Page 43 of Protected in Darkness
“I didn’t realize we were looking for any,” Obsidian replied, ignoring the human idiots.
“I guess I’m just twitchy,” Reidar grumbled.
Obsidian could understand what he was getting at. They’d spent so much time looking for Penelope, always moving, chasing one lead after another, now that they’d found her, it was a matter of going on the defensive. Not something any of them were good at.
“Whoa, dude,” a human male crooned, stopping directly in front of Obsidian. “How freaking tall are you?”
Rather than answer the intrusive and completely asinine question, he met the male’s dark stare, held it.Apologize for your rudeness, then pretend you don’t see me. Oh, and don’t ask any more fucking questions for the rest of the night.
“I apologize for my rudeness,” the male said, his gaze darting to the left as he eased around him, going about his business.
“Please tell me you fucked with him,” Reidar said with a wide grin.
“Nothing that’ll cause him discomfort,” he admitted. Of course, the human’s friends would probably want to thank him later. The mind control would last for several hours at least.
“That’s too bad.”
Grinning, Obsidian tucked his hands in his jeans pockets and paused as the Bellagio fountains rose high over the water in front of them. “Don’t you ever just want a night off?”
The water danced along with the music, the lights offering a show as well. Humans tucked themselves against the concrete railing, trying to get a better look as cell phones captured the scene so they could boast about it on social media.
“You forget who you’re talking to,” Reidar stated, smiling for the first time since Obsidian had insisted he accompany him on this patrol. “Admit it,” the male continued. “You hate it as much as I do.”
“Yeah, I do.” There was no denying it. Over the centuries, he’d come to enjoy the hunt. Prowling for the predators who preyed on the innocent was a responsibility none of them took lightly.
Granted, there weren’t nearly enough of them. Keeping an eye out for so many humans required an army. They were more of a brigade, made up of a battalion in the double digits, not triple.
Then again, their powers made up for numbers.
As they passed a row of trees shooting up from the concrete, Obsidian felt the presence of a demon, his senses flaring out, categorizing all present until he located the young female standing alone in the shadows of a tree.
Reidar sensed her a second later, his hand going for the blade on his belt.
With an arm across the male’s chest, Obsidian paused him from doing anything rash.
“Possessed orneilloh?” Reidar inquired.
“Possessed,” he confirmed, referring to the fact the female’s body had been taken over by a demon, rather than having been sent back from Hell to carry out an order.
With minimal effort, Obsidian entered the female’s mind, searched for her intentions. She wasn’t working under Perfidious’s orders, which meant she was on her own, likely attempting to settle into the area. Her outing tonight was about boredom, not instructions.
“Think we can spring a trap? Get her out of the eyes of the humans?” Reidar asked.
“Good plan.”
Being that dawn was only a few hours away, the strip was not as crowded as usual, most of the occupants intoxicated. It only took a minute to locate a human male straggling behind his buddy who was putting the moves on a frustrated female. The male was sober and bored, a bit irritated after spending the night putting up with his annoying travel companion, who’d imbibed far more than he should have.
The mental push Obsidian sent his way had the human glancing over at the female, pausing. Her eyes darted around as though looking for the trap.
Cloaking himself and Reidar, Obsidian remained where he was, waited for her to take the bait. As expected, the demon locked onto him, her lip curling as she scented her prey.
Obsidian shot a mental command for the male to take a detour. Rather than follow his friend into the casino, he continued past the doors, leading the demon down the sidewalk around the side of the building.
With Reidar at his side, Obsidian followed close behind.
Evidently proud she’d trapped her prey, the demon didn’t bother looking around, even as Obsidian dropped the cloak and approached her from behind.
The human male stopped, stared at the elevator before him, the only way to go unless he turned around.
