Page 60 of The Incubus and the Bodyguard

“We’re finishing that peace talk when this is all over.”

Wei Chen blinked at the incubus’s gruff words. Her shoulders relaxed. She smiled faintly. “Alright.” Her smile faded a little. “But Marco stays home this time.” She shuddered. “I hate that little toad.”

CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE

Delphine studiedthe warehouse two hundred feet away through her night-vision goggles. The heat signatures of the men patrolling the perimeter of the property brightened the 3D display, the nanorobots in her retina enhancing the signal further.

“I count fifteen outside,” she murmured. “Twelve more inside the building.”

“That’s a lot of muscle for a warehouse that’s supposed to be empty,” Cortes said quietly beside her. “Looks like Navarro was right on the money.”

The two of them were crouched in the shadows of a loading dock across the street, the twelve-man-strongBlack Devilsteam spread out in strategic positions around them. Vlad and Tarang were next to an adjacent building.

All of the men were equipped with the nanorobot vests and the enhanced night-vision goggles her mercenary corps used in combat situations. As for Delphine, she wore her bespoke liquid armor suit, the dark material absorbing the ambient moonlight where it clung to her body.

Cortes’s phone vibrated. He checked the screen and frowned.

“It’s Bryony.”

Vlad’s tense voice came through Delphine’s earpiece. “Connect her via speaker.”

Delphine switched Cortes’s call to their comm network.

“Is Vlad with you?” Bryony said sharply when Cortes answered. “I can’t reach him.”

“I’m here,” Vlad said over the connection. “We’re about to storm the place where the sorcerer is hiding.”

Bryony sighed, her relief evident. “Good! Because we just discovered two pieces of crucial information about that curse.”

Tension knotted Delphine’s shoulders.

“What is it?” Vlad asked stiffly.

“The dolls need to be destroyed by fire. And you have to be the one to do it.”

A strained hush followed.

“That could be a problem,” Vlad said curtly. “I’m not exactly in possession of my powers right now.”

“No, you don’t understand.” Urgency underscored Bryony’s voice. “You need toburnthe dolls. With regular fire. The act of destruction has to come from you specifically for the curse to be fully undone.”

Delphine’s pulse quickened. She met Cortes’s gaze.

“So, we need to get the dolls to Vlad?” the Colombian stated in a hard voice.

“Yes.” Bryony hesitated. “And you have to hurry. Mrs. Son-Ha got the countdown wrong. The window for breaking the curse is closing faster than she’d estimated.”

Vlad cursed softly in Russian.

Dread churned Delphine’s stomach. “How much time do we have?”

“Four hours. Maybe less.” Bryony paused. “My best guess is sunrise.”

Delphine checked her watch. Two-seventeen a.m. Adrenaline surged through her veins, focusing her mind. “Understood. Anything else?”

“No.” Bryony hesitated. “Good luck.” She ended the call.

Delphine touched her earpiece. “Change of plans. I’m going after the sorcerer and the dolls alone. The rest of you focus on Isaacs and his men.”

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