A Darker Past (The Darker Agency #2)(73)

“I would probably tell you that I’m a live-life-on-the-edge kinda girl.” I took a step forward and squared my shoulders. “Let. Him. Go.”

The demon laughed, and Lukas’s thrashing grew less forceful. He was going to suffocate if I didn’t find a way to get him out of there.

Then it came to me.

It was a gamble, after what had just happened with the other demon, but I was out of options. I hesitated for a second—maybe two—before reaching out and thrusting my hand into the smoke around him. I couldn’t reach Lukas, but that was fine. I didn’t need to.

The air left my lungs in a single, painful pull. It was like being ripped inside out. I collapsed, managing to keep my hand in the smoke. The demon roared and released him, splitting into two parts, then soaring toward the ceiling and reforming.

I said a silent thanks. They were sworn to leave me unharmed, for whatever reason. Except for the little girl, they’d all complied. If this one was to obey orders, it couldn’t keep Lukas trapped because it would have killed us both. He fell to the ground, and we both gasped for air.

The red smoke zoomed toward the ground again, then gathered in a whirl and rocketed off toward the far wall. When it hit, it sank into the rocks, disappearing.

I got to my feet. “Are you okay?”

Lukas nodded. “You?”

“I guess we’ll see,” I said, eyeing him.

“You’re worried about what the demon said.” It wasn’t a question. If the chill factor in his voice was physically sensory, I’d have been a hunk of ice.

I didn’t answer. What could I say? That all the little hints these bastards were dropping, ones to distract us and cause trouble, were starting to get to me? There had to be some truth to it all. That was just how this worked. I would have been an idiot to ignore it completely.

He threw up his hands, a twisted smirk creasing his lips. “You found me out. I’m only here to get you to fall head over heels, then do you in when you least expect it.”

I rolled my eyes. “Do me in? Don’t you remember the conversation we had about outdated sayings?”

He came close, stopping just shy of touching me. “I would rather lay down in a sea of brimstone than hurt you, Jessie. You do know that, right?”

I did know that. Didn’t I? Still, it didn’t stop the deep-seated fears from running rampant inside my head. “Demons can’t lie.”

He cupped the side of my face and sighed. “But they can twist things. You know that better than anyone.”

Again, he made a good point, but just because you didn’t want to hurt someone, didn’t mean you wouldn’t. I bent down to pick up the box. When my fingers touched the metal, it sent a tingle up my arms.

There was a horrible noise behind us. When I turned, I saw that the cave walls were shifting again.





Chapter Thirty


“Thank God.” Mom rushed forward, followed closely by Dad. He wasn’t bleeding anymore and seemed to be completely recovered. “What happened?”

“We got it.” I held up the box and tried not to shiver when something like current raced from my fingertips up to my shoulder. The longer I held on to this thing, the stronger it seemed to get.

We crossed the threshold of the cave, and I’d never been so happy to be looking up at the Shadow Realm’s starless, inky sky.

“Just in time.” Dad watched the horizon for a moment before looking upward and taking a deep breath. Pointing to the stone around her neck, he said, “Your time is up, Klaire. You have to leave.”

She fingered the pendant and frowned. Knowing Mom, she was disappointed that she wouldn’t get to see any more of the Shadow Realm. I could almost picture her on some cheesy monorail tour, seeing the sights and getting all goofy about it. Probably even wanting to bring back a souvenir. “Okay. Let’s get moving then.”

Dad didn’t move. “No. Lukas and I are staying. You and Jessie take the box and do what you need to do. Get Kendra back safely and take care of the demon.”

Mom’s eyes widened, and she opened her mouth to protest, but a chilling howl split the air. There was a slight tremor, followed by another, louder howl.

Dad pushed her toward me. “Lucifer sent his hounds. Lukas and I will keep them from following you.”

“No way. We all go together.” I set the box on the ground and stormed over to him. On the horizon, there was a mass of black dots. Howling. Lucifer’s hounds. Too many to count. There was no way they could hold them off alone.

“Damnit!” Dad snapped, furious and demonic. “Get your mother out of here now.”

The herd surged forward and was on us before I could argue. The first one lunged at Dad. With a feral snarl, he grabbed it around the waist and threw the thing to the ground, following it down with a brutal blow to the head. The demon’s skull caved like porcelain, folding in on itself as the black blood oozed down its lifeless face.

The next charged Lukas, but he was too preoccupied with me.

“Jessie!” he yelled.

Something silver flew at me. His blade. I caught it just as the hound reached him. He went down hard beneath it, and I rushed to him, but he had it under control. Fortunately, we were out of the cave. He, Dad, and I were back to normal.

Lukas wrapped his arms around its neck and jerked his entire body to the right. The hound’s neck twisted with the sickening crack of broken bones. He rolled the creature’s massive body off his own as the rest of the herd arrived, the look in his eyes matching Dad’s.