Inferno of Darkness (Divisa Huntress #2) - J.L. Weil Page 0,10
kicking my ass.”
I patted her slight belly. “Come on, Mama. Let’s get you home. Baby needs a nap.”
“Mama,” she echoed. “I don’t think I will ever get used to that.”
“It’s cute. You’re going to be the most amazing mother. How can you not be? You’re the freaking Queen of the Damned. Well, in the underworld, they call you the Queen of Inferno.”
She snorted, scrunching her freckle-dusted nose. “I’m not sure that is a good thing.”
We were only a few feet from Angel’s newly purchased mom car, a sleek SUV, when the back of my neck prickled like a thousand needles of ice jabbing into my skin, right where Ashor’s demon mark was. My steps slowed, and I raised my hand to my neck, wincing.
The sudden scowl on my lips didn’t go unnoticed. “Are you okay?” Angel asked, her eyes studying my face. “What’s wrong?”
I rubbed at my neck, trying to work out the tingle that didn’t seem ready to ease up anytime soon. Something was wrong. I scanned the woods across the street, looking for devilish red eyes, before moving to the buildings on the right and left. “I don’t know. I—” From the corner of my eye, I caught an odd movement in the shadows. Not in the shadows, but the shadow itself. It moved like a… shade? That couldn’t be? Could it?
What was a shade doing in the mortal world? Shades were restless spirits that dwelled in the darkness of the underworld and in the in between. If it was a shade from the Court of Darkness, I had to investigate. There was only one reason I could think for a shade to be hanging around the dark corners of Spring Valley. Okay, maybe two reasons.
Me. And Angel.
Both ideas turned my blood blue. “Angel. Go to the car,” I said tightly.
Her eyes whirled to where I was staring at the alley between two buildings. “What? Why?”
I shifted so my body shielded her from the shade. “Just go. And lock the door,” I replied, an edge working its way into my tone.
She crossed her arms, bags dangling from either wrist. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what is going on.”
I’d forgotten how stubborn she could be and was reminded of all the times my cousin was forced to throw her over his shoulder and physically remove this girl from danger. Looking at her now, it was hard to believe she had once been a fragile human. “Something Chase won’t like,” I said between gritted teeth.
“Lexi,” she said sternly, already getting that motherly tone of disapproval down pat.
It had been months since I’d actually fought a demon, but then again, I’d never fought a shade, so maybe the lack of practice wouldn’t be a problem. I consoled myself by thinking demon hunting was like riding a bike. The moves were ingrained in my brain.
Or so I hoped.
“Look, I’m not going to do anything stupid. I just need to make sure we’re not in any danger.”
“Should I call Chase?” Angel was a girl who could hold her own, but she also didn’t take chances when it came to those she loved. She left the crazy stuff up to my cousin to handle. He did crazy so well.
I shook my head, peering at her over my shoulder. “Not yet, just stay put. I don’t think it can attack us as long as we’re in the sunlight.”
Her brows drew together. “A demon? Since when did they adopt vampire traits?”
An image of a glittering Edward Cullen as a demon popped into my head. “They haven’t. Not a demon. I think it’s a shade.”
“Should I know what that is?”
With cautious steps, I walked closer to the alley, careful to avoid spots hidden from the sun. I wanted a closer look. With Angel here, it was best not to engage. I wished I had spent more time asking questions during my time in the underworld, learning about the Courts of Hell and all those things that resided within them other than demons, instead of simmering about how I would kill my mate or escape. In hindsight, my energy could have been better focused than stewed in revenge and bitterness.
If I had learned more, perhaps Angel and I would be better prepared for the shade stalking us.
I knew next to nothing about the restless spirit from Hell, other than it needed to keep to the shadows. Light was the only defense against a shade that I knew of. Dammit. What did it want?