Fuck.
Okay, think.
If I didn’t go forward, I’d have to go back into the darkness and be trapped there. There was no guarantee that I’d find my way out of the portal. If I went back, then I’d be leaving without answers. Time was ticking by too fast. What if Cassius had met the same fate as Uriel when he’d demanded answers?
No, I had to go forward.
And what if you burn up and die?
You have to try.
The thought pierced through everything else.
Just do it.
I stepped through the door quickly. No fire raced over my skin. No power cut me down. Nothing. Relief flooded me. Thank fuck. Right, so I was in another corridor, wider than the last, and there was an intersection up ahead. The lights flickered, giving the place a broken, creepy vibe, and silence reigned.
Where was everyone?
Only one way to find out. I set off, taking a left then a right, past signs written in a language I couldn’t understand, the written version of Enochian probably. Light spilled out from what looked like an elevator. Yeah, not going in there with the power on the fritz.
There had to be some stairs somewhere.
Left or right. Which way? Surely I should have come across a celestial by now.
A scream sliced through the silence. Movement to my left. My body reacted by going into fight mode as the blood-spattered figure ran at me, blade glinting in the flickering lights.
Dread.
My hand tingled, signaling the arrival of my scythe.
Don’t.
Wait.
The tingle stopped.
No, what the hell? I called my celestial weapon, swinging it in time to eviscerate the Dread. He fell back, and I swiped again, this time taking his head.
Another scream from behind me.
Shit.
I spun to face two more Dread. But two metal-winged figures rushed out of the corridor in front of me and cut down the Dread with fiery swords. They turned and advanced on me.
Dominions like Cassius.
They thought I was one of the Dread.
“Whoa!” I held up my hands, sans scythe, because the damn thing had gone out once the threat was gone. Except these guys were a threat.
I pulled my daggers out instead, backing up, ready to fight. “Listen, I’m not one of them.”
They attacked.
“Stop!” a male voice bellowed.
The Dominions immediately fell back and parted to let a third one through. This Dominion was larger, blood-spattered, and feral.
“Cassius?”
He sheathed his sword and glared at me. “What are you doing here? I said I’d come to you once I had the information we needed.”
“Yes, you did. But it’s been three days and—”
He blinked sharply. “Three days?”
“Yes.”
He ran a hand over his face. “We’ve been fighting them for three days…How?”
“Cassius, we’re running out of time. The foyer is gone, and so is Celestia. You’re losing power rapidly.”
His jaw ticked. “The Dread’s presence is draining our reserves quicker than anticipated.”
“Then you need to speak to the Righteous and get me answers so I can help.”
The power in the corridor went out, leaving us standing in darkness. If not for the light from the elevator, I wouldn’t have been able to see shit.
The questions surrounding Uriel and the cores in Purgatory would have to wait for now. We needed the location of the power source, and we needed it stat.
Cassius must have realized this too because his jaw hardened and he nodded curtly. “Come with me.”
Chapter Six
Cora
Plexus Gymnasium is a dive. It looks like a drug den from the outside, the kind they show in movies, but yes, this is the address Dayna gave me. Dillon owns this place, and when not working on reaper stuff can be found here. Apparently, most of the reapers have regular jobs and live in Necro, finding it easier to stay in the city than travel back and forth from the Underealm.
But this part of the city is less than pleasant. We’re in Crimson Pack territory. Biker gang, Loup domain. Why would Dillon choose here to open a business?
A car swerves way too close to the curb as it passes me, and someone lets out a wolf whistle, and then there’s silence again.
There are only a few stores on this block, and business is slow. Not a soul on foot, well, no live soul anyway. I do spot a young man hovering outside the 7-Eleven holding out his hand for loose change. I can see the sandwich board and the words buy one get one free through him.
The dead sometimes get stuck re-enacting moments of their lives, and it seems that this one never registered. I’ll need to let Dayna know about him too.
It begins to snow as I cross the street, and by the time I’m at the doors, it’s a full-on blizzard.
Bloody hell, the weather in this city has a mind of its own. I push on the thick glass and step inside. It’s warm, and the smell of sweat and rubber hits me.
Nice.
There’s no reception. No foyer. Just a huge, high-ceilinged, open-plan space filled with workout equipment and gym mats. There’s even a boxing ring in the center where two guys are sparring.
Grunts and pants and the whirr of machinery fill the air.
Now, where is Dillon?
Is he one of the two guys in the ring? Or one of the couples wrestling on the mats. There’s a man on the treadmill, and then there’s another punching the shit out of a punching bag hanging from the ceiling.
Fuck this. “Dillon?” I walk into the room. “I need to speak to Dillon.”
The guy at the punch bag halts its swing with the palm of his hand and looks over at me.
“Yeah? And who the fuck are you?”
I guess this is Dillon.
He doesn’t look like a reaper. He’s not built like Azazel, Mal, or Conah. But there’s an air of power about him. His body is lithe, compact muscle, the kind you find on a sprinter. His face is lean, and he looks kinda mean.
He reads the message on the comm and shrugs. “Nothing new there. Humans go missing all the time.”
“You need to meet up with Ursula.”
“Where’s Azazel?”
“Underealm on important business.”
His mouth twists, and something dark crosses his face. “Saving Lilith.”
My heart stills in my chest. No one knows about Lilith. The guys are keeping it under wraps so as not to incite panic, so how the fuck does this reaper know?
Dillon slings a towel around his neck and crosses his arms. “My days of dancing to Azazel’s tune are over, and soon demons everywhere will be free to make their own choices, to be the gods we were meant to be and have”—he opened his arms—“everything and anything we fucking desire.”
“A Mammon supporter.”
He inclines his head. “And I’m not the only one.” He turns his back on me. “Now get the fuck out of my gym.”
I make it outside before the anger can make me do something stupid. Mammon has supporters here in Necro City. Sleeper agents ready to be activated when the time comes. The news Azazel and Mal are trying to keep under wraps is already out. Mammon could have reapers loyal to him on every reaper team.
Oh, fucking hell.
He could have them at the Academy too!
I need to get a message to Keon. Now.
Chapter Seven
Keon
I wasn’t sure about the celestial joining me at the Academy to help with the training, but I think he needs this. Needs to feel back in control after everything that’s happened.
He’s fast. He mastered the tails easily.
Maybe he will be useful, after all.
The cadets seem star-struck by him, a celestial amongst them. Fighting alongside them in the arena Master Luena has set up.
I watch the monitors, count the kills, and make mental notes on what needs to be worked on for each cadet.
Master Luena sits tensely beside me. I look down at her hands, which are clasped tightly in front of her.
I can read people well, and she isn’t herself today. “What’s wrong with you?”
She stares at me in horror. “I’m sorry?”
“You’re tense. Why?”
She presses her lips together. “War is coming and these cadets…my cadets… Many will die.”
“Yes.”
She closes her eyes, and I can see the pulse in her throat throbbing, and then the scent of fear hits me, and it’s off. This woman is not a coward. What is happening?
She opens her eyes and locks gazes with me, about to speak, when the doors to the training room burst open and another tutor rushes in. Two more demons spill into the room. Academy security.
I don’t understand what’s happening. “What is this?”
“We just had communication from Deadside HQ letting us know that we may have sleeper agents working for Mammon in the building. We need to secure the cadets and investigate.”
He means interrogate.
Luena slowly stands, hands still clasped in front of her. “No need. There’s only one sleeper agent in this building… and I’ve just woken up.”
Master Jenkins stares at her as if she’s grown an extra head. “No. Not you.” He looks devastated.
The guards don’t hesitate. They don’t wait for orders. They move to arrest her.
She holds up her hands, eyes wide and earnest. “Before you lock me up, you need to hear me out. Every life in this building may depend on it.”
Luena doesn’t resist as she’s cuffed. The bands on her wrists glow with celestial enchantments to mute her demon abilities. The cadets have been sent back to their quarters. It’s just us in the room with her now: Uriel, Jenkins, the guards, and me.
“I took an oath decades ago,” Luena said. “Before I knew how things could be. Mammon was my lord. He is charming and persuasive, and his ideas sparked ambition and…greed.” She licks her lips. “I wanted to be the ruling species. To go where I wished and take what I wanted. He promises wealth and freedoms, the likes of which Lilith cannot. He promises the earthly realm.”
“So, you work for him?” Jenkins says as if he needs to hear her say it to truly believe.