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“It was pretty bad,” Logan said. “We got ambushed, and I only had one soul trap on me, so most of the spirits got away. I dropped the one I got into the vault.” He scrubbed his hand over his face, as if he could scour away everything that happened last night. “And poor Limos. She had that hell stallion for a long time.”
Kynan’s expression was grim as he gestured for Logan to walk with him to the cafeteria. “How’s she doing?”
“Better than I’d be doing if I lost Cujo.” Logan couldn’t imagine being without the hellhound companion he’d been bonded to since they were both newborns. The beast was part of him, a comforting tingle in the back of his mind.
“Let me know if you need our resources to hunt Lilith,” Kynan said. “I’ve already talked to Ares, and you know DART’s here for you, no matter what.”
“I know.”
Kynan clapped him on the shoulder in a fond, fatherly gesture. “Have you heard from Roman?”
“Nothing new.” Scott Roman had a hell of a demonic case on his hands at DART’s Pacific Northwest headquarters in Seattle. His office believed that a Soulshredder had formed a rare partnership with a Neethul to terrorize a religious community near Pendleton, Oregon, and they’d just lost a DART agent to the demon’s deadly claws and teeth. “They haven’t even seen the Neethul, and every time they get close to the Soulshredder, it poofs away.” Soulshredders, rated as Tier-Five demons on the Ufelskala scale of evil, making them the worst of the worst, were also some of the most difficult demons to kill. Their ability to phase instantly between Sheoul and the human realm made it easy for them to escape or disappear and then reappear suddenly behind their victims. Long, razor-sharp claws and fangs were the least of their weapons.
And Kynan, being married to a human who was half-Soulshredder, knew that firsthand.
“Tayla’s going to send in Mace, Blade, and Scotty, but if they need more muscle, think you and Cujo could give them a hand?”
“No problem.” Logan didn’t mind temporary assignments to other departments. Good thing too, because he got tapped for many cases that had nothing to do with his Spirit Management division. He liked to think it was because of his fighting skills and ability to see demonic spirits, but really, his hellhound was the weapon everyone wanted. “Give me half an hour to arm up and summon Cujo.”
Kynan acknowledged one of the passing magi-techs with a wave, making the pendant around his scarred neck bounce. The gleaming round crystal gave Ky special protection, and it would nevernotleave Logan in awe. A literal piece of Heaven. So damn cool.
“Not yet,” Ky said. “I need you here this morning.”
“What’s up?”
“The personnel exchange with The Aegis started today.” He gestured down the hall to the smallest of three briefing rooms, a twenty-four-seater auditorium-style setup. “They sent half a dozen jet-lagged Guardians, all waiting to hear Aaron brief them on DART’s history and its origins in The Aegis.”
Sensing a trap, Logan shifted uncomfortably. “Uh-huh…”
“Aaron called in sick. I need you to go in there and keep them busy until Shanea gets here to take them on as their handler today.”
Logan suppressed a groan. The last thing he wanted to do was babysit a bunch of Aegis assholes. “Can’t Mace do it? He just posted a pic of himself kicking his feet up in the break room, looking all bored and shit—”
“Mace?” Kynan stared. “Mace? Alone with a bunch of Aegi? Seriously?”
Okay, yeah, Logan hadn’t thought that one through. Mace was the guy you wanted at your back during a fight with, say, a Soulshredder. Mace was the guy who got you out of sticky situations. But Mace was probably the one who got youintothe mess in the first place, as evidenced by the groping granny fiasco. He was definitely not the guy you wanted to represent your professional agency to a bunch of adversaries.
“You do know that The Aegis tried to kill me as a baby, right?”
“They’ve tried to kill almost everyone I know. Me included,” Ky pointed out. “Get another excuse. Look at it as your chance to get back at them.”
Logan perked up. “I get to kill them?”
“No, but you’ll get to make their lives miserable for a little while. Take the win, kid.”
Kid. It was funny to hear Kynan call him that, given that Ky looked the same age as Logan, even though he was in his sixties.
Being immortal was awesome.
“Okay, okay.” Logan glanced at his watch. It was nine-eighteen. “I’m guessing the Aegi have been waiting almost twenty minutes, and you need me in there immediately.”
“Good guess.” Kynan didn’t wait for Logan to say yes because, of course, he would. “Thanks. Shanea will be there to take them off your hands in half an hour or so.” Ky clapped him on the shoulder again. “And keep me posted on the Seattle situation. I have the White House breathing down my neck. A demon attacking Christians is not helping our argument that not all demons are the same. They’re talking about bringing in The Aegis.”
“What, they think we’ll go soft on demons torturing and killing humans? Jackasses. I’ll get out there as soon as I’m done with the other jackasses.”
“Take it easy on those jackasses,” Ky warned. “We’re trying to build bridges, not burn them.” Kynan’s denim-blue eyes darkened with annoyance. “I think trying to build bridges with The Aegis is pointless, but the people who fund us want to see cooperation between our agencies.”
“I’ll behave,” Logan muttered. “But it’s bullshit. We shouldn’t have to suck up to them. We’re giving way more to this trial alliance than they are.”
