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A sane person knew which of those options was preferable, and even though Evan was far from sane, he pretended he knew better.

Hesitantly, he stepped inside the huge mouth. Surprisingly, the whole trunk of the tree was hollow, so he comfortably curled on the crisscrossing roots. The mouth closed as soon as Evan settled inside, but there was a gap in the unevenly carved wooden lips, allowing Evan a peek outside.

Faint golden lights were the first to disturb the darkness of the night, then the sound of dry leaves crunching under several feet as they marched in unison across the forest bed. Soon,figures clad in rich purple cloaks filled Evan’s limited line of sight.

Hoods drawn and burning torches in hand, the figures walked in a single uniform line, none of them uttering a single word or shuffling a step away from the lot. If not for the scent of sweat and an incense burning somewhere in their midst, one could have mistaken them for inhuman creatures.

Their purple cloaks were lined with golden borders, shimmering in the firelight. Although seemingly normal at first, on a closer look, it was evident they were spells woven into the fabric. Evan could bet each of them wore a green earring under those cloaks.

These were the Covenant of the Nightshade, the children of the Dark Spirit.

The fuckers who had kidnapped Aaron.

Evan’s jaws clenched as he watched from inside the tree and counted every hooded head as they passed.

One hundred and three.

Towards the end of the line, as the last cloaked figure trailed behind, Evan noticed his gait was a little strange. He was limping but kept up with the rest nevertheless. Until abruptly, he came to a stop.

Right in front of the tree where Evan was hiding.

Evan held his breath. The figure slowly turned his head, face shrouded in darkness even though he held a bright torch in one hand. He was staring straight at the closed mouth of the tree, as still as the forest around him. There was something so unsettling about being watched when you couldn’t see the eyes watching you.

Evan prepared to conjure a weapon if that figure took one step in his direction, but he didn’t. Instead, he turned around and limped his way forward to join the line.

With a muffled sigh, Evan’s shoulders relaxed. He waited for a few minutes, his keen hearing strained to make sure the footsteps had marched a good distance away before slowly knocking on the trunk of the tree. “Are you asleep again, Grandpa?”

With a creak, the mouth opened, looking like it intended to spit Evan out. “Get out, silly child.”

Evan stepped out and dusted his sleeves and pants, glancing in the direction where the line of figures had disappeared. If the members of the cult were around, then surely their rat burrow—or a so-called temple—would be nearby. So would the people they’d kidnapped.

Aaron.

There were around five days until Reaping Moon—until the Bloodbath ritual—enough time to secure a plan. Because right now, even if Evan followed their trail and discovered the kidnapped people, he couldn’t ambush them. The Nightshade freaks had over a hundred people. It would be suicidal to recklessly raid their cave alone.

The only way Evan could presently think to save those people—and Aaron—was with Xen’s help.

Keeping aside his mixed feelings about why a demon royalty was in the mortal world and not in the demon realm where he ruled, Evan had to admit that Xen had not once failed to come to his aid. Whether it was saving him from the fire at the Greene Mansion or helping him exorcise that one-eyed demon, Xen had been genuine while lending a helping hand.

Even though Evan was an exorcist and, by nature, should’ve been wary of creatures of the dark, he’d personally experienced Xen’s company. Yes, he was a little cocky, sometimes pervertish and insufferably irritating, but he certainly wasn’t dangerous.

Bearable. That was the word.

Xen was bearable.

If the truth about his origin hadn’t come to light, Evan would have continued to let Xen hang around and never once notice how just a fraction of his demonic aura could suffocate the air in a room. Like back at the Greene Mansion.

Now that he thought about it, why had Evan freaked out so much after finding out Xen was an Eternal? Why had he been in denial?

Perhaps the enormous difference in strengths had been overwhelming to the point of driving him insane for a moment. In his mind, when Evan had assumed Xen was a low-level demon, he had developed a false confidence that if things ever went south, he could defend himself andmaybeexorcise him.

But even though Xen had helped Evan on multiple occasions, all he’d asked in return was help to find the relic, Reth. And Evan had run away before he had the chance to look inside the Old Temple.

He rubbed his forehead with a sigh. There was no time to sit and think. Xen had already agreed—somewhat—to help find Aaron, and something in Evan assured him that Xen wouldn’t go back on his word, even though Evan had himself quite literally trampled over his own promise.

That’s very mean.Evan’s conscience grumbled.

I know! Shut up!