“Missing?” Gabriel asked. This was the first he’d heard of more shifter abductions.
“Nabbed right outta their beds, according to their family members.” Cole scratched his beard, trying but failing to hold back a shudder. “Evidence of silver poisoning.”
Gabriel’s gut twisted. He could only imagine what the wolf had endured in captivity. He’d hoped they’d seen the last of those particular experiments when he’d killed the poor beasts trapped in the warehouse cages, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.
Fucking Duchanes. Death was too good for you…
“There’s a good chance whoever’s releasing the grays and kidnapping the shifters is a follower of Duchanes,” he said to Cole now. “Based on the numbers you gave me after your initial recon, I’d say we took down less than a third of them at the warehouse.”
“Figured as much about the mages,” Cole said. “I counted at least a hundred that first day. You took out, what?”
“Two dozen at most.”
“Math ain’t my strong suit, but… yeah.” Cole nodded. “Still a bunch more unaccounted for. And those fuckers sure seem happy to carry on the tradition of torturing my people.”
“Andwe’llhappily carry on the tradition of sending every last one of them to hell,” Gabriel said.
“Assuming we can find ‘em.” Cole slid a cigarette from his pack, tapped it against the table. “I know Duchanes said he was preppin' for some kinda war, but I’m not so sure about all that. From what I saw on the inside? He was just a cowardly bloodsucker stacking the deck, waiting to see which faction would come out on top so he could slide right in. All those monsters he created, all those mages… They were always gonna pick the winning side.”
“Common strategy among lesser men.” Rogozin hissed into his vodka. “Where is loyalty? Where is sense of honor?”
“You won’t find either among the followers of Renault Duchanes,” Dorian said. Then, to Cole, “Given what you saw at the warehouse, do you believe Duchanes was doing all of this to help Azerius, or to take a stand against him?”
“Help,” Cole said. “His money wasalwayson Azerius. Azerius and Viansa—that’s the winning ticket right there.”
“I understand the connection between Azerius, Viansa, and the mages,” Dorian said, gazing into his half-empty glass. “They’re working together to break down the hell gates and give Azerius enough power to leave hell and take his true form in our realm. But the other supernaturals, the experiments… It almost seems beneath him. What does Azerius want with a bunch of mangled grays and resurrected shifters? Even the demons and vampires on Duchanes’ payroll were low-level henchmen, easily replaced.”
“Someone to fight his battles,” Rogozin said. “All-powerful demon lord such as Azerius… He does not want to get hands dirty. To him, other supernaturals are…” He rubbed his fingers together, searching for the word. “…expendable.”
“He’s not merely looking to overthrow our rule here,” Gabriel said, a few more of the pieces sliding into place. “He wants to turn our realm into a demonic realm. Anentirelydemonic realm. ”
“Hell 2.0?” Rogozin laughed, but the punchline was utterly lost on Gabriel.
“Forgive me, Alexei, but do you think this is funny?”
“Gabriel,” Dorian warned. “Let’s not insult our guest. He’s only trying to lighten the mood.”
“We’re talking about an apocalyptic event, Dorian. There’s no lighteningthatmood.” Gabriel rose from his chair, paced the dining room. Dorian could play politics all he wanted, but Gabriel was damn near crawling out of his mind trying to figure this thing out.
Azerius. Viansa. Keepers of the Dark Flame. Demon-human hybrids.
It was one thing for them to take out the royal vampires and assert themselves as leaders of the supernatural world—after all, that’s why Viansa and her mother had bred Jacinda, hoping to create an even more powerful hybrid than the ones the succubi could offer.
But turning the earthly realm into a second hell? That was bloody terrifying.
“Think about it, Dorian,” Gabriel said. “What is hell but a prison for banished souls? A place where the most powerful demons have free reign—sanctionedreign—to eternally torture and brutalize the souls of every human and supernatural who ends up there?”
“What are you getting at?” Dorian asked, a flicker of concern finally flashing through his eyes.
“If Azerius and Viansa rise to power in the material realm, take out vampires and the rest of the supernaturals in their way, and create a second hell, theneveryremaining soul on this planet immediately becomes part of hell’s domain—not just the souls who’ve earned the trip there.”
“You’re talking about an eternal torture chamber,” Dorian said. “The demonic enslavement of every being on this planet.”
Gabriel gave him a sarcastic grin. “Is your mood lighter yet, brother?”
“Hell 2.0 ain’t gonna happen,” Cole said adamantly. “Not as long as I’m still breathing.”
Dorian plucked the cigarette from between Cole’s lips and broke it. “Let’s not tempt fate, shall we?”
