River’s fingers tapped my arm. “They’re up to something, and I don’t like it.”
“Neither do I.”
When River grew quiet as she led me through the hall, I turned my attention to the building erected for the king and queen. The demon symbols covering every inch of the walls were stained with River and Kobal’s blood and thrummed with power.
At the far end of the hall, the king and queen’s thrones sat on a raised dais. River’s brothers, Gage and Bailey, sat on the steps of the dais watching the demons and humans in the room. When they spotted me, they smiled and waved; I returned the greeting.
“How are Erin and Vargas?” I asked.
River grinned at me. “They’re great. Vargas’s leg is healed.”
“Good.”
I’d missed them since they left the Wilds. Like myself, Erin and Vargas volunteered to leave their families and towns behind to journey to the wall when they were only sixteen. My human status may have changed while theirs remained the same, but we’d trained together, battled Hell creatures, and had each other’s backs through some horrible shit. They were more like family than friends.
The crowd in the hall parted to reveal Erin and Vargas strolling toward us.
“Hawk!” Erin cried as she ran at me and threw her arms around me. “You’re safe.”
“Of course,” I replied as I hugged her before setting her on her feet.
Her black hair, usually cut below her ears, hung to her shoulders. Her almond-shaped, dark blue eyes shone when she smiled at me, but there was something sad in her gaze.
“Is everything okay?” I demanded.
“It’s great.”
She said the words, but uneasiness lingered about her. Before I could question her further, Vargas approached and held out his hand. When I accepted his hand, he pulled me close, and we slapped each other’s backs before stepping back.
Vargas looked like he’d put on a few pounds, probably due to inactivity and not being able to train. His black hair, cropped close to his head, emphasized the broad cheeks and olive complexion of his Peruvian heritage. His eyes were so dark a brown they were nearly black, but they held flecks of a paler, golden brown in them.
“How’s the leg?” I asked him.
“Much better,” he said and emphasized this by stomping his foot. “How have you been?”
“I’d like to say busy hunting the horsemen, but things have been quiet.”
“That can’t be good.”
“No, it can’t,” I agreed. “But we have wiped out a fair amount of lower-levels demons and escapees from the seals since I last saw you. We’ve also cleared a large portion of the Wilds, and we’re holding that ground. By this time next year, we might have everything secured.”
“That would be amazing.”
“What about the horsemen and angels?” Erin asked.
“We don’t know where they’ve gone.”
She bit her bottom lip as she exchanged an uneasy glance with Vargas and River. Vargas took her hand in both of his and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Their entwined hands didn’t surprise me. I’d noticed them growing closer for a while now, and Erin had insisted on staying at the wall while Vargas recovered. What did surprise me was the pang of longing that accompanied the comforting gesture.
I’d never felt anything remotely romantic toward Erin. She was pretty, but we’d never been anything more than friends. However, this comforting gesture made me long for a family again.
I tore my eyes away from their hands and focused on the hall as Daisy, one of the ghosts who’d come to the wall after the gateway closed, floated up to hover near River’s shoulder. Daisy waved at me, and I waved back.
The first time I encountered ghosts, they irritated the shit out of me. Due to things they’d done while alive, or because they feared moving on to the afterlife, the ghosts were trapped in Purgatory on Earth. They couldn’t move on to Heaven until they served their time here.
They were pretty selfish beings, who were afraid of the dark, but Daisy was far less selfish than most of her ghostly counterparts. The ghosts were offered a home at the wall in exchange for their help in keeping things lit around here. They couldn’t do much, but they could produce small amounts of light, which became stronger when enough of them got together.
When Kobal arrived at River’s side, she beamed at him as he bent to kiss her head. Grasping a piece of the wrap Kobal wore, she pulled it back to reveal the peaceful, sleeping face of her son.
