"we'll get his blood somehow," i said. even if i have to storm darkwater myself.

the transport was moving out at noon the next day. that didn't leave a lot of time for planning. thankfully, we had no shortage of individuals with dubious pasts. i found myself listening more than talking as they took turns tossing out ideas and either writing them down as possibilities or nixing them.

there were so many variables. what if jeremiah conroy or my sister went with the transport? then we'd have a boss fight on our hands. the routing documents indicated the convoy would consist, at minimum, of two escorts, one in front, the other in back. that didn't mean darkwater wouldn't bring more. we had to hope they were confident in the secrecy of their mission and the invulnerability of the transport truck.

slowly but surely, a plan formed with enough flexibility to account for extenuating circumstances and unforeseen variables.

i called thomas borathen and asked for his help, though not in the way i'd first envisioned. he agreed, even going so far as to say it was a very sound decision. i almost blushed.

"what did he say?" elyssa said.

"he's in."

"sweet," adam said. "i think this plan might actually work."

"even i think it might work," shelton said. "we make a damned fine team, if i do say so myself."

we examined the plan backward and forward, looking for weaknesses. the ones we found had no easy solutions, only contingencies we'd have to rely on. by the time we gave the stamp of approval to the final product, i wanted to crawl under the table and sleep.

"how do you feel about the plan?" i asked elyssa as we walked upstairs to bed.

she offered me a smile. "it has a good chance to work, especially if we don't have to worry about the conroys."

later, i lay in bed, but of course i couldn't sleep. so much had happened today. we'd been to the grand nexus, crossed into another realm, possibly seen the arch builders, and disrupted one man's pizza night. if mr. gray didn't know who the builders were, the logical conclusion i drew was that the seraphim also didn't know anything about them. would these beings represent a future threat or were they just explorers?

i thought about my mom. i wondered how ivy was doing. i felt my stomach tighten at the thought of kassus and his men hunting for us. i thought back to the time shelton, stacey, elyssa, and i had infiltrated maximus's atlanta lair and rescued my father. i'd been so new to my abilities then. elyssa had almost died in my arms. every time we found ourselves in another situation like this, it made me realize that our last day could be heartbeats away. i might lose elyssa or a friend.

accepting the mantle of leader was something i hadn't done easily. thomas borathen's words about my natural ability to lead made me feel reasonably better. but it seemed different to lead personal friends into a deadly conflict as opposed to leading a large army of people i didn't know.

i felt elyssa's strong arms wrap around me. felt her soft lips kiss mine. "go to sleep, baby," she said, drawing me against her. "everything will be all right."

i squeezed her back, relishing the feel of her curves against me. i kissed her deeper, ran my hand up her back and gripped a handful of her hair. i felt her lips smile as we kissed.

"i think i know how to help us sleep," i said in what i hoped was a seductive voice.

she nibbled my ear. "just what the doctor ordered."

it wasn't hard to sleep after that, even knowing tomorrow we might die.

chapter 25

"the mailman cometh," ryland told me on the phone.

"does he have company?" i asked.

"four dogs, two in front, two chasing."

shelton must have seen the tension on my face as i disconnected the call. "confirmed?" he said.

"yes." my body trembled and i had trouble focusing.

shelton snapped his fingers in front of my face. "hey, set your timer."

i jerked, and flicked on the timer. twenty minutes to go. i sent out a group text. confirmed and en route.

we were thirty miles north of atlanta near a wealthy subdivision in an area filled with farms, rednecks, and pockets of steep terrain. the road wound through a heavily wooded area, up a steep hill. on the left of the road, a steep slope descended into a cow pasture. on the right, a rock face climbed thirty feet to a small plateau.

my phone buzzed with a text from adam. detour signs in place ahead. traffic rerouted.

fifteen minutes to go.

bella appeared from downslope. "everything is ready."

shelton looked over the map. "everyone else is in place. let's do this."

ten minutes left.

i crossed the road, manifesting demonic claws as i did. at the rocky cliff, i leapt high, dug my claws into worn grooves in the stone, and climbed. when i reached the top, i turned to see shelton and bella duck behind an illusionary blind in the horse pasture. i lowered myself to my stomach. took deep calming breaths to focus myself on the task ahead. mom depended on me.

convoy passed, said a text from meghan. tight escort. detour signs are in place.

five more minutes.

"this will be fun," stacy purred next to me.

i stifled a yelp. "holy butt nuggets! i didn't even hear you."

she smiled. "still my little lamb at times. so adorable."

"this is not the time to scare the crap out of me," i said.

we both turned our heads at the same time as a truck engine rumbled in the distance. the wooded terrain hid the road past the bend before this stretch, so we waited, ears cocked as the bellow of a straining diesel engine grew closer and closer.

a black suv nosed around the turn with another close behind it. the tractor trailer maintained a twenty-foot gap between the front escorts. i peeked over the lip of the ledge and saw the white slashes we'd marked on the road below. i took position, waiting for the last suv to cross that mark. stacey braced her back against a boulder and waited for my cue.

this was going to be a tight fit.

ten seconds.

stacey and i counted down on our fingers.

five, four, three, two-she grinned, planted her feet in the ground and pushed. i braced my arms against the boulder i stood behind and, with a grunt of effort, pushed it over the ledge. stacey's boulder hit a split second too late, crushing the front end of the lead suv instead of landing in front and trapping it. mine clipped the back bumper of the last escort.

before the people in the suvs could react, the earth trembled. twin slivers of energy ran from the blind where bella and shelton waited. each sliver split in two, cracking the ground and cleaving the road. one set sliced the road beneath the tires of the damaged suv, and cut the asphalt just in front of the tractor trailer. the other set sectioned off the road with the last two vehicles.

the glow faded for an instant, and then a giant aftershock of light exploded from the ground. the earth beneath the road crumbled. the asphalt caved in, and all the suvs except the one pinned by the boulder listed to the side before rolling down the slope and into the pasture. i winced at each roll, hoping we hadn't just killed everyone even if they were a bunch of murderous bastards.

"justin," stacey said, her voice serious for once. "it's time."

i touched the sleeves of my nightingale armor. gloves covered my hands. then i leapt off the cliff. landed atop the semi-trailer. i heard someone shouting and peered over the side of the truck in time to see four darkwater people spill from the pinned suv and take positions on solid ground. two aimed their staffs at the boulder. waves of energy shoved the heavy stone off the hood and down the hill. the crushed suv slid into the ravine and rolled down the hill to join the other escorts. two more darkwater arcanes waved their wands at the cliff face near the fissure in the road. the rock face crumbled, sending rubble to fill the gap.

the tractor trailer lurched forward over uneven ground. i lost my footing on the slick, diamond fiber surface, barely managing to grab the ledge and dangle above the road as the rig gained speed much faster than it should have. i saw dark-robed arcanes hanging to the side rail on the truck cab, using the steps for footing as they worked their magic on the semi-truck.

one of them saw me, and shouted, aiming their staff. a bolt of yellow light singed the hair on my head. my hands nearly slipped from the trailer.

"grips on," i said. the nightingale armor gloves emitted a sticky fluid. i felt my grip strengthen just as the truck crested the rise and rushed downhill. wind whipped through my hair. a bug smacked into the side of my face as i struggled to swing myself atop the trailer.

the gloves helped but just barely. another splash of heat warmed my back as an attack missed. the armor might protect me from a direct hit, but the impact nearly threw me off the truck.

my hands suddenly went sub-zero as the other arcane sent a freeze bolt into my fingers. ice formed on my gloves, and the last bit of purchase vanished. i fell. my feet hit the asphalt. my ankle twisted and snapped. i rolled off the road and smacked into a tree. i couldn't breathe. couldn't move. agony flashed up my spine. i felt broken shards in my ribs.

"justin," cried a voice, and stacey was there.

"think i broke something," i wheezed.

"bloody hell, you broke everything," she said. "i'm so sorry, justin. i messed up everything." tears welled in her eyes. "if i hadn't pinned that first car-"

"agh!" i cried out, my voice deepening with demonic need. hunger clawed at my insides as the healing process drained my reserves. stacey's eyes went wide.

"your irises are turning white, justin," she said, looking more worried than i'd ever seen her.

i gritted my teeth against the pain. "feed," i said, barely able to get the word out.

she leaned close. "use me."

stacey had never allowed me to feed from her before. before i could reconsider, the demon pounced. my vision flickered into incubus mode. stacey's halo shone like a brilliant star around her body. my tendril latched into it. she gasped, eyes widening, and moaned. i usually tried to neutralize my emotions before feeding, but pain consumed every ounce of control.