“Or the first person, if you ask me,” Roth chimed in. “The illustrious senator is involved in a lot of charities that benefit at-risk youth. Goes to church every Sunday. Comes from a long line of Baptist pastors. Married once, to his high school sweetheart, who passed away from breast cancer two years ago. Since then, he’s also been involved in health care reform and women’s services.”
The corners of my lips turned down. “Why would you think he would be the first person?”
“Because it’s always the last ones you suspect, in my experience. The ones who hide their dark souls rather than show the world what a shit ball they are,” he replied, and I shook my head. “And the fact that even though he’s involved in all these good works, he voted down every reform or bill that would have actually helped people in need.”
“Oh.” Well, that last part sort of sealed the deal.
“If we don’t get to meet the senator tonight, Layla’s going to try to find him so we can get a look at his soul, but I have a feeling we know how that’s going to turn out.”
Our pace picked up as the sprawling, one-level ranch house came into view. Floodlights kicked on, and I winced at the sudden harsh glare. Roth and Layla headed around the house, toward the back.
My heart was pounding as we walked under a breezeway and Roth stepped up to the back door. He turned the knob, snapping the lock in two.
“Now who’s the show-off?” Layla said.
“Me,” Roth quipped. “Always me.”
Glancing at Zayne, I took a deep breath. Nervousness filled me as I followed Roth and Layla inside the dimly lit house.
Zayne was behind me. “I haven’t seen any cameras yet, but keep an eye out for them.”
“Sure thing, boss,” Roth replied.
We started opening door after door, revealing empty bedroom after empty bedroom, and with each vacant, normal-looking room, more disappointment surged through me. By the time we checked out all the bedrooms, the living room, a kitchen and a den, I knew Misha wasn’t here.
I didn’t think Misha had ever been here, and if I had been honest with myself from the moment we learned about the senator, I’d known deep down that he wouldn’t be here. It would’ve been too easy.
“Here’s an office,” Layla called from the other wing of the house as I stood in the middle of a large, sunken living room.
There were photos framed on the walls, and as I walked over to them, I could see that they were of a family. Their faces were nothing but blurs, but I imagine the senator’s living room was no different from millions of others. I reached up, touching the black, matte frame of one photo. Dust covered the tip of my finger.
“Trin?” Zayne called from behind me.
I turned, arms at my sides as I opened my mouth, closed it and then tried again to find words. “He’s not here. Not Misha. Not the senator. Nothing. I don’t think anyone has been here in a while.”
“Trin.” Zayne’s voice was soft as he stepped toward me. “I’m—”
“Don’t say it.” I held up my hand. “Please don’t apologize right now. This is just another dead end, and Misha is out there, somewhere, most likely being tortured to death, and what are we doing?”
“We’re trying to find him.”
“What if we never find him? What if we don’t find him in time?” My heart was pumping too fast as I turned away. I didn’t make it very far.
Zayne snagged an arm around my waist, pulling me toward him. I protested, but he folded his arms around me, one hand folding along the nape of my neck. I shuddered at the contact, and when I felt his breath along my forehead, I squeezed my eyes shut.
“We’re going to find him,” he said. “We will.”
Resting my cheek against his chest, I didn’t give voice to what I was realizing. That the only way I could get to Misha was by using myself as bait.
“Hey.” Roth’s voice intruded. “Layla has found something I think you guys are going to want to see.”
Zayne was slow to pull back, but he didn’t let go. His hand was still curled around the nape of my neck. “We will, Trin.”
Swallowing hard, I nodded.
“What did you find?” Zayne asked, sliding his hand off me.
“Follow me.”
I got my feet moving, ignoring the curious look Roth sent my way. We followed him back to an office lit by a desk lamp. There were walls of books. A freestanding globe. More pictures of what I was guessing was the senator’s family. Layla was behind the desk, her hair nearly white in the glow of the lamp. She was staring down at what appeared to be large papers that covered nearly the length of the desk. Roth walked over to the globe and started spinning it as Zayne joined Layla.
There was a weird twinge in my chest, seeing them together, and I ignored it, because that twinge was so, so wrong. Crossing my arms, I walked to the desk.
“What is it?” I asked, since I couldn’t make out any of it.
“It looks like...” Zayne turned over a paper. “It looks like plans for a school?”
Layla peered around him. “Yes.” She pointed out several marks. “These are classes...and over there are dorms. What is...?”
Zayne leaned in. “Nursery?”
The globe stopped spinning. “What kind of school has a nursery?” Roth asked.
Unease slithered down my skin. “That’s a good question.”
Zayne shook his head as he lifted a thin sheet. “There’s a company name here. Cimmerian Industries. Have you heard of them?”
“No. But the word Cimmerian—” Roth’s head jerked to the side, and I felt it.
Pressure settled between my shoulder blades, and my head jerked up as Roth lifted his chin, his nostrils flaring.
“Demons?” I asked, reaching for my daggers.
“You can feel them?” he asked while Zayne and Layla stopped riffling through the papers. “And know it’s not us you’re sensing?”
I nodded. “I feel you two, but this is more...intense.”
Roth inclined his head toward me, and I’d swear he pouted. “I don’t feel intense?”
“Wow, Roth. Sensitive, aren’t you?” Zayne planted a hand on the desk and vaulted over in, landing in a crouch. As he rose, he shifted.
The gray shirt split up the center and down the back as his skin turned from golden to deep gray and wings unfolded behind him.
It was a rather impressive sight to behold.
I dragged my gaze from him to Roth. “What I mean is that I can feel you and Layla, but I can feel the presence of...more.”
Roth appeared appeased by that answer.
“Layla, do you have your phone on you?” Zayne asked, striding toward where I stood.
“Yeah,” she answered.
“Can you take pictures of all that real quick?” he asked. “And text it to me?”
Layla whipped her phone out of her pocket. “On it.”
My fingers curled around the handles of my daggers as I strode toward the windows. I could see nothing beyond them. I unhooked the weapons. “Do you think the senator and possibly Bael are returning?” I asked, even though that didn’t make much sense to me. There were no headlights out there. No car coming up the driveway. “Or something else.”
“If it’s Bael, he’s about to get the surprise of his life,” Zayne growled. “Look at this. Can you see it?” he asked, turning to me.
I squinted as I saw what looked like...like fog rolling over the driveway and the front yard, so thick it was like a wave of storm clouds on the ground. “I can see it.”
“This can’t be good.” Zayne’s wings tucked back.
“I got the pictures.” Layla came around the desk, slipping her phone into her pocket. “I don’t see a car coming up the driveway and I haven’t seen a single camera anywhere.”
“Well, what’s coming our way is a crap ton of demons,” Roth said, his voice low. “And I don’t believe in coincidences.”
“The witch told you about the senator,” Zayne said. “Is there a chance that she would’ve given the senator or Bael a heads-up? Thrown us under the demon bus?”
“If she did, she’s not only a stupid witch, she’ll be a dead witch,” Roth snarled, and I saw him shift. His skin thinned as an oily darkness seeped out, turning his complexion from olive to obsidian. His wings were nearly as wide as Zayne’s, but he had no horns.
“Holy crap,” Layla whispered. “How many are there?”
My heart skipped a beat as I strained to see anything in the fog outside. “I don’t see anything...” I trailed off as several shapes began to take form in the thick mist. “Oh, Hell.”
There were...dozens, some tall and some small. Some walked. Others crawled. There were even some in the air. I’d never seen so many demons in one place.
I turned to Zayne. “I thought you said there weren’t a lot of demons around?”
“Yeah,” he drawled the word out. “There weren’t.”
“I think they’re all here now,” Roth said as he glanced at Layla. “If things go south, I want you out of here. Go home to Cayman—”
“Are you high?” Layla demanded. “If things go south, I’m going to kick some butt.”