Page 28 of Infernium

It wasn’t my intent to pry, but given both of us were essentially wantedcriminals, I at least wanted to know where to start if he didn’t happen to return. “Where?”

“In the corpse of a forest that is now Misty Hollow. I intend to summon him, but I don’t want him here.”

“Right.”

“Get some rest. It’s been an eventful night, and I’m sure you’re quite tired.”

With a sharp nod, I turned away from him, and when tears sprang into my eyes, I hurried from the room so he wouldn’t see just how much this request to remain separate had crushed my heart. As I made my way to my own bedroom, that cold chill in my chest stirred again.

7

JERICHO

After fastening the cape over my shoulders, I slipped a black eyepatch over my ruined eye and stared off at the door through which Farryn had just walked. Every muscle in my body urged me to go to her, to swipe her up into my arms and fuck every ounce of doubt out of that overthinking brain of hers. Except, I’d had enough experience to know the subtle changes going on inside of me were just the beginning.

Screams. Wide eyes. Blood.

I trailed my gaze to the marking on my arm, running my fingers over its surface, which burned at the touch. A hazy memory filtered through my mind, of holding Farryn underwater, hands clawing at that very spot. I flinched, screwing my good eye shut.

“Liar,”a familiar, detached voice whispered.

When I opened my eyes again, I strode out of the bedroom and took the staircase toward the foyer.As I did so, long-forgotten memories swirled inside my head, taunting me to unlock one of the many compartments in which I’d stored them away. It was wrong of me to keep Farryn, knowing what I was capable of, what I had the potential to do if the demon inside of me were given the opportunity to take over.

I couldn’t let her go, though. As selfish and cruel as that made me, such a thing would ensure not only my own destruction, but that of others, as well. The silvery tattoos were a stark reminder of what happened when I sank into that kind of madness.

As I exited the cathedral, I was greeted by all three dogs, who practically tackled me to the ground, their tails wagging incessantly while they clustered around me, vying for my attention. I let out a chuckle and petted Cerberus, and Fenrir pawed at my other arm.

“What is it? You want attention, too?” I turned to pet him and felt a nudge from Nero in a refusal to be left out. “I must admit, I missed you mongrels.” Cerberus licked my arm, and all three dogs trotted after me toward the stables.

As I prepped Onyx, my black Friesian, with a saddle, I glanced back at where the clingy canines stood to attention behind me. “You’re to watch over her while I’m gone. No one comes near this cathedral. Understand?”

Cerberus barked, and as I led the horse from the stable, I patted him on the head.

Wind whipped past me as Onxy galloped me toward the Misty Hollow Forest. I’d decided to summon an old friend of mine, Trezhyr, one I knew from centuries ago. A very prestigious ally to the Noxerians, who were a corrupt breed of demon lords–the most powerful below Lucifer himself. It was they who facilitated claim over damned souls, like Farryn’s, and only those in their tight circle would be privy to such information. If anyone would’ve had any insight into which demon had been given rein over Farryn’s soul, however, it was Trezhyr.

In my early days in Nightshade, I’d been swiped up by the Noxerians, kidnapped, essentially, seeing as I was just shy of nineteen when the Sentinels had banished me for burning down Praecepsia. The prestigious lords had recruited me into their Knights of the Infernal Order—a group of warriors trained by the ancients to carry out the mission of wiping out the A’ryakai, angels who’d disguised themselves as demons and whose sole purpose was to purify the angel race by killing off mixed breeds and pure-born demons. Far from the righteous morals of their celestial brethren, they were ruthless in their mission and connected to powerful archangels.

I, alongside eleven other hand-picked demons and half-breeds, had been tasked with hunting down the corrupt angels in Nightshade. It was Trezhyr who’d served as an informant for the Noxerians, and had always been a trusted friend. Even when I eventually left the Order to seek out Farryn, he’d always made a point to pass along information that had kept me one step ahead of the Noxerians. Even so, despite his sincerity, he was too connected politically for me to divulge where I slept, which was why I found myself on my current journey.

I finally reached the Misty Hollow woods and brought Onyx to a halt beside a half-charred oak with an exceptionally large trunk. Dusk settled over broken and burned husks of trees whose vibrant green canopies had once shaded the sky. From my pocket, I pulled a silver stick ofcret’calatiesz,a summoning chalk that created small portals in Nightshade.

On the dead tree’s trunk, I drew a circle and scrawled Trezhyr’s name in its center. Placing my hand against the bark, I spoke his name, and the area inside the circle wavered with heat. As a figure drew toward me on the other side of the blurred bark, I edged backward. A boot stepped through first, followed by a leather-clad leg, and finally the familiar white and silvery hair I remembered from nearly a quarter century ago.

When he emerged fully from the tree, he stood upright, only a hair shorter than me, and his lips stretched to a crooked smile as he shook his head. “Jericho Van Croix.” Clasping forearms, we gave each other a quick pat on the back. “Been a long time, my friend.” Eyes trailing over the surroundings, he frowned. “You could’ve at least summoned me to a nice tavern with maidens in busty dresses. What is this shit?”

Folding my arms, I chuckled. “A tavern is far too crowded for what I need to discuss. I do not mean to trouble you with a summons, but I am not entirely in the position of showing my face in public these days.”

His frown deepened. “Am I to assume the rumors of your return are true, then? That you were drawn back from Ex Nihilo?”

“Word spreads quickly, it seems.”

“It does. How can I help?”

I leaned against one of the nearby trees and stroked a hand over my jaw. “I need to know the fate of a particular human soul.”

“Ahhh, Jericho. Much as I would love to help you get a leg up on your business, I cannot divulge information like that.”

“This is not about brokering souls, I’m afraid. Were it that simple, I would not have called you out here. It’s about my female.”

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