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“Let’s skip the whole name thing because I really don’t give a shit what we call her.” Nico looked at all of them. “Let’s keep this simple, shall we?” The warrior’s skin shifted and blurred as he snarled at Francesca. “Tell us where the fucker Samael is and we won’t kill you.”
Francesca faced the jaguar warrior, and Ana was impressed at the balls it took for her to defy the huge warrior. “Don’t threaten me, shifter. I cannot tell you where the demon is. As for the other . . .” Her words drifted into a whisper, though Ana had no trouble understanding them. “I’m already dead.”
Silence filled Ransome’s office.
“You said you couldn’t tell us where Samael is,” Declan stated, “not that you wouldn’t. What did you mean by that? What does he hold over you?”
Francesca’s bottom lip trembled once more. The woman was so young. How in the hell had she managed to insert herself into a war between the Seraph and a demon lord?
The necromancer straightened her shoulders and gazed straight into Declan’s eyes. “I will not give him up.”
“But you do share a connection to him. The collar belongs to Samael, correct?”
Francesca swallowed thickly and nodded.
“Why did it move?” Kaden’s young voice grabbed her attention and Francesca glanced toward the teenager. The sorrow and pain that filled her eyes in that moment shocked Ana.
“It’s a reminder of what I’ve lost, of what I have to gain if I’m smart.”
“Does it hurt a lot?” Kaden looked at Declan. “Are you sure you can’t, like, do some weird mojo stuff and get rid of it?”
Declan shook his head. “No, the only one who can remove it is Samael. Once you’ve been enslaved by a demon, your ass is pretty much toast.”
Ana stared at Francesca. She had a hard decision to make. The woman before her was the only link she had to Samael and even though it appeared she was more or less being forced to do his dirty work, Ana had to push that from her mind.
She let her fangs slide out and hissed at Francesca. “You will tell us the location of Samael or—”
“Let me try.”
Ana looked at Kaden in surprise. The teenager’s eyes were focused on the necromancer but he glanced to her quickly. “Please, Ana I can help.”
The room was quiet as everyone’s focus shifted from Francesca to Kaden. He ignored them all and moved to within a few inches of the redhead. Ana took a few steps back to give him room and shot a puzzled look toward Declan.
The sorcerer’s lips were thinned and she could tell Declan didn’t like Kaden anywhere near the woman. Ana had no idea what Kaden was going to do but the teenager seemed sincere. Sure of himself.
“If you touch him I will make you regret it,” Ana said from between clenched teeth. Her fangs had retracted but she stood with her feet spread, her arms at the ready.
Francesca made a gurgling noise and held her iron-clad wrists aloft. “No worries there,” she muttered before glancing toward Kaden.
“You won’t feel a thing, I promise,” he said softly, his manner grave. “Um, you said that he’ll punish you if you speak. If you tell us the thing that he doesn’t want us to know, right?”
What the hell was he getting at? Ana frowned. She had no idea where the teenager was going with this or what he planned on doing.
Francesca nodded but remained silent.
Kaden shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t worry. You won’t have to say a word.”
He moved until his body was nearly touching Francesca’s and then raised his hands. Energy sizzled along Kaden’s limbs, crackling into the air as he held his fingertips near her head. He never touched her; didn’t make a sound, and the silence that engulfed them echoed so heavily in Ana’s ears that she winced.
A chill ran along Ana’s body as she watched the teenager, and goose bumps spread along her arms. Kaden’s eyes were closed, his face a mask of concentration. He looked well beyond his sixteen years, and not for the first time, Ana wondered about the secrets he held inside.
A breeze drifted from out of nowhere, lifting long tendrils of red hair to dance in the air. Francesca’s hands came up but Kaden flicked his wrist and she was unable to move. Ana looked at Declan in surprise and she saw the same mirrored in his face. The boy was powerful and had layers to him that he’d not shared.
Long moments passed as Kaden stood before the woman, his young body thrumming with power. When he turned abruptly Ana exhaled, not knowing her breath had become trapped until it fell from her in a rush. The teenager’s mouth was pinched, his eyes darkened, and perspiration lined his forehead. He was breathing rapidly and with some effort slowed his breaths as he stepped away from Francesca.
He took a few seconds and then spoke. His voice was quiet, calm. “The demon lord is in a place of darkness.
It’s cold, damp but there are flashes of light, whispers of voices.” Kaden glanced at Ana. “There’s loud music, wetness, and pain.” Kaden glanced around the room. “There’s a lot of suffering and so much fear.” He shook his head and winced. “He’s not alone. There’s someone else hidden beyond the darkness. I couldn’t see what it was, but I could feel someone or something. There are two more. They’re like asleep but not asleep if that makes sense.” Kaden shook his head as if trying to get rid of the images in his mind. “I can’t explain it any other way.”
