over an open, sandy beach, the crystal blue waters of the Ionian surrounding it.
From a battle perspective, it was well guarded. The beach was easy to watch, so no doubt the castle had been intended as a lookout for attacks from the sea. No one could bring a boat up onto the beach without being seen from the castle turrets. Water on three sides, a hilly expanse of brush, cactus, and insurmountable wall on the other.
Not impossible, but not easy, either.
“We come at it from the hill,” Ryder said. “Through the brush.”
“Cactus,” Dalton pointed out.
“Yeah. Sucks, but doable. It’s dense, but we can weave our way through it, especially if we stay low. There are fewer stickers near the ground.”
“Sounds delightful,” Mandy said. “I’ve always wanted cactus stickers in my ass.”
Trace snorted. “I can pull those out for you, love.”
Mandy rolled her eyes. “Keep dreamin’, stud.”
Ryder checked his watch. “When are the others arriving?”
“Soon,” Michael said.
They’d already been up the hill as far as they could, looking to see if there was an outpost of guards. Nothing. The castle was deserted, or so it seemed. Ryder knew better. It wasn’t like the Sons of Darkness were going to post demons outside in the hot sunlight. Though the thought of demons liquefying in the sun made him smile. He’d pay money to see that.
A sharp crack of someone stepping on a stick made him pivot, lift his weapon.
He relaxed when he saw Lou, the Keeper who’d brought him on board to the demon hunters. Behind Lou were some of the other hunters-ones he knew-Derek and Gina, Rico and his brother Rafe, and Punk.
“I’m glad to see you guys.”
Lou nodded. “Sorry it took us so long. We had to come down from Rome.”
“Anything going on there?”
“Demon hunting,” Punk said with a smart-ass grin.
“Kill any?”
Punk shrugged and ran a hand over his dark spiky hair. “Don’t we always?”
Gina grinned. “I hear you’ve got some new breed of demon.”
“Yeah. Lou fill you in on them?”
Derek slung an arm around Gina’s shoulder. “Something about them appearing in the mist-our standard weaponry doesn’t work, but silver hurts them.”
“You got it.”
“Fun stuff,” Punk said. “Let’s go kill something.”
“You’ll get your chance, Punk,” Lou said. “Patience.”
“Lou, you know that’s not my thing.”
Ryder fought a smile. He liked Punk. Probably because Punk enjoyed killing demons, and that’s pretty much what made his day. Ryder understood that concept. He couldn’t disagree with Punk, either. That’s exactly what Ryder was in the mood for. Get in, kill demons, and get the women out of there.
Along with destroying the black diamond.
Lou had moved over to Michael. Their heads were bent together and they were whispering.
Keeper strategizing and sharing of secrets, no doubt. Which was fine. They could do whatever they wanted as long as the end result was getting Angie out of that castle. Ryder’s rifle rested in the cradle of his arms, his fingers itching to pull the trigger. It couldn’t be soon enough for him. But he understood the need for patience and strategy. He hated it, but it was necessary to the success of a mission.
Michael turned to them. “Though we hate to wait until nightfall because we know the demons are more active then, it’s too risky to try to make a move on the castle during daylight. As soon as the sun sets, we’ll crawl through the cover of the cactus field, then use the brush on the hillside to disguise us. We’ll come up the front and get in that way.”
“Are we using stealth to make our way in, or blasting?” Derek asked.
“There are three entries from the hillside,” Lou said, spreading the map out. “Front door, side kitchen entrance, and servants’ over here on the west.” He slid his laptop around to show them the outlay of the house. “We’ll split the teams, create a diversion at the front door, then slip in hunters through the other two entrances.”
“Looks like a cellar or basement here.” Ryder pointed so they could all see what he referenced.
Lou nodded. “Exactly. My guess, since demons prefer underground, is that they’re holding Angelique and Isabelle somewhere down below. Focus your team’s efforts there, Ryder. Derek, you and Gina take the main floor. Punk, you’re on the upper floors with yours, and for cover for Ryder’s team.”
“Got it,” Punk said.
Their assignments in order, they spent time discussing possible scenarios, how to handle what could go wrong, and then Michael opened up an oversized duffle bag, handing out pistols and clips along with boxes of ammo.
