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Authors: Gena Showalter
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Torin’s throat, attempting to weaken him and capture everyone else. Thankfully, those Hunters had failed.
Reyes would not fail in his mission.
Whatever he had to do to destroy his enemy, he would do. And if he had to destroy the gods who might very well support the Hunters’ quest, eventually he would find a way to do that, too.
It was hard to know the gods’ ultimate goal, however. Fickle and mysterious, they were like a puzzle missing several key pieces. While the silent Greeks had angered Reyes with their neglect, the cryptic Titans edged him toward a murderous rage.They claimed to want harmony for the world, both in the heavens and below. They claimed to desire worship and adoration, freedom from death and destruction. And yet they had ordered Danika’s execution. They’d even ordered Anya’s execution, though they’d since changed their minds. And what they were doing to Aeron…
Do not venture down this path. Not here, not now. Already his nails were elongated, pinpricks pressing into his palms. Red spots winked over his vision, and the demon whispered seductively: Cut yourself. Hurt.
“No,” he gritted out.
“This way,” Lucien was saying, but he paused when Reyes spoke and peered at him quizzically. “Is something wrong?”
“No. I am fine.” When Danika was safe and tucked in his bed, he would feed his demon. Until then, there would be no hurting himself. Blood loss ultimately would weaken him, and he needed to be at top strength for the coming combat.
But for every second he resisted, the demon would grow louder and louder. Reyes knew that well. He would become more and more distracted. That was the bane of his demon-curse. He needed to cut himself, but in the end he weakened like any other being when injured, albeit temporarily.
“What were you saying?” he asked Lucien.
Every gaze shifted to him.
Lucien rolled his eyes. “The girl is being held one street over. Innocents fill the area, so we will have to be careful.”
He didn’t care about innocents. Cold and callous of him, but then, he’d never been a soft, easy man. Well, that wasn’t true. In the years before his pairing with Pain, he remembered laughing and joking with his friends. “How many Hunters are with her?” A muscle ticked in his jaw as he thought of the suffering she might even now be enduring.
Whatever was done to Danika, Reyes would retaliate a hundredfold when facing the Hunters. He might hate his demon forthe torment he constantly endured, but he wouldn’t hesitate to hand over the reins of control so that the creature could unleash its powers. Not today. Pain could look into a human’s soul, find every vulnerability, even the tiniest chink, and systematically scrape each one with poisoned arrows until the human was screaming, writhing, clawing at his skin to stop the agony.
“Earlier today,” Lucien said, “there were twenty-three in the building.”
“They multiply like rabbits.” Sabin grinned, and the sight of it was pure wickedness. “Could be a hundred more by now.”
Lucien motioned to the far window, his dark hair swaying at his temples. “We have several hours until nightfall. I will flash to the building, remain in the spirit world and listen. Observe. We need to know what she’s told them, and we need to know what they’re planning.”
All Reyes heard was “several hours.” “We’re supposed to stay here?” he growled. “Do nothing?”
“Yes.” Lucien eyed him now, those mismatched orbs swirling once more. “If they are monitoring the area, I will disable their computers. Then, at dark, when humans are less likely to notice your height, your build and your weapons and send policemen after you, you will walk there. I’ll be waiting for you in the shadows outside.”
More inactivity. More waiting.
The knowledge was both emotionally and physically painful for him. Reyes wanted to lash out, punch something, and that he couldn’t…the demon fed off that corporal agony and
Reyes would not fail in his mission.
Whatever he had to do to destroy his enemy, he would do. And if he had to destroy the gods who might very well support the Hunters’ quest, eventually he would find a way to do that, too.
It was hard to know the gods’ ultimate goal, however. Fickle and mysterious, they were like a puzzle missing several key pieces. While the silent Greeks had angered Reyes with their neglect, the cryptic Titans edged him toward a murderous rage.They claimed to want harmony for the world, both in the heavens and below. They claimed to desire worship and adoration, freedom from death and destruction. And yet they had ordered Danika’s execution. They’d even ordered Anya’s execution, though they’d since changed their minds. And what they were doing to Aeron…
Do not venture down this path. Not here, not now. Already his nails were elongated, pinpricks pressing into his palms. Red spots winked over his vision, and the demon whispered seductively: Cut yourself. Hurt.
“No,” he gritted out.
“This way,” Lucien was saying, but he paused when Reyes spoke and peered at him quizzically. “Is something wrong?”
“No. I am fine.” When Danika was safe and tucked in his bed, he would feed his demon. Until then, there would be no hurting himself. Blood loss ultimately would weaken him, and he needed to be at top strength for the coming combat.
But for every second he resisted, the demon would grow louder and louder. Reyes knew that well. He would become more and more distracted. That was the bane of his demon-curse. He needed to cut himself, but in the end he weakened like any other being when injured, albeit temporarily.
“What were you saying?” he asked Lucien.
Every gaze shifted to him.
Lucien rolled his eyes. “The girl is being held one street over. Innocents fill the area, so we will have to be careful.”
He didn’t care about innocents. Cold and callous of him, but then, he’d never been a soft, easy man. Well, that wasn’t true. In the years before his pairing with Pain, he remembered laughing and joking with his friends. “How many Hunters are with her?” A muscle ticked in his jaw as he thought of the suffering she might even now be enduring.
Whatever was done to Danika, Reyes would retaliate a hundredfold when facing the Hunters. He might hate his demon forthe torment he constantly endured, but he wouldn’t hesitate to hand over the reins of control so that the creature could unleash its powers. Not today. Pain could look into a human’s soul, find every vulnerability, even the tiniest chink, and systematically scrape each one with poisoned arrows until the human was screaming, writhing, clawing at his skin to stop the agony.
“Earlier today,” Lucien said, “there were twenty-three in the building.”
“They multiply like rabbits.” Sabin grinned, and the sight of it was pure wickedness. “Could be a hundred more by now.”
Lucien motioned to the far window, his dark hair swaying at his temples. “We have several hours until nightfall. I will flash to the building, remain in the spirit world and listen. Observe. We need to know what she’s told them, and we need to know what they’re planning.”
All Reyes heard was “several hours.” “We’re supposed to stay here?” he growled. “Do nothing?”
“Yes.” Lucien eyed him now, those mismatched orbs swirling once more. “If they are monitoring the area, I will disable their computers. Then, at dark, when humans are less likely to notice your height, your build and your weapons and send policemen after you, you will walk there. I’ll be waiting for you in the shadows outside.”
More inactivity. More waiting.
The knowledge was both emotionally and physically painful for him. Reyes wanted to lash out, punch something, and that he couldn’t…the demon fed off that corporal agony and
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