Chapter 7
Nicolas
Nicolas had been outside of the rundown skating rink where the Sentinels operated, but he’d never been inside it before.
He clutched his coffee mug tightly as Ashmedai folded his arms around him, holding it between their chests with one hand and wrapping the other around Ashmedai’s back, gripping the supple fabric of his black cloak.
“Hold,” Ashmedai rumbled in his ear, and Nicolas tucked his nose in his hood, inhaling the forest mist and ancient stone scent that clung to him. The world around them went black, and his stomach bottomed out like he’d stepped into a fast-moving elevator.
Everything was so dark around them, Nicolas couldn’t tell when it all stopped. His stomach went back to normal, and his knees wobbled. He might have staggered, but Ashmedai’s arms held him steady. He raised his head, blowing out a breath.
“Not sure I’m a fan of that,” he said. “Where are we?”
“Rink,” Ashmedai said. “Dark room. Travel through darkness.”
“You can’t just appear in a brightly lit room?”
“No.”
The only things Nicolas could see were Ashmedai’s marigold eyes. Here in the darkness, there was no risk of him seeing beneath the hood to the face Ashmedai wanted to hide.
“Can you see me?” he whispered, placing his hand somewhere on Ashmedai’s chest.
“Yes.”
He slid his hand up, over the metallic clasp of the cloak and up Ashmedai’s bare neck. A low purr vibrated between them, sending a shudder rolling down Nicolas’s back.
“I love the sounds you make.” His whispered confession hung in the air between them as he traced Ashmedai’s face. The delicate shell of his ear, pointed at the tip like an elf’s, his soft cheek, his thin lips. Sharp teeth grazed his fingertips, warm breaths dampening his skin.
Ashmedai’s hands trailed down his body to cup his buttocks. “Later,” he rumbled. “Take you again. And again.”
Nicolas huffed out a laugh. “Good.”
“Come.” Ashmedai gently removed Nicolas’s hand from his face and used it to guide him through the darkness.
He heard a doorknob turn, and then light spilled in.
They were, in fact, in a storage closet.
Ashmedai gripped the doorknob but looked straight at him, urging him to step out first. Walking by him gave Nicolas one last whiff of his intoxicating scent, and his cock jerked in response. It was Pavlovian already.
This was a demon. How could he make Nicolas feel like this so quickly?
The skating rink was a legitimate skating rink.
The actual skating floor was now layered with interlocking workout mats.
Tables lined with various weapons sat against the mirrored wall.
Nathan Accardi was there, organizing the weapons.
A handful of wooden dummies were scattered around the floor.
Isaac Morrow was throwing knives at one of them.
In the middle of the floor, Luke Morgan and Alex Hawk sparred with wooden practice swords.
Alex was grinning, looking carefree in a way no one at the guild had in months.
To his left was what might have once been an arcade and concession area.
The snack bar was still there, though now the glass display case was cluttered with jugs of protein and supplement powders, boxes of granola and protein bars, and other various snacks like beef jerky and cans of assorted nuts.
A drink fridge with a glass door hummed behind the counter, stacked with every drink he could possibly imagine.
A halfling with long blond hair stood behind the glass counter, talking with another demon, dark-haired and wearing a suit.
They both sipped from amber bottles. By the half-wall that separated the training floor from the arcade, a black-eyed demon chatted with a white-haired halfling.
An old air hockey table was the only relic of the arcade area, now redesigned with mismatched seating and tables. The ancient game was littered with papers, folders, books, and three different laptops, like a makeshift conference table.
And right there beside it was Julian.
Everything else faded away. Julian was like a little brother to him, and here he was, smiling up at Valac like he didn’t have a care in the world. Nicolas couldn’t remember him ever looking so happy during his time at the guild.
“Julian!”
The blond whirled, his face breaking out into a grin when he saw Nicolas.
“Nic!”
“How the hell did a paladin get in here?” the suit-wearing demon said.
Julian jogged over and slammed right into him, wrapping his arms around his neck. Nicolas staggered back into Ashmedai, whose gentle hands on his waist steadied him.
“Thanks for coming. We’re really at our wit’s end right now, and I’m hoping you can tell us something more than we already know.”
“Sure, of course.”
Julian led him over to the air hockey table, where the rest of them were gathering. He tried not to focus on the red or black eyes in the room, nor the way their gazes seemed to narrow in on the way Ashmedai lingered by his side.
“So, what’s going on?”
Nathan Accardi stepped forward. Nicolas had always liked him. He’d been a kind and fair paladin, confident in his own convictions and always ready to lend a helping hand. That he stood shoulder to shoulder with demons now was a point in favor of the demons, in Nicolas’s opinion.
“We have two teenagers who come here often. Angela and Zachary Alvarez. She’s fifteen, he’s eighteen. They train with us, even patrol with us sometimes. They’re like family. And Commander Sloan has had them kidnapped.”
Shock stole Nicolas’s words. It was a struggle to find his voice. “W-What?”
“We don’t think they’re being kept at HQ—in fact, Sloan said as much. All he told us was that they’re in a secure location, and we won’t see them again until we kill the demon that’s been killing paladins.” Nathan gestured to Nicolas’s side. “Ashmedai, the sin eater.”
“Oh, I’m pretty sure he knows who and what Ashmedai is, Nate,” said the black-eyed demon in the leather jacket.
Nicolas’s face burned. They all knew, didn’t they? Right away.
Nathan glanced between them for the first time. He hadn’t seen them come out of the closet together—oh God, they came out of the closet together. That was more ironic than he wanted to admit.
“Um.” He shifted his weight, at a loss for words.
Beside him, Ashmedai growled. It was louder and deeper than when it was just the two of them. This wasn’t a noise of contentment. It was a warning.
The black-eyed one rolled his eyes. “Don’t get all territorial.”
“You started it, Talon,” Alex teased, elbowing him.
“Oh, you’re the human,” Julian said, brightening. “We knew Ashmedai had found someone, but he didn’t say who. I had no idea.”
“It’s, uh—new,” Nicolas said. “And confusing. And not at all what I’m here to discuss.”
“Right, right, sorry. We can discuss it later, though, if you want,” Julian added, giving Nicolas a serious nod to let him know he meant it.
It might actually help a lot to talk to someone who’d been through this already. Julian might be able to answer some of his questions about what this meant, and what his options were going forward.
He cleared his throat. That was for later. Right now he needed to focus. “Okay, so, kids.” He winced. “I’m really sorry, but I haven’t heard anything.”
Nathan got them back on track. “We tried to check the location of Zach’s phone, since that’s how we spoke to Sloan, but it’s turned off.
Besides, if Sloan has it, it’s probably at HQ and wouldn’t help us find the kids.
Valac also tried a tracking spell, but the magic was blocked by some kind of magical warding. ”
“Magical warding?” Nicolas repeated. “Sloan is using magic to hide them?” Magic was strictly forbidden at HQ. It wouldn’t be the worst thing Sloan had done, but it was still hypocritical.
Nathan inclined his head. “That’s what it sounds like. Reaching out to you was our last hope. Have you heard anything at all?”
Nicolas sagged. “No, I’m sorry. I really wish I could tell you something. I’m not exactly in Sloan’s inner circle these days.” The weight of the last two days was visible in the curve of his shoulders, and he wiped a hand down his face to hide the emotion he knew was evident.
Grimly, Nathan asked, “How bad is it there now?”
The sermon rang in his ears, the same one they played every hour now.
Without thinking, he recited it, his tone blank.
“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.
” He blew out an exhausted breath. “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.” He crossed himself, flicking his fingers toward the sky with a dismissive air.
Silence followed, and then Talon said, “What the fuck?”
Nicolas snorted. “Sorry, I should have explained first. That’s their new favorite sermon. It plays over the loudspeakers every hour.”
“Every hour? Jesus,” Luke murmured.
“They use the cleansing post almost daily. Anyone who disagrees with the party line, does anything they deem sinful, must be cleansed.” His eyes met Julian’s. “I’m sure you all know what that means.”
Ashmedai rattled out a growl, laying a hand on the back of Nicolas’s neck. The prick of his claws was surprisingly comforting.
“You?” Julian whispered, horrified.
Nicolas gripped the bottom hem of his shirt, worrying at it.
“Sloan said I was either a coward for letting my squad be killed or… compromised somehow. So yeah, I was cleansed. Twelve lashes yesterday morning. Not the worst I’ve seen.
Hell, Maxwell had twenty when he found you mentally sound and let you leave. ”