Page 19 of Gray

“You’re in no position to help anyone right now.” Galen drew his sword. “You can’t even keep your eyes open.”

I rested my head against the porch column and watched as the three of them turned toward the oncoming demons, weapons at the ready.

It was a miracle Galen had even let me come on the hunt tonight. But it had been so long since I’d seen any action, and I’d been desperate. After giving him puppy-dog eyes and practically begging, he’d agreed to bring me along.

And now I was just proving his point. How could I protect anyone when I could barely protect myself? When Sloth consumed me, I was vulnerable. Weak. Tears blurred my vision. Kind of embarrassing, but I cried when I was frustrated.

“You should sit this one out, human,” Galen told Mason, a mocking tone to his voice.

“I know we just met, but you’re an asshole.”

“I’ve been called worse.”

“I’m sure you have.”

Galen’s retort was cut off as the shades finally reached us. I sensed seven, maybe eight. They blended in with the darkness, but our keen eyesight allowed us to see them. Our senses picked up on them too. When fighting them, my body moved on impulse, my sword knowing where to go.

I don’t want to sit here. I want to help.

Using the post as support, I pulled myself to my feet. But my sword felt so heavy in my grip. I could barely lift it.

“Time to sleep,”Sloth told me.

“No.”

“We’ve done enough. Let them handle the rest.”

My brothers said it was similar for them. Their sins spoke to them too. I was the embodiment of Sloth, yet the sin felt like its own entity sometimes, like a darkness no amount of sunlight could ever touch. It lingered deep inside of me, hidden away.

What I wouldn’t give just to go one day without fighting ten million sleepy spells.

Mason cut one shade in half, and there was a bright flare of orange before it disintegrated. Raiden killed another. I tried to stay awake during the fight, but my grogginess worsened. Mason glanced back at me, and our gazes held for a split second. My entire body hummed. Quaked. It was as if something was trying to burst from me… and go to him.

The last thing I saw before my eyes closed was Mason plunging his dagger into a shade, the demon’s body bursting into flame.

It was kind of beautiful.

***

The sleepy seaside town of Echo Bay, though mostly cloudy and rainier than I’d like, was a pretty awesome place to live.

All sorts of supernatural beings could be spotted in town: vampires, werewolves, the Fae, and reapers. Some popped in just to hit Krave, a nightclub we frequented run by our friend Konnar. And others called it home, some dwelling in the forest on the outskirts of town and others making themselves part of the community by having actual jobs and working alongside humans—with said humans unknowing of their true nature, of course.

“Hey, cutie pie,” Naomi greeted me as I entered the coffee shop that morning and approached her at the counter. She was a cat shifter—the sister of Jasper, a guy some of my brothers hooked up with sometimes at Krave. “Those boys have you running errands again today?”

Those boysbeing Simon and Galen. Kyo usually did the coffee run, but since he and Castor had left for Japan a few days ago, it had become my job. I didn’t mind. It gave me something to do.

“Yep.” I leaned against the counter. “Can I get a hazelnut latte, a large black coffee, and…” I skimmed the menu. “A peppermint mocha latte with a double shot of espresso?” I only drank coffee when it didn’t taste like coffee. The sweeter and more chocolatey, the better. The extra espresso helped keep me awake longer too.

A little, anyway.

“You got it.” Naomi told me the total before stepping aside and making the drinks.

As I waited, I surveyed the coffee shop. A man sat in an oversized armchair near the window, typing away at his laptop as if his life depended on it. What was his story? A student who’d procrastinated on a college paper and now had a tight deadline to meet? Or he could’ve been an author, the frenzied typing a reflection of whatever hell he was putting his poor characters through.

“Here you are, love.” Naomi placed the coffees in a drink carrier and handed it to me.

I thanked her and left the shop, breathing in the crisp air as I walked down the sidewalk back toward Timeless Antiques & Curiosities. Being a Nephilim, I had a higher tolerance for extreme temperatures, but I didn’t like being cold. I preferred warm, sunny days.