t se
em to know anything more about the emerald than we did.
“Where did she get it? And why?” I asked, trying to keep my frustration to myself.
“She stole it from Maki when she found out he wanted to use it to perform a ritual to steal power from Raxael.”
There was that name again.
“Raxael—that’s the demon your coven worships?”
“Yes. And Casey was afraid of what he would do to us if Maki followed through with his plans to take his place.”
“Take his place? What does that mean?”
“Well, Raxael is one of the demon lords, so—”
“Wait, what exactly is a demon lord?” Jacob asked.
Alexis’s brow creased as she looked from Jacob to me, then back again. “You two are supposed to be Arbiters, aren’t you? Are you new?”
Jacob turned an inquisitive glance to me, but my only response was a shrug. If he was seeking answers, I didn’t have them. I knew very little about the demonic hierarchy, but “demon lord” sounded like a self-indulgent title some demon gave himself to sound important.
“So, you said something about a ritual?” I asked.
“Yes. They’ve—well, we’ve—been collecting people for the last few months for it.”
“Collecting people?” Jacob asked.
Alexis turned her head away and closed her eyes. “We needed their souls for a sacrifice. The power from the ritual was supposed to be for Raxael, but Casey overheard Maki say he planned to take it for himself. I don’t know if he’s still going to try it without the emerald, but he’s holding the people in a church downtown.”
“When is this supposed to happen?” I asked.
“Tonight. During the full moon.”
Chapter Twelve
“This is way more than I signed up for when we left town.” Jacob threw his hands in the air and got out of the car. “We need to return to Haygrove now and tell the Council about this.”
I followed him away from the car until we were out of earshot.
“There’s no time. Haygrove is a few hours away. By the time we get back home, it’ll be too late for the Council to do anything. We have to stop this on our own.”
