The Darkest Touch

Ryder moved up to Angie’s side. “What’s wrong?”

“I can feel my sister.” She looked ahead, then to the left, pointing. “There. See the light?”

Ryder squinted, then spotted the building. “Northeast, Michael. There’s a small light and a structure,” Ryder said into the comm.

“Got it. We’re moving forward.”

“Are you getting any sense of what’s going on in there?” Ryder asked her.

“She’s surrounded by demons,” Angelique said. “But she’s not afraid. They’re protecting her. And the black diamond. Izzy and the black diamond are in the building.”

“Can you give us a demon count?” Michael asked.

Angelique went silent for a few seconds. “I can’t see them all, just the ones near Isabelle. There’s a cluster around her, that’s all I can tell you.”

“Location within the building?”

Again, she went quiet as they continued to walk, as if she were trying to dig deep into what she saw. “The building is two stories with a room underground. She’s in the underground room, I think. It’s very dark down there.”

“Is the black diamond in the same location?”

“Yes. Right with her.”

“That’ll make it easier,” Michael said. “We’ll go in the first floor and head straight to the basement as a team. I want to get Isabelle and the black diamond out of there as fast as we can.”

“What about sweeping the other floors and taking out the demons?” Punk asked.

“At this point, our primary objective is Isabelle and the black diamond. Take out the demons we need to, but other than that we need to protect Isabelle and grab the black diamond. Nothing more.”

Punk growled. Ryder knew the feeling. Killing demons was their objective, but he understood what Michael was saying.

The building loomed before them, so black it nearly blended with the darkness of their surroundings. Two stories, the same architectural style as the old church, yet not as remarkable. It wasn’t very big, which would make it easier if they had to search the entire thing. But what was underground? Demons could come up from under the earth, so who knew how many were down there.

“Get ready,” Michael said as they approached the front door.

“You stay right by my side at all times,” Ryder said to Angie. “Don’t leave me for a second. I need to concentrate on killing demons and getting to your sister. If you get impatient and go running off to rescue Isabelle by yourself, then I’ll have to worry about what you’re doing and I can’t do my job.”

She nodded and rested her hand on his forearm. “I understand. Ryder, I’ll be fine. I promise.”

He was still going to worry about her. The Sons of Darkness were unpredictable, and there were a thousand ways things go could wrong. No matter what the objective was, Angie was coming out of there alive. That was his primary objective.

“Everyone ready?” Michael asked.

When Michael received all the affirmatives, they moved out from the cover of trees and to the front of the building.

“Ten bucks says the front door is unlocked,” Punk said.

“You’re on,” Trace shot back.

They crowded around the door and Punk turned the knob. He cast a smug smile over his shoulder and, with his palm, pushed the door open into pure darkness.

“Shit,” Trace whispered.

The hunters surrounded Angelique. They moved as a tight group into the entryway. The musty smell from lack of use permeated the air around them, so thick in their nostrils you could almost see it.

It smelled like death in here. But was it old death-or new? Ryder moved closer to Angie.

“I’m okay,” she whispered, though he knew she had to be worried.

They moved as a unit, their only objective to find the door that led to the lower floor. The main level was deserted, not a sound heard other than their booted footsteps on the dusty stone floor. There weren’t even footprints marring the thick layer of dirt and dust on the floor. It seemed untouched and completely unoccupied, which meant that no demons had even been up here.

“This way,” Michael said. “I see a door.”

He opened the door, then turned to them and nodded. “Stairs leading down. Be ready.”

They walked, single file, down the broken cement stairs. Angie held Ryder’s hand as he negotiated the hazardous steps in front of her. As soon as they reached the bottom, she squeezed his hand. He stopped and turned to her.

“What’s wrong?”

She pressed a hand to her stomach. “I feel Isabelle. She’s really close.”

“Can you tell anything about her state of mind?”

She shook her head. “No. It’s. . clouded now, like she’s aware I’ve made some kind of connection with her