Page 10 of The Shadows of Excess

Tim didn’t falter from Damon’s anger. “Did I say that, boy? Not knowing something doesn’t mean I’m throwing in the towel. We’re going to save your dad, so cool your jets and think straight.”

Brody put his palm over Dad’s nose. “His breath is shallow but steady. Tim’s right. We need to wait to see if the elixir worked.”

Damon’s hand trembled as he rested it on Dad’s shoulder. “Damn it, if Justice hadn’t—” His voice was thick with unspoken blame and frustration.

Tears slipped down my cheeks. I hugged myself tighter as a cold shiver ran down my spine. “Then he’d be dead.”

Brody glanced between Damon and me, his expression serious. “I know this is a tough time, and I hate to pile on, but we’ve uncovered something about these new demons. It’s important.”

I swallowed hard, my voice steadier than I felt. “They’re different from the demons of Gluttony, aren’t they?”

He nodded solemnly. “Yes, they are. And I believe these demons serve a specific purpose, one that’s tied to their worshippers. It’s something we can’t ignore.”

Brody’s gaze shifted from the floor to us. “Specifically, to the demon of Greed’s worshippers, or more accurately, certain worshippers. They share a commonality we can’t ignore.” Concern and curiosity laced his low voice.

Damon leaned in, his frustration momentarily replaced by intrigue. “What commonality?”

Brody hesitated as if weighing his words. “As far as I’ve been able to tell, each one bears a unique mark. It’s specific, intricate, almost…alive in its design. I’ve only caught glimpses in the old texts, but it’s unmistakable.”

A chill crept down my spine, and I shivered. “A mark? Like a tattoo?”

Damon looked at me. “Sawyer, the symbols in the Shadow Mine.”

Brody frowned. “Tell me about these symbols.”

The last thing I wanted to do was to remember those terrible symbols, but Brody, Grady, and Scott needed to know what we had found.

I met his anxious gaze and gestured toward my unconscious father. “Dad left us a note to investigate the Shadow Mine about a week ago.”

Damon picked up the story. “When we got there, we discovered a massacre of victims. The demons used their blood to write the symbols on the wall.”

Grady finally broke his silence with a shaking voice. “What were they?”

Damon dragged his fingers through his hair and drew a deep breath. “They were some kind of linear geometric patterns, circled glyphs, and serpentine figures. Something we had never seen before.”

“What about the victims?” Scott leaned forward eagerly. “Did they have any markings on them?”

Damon’s face turned grave as he shook his head. “No. We didn’t know if they would come back alive, so we decapitated and buried them.”

My gut churned at what we’d had to do in the Shadow Mine. “Not a pleasant experience.”

Brody looked between Damon and me as if confused. “But the victims don’t turn. They’re not vampires. They’re demons. The creatures wanted their souls.”

My gut tightened as I thought of the victims, including children, inside the Shadow Mine. “That’s even worse. Why do they want the souls?”

“According to what we’ve found, it makes them stronger,” Brody replied somberly.

I couldn’t stop thinking of those poor children. “Is there any way to rescue the souls?”

Grady shook his head sadly. “Not that we’ve found. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a way, though.”

Damon released a deep breath. “What else can you tell us about the mark?”

Brody tapped his fingers rhythmically on the table. “The mark is supposed to be a sign of a deep, dark connection with the demon. A bond or a pact, perhaps. The true nature of this mark, its origins, and its full implications are still shrouded in mystery.”

Damon raised an eyebrow in cynical amusement. “A mysterious mark that’s a sign of a demon pact? Because, of course, it couldn’t be a simple ‘kick me’ sign. No, we get the cryptic, end-of-the-world stuff.”

“Damon…” I drawled his name to tell him he was acting like a jerk.

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