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Aspen guided us through the portal. We walked through and appeared outside the underworld gates in Winnipeg.
The situation here was much different from a couple weeks ago.
There had been a lot of demon hunters protecting the portal before. That was nothing compared with the number of demon hunters swarming now. It was a dark sea of movement and flashing weapons.
A group of demon hunters came over to greet us, including Norah.
“Prince Gray,” she said, shaking the vampire's hand. She shot me a glance. “I thought only the vampires were coming to aid us.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “I have a tab to settle with Paimon.”
Her face fell. “I heard about Raika. I’m so sorry.”
I nodded.
“But if you’re here for revenge, I’m afraid it won’t be so simple,” Norah went on.
“What do you mean?” Gray asked.
“Come with me.” She gestured for us to follow her through the crowd.
Beside the portal was a dark green tent with open sides. Underneath it, a large dark green rug, a long table, and several chairs had been erected, and a handful of demon hunters filled the space.
I recognized a couple of faces at the table: Rey Lowe, the academy’s headmaster, and his partner, Erin Belmont, princess of the underworld and a famous demon hunter.
They greeted Gray, the other vampires, and me.
“I wish we were meeting under better circumstances,” Rey said.
“We can celebrate when we kill Paimon,” Gray said.
Rey nodded. “Please sit.”
“Before we start, I have a request,” I said. I had no time to waste. If they were working on plans, I wanted to be included in them. “I want to be the one to kill Paimon.”
Rey frowned. “No offense, Shane, but I’m not sure a wolf shifter, even an alpha, can take a former prince of the underworld alone.”
“I’m not asking to do this alone, I’m asking to deliver the killing blow.”
Erin put a hand over Rey’s. “I understand why you’re asking. We’re still trying to navigate away from a full-blown war, and there are many moving pieces on the board, but I promise you, I’ll do my best to include you in our plans.”
I would take whatever they could get me. For now. “Thank you.”
* * *
The meeting draggedon for hours. Demon hunters came and went. King Tanner and Princess Jasmin joined the party, but everyone was so worried about Tanner’s security, it was agreed he should remain inside his castle, which was also swarming with demon hunters.
My phone kept blowing up with calls and texts from Killian and Drake. I ignored them all.
Half of the demon hunters here were divided into small groups, along with our vampires and me, and sent to scout the area around the portal, until possibly finding Paimon or his allies. The same was being done with the other portals to the underworld, in case Paimon planned to enter the underworld from another entrance.
I was paired with Doreen and Thierry, two experienced demon hunters, older than I was. Though I had met Doreen before, I wasn’t happy about being included in a scouting party, but it was a lot better than sitting back at home and waiting for news.
I slung my bag across my shoulders, grabbed another pack of food, and set off with my companions into the forest.
8
SHANE
