eyebrows dancing. A disturbing flicker of evil shone proudly in his eyes, his green irises seeming brighter than usual.
Noa cast her attention over the Fallen, her sisters. Tonight, the Brethren would have no idea who they were, who knew exactly what secret sect lived under the cover of the wider Catholic Church. Who planned to destroy them.
The key to their attacks was anonymity. No one could see their faces. Their attacks must be done in such a way that they couldn’t be traced.
Noa’s eyes found Diel standing beside Sela. Like the Coven, the Fallen had yet to cover their faces. Heat spread through Noa at the sight of him in leather. Diel’s eyes were alert and focused, full of energy for their upcoming kills.
Noa sauntered toward him; he watched her every step. He rarely took his attention from her these days. Diel reached for her, threaded his arm around her waist and pulled her against his chest. He crushed his mouth to hers.
When he withdrew, Noa pressed her hand to his stubbled cheek. “Hello, pretty monster.” She traced her finger down his leather-covered chest and further down. He grunted when the tip of her finger brushed over his cock. “I like you in leather.”
Noa could feel the kinetic energy bouncing among the Fallen. Her mind drifted back to Priscilla. It used to be how they both felt before a kill. Priscilla would live for moments this. She would thrive here, among people with the same murderous preferences as hers.
Maria came out of the office. “The van is ready.” Her chin was tilted up, but Noa could tell she was nervous for them. Her eyes kept drifting back to Raphael. Maria would be staying at the manor. She was an integral part of the Fallen’s life, but her place wasn’t in the attacks. She was smart and sharp-minded. Her talents lay in the academic realm—the planning, the day-to-day scheduling of their lives.
Raphael walked toward Maria and took her into his embrace. “We’ll be back soon, little rose.”
“I know you will,” she whispered, betraying the nerves that were clearly shaking her to the bone. Raphael slung his arm around her neck and faced the Coven and Fallen. His mouth drifted to her ear, no doubt assuring her of his safety.
Dinah broke from the group as silence fell. Gabriel moved beside her. The Fallen’s leader’s face showed no emotion. Dinah took a deep breath. “You know what to do,” she said. “We stick together until it’s safe to get the children out. From what we know of these meetings, they’ll have children present—‘sinners’ there to ritually break.”
Gabriel nodded. “We also gather as much of their literature as we can. Anything we can find—focus on altars, pulpits, those type of places.” Gabriel pointed his thumb at Dinah. “From what we’ve researched, these meetings are localized—only Brethren from the district will be present. Hopefully, with our training, we should be able to take them.”
“I’ve got my flame thrower,” Bara said, a smirk stretching on his red lips. “I think we’ll be okay.”
“And we all know that when it comes to the Brethren, we can never take anything as gospel,” Gabriel replied. “We can’t be arrogant about our skills. We know from our sisters here that they are highly trained too. Worse,” he said solemnly. “They are brainwashed and will do anything to defend their cause.”
“We go in. We get the kids out. And …” Dinah said.
“We then tear the cunts apart.” Uriel pointed at his brothers, then at Noa.
A clanging noise sounded to Noa’s left. Michael had pulled a piece of string with several vials attached from his pocket. The sound had been his intricately carved metal claw rings tapping on the glass. The tips were as sharp as any blade—they could easily sink into arteries. Michael licked his lips, his tongue running over teeth that he’d had shaven into sharp fangs. Michael must have felt her watching, as his eyes snapped up to hers.
Out of all the brothers, Michael was the most difficult for Noa to read. His expression was always blank, as if he wasn’t present in the real world. But she suspected Michael saw everything, tracked every movement anyone made. That made him one of the most unnerving opponents. He could never be successfully studied. An enemy would never be able to predict his next move.
“Let’s roll out,” Dinah said. Taking Noa’s hand, Diel led them from the manor into the waiting van. It was blacked out, its engine silent. Even when