Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 73252 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73252 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
“Yes,” Theo tells him. “The report says the deaths occurred around four-thirty this morning.”
“Okay, so after Vaelric was loose,” Antonio thinks out loud.
“And before the sun came up,” Leo adds, flicking his eyes toward Theo before swiping to another photo on the iPad and zooming in.
“They drained the blood before arranging the bodies, didn’t they?”
“Yes,” Theo says. “It’s all in the crime scene report you obviously haven’t read yet.”
“We obviously haven’t had time,” Leo snaps back. I’m getting really annoyed with my brother’s attitude. I can only take so much sass from Theo. I don’t need it from his human counterpart either.
The fact that the bodies were drained of blood is bad for two reasons. Blood magic is always dark.
Whatever this ritual called for involved blood magic, which means it’s most likely old, ancient, and scary powerful. But it’s also a very bad look for vampires. There’s already tension between Xavier and the Reapers. One of them accused me of being up to no good, and Xavier had to put him in his place during a very public meeting.
That small fact is not lost on me. And it’s definitely not lost on Theo.
“Wait,” I say as Leo swipes to another photo. “Go back.”
“What is it?” Antonio asks.
“A clearer picture of the sigil.”
I grab a piece of paper and copy it down. Once it’s drawn, I take a picture with my phone and send it to Marie, asking if she knows what it is. Leo continues swiping through the photos, and we all practically hold our breath as we look.
“Oh, shit,” I say when he lands on a photo showing a scorched mark in the middle of the clubhouse floor.
“What’s the significance of that?” Theo asks.
“Scorched earth usually means a demon came through successfully,” Antonio tells him.
“So the last ritual wasn’t successful,” I say. “At least not as far as we were aware.” I rest my elbows on the countertop, thinking.
“Because we stopped it,” Devon says. “It would’ve worked if we hadn’t intervened.”
“Most likely,” I say, remembering Camp Dogwood and how terrifying all of that was.
Xavier risked himself and allowed the demon to possess him so I could kill it. Was that one of the generals? Are there only ten more rituals to worry about now?
Antonio slides the iPad closer to read the police report. I watch his face, trying to pick up on anything before he speaks.
“There’s surveillance footage,” he says, then glances up at Theo. “Any chance you could get that?”
“Do you need anything else, Your Majesty?” Theo replies sarcastically. “And yes, of course I can get that.”
“According to this,” Antonio goes on, tapping the screen, “sixteen people were in this clubhouse around two in the morning, when it officially closed, as seen on the cameras.” He pauses and keeps reading. “And sixteen bodies came out.”
Leo, Antonio, and I all look at each other, thinking the same thing.
“What am I missing?” Devon asks.
“The demon didn’t possess anybody,” I say.
“What am I missing again?” he repeats.
“Whatever demon they brought through is corporeal,” Antonio tells him. “Which means it might be easier to kill, but it also most likely means…” He trails off, making a face.
“It could be a chaos demon,” I finish.
“And I’m guessing the name implies exactly what they are,” Devon says. “Chaos.”
“Yes.” I swallow. “Vaelric is bigger and more powerful, but he plays everything strategically. He has an endgame. He thinks ten steps ahead.” I let out a breath and shudder. “Chaos demons don’t.”
I look back down at the scorched mark on the screen. “They just cause chaos.”
“Bad news,” Xavier says, coming back into the kitchen. “Since this is the second case, the FBI is getting involved. I don’t have anyone on my payroll there yet.”
“We might be able to work around that temporarily,” Leo says, looking a little cocky.
“I don’t think your Order-issued fake badges are going to cut it,” Xavier says, with no emotion on his face. “If the Order is behind this and working with Vaelric, they’ve probably already flagged you.”
“And I think the rumor that Antonio is a vampire might still be alive and well within parts of the Order,” I remind them. “Even for the people who know it isn’t true, I’m sure they’re perpetuating it just to make us look bad.”
“So what’s the plan?” Devon asks.
“I need to find out exactly who this demon is,” I say. “If it’s corporeal, we can kill it.”
“Well, not easily,” Antonio corrects. “I mean, maybe we get lucky and one stab to the heart does it, but this thing needed a ritual like that to come through. It’s going to be packing some serious power.”
“Right.” My mind goes straight back to walking through the large double doors of Crescent Moon Academy. Now it’s my turn to be careful not to get too cocky. Having magic gives me an advantage over every other hunter in the Order. I have the same skill set and the same knowledge they do, but I also have an entire arsenal of abilities they don’t.