Page 7 of Samhain Savior

“The only one that matters.”

“Fuck,” Corson muttered, and all signs of frivolity dropped from Vine’s face.

“You’re certain?” If it was true, then things were even more dire than I had anticipated. “You need to be sure, Mal.”

“I’m fucking certain.” Reaching into his pocket, Mal pulled out his phone, tossing it onto the table before us. “The priest is dead.”

Staring at the phone screen in shock, I could see it was displaying a news article, the headline screaming at me in black and white.

Beloved Priest murdered at Trinity Church. Suspect at large.

“Son of a bitch.”

Corson’s words seemed both an apt summary and woefully inadequate at the same time.

“How could this happen, Archer?” Vine asked me, his brow wrinkled in confusion. “I thought Father Phips was immortal.”

So had I.

Father William Phips had been instrumental in putting an end to the Salem witch trials, and had been standing guard over Trinity Church ever since. Over three hundred years as a member of theUmbra Fratrum, he was more than a brother—he was my friend.

News of his death was fucking painful.

“He was human once,” I offered, pushing down the rage Mal’s information had stirred withing me. “I guess whatever immortality the Dark Lord had offered him for his service was not as complete as we had assumed.”

That, or the fact that the Dark Lord was currently missing meant that his protection was weakening, leaving those under his care vulnerable.

It was a theory, but one I planned to keep to myself for the time being.

“Whatever he might have been, he’s dead now.” Mal frowned. “Like, really fucking dead.” Looking to me, he added, “They cut out his heart, Archer.”

“No way,” Vine breathed, his knife still for the first time all evening. “Archer, do you think—”

“I think we should definitely talk about it,” came a voice I hadn’t heard in far too long. “But not here.”

Turning, I couldn’t help the relief I felt as I laid eyes on one of my oldest friends, his presence like a balm to my frayed nerves.

I was fucking glad to see him, but that didn’t stop me from also being pissed as fuck, too.

“And where the hell have you been, Asmodeus?”

Chapter three

Archer

“Sorry I’m late, boys,” Asmodeus said, as though he had barely been gone a day instead of two decades. “Had to go see about a girl.”

“Are you...quoting a movie right now?” Vine asked, incredulous.

Asmodeus merely shrugged, a sly smile on his face.

He looked so different. The last time I’d seen him, his body of choice had been that of a large man. Muscled and covered with dark, wiry hair, he’d resembled a bear more often than not.

Now, he had chosen a young vessel, with bright blue eyes and golden blond hair that hung over his eyes. Perfect teeth and a swimmer’s build, he looked like a fucking rock star, and I huffed in confusion.

What in the Holy Hell was happening?

“I owe you answers,” he said, his gaze on the packed club around us. “And you’ll get them. But we need to leave. Now.”