19. Never
“You’re kidding, right?” What Hook was proposing sounded like a horrible joke.
He shook his head.
I stared at him, blinking like a fool, and feeling like I wasn’t truly comprehending the situation. “We seriously need a demon to drive out a demon? You can’t do it with your god-like powers?”
“Godly, not god-like.” His lips curled up in a smirk before he schooled his expression. “And no, I cannot.”
“Because only demons can yoink other demons out of humans,” I said, still not believing it. “Who made up that idiotic rule?”
He cast me a patient look that very clearly said it didn’t matter.
The tizzy I’d been working myself up into deflated because he was right. Knowing who was responsible for making up stupid rules wouldn’t change the fact that I was screwed.
I sank down on the kitchen chair and rested my forehead against the cool wood of the table. Five minutes earlier, I’d woken up feeling better than I had in days. Dare I say, weeks. Now? I was back to trying to swim upstream in rapids. Actually, this was worse. At least swimming upstream I’d still have at least a fighting chance.
“I may have a solution,” Hook offered quietly.
I lifted my head, barely catching and leashing the hope that tried to race through me. “May?”
As in possibly, but not definitely? I would kill for something solid to hang my bets on, but I was willing to work with may or maybe. Or even might or possibly. They were all better than no chance in hell.
“The Brethren.”
He said it like I was supposed to know what it meant. “Is that a religious cult or something?”
“The Brethren is a brotherhood of demons here in the human realm. Eleven ancient and incredibly powerful demons, to be more specific, who were ripped from their world into this one thousands of years ago.”
I cast a glance at Lily who only shrugged. “Don’t look at me. I’ve been in this world for a while, but I was a dog for most of it. Remember?”
Like I could forget.
Turning back to Hook, I asked, “If they’re so powerful, why haven’t I heard of them?”
It seemed like a reasonable question. Magic wasn’t a common thing in my world as far as I knew. But Demons? I’d known about those fuckers since I was a kid.
“They typically only intervene when lesser demons get out of line,” Hook explained. “Though they were known to take down a witch or two back in the day.”
“So, they’re what, good demons?” The contradiction grated against all of my life experience. There was no such thing as a “good” demon.
He cocked one distractingly attractive eyebrow my way. “Perhaps it’s better to think of them as potential allies rather than trying to weigh their morality.”
Notthe good guys, then. Weirdly, that was a bit of a relief.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said, with no lack of sarcasm. “And, uh, how exactly does a girl go about summoning one of these demons?” I held up a hand. “Nope. I’m putting the cart before the horse. What makes you think a brotherhood of demons would be game for helping us?”
He licked his lips, never taking his eyes off me. “As I said, they intervene when lesser demons get out of line. Petra’s shadow is kicking up a lot of dust in this world. If they haven’t been alerted to its presence yet, it’s only a matter of time before they catch wind of the situation.”
A new, rather alarming thought skittered through my mind. “What do they do with demons that get out of line?”
“Destroy them,” Leo said from where he was slouched in the chair by the TV, his arms folded over his chest. “I already told him this was a risky idea.”
“But they pull the demon out first, right?”
Hook stood and moved across the room, taking the seat closest to me. “Possessions can be challenging.” He leveled me with a determined look. “But I won’t let them hurt your brother.”
Unless they have no choice.Sometimes it was a little too easy to read between the lines with him.
“Why didn’t you bring this up before the whole bridal shop shit show?” I asked, fighting to keep the snark out of my voice.
He was trying to help, and really, he was the only one of us who had any idea what to do with Matty when the time came. Assuming we ever managed to get our hands on him.
His expression turned apologetic. “I didn’t know the full extent of what we were dealing with.” He took my hand in his. “The fact that your brother is fighting the shadow is a good sign. It means he has a strong will and a very strong mind.”
Yeah, but how long could he hold out? That was one of the many questions that haunted me in the quiet moments.
“Unfortunately, it also means the shadow has more strength to draw from. I believe that’s part of the reason the creature has been successful at fending off your advances so far.”
Well, the universe clearly had a twisted sense of humor.
And no sense of right and wrong.
“Do you know them personally?” I asked. “The Brethren?”
Hook’s head ticked to one side. “I’ve met three of the eleven.”
“So, you’re not like immortal pen pals or something?” Great job of toning down the snark there, Never.
“Nothing so intimate.” His thumb traced small circles across the back of my hand. “We are similar, however. They live by a code and will only allow harm to come to a human if there is no alternative.”
That didn’t sound like any demon I’d come across. “This must be the newer, gentler generation of soulless hordes.”
He let out a tired chuckle. “The Brethren are primordials, love. They’ve been around since the dawn of time.”
That got my attention. “Longer than you?”
He nodded. “Considerably.”
My mind was a whirlwind of chaotic thoughts. The idea of pitting powerful demons against a demonic shadow that was parading around in my brother’s body honestly made me sick, but what other option did I have?
“You’re sure we can’t exorcise the shadow ourselves? How about witches? Could they...” I hadn’t even finished the question before the look on his face gave me precisely the answer I didn’t want. “There’s no other way,” I said without hiding the defeat I was feeling.
He squeezed my hand gently. “I wish there were.”
Fuckity fuck.
I pinched my eyes closed to hide the frustration boiling beneath the surface, but my hand tightened around Hook’s. This felt like an epically bad idea.
“How do we get in touch with them?” Lily asked.
I peeled my eyes open to find Hook watching me intently. Then he tapped the side of his head. “I can reach out.”
“With your mind?”
He nodded.
Great. So, it wasn’t just wicked demons and wickedly hot demigods I had to worry about. Now there were mystical primordial demons who could read minds. That was what I wanted to hear.
Then what he said really hit home. “Can you talk to all demons with your mind?”
He leaned back, releasing my hand and letting out a heavy breath. “Primordials, yes. Lesser demons like Petra, no.”
My jaw fell slack. “You consider Petra a lesser demon?” She—it—was the most powerful demon I’d ever come across, and I’d gone up against plenty of those baddies.
He ran his tongue along the edge of the teeth like he was carefully weighing his answer. “Petra is powerful. The demon has been around for a very long time, but she was created after the originals. Much like myself.”
“I don’t understand,” I said, shaking my head. If Petra was a lesser demon, wouldn’t that make Hook a lesser god?
His answering smirk was all knowing, which did nothing to help my frustration. “That form of communication is passed down from the originals, and the ability fades with each new generation. Petra is likely a couple of generations removed from the source of her power.”
Cool. I tipped my head back to stare at the ceiling. It was hard to think with that smirk breaking down my defenses.
Closing my eyes, I pulled in a bracing breath. “Do it,” I said, before I could chicken out.
Yes, it sounded like one of those ideas that could ruin everything, but what choice did I have? In three weeks, I’d made zero progress even cornering the shadow, and that was with Leo and Lily’s help.
A warm breeze rolled in through the cracked window, and I just sat there with the back of my head resting against the chair and my eyes closed. Until I remembered it was almost Thanksgiving.
Why the hell is the breeze warm?
I cracked one eye open, then dragged my head up and blinked at the two unfamiliar men standing in my living room. I shot to my feet so fast my chair toppled over behind me.
“Easy,” Hook said, getting up and putting himself between me and the strangers.
They were both well over six-feet tall, built like fucking brick houses, and sporting business casual attire of all things. That was weird enough, but their eyes were what had me doing a double take. Whatever colored they’d been when they’d materialized in my shitty apartment, they were both glowing an eerie-as-fuck red.
“Your friends don’t look so friendly,” I said, not bothering to keep my voice down.
Twin growls filled the now very cramped feeling space, and I knew without looking they were coming from Leo and Lily.
“Settle down, kitten,” the guy on the left said, eyeing Leo.
He might have meant it as a good-natured joke seeing as he was only slightly bigger than the Adonis-like tiger shifter, but I wouldn’t put money on it.
Hook’s eyelids fluttered like he was trying not to roll his eyes. “These are members of The Brethren,” he said. “And they’re here because I asked them to come. Though...” he turned his attention to two men, “I didn’t expect such a quick response.”
The other guy—
Nope, not a guy, I thought, correcting myself. The primordial demon, aka the thing that looked like a ruggedly handsome human male with a thousand-pound chip on his shoulder, shrugged. “We’re here. That’s what matters.”
“And I appreciate you coming.” He tipped his head to the man on the right, then the one on the left. “Emerson, Theloneus, allow me to introduce Never Darling, and Leonidus and Lilith of the Shere Clan.”
My gaze darted to Lily. Her real name was Lilith? When I raised a curious brow, she shook her head and rolled her eyes.
Looks like I’m not the only one who isn’t a fan of her given name.
Hook moved to my side, standing close enough to draw the attention of the demon he’d called Emerson. Only now, instead of those creepy ass red eyes, he was sporting irises in a shade of stormy blue that put mine to shame.
He dipped his head in our general direction. “What can we do for you, Atlas?”
I opened my mouth to answer for him, but thought better of it when I caught the way Theloneus was watching me. The dude was studying me openly. We’re talking zero shame in that silent stare. Even worse, those brown eyes stayed locked on me as Hook started explaining our predicament, right up until he mentioned that it was my brother that Petra’s shadow had anchored itself to.
Theloneus’s judgmental stare bounced to Hook for just a moment before swinging back to me. “Brother? By blood?”
Pressing my lips into a flat line to keep my mouth shut, I gave a quick nod.
“Ah, that explains it,” he said, with a dismissive shake of his head.
“Explains what?” I asked.
Confusion flickered across the demon’s face. Then his head tipped to one side and his eyes narrowed, but Hook cut in before he could answer.
“Do you think you can help us?”
The two Brethren shared a look before turning their attention back to us. “This demon,” Emerson started, “is this the same one you were cursed with imprisoning?”
He went stiff beside me. “It is.”
Emerson stared at him silently for a few beats, though his expression was thoughtful. “But the demon itself is still in your realm?”
He nodded.
Emerson scratched his stubbled chin. “I can’t say I’ve come across such a predicament before.”
“It’s not a predicament,” I blurted. He made the torture my brother was going through sound like something as mundane as getting turned around downtown. Or getting caught in a rainstorm without an umbrella.
That was when I caught a glimpse of how tired the guy looked. Sure, he was big, and probably supernaturally strong, but when he focused on me, his eyes spoke of someone who’d been through hell one too many times.
“Call it what you like.” Even his voice sounded tired now. “That doesn’t change the fact that this is new territory for us, which is a rarity these days.”
That wasn’t promising.
Hook reached down and grabbed my hand, lacing our fingers together. Even just that simple touch helped soothe the worst of my nerves.
It also reignited Emerson’s interest. He stared at our clasped hands for longer than was comfortable, a muscle in his defined jaw jumping before he gave his head a little shake and turned to Theloneus. “What say you?”
They shared a look that told me absolutely nothing, and the next instant, they were gone.
Along with Hook.