wasn’t sure I’d ever felt so comfortable in my half-blood skin. With all remnants of Damien finally gone, I was myself as I was meant to be. Sure, I felt Akil close by, so close I could almost taste him, but his element complimented mine. Where madness had clawed at my mind, only clarity remained. A soft, hopeful smile crawled across my lips. The Mother of Destruction was ready to take on the netherworld.
Smoke spiraled out of the crumbled remains of Stone’s Throw bar. A couple of enforcers guarded the scene while a handful of people filtered through the rubble. With no idea where to find Stefan or what to say to him when I did, I focused on the task ahead and visited the office where Ryder and the militia had been only hours before, but they’d made good on their promises and abandoned their base. The only other place I could think to find someone of use was Stone’s Throw, but there was little left of my favorite haunt. The harsh light of day only served to remind people how soon the night would come again. The demons would return, and this time my brother might be with them. He had enough half bloods at his disposal to make short work of any military response. But not Dawn. He didn’t have her. Adam would know where she was. If I could find Adam...
“Hey, lil’ firecracker.” Ryder’s boots crunched on debris as he approached from behind and planted a hand on my shoulder, almost triggering my instincts to spin and sock him one. I might have, had he not tugged me into a bear hug. Tensed like a two-by-four, I swallowed and breathed in his familiar gun-oil-and-hot-metal smell. I wasn’t aware we were the sort of friends who hugged, and like a deer in headlights, I had no idea what to do.
“Hey,” I mumbled against his jacket.
He relaxed his hold and shrugged away, realigning his coat. He didn’t need to say anything. The strain of the last few hours had etched into his weary face and burned in his too-bright eyes. Avoiding my gaze, he rubbed at his unshaven jaw and surveyed the ruined bar. “What a clusterfuck of a night.” His voice, usually so confident, quivered with dregs of exhaustion.
I couldn’t find my own voice to agree. I’d always seen Ryder as the formidable enforcer, rough around the edges and ready for anything. The man beside me was just that, a man, one who fought demons twice his size, ten times as mean, and a hundred times tougher to kill. Clearly, he was rattled, and I felt the effects of the night all the more keenly, seeing him there on the verge of tears.
“How is she?”
Ryder drew in a short hiss. “Not great. Better. It’s not what he did physically. It’s up here.” He tapped his forehead. “But she’s coherent and pissed. She knows she’s responsible for this…”
“Hardly. Jenna was never going to be able to work Val to the Institute’s advantage. She’s too human.” Ryder’s brow arched. “What I mean is, he’s just too strong. You can’t play him. This wasn’t her fault. Adam should never have let her anywhere near Stone’s Throw. He should’ve kept her off the job. This is all on him.”
He snorted. “He’s got a lot to answer for. The netherworld’s attacking, and he’s missing. I figured him for a lotta things. Now I can add coward to the list.”
I might have come back with an equally snide comment, but my thoughts were caught on Jenna and her all-too-human response to my brother. “Would she want a chance to get back at Val?”
“Hell, yeah. In between bouts of guilt, she’s cursing demons with words that make even me blush. What are you thinking?”
“We could tempt Val back in. Could she summon him?”
Ryder combed his fingers back through his hair. “Maybe. She’s got balls of brass. But what’s to stop him finishing her off?”
“Summon him inside the symbols.” I’d summoned my brother once before in much the same trap. He’d tried to skewer me with a sword. Family like him redefined sibling rivalry. “He’ll still be formidable, but if we can keep him contained here, on this side of the veil…” An idea formed. “Those rifles you used on Akil, loaded with P-C-Thirty-Four, do you still have access to those?”
“Yeah, I got one in my personal stash at home.”
“Summon him, shoot him, and he’s trapped, virtually human—or better yet, out cold. Can’t do a