Page 203

Loren’s blood iced over at the sight of its eyes. They were nothing but black pits that sucked up what little light was in the room, the areas around them webbed with gray. Somehow darker than the eyes of hellsehers, they were blacker than anything she’d ever seen.

And they settled on her.

The conduit glowed brighter, threatening to burn a hole in her shirt.

“Call him NOW, Loren!” Dallas bellowed. A growl slipped through the creature’s teeth. They sprinted for the change room, puddles splashing. “Now! Now! Call him RIGHT NOW!”

—

I don’t care what we do, Bandit said. But I am not going the fuck back in there. The Familiar almost never swore. He knew Darien would have his balls for doing so, like a father scolding his son. But Darien didn’t care in that moment.

He scooped Bandit up and leaned across the car to set him on the passenger’s seat. “Let’s get out of here and never come back.”

Darien started the engine and cranked the heat on high. He was freezing. Was that his breath hanging in the air?

Phone’s ringing, Bandit said.

Shit. He hadn’t even heard it. He fumbled it out of his pocket and answered without checking the caller identification. “Cassel.”

“Darien?” Loren’s soft voice drifted through the speaker, a sound he’d worried he might never hear again. His name was a wobbly mess on her tongue, as if she had been crying or…

Fear. That was fear he was hearing in her voice.

Darien sat up straighter, a fresh wave of adrenaline coursing through him. He didn’t know why, but his eyes drifted toward the manor. “What’s going on, baby?” This was the first time she’d called him in…he couldn’t even remember how long. He’d lost track.

“We’re trapped.” The whispered sentence rattled the phone and turned his blood to ice. Bandit sat pin-straight in the passenger’s seat, muscles tense, ears shifting back and forth as he listened. “Sabrine and Dallas are with me. We’re stuck in the change room at the school’s swimming pool, and we don’t know how to get out—”

A sound he couldn’t describe shredded the speaker. It was so loud, he pulled the phone away from his ear, his heart dropping into his stomach like a stone. “Loren, what was that?”

“There’s something in here. A demon or something—”

Fucking hell. “Hold on, I’m coming.” Cradling the phone against his shoulder, he threw the car into drive and pulled a U-turn. “Get someplace safe, okay? I need to call Tanner, but I’ll be there soon—”

“Hurry, please—”

“Loren, I don’t care what you need to do, you get to safety, no matter what it takes. Do you hear me?” The road flew by, the glow of streetlights blasting through the sunroof as he passed under them.

“I love you.” It was a declaration, and it came out of her mouth on a shaky whisper that felt like a kick to the stomach.

“Don’t.” He grabbed the phone, gripping it tight. “Don’t you do that, sweetheart. You can tell me in person.” He wasn’t going to lose her—not now, not ever.

He hung up and found Atlas on speed dial. He cranked the steering wheel, taking a turn so sharply, the tires squealed.

“What’s up?” Tanner sounded like he was half-asleep.

“I need you to get me into Angelthene Academy. I just left Blackgate Manor, but I’m heading there right away.”

“Blackgate?” Tanner sputtered. Sheets rustled in the background, followed by the thud of swift footsteps.

“I’ll explain later.”

“You sound like you’re hurt.”

“It doesn’t matter. The girls are in trouble.”

“Darien, hold on a second, pal, do you need help?”

“No.” With a sigh, he admitted, “Probably. Is anyone at Hell’s Gate?”