Page 37 of Unbound

Not just for fighting the demon, but for what she could come across while doing it. The kind of death and destruction she might have to see. Theo, Ryder, Delphi, and Antonio head down the alley in one direction while Xavier, Devon, Leo, and I go the other.

“I have no idea what’s over here,” I admit. “I haven’t exactly had a lot of opportunities to leisurely explore downtown.”

“If the demon is trying to hide because it knows you can see it, heading this way makes sense,” Devon says. “There’s an empty building. It’s big. Sixty-three thousand, two hundred ninety-two square feet.”

“That is oddly specific information to have.”

“It’s for sale. We’ve been looking into it.”

“Makes sense.” Two waitresses step out of a nearby alley for a smoke break as we walk past. I almost ignore them. Then I glance down at one woman’s shoes. “Hey. Are you an eight and a half, by any chance?”

“I am,” she replies, looking understandably confused.

“And by any other chance, would you want to switch shoes with me?”

She lifts one foot, revealing a dirty, worn ivory-colored Croc.

“Your shoes look designer,” she says, wrinkling her nose in confusion.

“My feet are killing me. These are brand-new Valentino heels that I’ve worn for, like, two hours. Please trade me.” The other waitress looks at her with pure jealousy. We quickly swap shoes, and I flip the Croc strap around my ankle. “They’re in sport mode,” I say as I start walking again. “We’re good.”

“I’m thinking we keep a change of shoes for you in the car at all times,” Xavier says, the slightest hint of amusement in his voice.

“That would be smart. Also, at this point, I feel like I’m cursing us every time I wear heels and a dress because we always end up chasing demons.”

“If that’s what’s causing all these demons, we’ll throw away every pair of heels you own.” We hurry toward the empty building, and the dark energy in the air grows stronger with every step.

We’re definitely on the right track. Xavier grabs the door and pulls it open like it’s nothing. Actually, he doesn’t just break the deadbolt. He pulls the entire door off its hinges. Is it wrong to get turned on by him at a time like this? I wouldn’t act on it now, obviously.

Leo pulls a flashlight from his pocket and clicks it on. I conjure an energy ball and toss it into the air, slowly feeding it more power until it glows brightly enough to illuminate the room.

“Whoa, sis, that’s pretty fucking cool.”

“I know, right?” I say, probably a little too excited. We slowly make our way deeper into the building while I hold my hands slightly in front of me, trying to read the energy in the air.

“It’s here,” I whisper, my voice barely audible. “I get the sense it’s hiding. But I don’t think it’ll run once it realizes we’re here.”

I hand my knife to Devon. “It knows I can see it, and last time it made me weirdly disoriented without even touching me. I don’t know if I’ll be able to get close enough to kill it, so I might have to direct you guys.” I turn toward Leo. “Which means you’re vulnerable to whatever it can do too.”

“What about them?” he asks, jerking his thumb toward the vampires. “I thought necromancy was Vaelric’s specialty.”

“Vaelric,” I correct. “Not necessarily this demon. And if it could control Xavier, it would’ve done it onstage. That would’ve caused way more damage.” I shudder at the thought of the demon making Xavier publicly lose control. What happened with Governor Richards is bad enough. We already have enough political and public fallout to deal with once we’re safe.

My heartbeat picks up the deeper we go into the building. Then the demon’s laugh echoes from somewhere above us, making my skin prickle.

“You know,” I start, feeding a little more energy into the glowing ball above me, “I really wish you guys could hear this demon. It’s not fair that I’m the only one who has to put up with how annoying it is.”

“You can hear it right now?” Xavier asks.

“Yeah. I think it’s upstairs.”

“Should we taunt it?” Leo suggests.

I look at him. “That could actually work. Demons, much like short men suffering from small-dick energy, are incredibly easy to anger and goad into confrontation.”

“How exactly do you taunt a demon?” Devon asks, tightening his grip on the knife.

“Surprisingly easy. Watch.” I take a deep breath. “Hey, loser!” I shout. “I see you’re too scared to come face us. Is it because you know you can’t handle us? You know we’re gonna kick your ass, don’t you?” Something shuffles overhead. We all freeze.