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Only Bones was beyond help. Still on her knees, Limos whispered some words to her fallen mount and then, in a ragged voice, croaked, “To me.”
The stallion’s body dissolved into a wisp of smoke that streaked to Limos’s arm, but instead of forming a living horse glyph on her skin, it wound around her wrist a few times as if saying goodbye. A moment later, the smoke turned to ash and floated to the ground.
Cujo whimpered as Logan’s sorrow for Limos and fear that something like that could happen to his pup flowed through their bond.
Logan gently reached out and pulled the beast’s massive forehead against his, inhaling his comforting, smoky scent. When he was a kid, huddled in the dark under his covers, the smell of brimstone and smoke had always comforted him because it meant Cujo was there, guarding him from the night and the imaginary monsters under the bed.
“It’s okay, buddy,” he murmured. “Nothing will happen to us. I got your back.”
An affectionate rumble rose from deep in Cujo’s chest, along with a mental image that translated to,And I’ve got yours, and then he phased out of there to go do the horrible things hellhounds did in their spare time. Thankfully, Cujo kept that shit to himself and out of Logan’s head.
While the others finished killing the few demons that were still alive, Logan went to his aunt and kneeled with her.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “Is there anything I can do? Want me to call Arik? Or Leilani?”
Limos shook her head and dabbed at her tears. “No.” She stood, sniffling and putting on a brave face. “I’m fine. I’ll be fine. I hated that fiend anyway.”
She was lying, and everyone knew it. But clearly, she wasn’t ready to deal, so they spent a few minutes gathering their weapons and wits, and then they did what one does after getting their ass kicked by an evil relative and her minions.
They got shitfaced.
Chapter Two
Shit, shit, shit.
Eva was running late, and she wasneverlate. Granted, it wasn’t her fault. The summons to a meeting with the Aegis bigwigs had come last minute.Andwhile she was on a conference call with the head of public relations for The Aegis’s Chinese division. But she doubted her bosses would care whose fault her tardiness was. The urgent message from the Elders had been clear: Don’t be late.
And why was she being summoned, anyway? Was she in trouble? Had something major happened? Her heart gave a big, hopeful squeeze at another possibility.
Maybe she’d gotten that promotion. Oh, please let it be the promotion!
Her crimson Jimmy Choos thudded softly on the carpet as she jogged toward the conference room, careful not to spill a drop of her coffee. She’d paid fifteen bucks for the double-shot mocha latte, and she was going to drink it, dammit.
She rounded the last corner and slammed into her parents. The coffee sloshed over her hand and splashed onto her freshly cleaned cream silk shirt and black slacks.
“Son of a—”
“Eva. There you are.” Her mother, Tessandra, thrust a tissue into her empty hand and steered her toward the conference room doors. “You’re late.”
“I know.” Eva dabbed at the coffee stains. “But how doyouknow?”
Her father, Charles, made a sound of disapproval at her futile efforts to clean herself up with the tissue. “The Aegis’s legal firm, Tennant, Tennant, and Chesterleigh, was asked to sit in on this.”
Eva let out a frustrated sigh and stopped walking long enough to toss the tissue into a garbage can. “Whatisthis?”
Her mother grabbed her elbow and started dragging her down the hall that wound deep beneath The Aegis’s official headquarters in Washington, DC. Sprawling tapestries, depictions of ancient battles waged by the Templars, angels, and The Aegis against demons, stirred in the breeze of their hurried passage.
“The Elders have made their decision about who will be part of the first DART and Aegis exchange assignment.”
Eva shrugged out of her mother’s grip, readjusted the tablet and notepad in her arms, and picked up her pace, more to outrun her parents than to get to the meeting.
“I can walk on my own, Tessandra.” Her parents had demanded she call them by their first names since she was ten, especially in public. “And what does any of that have to do with me?”
“We were given a heads-up that you’ve been chosen as spokesperson for the mission. And you know that Jennifer is retiring. Word is that you and Stefani Hughes are the two running favorites for her job. A promotion to Chief Spokesperson would be quite the coup, and this assignment could be the deciding factor.”
Eva jerked to an abrupt halt as she reached for the door handle. “I’ve been chosen to spend two weeks at DART’s international headquarters?”
Wow. The Aegis had put out a call for volunteers, but she hadn’t applied. She’d certainly thought about it; her roots as an investigative journalist had her itching to get a look at the DART’s inner workings. But she hadn’t wanted to be away from work that long, not with that weasel Stefani hot on her heels and vying for the job Eva wanted.
