was pinned behind a trash can, crouched low and holding two flameless daggers in his hands. He popped up occasionally, hurtling the weapons at strategic windows, then ducking to summon replacements for the next salvo.
“He’s covering us,” Eve bit out. “So we can get to the lobby.”
“On your count,” Sydney said. “We’ll make a run for it.”
Eve fought off the emotions she didn’t have time to feel and revealed the whole of her plan to her handler in one powerful surge of thought.
A massive shadow swept over the courtyard. Alec. Flying across the expanse from one window to another. Another scream rent the morning calm, followed by another trail of black as he darted back to the other side. Creating a canopy of sorts with his body, a barrier between her and the Infernals above.
As the Marks who’d been on watch on the Street joined the fray, flickers of flame could be seen behind many of the windows. Eve’s mark began to bum, pumping adrenaline and aggression like a cocktail through her veins. Her gaze met Sydney’s. On the silent count of three, they leaped out of the planter in unison.
“Not so fast.”
Eve turned. A three-headed. . . thing galloped toward her on mismatched animal limbs. She aimed and squeezed the trigger. It feinted fast as lightning, dodging the bullet before lunging. Eve was propelled into the pool, striking the water on her back. The massive demon pushed her beneath the surface, weighting her down in a rapid descent to the bottom.
The shock of the water caused Eve to drop the gun. The weapon hit the bottom with a muffled thud and skittered away. She couldn’t retrieve it while pinned nine feet down.
The necklace.
The moment the thought entered her mind, a shadow blotted the sun. An object struck the water and sank quickly. As Alec moved out of the way of the light, the gold chain glittered, catching a ray of sunshine. The necklace arrowed its way toward Eve as if she were a magnet.
The demon released her in a panicked scramble that tore flesh from her thigh, bolting from the pool like a missile. The amulet settled around her neck and she clawed her way upward, breaking through the surface with great, burning gasps.
“Hollis!”
Sydney stood at the pool edge, one shirt sleeve bloodied but the other arm extended. With a mark- fueled kick, Eve surged up and toward her, catching Sydney’s hand and gripping it tightly. The Mark hauled her out with a violent yank, dropping her on the ground in a bleeding, sputtering pile.
Eve gained her hands and knees, then ducked as a flame-covered dagger flew over her head. Her gaze lifted to Sydney’s, but the Mark was looking beyond her, tossing blades in a barrage.
Eve looked over her shoulder. A massive man stalked toward her, wet and naked, with dripping black hair and laser-bright red eyes.
One by one, he gripped the dagger hilts from where they protruded from his chest and ripped them free, stomping forward with a ferocious, relentless stride.
Alec swept down in a potent gust of wind, alighting on the path between them and roaring like a beast. Many beasts. A sound so fearsome the walls shook with it and the pool water sloshed up and over the rim in a wave.
She had the necklace. There was nothing reining him back now.
His thirty-foot wingspan refolded into his back as if it had never been. The demon hunkered down before quickening into a full-bore run, fisting bloodied daggers with upraised arms, blades leading the way.
His forward momentum was awesome, each footfall shaking the ground like aftershocks. Alec crouched, visibly braced for the impact.
“Cain!” the demon bellowed, leaping high and hurtling downward.
He was directly above Alec when he stopped abruptly, momentarily hovering before snapping backward as if retrieved by a rubber band.
The demon’s flight was halted by a brutal collision with something on the walkway. His body slid down, revealing Satan standing rigidly behind him. Claws formed from the Devil’s hands and dug deep into the demon’s torso, arresting the downward slide in a vicious semblance of an embrace.
Eve glanced at the detectives, but they lay unmoving. Were they both dead? Casualties of a war they didn’t know was being waged?
She looked back at Satan and found him staring at her.
“Took you long enough to step in,” she muttered.
Alec backed up in deliberate steps, forcing Eve to clamber to her feet to get out of his way. She was behind him one second, then tossed over Reed’s