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Darien let go of Loren to get out his wallet. As soon as his hand was no longer holding hers, she noticed Kylar and Max were standing very close to her—fencing her and Dallas in, their faces lined with tension.

They, too, must have sensed something was down here.

Dallas’s silver-ringed eyes flicked toward the door—toward the bird-like screaming that kept getting louder. “What is that?” she mouthed to Loren, who shook her head in answer, her whole body covered in goosebumps.

Darien handed over a wad of bills. “Fifteen,” he said. Alfie took it, a question in his eyes. “Consider this a down payment. I want the others you’re bringing in next week,” Darien explained. “All of them.”

Alfie nodded once, clearly pleased. “They’re all yours.”

Darien was itching for a hit of Venom. Dying for one was the better word. The line between need and want was starting to blur.

They were nearing the truck, the clamor of the Black Market fading behind them, when he let go of Loren’s hand and opened the passenger’s-side door of Max’s SUV for her. Malakai stood on the sidewalk, phone glued to his ear. It sounded like Tanner was on the other end. Another two minutes passed before the Reaper hung up.

“What’s happening?” Darien asked him.

Malakai slid the device into his pocket. “Nothing yet. Atlas got the spell feeds set up.”

Finally. Spell feeds could tell them what was happening in Caliginous on Silverway in the areas where cameras didn’t cover. They couldn’t see visual feeds, but the spell feeds acted like a blueprint for energy—showing the layout of Caliginous and lighting up with colors whenever someone was present in certain areas of the building. It was a hack the Devils frequently used to track targets who were hard to find, though for a number of reasons, it didn’t always work. While it detected energy, it didn’t identify the facets of an aura the same way as the Sight, leading to a lot of educated guesses as opposed to the certainty that came with remotely tracking someone.

“He said Tanya’s still there,” Malakai added, “doing closing duties.”

“All clients are gone?” Max asked.

“Apparently.” Malakai shrugged one shoulder. “Where to now?” he asked Darien. “You got the Venom?”

“They were out.” He watched Loren get into her seat, her teeth chattering in a gust of wind that tore down the road. “We need to get more tar and he’ll make it for us. You up for coming with me?”

“Sure,” Malakai said, making for the truck. “Why not? I’m bored as shit—there’s not enough excitement around here.”

Darien turned his attention to Loren as she buckled up. “How are you feeling? You cold?”

“I think it’s the normal kind.”

He took her wrist and pushed up her jacket sleeve. The tattoo for Caliginous on Silverway was ordinary black ink, no bead of light running through it. He lightly squeezed her wrist and let go. “I’ll see you back at the house?”

She nodded, and he shut her door. He got into the driver’s seat of the truck, waiting until Max had driven away before he fired up his own vehicle and sped out to the tar pits.

100

The Theater District

YVESWICH, STATE OF KER

Roman had made it back to Yveswich in the late-afternoon. He’d driven the speed limit for once, fighting the urge to turn around and go right back to Shay.

Now, he sat in his car out front of the movie theater, waiting for Paxton and Eugene’s show to end. The others were currently at his house or the Black Market. Roman would have gone with Darien to get the Morsian darts that could take down the demons of Spirit Terra, but he’d wanted to be here to pick up his little brother. Paxton had texted him with an update a few minutes ago, saying the show got out in ten.

They were approaching fifteen when Roman’s phone buzzed in the cupholder. He grabbed it and typed in his passcode, assuming it was Paxton saying they’d stopped to play an arcade game or to buy extra candy. Instead, he saw a name he hadn’t expected to see again for a long time. Maybe ever.

Shay

Truth or lie?

Roman’s idiotic heart skipped two full beats. He waited, watching the typing bubble, dying to hear what she said next. He knew he was a goddamn fool for getting his hopes up. But—

Shay

I came back.