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Tonight, Kent Hadleigh was going to die.
Zane glanced over at me, sharp teeth bright in his painted face. “Shall we?”
I nodded. “Get his attention. I’ll take him down.”
Zane moved quickly, disappearing from beside me. I stayed low, waiting until Kent’s attention was turned away. I could see his face from where I crouched, even though it was cast in shadow. He looked older, tired. His hair was entirely gray, rather than speckled with it as it had been...back then. I understood why people trusted him — I understood whyIhad. His voice could sound kind, he could be generous. He could look at his children with affection, he could say all the right words.
It was all a lie.
He was a man who would do anything to get what he wanted. He was a man who saw cruelty and suffering as paths to glory. He looked at his own children and saw sacrifices to be made.
I looked at him and saw dead flesh.
He smirked and began to whistle as he turned away from the trees. But he didn’t take more than a few steps before he noticed Zane. Kent stopped, and from my current angle, I could see a flicker of confusion across his face before cold, calculated calm settled again. He raised his cigar to his lips and took a slow puff, but I didn’t miss the slight shake in his hand.
“Evening, Mr. Hadleigh,” Zane said, his voice lowered to that deep baritone that never failed to make my insides shudder. “Lovely night, isn’t it?”
Kent took the cigar from his mouth, tapping the ash into the grass. “Who are you?” His voice betrayed no fear. God, I wanted him to shake. I wanted him to feel his stomach drop. I wanted him to feel what I’d felt.
He would. Soon enough, he would.
“A friend of a friend,” Zane said, still smiling. He wasn’t trying to hide what he was: he was all golden eyes and sharp teeth, made even more unnerving with his painted face. “Why don’t we take a little walk, Mr. Hadleigh? There’s someone who’s eager to see you again.”
Kent’s eyes narrowed, and his head jerked back toward the trees. He couldn’t see me where I was hidden in the shadows, but his eyes moved over me for a moment and sent a chill up my back. I had to be patient. He was too close to the house.
“You can’t touch me, demon,” he said. “And I have no business with you.”
“I don’t need to touch you,” Zane said. “Because you’re going to turn around and start walking on your own accord back into those trees.”
“And if I don’t?” Kent’s voice was sharp. I could have taken it as careless irritation if I hadn’t spotted his hand shake again.
Zane cocked his head. “Do you really want to find out?”
I cocked the gun, and Kent’s whole body twitched. He knew that sound, there was no mistaking it.
“What a clever little charm you’re wearing around your neck, Mr. Hadleigh,” Zane said. “Tell me, do your children have them too? Does your wife? How quickly can you get back in the house?” He took a step closer, and Kent stepped back.
“You're some friend of Leon’s, aren’t you?” he said and took another unsteady step backward, toward the trees. “Have you come here to take revenge for that snake?”
Zane’s grin widened. “Oh, that’s part of it. You’ve made a lot of enemies, Kent.” He took another step forward, and Kent took another step back. He was almost under the trees now. “You’ve caused irreparable pain. Now, believe me, I do love to see chaos and destruction.” Another step. Kent was under the trees. I began to creep closer. “I love to cause a fair bit of it myself. But there’s a big difference between you and I, Kent.”
“You’re a demon,” Kent snapped. “Your entire existence is meant to be bent to the will of your master —”
“There’s the difference, Hadleigh.” Zane’s face had grown gaunt, and it wasn’t just the makeup in the dim light. He looked truly haunting. “You harm those who are weak and vulnerable. You go after children. You prey on those who trust you. You make your own offspring into vile little monsters. You steal freedom. Youforceothers to bend to your will under threats of pain and violence.”
I was just behind Kent now. I raised the gun. He was too fixated on Zane to notice.
“You’re a coward, Kent Hadleigh,” Zane growled. “And tonight, you’re going to die a coward’s death.”
I brought the gun down, slamming the butt against the back of his head. Kent grunted, his knees buckled, and he collapsed onto the grass. I hurriedly pushed him over, fumbled at his neck, and found a metal amulet on a chain. It was carved in the shape of a sword crossed with a wand, the surface mottled like dirty silver.
“Oh, that’s a vile thing,” Zane murmured, as I plucked it from Kent’s neck.
I held up the amulet curiously. It didn’t look particularly special, just old. But as I grasped it in my fingers, I found the surface to be stunningly cold. “Would this really protect him from you?”
“It’s far more powerful than it looks,” Zane said, grimacing in disgust. “The closer a demon is to it, the more it saps their strength.”
“I’ll keep it away from you then.” Quickly, I dug a little hole in the dirt, dropped the amulet inside, and covered it. I had to remember to come back for it later, but I wasn’t going to have that thing near Zane.
