Page 3 of Galen

Once out of the shower, I threw on a pair of sweats and went into the game room. Castor, holder of Greed, was always buying shit. Huge flat-screen TVs, every game console in existence, and arcade games, like air hockey and Pac-Man. We had a billiard table too where Castor liked to gamble with us. He very rarely lost.

Just as I went to sit on the couch, the cushion moved. I jumped back to my feet and flipped around to see Gray.

“You almost sat on me,” Gray said before stretching his arms above his head and yawning. As Sloth, he had short bursts of energy, then promptly fell asleep. A living, breathing couch potato. He was also the smallest of us, standing at five foot nine with a small frame and big, innocent brown eyes. His tousle of blond hair swept across his forehead and could never be tamed.

“Sorry,” I said, sitting beside him.

“I forgive you.” Gray cuddled up to my side and closed his eyes, softly snoring seconds later.

I ran my fingers through his hair and turned on the TV. Even though the seven of us were close to the same age, we were extremely protective over Gray. He looked no older than twenty, and his habit of falling asleep anywhere at any time made him vulnerable to enemy attack. He was the only one of my brothers who never triggered my anger.

Rain pelted against the floor-to-ceiling windows, and I found myself watching the storm instead of the TV.

Lightning flashed, thunder rumbled, and my soul breathed a little easier.

***

Five demons scurried around the loading dock, their bodies appearing as swirling black smoke and their faces drained of all color. Their eyes were empty pits. We referred to them as shades. They only ever came out at night, keeping to the shadows and avoiding direct light.

They were mindless creatures for the most part. All they knew how to do was kill.

“Castor said the group he and Daman killed were over in this area too,” Alastair said, his blue eyes pinned on the shades.

I studied the harbor. Boats were docked on one side, and a small cargo ship was in the distance. A few of the surrounding buildings had the windows knocked out and were marked with graffiti, though there were a few nearby businesses that remained open.

“Not much here,” I said.

“Exactly.” Alastair furrowed his brow and watched as one of the shades swatted at the other. Their animalistic behavior was fitting for their kind, like feral dogs on the prowl. “I found out crates were unloaded recently. Items that were purchased by an auction house.”

“You think it’s connected?”

“I don’tthinkit. I know it.”

I ground my teeth together, keeping myself from spouting off at him. He couldn’t control his superiority complex, yet that didn’t make him any less annoying.

“So we need to research what was sold at the auction.”

Alastair nodded. “They’re after something. Whatever it is, we’re sure to find answers there.”

I returned my attention to the shades, who were creeping closer to the abandoned warehouses beside the dock. “Can we kill them now?”

Alastair withdrew two daggers and smirked at me. “After you, Wrath.”

I jumped down from the ledge, landing in front of them. One of them snapped its head toward me, its unnaturally droopy mouth widening to show rows of sharp teeth.

“Hey, ugly.”

When it leapt toward me, I grabbed it by the throat and slammed it to the ground before plunging my dagger into its chest. The black smoke swirling around its body blazed bright orange before disintegrating, leaving behind nothing but ash.

Alastair landed beside me, slicing off one of their heads before thrusting his dagger into the neck of another. Neither of us even broke a sweat before all five were piles of ash at our feet. Not all demons were disposed of so easily, but shades were the lowliest. Weakest.

It was the upper-level ones that gave us trouble.

“I’m considering stopping by the club before I head back,” I said, wiping off my blade before holstering it. “Do you want to join me?”

A pained look gleamed in Alastair’s eyes. “No. I have other plans.”

“I figured as much.” I clapped a hand on his shoulder. “The offer stands if you change your mind.”