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I slipped out of the backseat of the SUV, and a stench wrinkled my nose. It was gross enough I debated pulling my shirt over the lower half of my face. “What’s that smell?” An innocuous question and yet both men exchanged a serious glance.
“This isn’t good,” Cain muttered.
“What is it? Why do you both look tense?” I noticed Williams had pulled his gun and Cain had his scythe ready to go.
“Get back in the SUV,” Williams replied bluntly.
“Why?”
The detective pinched his lips. “Because what you’re smelling is death.”
My mouth rounded. “Whose death?”
Cain indicated my building. “I’m going to guess everyone inside.”
“No.” I shook my head. “You’re wrong. That’s insane. You’re talking like a hundred apartments and a ton of people.”
“We need to get out of here,” Williams murmured, looking across the street.
I pivoted to see him eyeing the homeless dude who lived in the alley between the pizza place and the massage parlor—the kind that offered a happy ending, or so I’d heard—walking with a distinct limp in our direction.
“What about my stuff?”
“Do you want your jeans more than your life?” Cain’s gruff assessment.
“Do you know how long it took me to get my Levi’s broken in just right?” Jeans conditioning was serious business. Especially if I wanted my ass to look good.
“We’re not saying you’ll never get them, just not right this moment. Something is wrong. We need to go,” Williams insisted.
“Hold on, you’re a cop. Shouldn’t you be calling in reinforcements?”
“I’d rather not sentence my coworkers to death.” He looked past me to Cain. “Get her out of here. Head to the castle and tell the Princep we’re going to need everyone.”
Cain nodded. “On it.”
In that moment, my dumb ass finally clued in. “You think the demons are here?”
“Who else do you think killed everyone?” snorted Cain.
I hadn’t been thinking because the idea seemed preposterous. Hundreds of people lived in those apartments. “But it’s daytime.”
“It was daytime at your shop, too, and that didn’t stop the attack,” Cain pointed out.
“And I’m pretty sure he’s been possessed.” Williams indicated the homeless guy who still shuffled in our direction, head canted at an odd angle, his gait shambling, his behavior out of the ordinary. Usually, he remained seated, holding out his paper cup.
“Fine. If it makes you feel better.” I acted put out but in truth I didn’t need anything badly enough from my apartment to risk my life.
Cain reached for me, and I let him drag me close to his body, the solid strength of him drawing my attention away from the possibly possessed homeless dude. Cain pulled out his talisman, and I braced as I waited for that cold sensation and the whispery voice.
Nothing happened.
“What the fuck?” Cain shook the medallion and dangled it again.
“Why aren’t you gone?” Williams asked, not once taking his eyes off the homeless dude.
“It’s not working.”
“What do you mean it’s not working?” Williams’s attention diverted to us.
