Since I’m closest to the VP, I remain a step behind her as she ushers everyone toward the exit. Stairs spiral down in a narrow, dimly lit passageway. A sign on the wall points to the RECORD ROOM and the VP drones on and on about how integral it is to the company. Yeah, integral to capturing their prey. This stairwell must be the one of the last things those poor humans see before they are shoved into the slaughterhouse. And they’re led there by one of their own people. It’s disgusting.
At the bottom of the stairs, Alaric casts a fleeting glance over his shoulder and winks. The signal for me to get a little touchy-feely with the Vice President.
In two swift movements, I pull out my weapon, grab the VP, and press the tip of the blade to the front of her throat. She lets out a startled little squeal while the rest of us gather around her, weapons raised.
Alaric grins like a child about to unwrap a present. “I do believe we’ve reached the end of your little tour,” he says in a deep, sinister voice that sends shivers down my spine. “So here’s what’s going to happen next. You’re going to open that door and come inside with us, then, if he’s not already there, you’re going to give your boss a wee call. Comprende?”
“He’ll — kill you either way,” she chokes out.
Alaric’s grin spreads into a full-blown smile. “Oh, he’ll certainly try to. But don’t worry. We’re demon hunters, sweetheart, and we know a thing or two about sending soul-sucking demons back to Hell. Now let’s go.”
He steps aside and I shove the VP forward. Caspian stands protectively close to me while she swipes her pass down the security lock. The door clicks open and I push her into the room, my team following behind. Only one ceiling light activates when we enter; the rest remains shuttered in darkness. Fortunately, my shifter senses can make everything out.
The multiple, towering filing cabinets, and the large cage on the middle of the floor are as clear as day. Pushed up against the far wall is a huge furnace, the kind used to burn bodies, and I can’t resist the shudder that snakes through me. Those poor humans.
“Call him,” I growl, nudging my blade into her.
“S-Sebastian,” she stammers. “Sebastian, I have brought them as requested.”
Nothing. Not a reply, not even a whiff of demonic magic.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are, little demon.” Alaric flicks a knife in his hand and searches the main part of the floor.
“Looks like our demon is a bit shy,” Annastasia says, contemplating her black polished nails. “How adorable. Let’s go kill it.”
I glance at her and smile. She may be a woman of few words, but the ones she does use are hilarious sometimes.
“Call him again,” I snap at the VP.
She shakes her head. “He won’t come. He knows what you are. Both you and the tall one.”
Caspian gives a long, drawn-out sigh. Wordless, he reaches into his suit pocket and pulls out a fae grapefruit. I’ve seen them in books, but I had no idea they were real. He tosses it in his hand and smirks at me. “Feeders love fae grapefruits. Can’t resist them and luckily my father grows rare fruits.”
“That would’ve been useful to know last time,” I say, sliding Alaric a grin.
Caspian’s smile fades and I regret bringing up my time with Alaric. Will Caspian ever accept that he won’t be the only man in my life?
He tosses the fruit across the room. It sails past my ear in a whistle, but before it smacks into one of the filing cabinets, a long, pale hand catches it. A dark figure emerges from the shadows, and sharp, glinting canines pierce the flesh of the grapefruit. A grotesque smile upturns thinly pressed lips, and a trickle of fae grapefruit runs down a dimpled chin.
“Such a pity.” The demon unveils itself to be a handsome, middle-aged man dressed in a tailored suit. His eyes gleam like ruby shards and my wolf recoils away from him. “I do believe none of you will be my next intern.”
Dove releases an arrow infused with magic, but the demon counteracts it with a lazy wave of his hand. He finishes the fruit in two bites, throws it over his shoulder, and licks the seam of his lips. His deep onyx eyes travel each of us leisurely. They land on me, and he smiles again.
“You, however, showed great promise. You’ll be the first to die.”
Another wave of his hand causes a dark smoky tendril to appear out of nowhere and wrap around my wrist. It binds me like a curled whip and then yanks my arm sideways, forcing me to drop my dagger to the floor.
The VP scrambles to the side while Alaric shapeshifts into his ginormous dark blue wolf and lunges. Dove disappears behind one of the cabinets while her partner shifts into a raven with huge golden talons. She must have demon blood in her, or she could never do that. Wolves can’t shift into other creatures.
I reach into my pocket and withdraw a second blade. More demonic tendrils snap out of the darkness and cut through the air. I dive to the side, just narrowly avoiding the demon’s magic, and grip my weapon.
“Caspian!”
Fighting the demon alongside Alaric’s wolf and Annastasia’s raven, Caspian follows the sound of my voice. I throw my silver dagger, its
