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Darien said, “It’s working, isn’t it?” He looked…amazed. And relieved.
Loren nodded and drew another breath, relishing in the feel of her lungs stretching with oxygen, the organs finally sated. “It’s working.”
They ordered pizza for dinner.
Darien finished his last piece—the first thing he’d eaten all day—and sat back in his chair, watching as Loren flitted around the table with Ivy and Joyce, the three having insisted on cleaning up tonight. Jack and Kylar were still pigging out, and Tanner was working away on multiple laptops on the other side of the table, a mess of cords draped across the floor.
“How’s Hell’s Gate?” Darien asked him.
“The spells are still perfectly faultless, if I do say so myself.” At least they were able to check on the others that way.
Ivy’s fingers closed around Paxton’s plate—empty aside from some pizza crusts and a blob of buttermilk dip. “You finished?”
The kid was typing his passcode into his phone, clearly trying not to smear tomato sauce on the screen. “Yes, thank you.”
Darien eyed Pax’s long, baggy sleeves. “You cold, Pax?”
He propped an elbow on the table and put his chin in his hand, eyes still on his phone. “Nah, I’m good.”
Darien was about to inquire further—minding his own business be damned—when the kid suddenly gasped so loudly he made Jack choke. Kylar clapped him on the back as Jack started hacking, thumping a fist against his chest.
Darien began to ask Paxton, “Wh—”
“Roman’s back!” Paxton’s grin was contagious; Darien had never seen the kid smile that big. “He just texted me—he said he’s got a stop to make, but then he’s coming straight here!”
Kylar wiped his hands with a napkin as Jack, eyes watering, took a long drink of water. “’Bout damn time,” Kylar said.
“Don’t worry.” Paxton was looking at Darien, that grin still present. “I didn’t mention anything about you.”
Somewhere outside, a siren began to wail. The sound was soon echoed by other identical sirens.
Civil defense sirens.
Darien was up out of his chair in an instant. The others followed, murmuring to one another, as he stalked to the windows that overlooked the backyard and the sparkling city beyond.
Kylar came up beside him. “Shit.” His oath was quiet and shaky.
Darien faced him, noting the way Ky’s throat shifted, his eyes gleaming with fear. “What is that?”
“Fog warning.”
Darien stared out at the city. A thick white cloud was descending upon Yveswich, swallowing everything it touched. It moved too quickly to be ordinary fog, as if it were summoned from someplace…else. Pushed here by forces beyond anyone’s comprehension.
Tanner asked, “What does that mean?”
“Demons,” Kylar replied. “Lots of them. It’s kind of like a Blood Moon, but…arguably worse.”
Howls and guttural snarls cut through the city. And fuck, were there a lot of them—everywhere, in every damn street. Including this one, Darien realized, as he picked up on the bloodthirsty baying coming from out front.
His eyes snapped to Loren’s, who stood at the back of the group. Arms crossed, her small hands buried in the sleeves of her hooded sweatshirt. Darien could hear her heart pounding.
Paxton tugged on Darien’s arm. The kid was looking up at him, and when he spoke, his voice was a shaky whisper. “Roman’s out there.”
67
S. Coastal District
YVESWICH, STATE OF KER
