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“I’d like to see you try,” Declan rasped as he turned. His dark eyes were empty, and the smile that graced his face was cold. “Let’s go; I’ve spent far too much time in this pile of crap.”
Julian started to follow Declan when Nanauatl spoke once more. The sun god’s voice was rough and filled with emotion.
“Jaguar, stop.”
Julian paused. He shrugged, his white teeth a slash through the gray. “It’s not Club Med down here.”
Julian quickly followed Declan from the temple and welcomed the rush of fresh air once they cleared the tunnel. The early-morning quiet was heavy on his ears, yet it did nothing to soothe his soul. Warmth could already be felt creeping over the horizon. He cracked his neck and looked up to the sky. It was going to be a bitch of a day.
He thought of the human populace, asleep and unaware of the evil that was fast approaching. Humanity was so fragile and at the mercy of an entire realm of existence most of them had no knowledge of.
Cracker nodded to him. He looked past the soldier, his gaze resting on Jaden as she stood silent, her eyes hidden by the sweep of her lashes, her thoughts concealed.
He sniffed the air and felt his animal rouse as the unpleasant stench of demon lay on the breeze in subtle doses.
“They’re still around,” Cracker said. “I wasted a few on my way in, so watch where you step.”
Julian glanced down to his feet and moved to the right, avoiding the patches of demon leftovers scattered about.
“Why are they here? What do they want? How did they know we’d be here?” Jaden asked, and she studied Cracker closely as the soldier spit into the dirt.
“The entire underworld is in chaos. They’re gravitating toward anyplace where they think there might be clues that will help them find Cormac and the portal . . . or anyone else on their hit list.”
Julian’s eyes narrowed. What did the soldier know?
Cracker glanced at him, his tone matter-of-fact. “There are hot spots the world over right now. We’ve got teams dispatched everywhere.”
“That’s just great.” Jaden shook her head. “The shit is about to hit the fan in a major way, and we’ve got our forces spread so thin, we’ll be lucky if we can find our own asses.” She glanced at Julian, and he felt his stomach muscles clench together tightly. “There’s not a lot of time to get this done.”
“No,” Cracker agreed, “there’s not, but there’s no reason to give up hope.” His eyes flashed, a weird silver-gray shining eerily in the early-morning light. “Jaxon wants us to rendezvous at PATU in Canada. He’s got intel but wouldn’t share, even over a secure channel.”
“What kind of intel?” Julian asked as he glanced toward Declan.
Cracker shrugged. “Dunno, but it’s got to be important if he wants us all there.” The soldier’s eyes narrowed as they bored into Julian’s. “And that includes the two of you by the way.”
The thought of seeing his brothers again should have filled him with joy. Yet he was ambivalent, detached.
Julian looked away. There was nothing inside him except the constant raw pain that gnawed at his guts and the white noise that lingered in the background.
“The jet is waiting outside of town on a private airstrip. We need to leave asap.”
Half an hour later, Julian found his large frame tucked into a soft leather seat as the plane thundered down the runway. As they lifted off and ascended into the sky, his eyes found the dark head he’d been trying to avoid.
Jaden was seated next to Nico, and he hated that the shifter was so close to her.
“Like I said before, you need to tap that.” Declan’s soft voice cut through the fog that had settled around his brain. The sorcerer was seated across from him, and Julian didn’t much care for the sloppy grin that fell across his face. “Oh, sorry, guess you already did.”
Julian snarled and lunged forward, his hand going for Declan’s throat, his long fingers sliding across his neck with ease. Declan did nothing. The pounding in Julian’s ears receded as he slowly let go.
He was aware that all eyes were focused on him and ignored them as he leaned back in his seat and stared out the window. His heart was still beating madly, and it took every ounce of control he had to calm himself.
Below him, the earth lay, dazzling in the face of a strong sun, but all he could think about was the impending doom. His gut was tight, heavy with the knowledge that they’d most likely be too late. It was a crapshoot, really, and one that would either win him his life or leave him to wallow in the depths of hell for eternity.
“You boys hungry?” Cracker nodded toward the galley. “There’s plenty of food back there.”
Declan stretched out his long legs and smiled. “Cool, I’m fucking starved. But the real question, my friend, is do we have a nice dark ale? I’m thirsty as all hell.”
Jaden rose and walked past Julian, her head turned to the other side. She was doing everything in her power to ignore him. He knew the truth. He felt the pull as much as she did.
