Page 88 of Of Blood and Smoke

“Would you like company, my friend?” He straightened up to his full height and ran a hand down his suit coat where it’d rumpled, a ring catching on a button.

“That is not necessary but if I seem to be away an inordinate amount of time then please offer your assistance. Perhaps Nicholas and Kiam may be interested as well,” I said, mentioning the two vampires that helpfully offered. I didn’t want to need them, but it was possible I would.

My friend bristled, likely remembering our tense exchange with the duo. “We may need to strengthen our circle,” I pointed out. “They may be valuable assets.”

I’d heard chatter among the Lessor demons and others, of beings of our kind joining and working together successfully. Or, as successfully as they could. Micha and I were at a steep disadvantage relying solely on each other. The humans and lower-classed demons we employed, while useful in different aspects, were not enough when it came to situations needing a stronger hand.

Even the demons and angels in nearby Providence were more organized than us, swiftly ending dissention and treachery under the guise of human gang wars. The demon royalty up in Boston now had a hand in arms dealing and regularly used guns to solve disputes.

They’d seamlessly earned respect among politicians and other prominent names and families, cementing themselves into human society. They were acclimating brilliantly while hidden in plain sight.

Micha and I had the riches and associated power to a degree, but we remained in the corporate shadows, reclusive and weak. How long before it all came crashing down? How long before Della was taken from me permanently?

Onychinus may have been a runaway hit, and I had other promising drugs in the works, but one bad drug, one wrong contract, and we’d be done. There were too many variables.

We’d left the Second Realm in order to live life on our own terms, but we’d been going about it wrong. Our love of solitude and extreme privacy were working against us.

“Now is when we need strength in numbers, Micha.” As much as I wished it wasn’t, it was true.

He eyed me warily. “You shouldn’t go alone, it's a trap.”

“I need someone to run Ipomoea in my absence.”

“We have the humans and mid-levels for that, we’ve trained them well,” Micha pointed out.

“If they kill me, then they’ll kill you too. Who then, will retrieve Della?”

Micha tilted his head. “I’m going with you.”

“No,” I shook my head.

“See you there,” Micha smirked at me and in an instant, disappeared.

“Asshole,” I muttered under my breath.

Bending down, I picked up the blade I’d used on Kent and wiped it clean on his pant leg. The second guard, George, chose that moment to finally investigate the disturbance in Della’s bedroom. He appeared dazed and I knew then, magic had surely been deployed. He hopped back a step when the blade entered the doorframe right beside his face, the handle quivering in the oak finish.

“What weaponry do you possess?” I demanded. My outstretched hand halted his movement—other than his mouth.Satisfyingly, fear permeated the atmosphere surrounding him as he was captured under my spell.

“Nothing like yours, sir. I can do simple spells. Shoot a bow and arrow decently.”

Idiot.

“On your person—knives? Guns?” I didn’t give a fuck about archery right now but made note of it. The way things were going, one never knew.

Chagrined, he answered, “Some knives and a gun.”

“You will give them to me,” I said, approaching the man. I patted him down and relieved him of the items, including taking the spare magazine he had in his back pocket.

I didn’t favor guns, though they were effective. There was no time like the present to expand my arsenal. “Thank you. Remain here.”

“Josiah!”My bedroom door crashed open as my mother rushed in.

“Hello, Mother,” I greeted her, planting a kiss on her cheek. I was happy to be back in my childhood home in the Second Realm, despite the circumstances.

She stepped into the walk-in closet where I was going through the clothing and belongings I’d left in the Second Realm. “What are you doing? What is the meaning of this?”

She was perturbed I hadn’t entered through the front door. “They took Della. I am going to retrieve her.” I opened a large wooden chest, overlooking the lock and waving a hand over the safeguard.

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