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Colton pointed to the sampling room. “There are at least ten dead men in the other room. All the women all gone.”
Leah shook her head. “The women are on a ladies’ tour. It’s currently in the fields.”
Raine nodded. “Then they were here for you. Is there any chance you have Haitian heritage?”
Leah’s eyes widened. “Yes. My mom grew up in the Haitian village, but married my dad. He’s Canadian, so I grew up in Whistler, but I came here to visit my grandma. She is eighty and still lives in the village.”
Riley put her fingers to her mouth. “They’re abducting women with priestess blood.”
CHAPTER12
Colton’s blood hummed with power and aggression. He was forced to use his considerable skills to maintain a calm exterior while inside his demon raged to be released. For now, it was content to feed on anything, human, animal or demon. The last one concerned Colton the most. Shadows and reapers couldn’t use one another for sustenance, but demons often fed on the rat-like creatures in their world.
Well, feeding on a demon animal didn’t concern him as he equated it to the shadows feeding on the animals of our world. There were also reports of soldier demons feeding on jackals. Demons had the ability to consume the blood of their own species for sustenance. While they chose to prey on the weak, it didn’t change the fact that they were practically cannibals. He’d rather die than become a monster. A threat to humanity.
“Leah, tell us about the attack. Did Deruthel say anything else to you or anyone else? Do anything besides try to abduct you?” Colton asked.
Leah nodded. “He tried to inject me with something. A syringe with dark liquid. It looked like coffee, but I seriously doubt it was a caffeine injection.”
Colton glanced around the floor. “What happened to the syringe? Did he take it with him?”
“I kicked it from his hand when he grabbed for me the first time. I’m a hundred pounds soaking wet so, nobody expects me to fight like a wolverine.”
Raine moved to the mound of broken glass and bottles. “I will look around and see if I can find it.” His molecules dissolved as he jumped between broken glass shelving and linen topped tables.
Leah tracked his movements. “Doesn’t anyone else find that shit freaky?”
Riley laughed. “I did when I first saw it. Trust me, you get used to it.”
Leah nodded, but there was pain in her eyes. “I’m not sure I want to. At the end of the day, I still have to inform my family that my brother is dead.”
Riley’s shoulders slumped. Her compassion a gift Colton would forever be thankful for. “Do you have any other siblings?”
“I have an identical twin. She lives in Whistler. She’s a ski instructor at the resort. I work there in the winter, when I’m not competing.”
“I have a fraternal twin, though I met her recently. We were... adopted by different families.” Riley’s voice wavered; guilt thick in her tone.
Colton hated that Riley felt responsible for her mother’s actions. She had no control over the life her parents chose for her and Dannika, but held that shame like a boulder on her chest. “Why would demons use a syringe? They have venom in their fangs.”
Raine returned with a broken syringe. “I will have Anaisa try to determine what this is.” He glanced at Leah. “How did you fight him? The fact that you are alive and not captured is astounding.”
“My dad has a black belt in karate. He was here for a competition when he met my mom. My siblings and I have been training since we were old enough to walk. While I compete as my father did, my sister prefers to be outside, and my brother wanted to own his own vineyard someday. He took a job here to learn the business.”
Raine nodded. “While your background is impressive, you still withstood an attack from the Demon general.”
Leah shrugged. “It happened. Get over it. Now tell me what you are. That you’re not a demon.”
Riley took a deep breath. “The demons invaded our world hundreds of years ago. They were almost successful, but a Bokor suggested an alternative. At that time, there were shifters. Men and women who possess the ability to shift to another animal. They were tasked with merging with the demon souls to give them the ability to travel the shadow pathways and to fight the invading demons. That’s how the shadow warriors were born.”
Leah blinked several times. “Shifters? As in lions, tigers and bears?”
Riley nodded. “Yes. We still possess the ability to shift into a totem animal. Colton is a cougar. Raine is a wolf.”
“Okay, wow, but okay. So, the demons have been here the whole time?” Leah asked.
“No, a priestess traveled to their world and returned with a blessed metal. The first generation of shadows eventually won the war and closed the portal between worlds. The demons have been looking for a way to reopen it ever since. Obviously, that’s happening now.”
“So, they’re not all here?”
