Wretched (Dark Delights #7)

Chapter 1

Nicolas

Nicolas’s heart ached. He stood on the sidelines of the training yard, watching his little brother train with his new squad.

The sun was a cheerful beacon in the sky, but today he barely felt its warmth.

For years, Nicolas had been his little brother’s captain.

He liked it that way, liked being able to look after Daniel and their best friend, Julian.

It had been barely a week since Sloan moved Daniel out of Nicolas’s squad, and ever since, he’d felt wrong.

For months now, things at the Paladin Guild of Los Angeles had felt off.

This place used to be a beacon of righteousness and safety, and now Nicolas felt claustrophobic behind the holy wall of HQ.

Obedience was more important than goodness, and anything less was punished harshly.

Rule-breakers were whipped in the courtyard—cleansed, as Commander Sloan called it.

Nicolas witnessed a cleansing just yesterday when a fellow paladin had hesitated to hand over his phone to be searched.

HQ was no longer a home. It was the coffin he would be buried in, but the removal of Daniel from his squad was the final nail. He would suffocate without him.

His father’s voice was a grim echo in his head.

Keep your head up. Show no fear. Trust in God’s wisdom.

Dad had been a devout paladin and died for the cause when Nicolas was just a teen.

But he didn’t feel God’s presence at HQ anymore.

He didn’t feel anything at all. Except lonely.

Julian had left weeks ago, and now he couldn’t even interact with his brother during drills.

Daniel was the only ally he had here behind the holy walls, and now they were isolated from each other.

He hated it. Neither of them had dared to ask why—too afraid it would be considered a sign of dissent—but they didn’t have to.

Daniel had been punished already for daring to disagree with Sloan.

Their commander felt that they were a bad influence on each other.

Nicolas’s squad was full of bootlickers who were all too happy to carry out Sloan’s orders.

The commander’s followers were zealous in their belief that Sloan knew best. There was no reasoning with them, and patrols came with a heavy dose of anxiety these days.

He didn’t like these men watching his back.

He wasn’t convinced they would. They knew Daniel was a sympathizer of the traitors—the Sentinels, who’d left the guild to be with demons.

They thought Nicolas was, too—and they weren’t wrong, but he couldn’t let them know that.

He’d kept his opinions to himself, and that was the only reason they still listened to him at all.

The sound system squealed loudly as it came on, drawing groans from around the training yard that trailed off as the recording started playing.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. If anyone knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery; witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, dissensions, and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.

Those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. ”

The recording played every hour on the hour, and as it came to a close, everyone on the training yard stopped and joined in with the recording of Sloan’s voice. Nicolas couldn’t bring himself to speak, but mouthed the words, because if he didn’t, someone would notice.

“In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

Nicolas looked up and caught his brother’s eye. Daniel gave him a wan smile and raised a finger as he followed his squad off the training yard toward the locker room.

Yeah, he’d wait. He’d barely seen Daniel all week, and he’d come here intentionally to fix that. Julian had been smart enough to get out already. Nicolas and Daniel only had each other now.

Ten minutes later, Daniel reemerged. His short, espresso brown hair, the same shade as Nicolas’s, was damp and curling from his hasty shower.

He shot a fleeting look at the whipping post standing in the center of the courtyard.

The shackles hung limply against the wood.

No one was exempt from cleansings, if Sloan commanded it.

Nicolas had seen former council members take whippings, administrative staff, and even prophets.

Just last week, a young prophet named Lexi was cleansed for daring to speak up when someone disparaged Ira Faer.

Daniel shoved his hands in the pockets of his faded jeans. “What’s up?”

“Want a ride?” He tugged his keys from his pocket.

Daniel’s throat bobbed. “Sure.”

They didn’t dare say more on the grounds of HQ.

When they were in the car and well beyond the main gate, drifting down the street and into thicker traffic, Nicolas finally blew out a breath and let the tension fade from his spine.

“I’ve missed you this week.”

Daniel shot him a lopsided smile that didn’t reach his eyes. They rarely did these days. “I’ve missed you, too.”

“How’s Elijah treating you? Okay?” He’d kill the man himself if he wasn’t and damn whatever Sloan thought.

“Yeah, Elijah’s fine. He runs a tight ship. Doesn’t let his squad gossip or talk about the Sentinels at all. Not sure what his actual stance is on any of it, which is probably for the best. No opinions outside Sloan’s are safe.”

“That’s good.” Silence was good. Silence was safe. A sinister little voice in the back of his mind that sounded like his father whispered that he was a coward, but he didn’t let himself dwell on that. Sometimes survival was more important.

“What about you? How’s your squad?” Daniel asked, fingers twisting in his lap. “Evan Arie replaced me, right? He’s one of Sloan’s, isn’t he?”

He didn’t want Daniel to worry. “He is, but it’s fine. They’re all Sloan fans, so we just focus on the hunt.”

Daniel didn’t look assuaged. “They’re not causing you problems, are they?”

Nicolas cast about for the right words. “Even if they were, what could I do? They’re his people. I’m not going to complain about his lapdogs to him.”

Daniel wilted. “So they are causing problems, then?”

Nicolas sighed. “Yeah, they suck, okay? They don’t like me.

They make jokes about—” He stopped, not wanting to repeat any of them.

They made jokes about him being a demon fucker, like they expected him to wander off to find a monster to screw during their patrols.

It didn’t matter that he’d never been caught voicing a dissenting opinion or given them any reason to be suspicious.

He was associated with Daniel, who’d attended the meetings that some of the dissenters had created to discuss Sloan’s questionable policies, and that was enough ammunition.

He just didn’t want to tell Daniel as much.

His brother already felt responsible for the guild’s opinions of them, and Nicolas didn’t want to add to the weight on his shoulders.

“Jokes about what?” Daniel asked.

“It doesn’t matter. They make stupid jokes at my expense.”

Daniel scowled, shifting to face him. “Do you trust them on patrols?”

Nicolas ground his teeth together and didn’t respond. His fingers tightened around the steering wheel, and it didn’t go amiss. Daniel knew him too well.

“You shouldn’t be patrolling with people you don’t trust.”

“I can’t tell Sloan I don’t trust them. If I tell him about any of it, it’ll just make him think I’ve given them some reason not to trust me. I don’t want to draw his attention. For anything. I’ll make do, okay? I don’t want you to worry about it.”

Daniel nodded and fell quiet. They drove for ten minutes in silence before he asked, “Has he said anything else to the captains about those bodies?”

Seven withered bodies and one who’d died of a stab wound were discovered outside the main gate a month ago.

Four more people had been killed on patrols since then, all found withered and gray just like Wallace’s squad.

They’d all been on high alert, but whatever was killing them hadn’t been seen yet.

The deaths were unlike anything they’d ever seen.

He shook his head. “No. The four who died were alone and discovered by the squad when they didn’t return to the meeting point after patrol. No witnesses to their actual murders. Sloan has ordered us not to split up into pairs anymore. Better if squads stay together.”

Daniel nodded. “That’s what Elijah told us today, too. We’ll draw more attention from civilians that way.”

“But maybe we’ll be able to fight off whatever this new demon is that’s hunting us.

” And it was hunting them. There had been no reports of civilian deaths, which was a mixed blessing.

He’d never want to see an innocent get hurt, but it verified that whatever this thing was, it was targeting paladins.

“Have you… talked to…” Daniel trailed off. “Do they know what it is?”

The Sentinels. Ex-paladins who’d left the guild and formed their own hunting business because they’d all fallen for demons.

Six humans, six demons, working together to keep the streets safe.

On paper, it sounded like a good idea. If immortal demons were willing to actually help protect the innocent, where was the problem?

Commander Sloan didn’t see it that way, though.

He thought the humans were traitors, wallowing in the muck with monsters.

Never mind that they were still hunting, still killing the actual monsters, while fending off furious paladins in the process.