Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 40759 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 204(@200wpm)___ 163(@250wpm)___ 136(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40759 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 204(@200wpm)___ 163(@250wpm)___ 136(@300wpm)
“Now we don’t know,” Marcus concluded.
“And afterward, when we went back to look through the rubble, after the fire died out, there wasn’t a body in the debris for Raph to look at, and I don’t remember seeing any ash that was different from all the rest,” Leith said miserably.
“Christ,” Malic groaned, “what a fuckin’ mess.”
“Everyone sit down.” Jael’s voice filled the room, and we did as we were told, unable, from years of listening to him—he was our sentinel after all—not to heed any and all of his directions. We sat in twos in his living room, each hearth with his warder, everyone looking up at our sentinel and the stunning woman who joined him, his fiancée, Deidre Macauley, a sentinel from Scotland.
“Let us take stock,” she said, taking a breath, and so, following her lead, we all did as well. It was good, just that moment of calm, of clarity. We’d found out in the last few months that she had a surprisingly soothing effect on all of us, and her smile showed she was pleased with us listening. “So Moira, mate of the demon lord Saudrian that Raph killed, is still very much alive. For whatever reason, probably because his hearth is the youngest, she came after Malic first. But what we need to remember here, is that for her to be in our home—and by that, I’m referring to this plane—means she’s either cast an extremely powerful spell, which, having crossed paths with her many times in the past, I would not have thought her capable of, or some other force is at work.”
“What do you mean by other force?” Dylan asked her. “Like some kind of power?”
“Like some kind of demon,” Raphael corrected him. “She means that a stronger entity has backed Moira’s play to come after this clutch.”
Not a sound in the room.
“What makes you think it’s a demon?” Jael inquired, staring at his fiancée.
“Look at the facts, Jael,” she said solemnly. “To step through a dimensional rift, kill, and then leave nothing behind but a lingering scent? To leave no trace for a warder to follow? That’s powerful magic. Think now: nothing born from the pit has that kind of power.”
He appeared startled. “You think we’re dealing with one of the fallen?”
“Even Saudrian couldn’t cross planes without leaving a residue. Isn’t that so, Raph?”
Raphael nodded. “That’s how I tracked him, and it’s the same way I found Marcus. There’s a signature you can see and feel, and now, in Moira’s case, smell.”
“So this demon or fallen,” Jael said, “they opened a door, allowed her to kill with whatever minion she had with her, and then sealed the rift.”
“It’s the only thing that makes sense,” Deidre said. “Moira is a blunt instrument. The creature I know enjoys inflicting pain quickly, gratuitously, meaning that she would have come after you all again and again after failing when you lost Marcus. And that, in and of itself, would have been a wasted opportunity.”
“What do you mean?” Marcus asked.
“I mean, why not kill you when you were alone and vulnerable in a hell dimension? It would have been so easy.”
He nodded in agreement.
“I suspect that whoever is behind this talked her into allowing you to live so that you’re lulled into a false sense of safety. She could have her true revenge now, in this moment.”
“But who hates us besides her?” Leith threw out. “We don’t have these kinds of mortal enemies with long, drawn-out plans of revenge. We play Whac-A-Mole with the demons we fight. They’re here to hunt or possess humans, without any large-scale plans of world domination.”
“That you know of,” Deidre cautioned him, “which I think is the point. Whatever this is, you would have never seen it coming if Moira hadn’t tripped up and left behind her calling card of a scent. You put it together because she made a mistake and got you all thinking about what everyone did, or as it turns out, didn’t, see.”
“If she did, in fact, mess up as you say she did,” Joe chimed in, leaning into Marcus’s side, “then perhaps she herself is next on the chopping block.”
Deidre nodded. “That’s exactly what I was thinking. I’ll bet you she’s either already dead or will soon be.”
“How did Moira even know who I was?” Dylan asked Deidre. “I moved in with Malic before Raph killed Saudrian. I wasn’t on her radar, just like Julian wouldn’t have been. She wasn’t even aware of the clutch until Raph killed Saudrian.”
“True. But I’m sure she circled back once Raph, and all of you, had her attention. Clearly, she’s either had someone watching the clutch or she’s been doing it herself.”
That made sense.
“And ostensibly, she wants vengeance—or that’s what this entity that’s using her thirst for revenge would have you believe.”
“Oh, I have no doubt she wants us all dead,” Jael affirmed. “She wants the clutch destroyed, and then with all of us gone, she would come for Raph, who was the one actually responsible for Saudrian’s demise.”