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Archer winced as my icy tone slapped against him, as if I'd physically struck him. He kept his hands stashed away in his suit pockets while we walked straight into the hotel. Although eyes in the lobby quickly strayed in our direction, staff and customers alike, he managed to keep his from swinging their way in return. “In the basement.”
I mused over his short response while we ventured toward the door tucked into the back corner. My steps faltered just enough to allow the demon lord to get ahead and use the master keycard to unlock it for us both. I didn’t speak again until we’d both walked through and the door swung shut behind me. “What alerted them that something was amiss?”
Archer led the way down the metal stairway. “One of the staff was down here to fix a leaky pipe. He reported hearing screams. Ran upstairs to report it.”
An amused snort escaped me. “He didn’t think to use a radio to alert his superiors?”
The demon lord paused to throw a quick, hard look over his shoulder. “Not when he heard wings flap after the screams stopped.”
Angels.
Considering that only a small group had recently checked in and only one was currently left in the hotel room, it wasn’t difficult to see who the worker might have overheard. There was already one hell of a tight noose around Marcillo’s neck, and it was only getting tighter now that the bastard knew I was onto his game.
The strong smell of blood reached me long before we turned the final corner and stepped into the small room. My eyes rose to all the thick pipes hugging the ceiling above my head, but they didn’t hold my attention for long. The copper aroma was so strong that it quickly returned my focus. I surveyed the room until I spotted a few of Archer’s men hovering near the far corner. What in the hell? I approached them with cautious steps.
Both men threw me a casual glance until it sank in at who had arrived. They immediately ducked their heads and murmured a soft greeting.
Shoving my hands into my suit pockets, I focused on the two bodies sprawled out across the ground at their feet. From the way the man’s body was slumped over with his ass in the air, he gave me the impression that he’d been on his knees shortly before he died. The expression frozen on his face was more of pure hope versus the fear on his wife’s. “Where is the staff member who overheard the screams?”
“In the hotel’s break room.” Archer’s voice was soft.
My eyes drifted toward the brunette male closest to me. “Go retrieve him for me.”
The demon lord didn’t approach until the two men immediately headed off to bring back the witness. He threw a glance over his shoulder to send them into a more hurried pace. When their footsteps faded away, he came to stand by my side. “There’s something you should see, boss. Both of the victims have the same tattoo on their right wrist.” He knelt down to nudge the woman’s arm and expose the white ink hugging her skin.
If I hadn’t been looking for something there to begin with, I would have missed it. I cocked my head to the side as my eyes adjusted enough for me to make out a small white feather. “Now isn’t that interesting? Marcillo sent his companion to fetch a pair of loyalists to drain their souls.”
That would explain how he managed to teleport out of the hotel without attracting attention to himself. It also emphasized how greedy the feathery bastard could be when one soul would easily work for a paranormal being to regain enough magic to relocate. Marcillo had no intention of taking Azaiell with him.
She was the scapegoat left behind with the hopes of slowing me down.
Returning footsteps drew me out of my thoughts. I shifted slightly to watch the two men return with an elderly man struggling to walk with a large hump on his back. A slight raise of my jaw was all I needed to give Archer’s men the dismissal they needed. The sudden burst of anxiety leaking into the air drew my attention back to the one they’d gone to fetch. “You were down here to do maintenance, is that correct?”
The elderly man immediately ducked his head. “Yes, sire. Several tenants were complaining of faulty water pressure. My boss sent me down here to check for any leaky pipes. They’re due to be replaced, you see.”
Archer released an agitated noise, which only caused the man to tremble.
I threw a warning glance in his direction. While the man was older, he was still a paranormal being. From the heavily wooded scent, he was a werewolf nearing the end of his lifespan. “Are the screams the only thing you heard?”
Clasping his hands together in front of him, the elderly man kept his brown eyes glued to the floor. “No, sir. I didn’t realize someone else was down here at first, but then I heard someone talking. These walls echo so easily, so I couldn’t get closer to see who was down here. I do remember a woman speaking. She was thanking someone for giving her son a chance at a new life. Thanking him for protecting him from your grace’s family.”
Narrowing my eyes slightly, I drifted toward him. “Did you hear a name?”
“Marcillo, sire.”
Archer choked on an amused snicker.
I couldn’t blame him for his amusement, not when this simply turned this more in my favor. Turning my head slightly, I peered back at the couple. It was interesting to see how vastly different they had reacted when someone they’d placed their unwavering faith in turned on them. Yet the more I studied them, I realized I had overlooked something completely. My head whipped back toward the man. “You said Marcillo was giving the boy a chance at a new life. Did he bring the boy here?”
He tensed under my gaze. “They didn’t say, sire.”
Irritation leaked into my veins. “Did they give you the impression that he is?”
“Y-Yes, sire.”
The knot that had been tightening up in the pit of my stomach since my arrival merely spiraled out of control, leaving me with a horrifying wave of nausea. I snapped my eyes up toward the ceiling. All it took was tearing through five floors until I located the angel’s fading energy before the room shimmered around me. The thick metal pipes were replaced by the fancy hotel decor.
Something had warned Nico not to take home his newest toy yet. The beast within me was thrilled.
