the stick. “Liquid nitrogen. Must’ve consumed it. They have an aversion to cold.” Gavin rubbed his hand through his hair. “Fuck.”
“What does this mean?”
“The Sang are an ever-evolving creature. Imagine a strand of genetic material with open pockets, just waiting for mutations it can suck up like a sponge. I’m surprised we were able to kill it at all. Bullets don’t affect Saevious demons, and the Sang would’ve taken up traits of its victim.”
The demon lying on the ground finally stilled.
“Let’s go. I want to double-check its corpse.”
“What happens when they take on victims traits?” Sabelle asked.
The thought of such a thing made his stomach churn, and Gavin couldn’t hide the grimness in his expression as he glanced back. “If they’re able to overpower the demons, nothing will be able to stop them from annihilating every species on this planet. We’re the final barrier. In our history, they wiped themselves out of existence.”
“And humans?”
“They’re a self-limiting entity. Unless humans can create a viable means of sustaining them, without a voracious need to consume everything in its path, humans are just as much at risk.”
“Where did these creatures come from? If they wiped themselves out?”
“I don’t know. Someone with a penchant for fucking up the world.” Gavin stared off, recalling a visit from Penwell and his son just a few months prior. “I happen to know of one pharmaceutical company that seems to have an unnatural interest in the species.”
Gavin’s heart caught in his throat as he came to a stop beside the passenger door of the vehicle. “What the f—”
Ichor still coated the leather, but the Sang was nowhere in sight.
“He was dead when he flashed, right?” he asked. “No sign of life?”
“I … I didn’t see him move or … he didn’t seem to be alive, no.”
Gavin rested his head on the frame of the car door. “Fuck. Somewhere there’s a Sang with the power of a Saevious.” He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and speed-dialed Ceferina. “I need a meeting with Aeguza. As quickly as it can be arranged. At the casino.”
“Is everything all right, dear?”
“I’m not sure. It seems the Sang have moved one rung up the food chain. You’re welcome to join us.”
“I’ll have him meet you at first light.”
“Thank you. My apologies for calling so late.”
“Not at all. Is all going well with …?”
“Yes, I’m fine.” Gavin caught sight of Sabelle, biting her lip, eyes vacant as though deep in thought. “Thank you, Ceferina.”
“Talk soon, Love.”
Gavin hung up the phone. “Wish I knew where these bastards flashed to.”
Shivering, Sabelle pulled his jacket tighter around her body. “That’s gotta be one frightening place.”
***
Calix stepped through the ash and rubble where Ryke’s fighting lair once stood. The old abandoned factory had been burned to the ground by his brother, Ferno, who possessed the gift of hellsfire. Nothing survived hellsfire, including a single clue as to where Calix might find Ava.
Huffing, he ran his hands through his hair and crouched in the ruins that lay around him. Calix had been banned from seeing Ava, thanks to Ryke, but at least there’d always been the sense—her presence a constant warmth that surrounded him. The knowing where to find her and how to reach her thoughts, on nights when he felt particularly lonely without her.
He reached for a skull as he came to a stand and hurled it across the debris. It slid through a hole in a half-burnt brick wall, and he started at an echoing crack he hadn’t expected to hear.
Calix crossed over charred body parts, seared weapons, and around the cage remnants that scarcely managed to stand. On the other side of the wall, he found a hallway, hidden behind the wreckage. While half had been burned away, the final three doors remained surprisingly intact.
What the hell?
On the wall, a circle had been drawn in chalk and
“What does this mean?”
“The Sang are an ever-evolving creature. Imagine a strand of genetic material with open pockets, just waiting for mutations it can suck up like a sponge. I’m surprised we were able to kill it at all. Bullets don’t affect Saevious demons, and the Sang would’ve taken up traits of its victim.”
The demon lying on the ground finally stilled.
“Let’s go. I want to double-check its corpse.”
“What happens when they take on victims traits?” Sabelle asked.
The thought of such a thing made his stomach churn, and Gavin couldn’t hide the grimness in his expression as he glanced back. “If they’re able to overpower the demons, nothing will be able to stop them from annihilating every species on this planet. We’re the final barrier. In our history, they wiped themselves out of existence.”
“And humans?”
“They’re a self-limiting entity. Unless humans can create a viable means of sustaining them, without a voracious need to consume everything in its path, humans are just as much at risk.”
“Where did these creatures come from? If they wiped themselves out?”
“I don’t know. Someone with a penchant for fucking up the world.” Gavin stared off, recalling a visit from Penwell and his son just a few months prior. “I happen to know of one pharmaceutical company that seems to have an unnatural interest in the species.”
Gavin’s heart caught in his throat as he came to a stop beside the passenger door of the vehicle. “What the f—”
Ichor still coated the leather, but the Sang was nowhere in sight.
“He was dead when he flashed, right?” he asked. “No sign of life?”
“I … I didn’t see him move or … he didn’t seem to be alive, no.”
Gavin rested his head on the frame of the car door. “Fuck. Somewhere there’s a Sang with the power of a Saevious.” He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and speed-dialed Ceferina. “I need a meeting with Aeguza. As quickly as it can be arranged. At the casino.”
“Is everything all right, dear?”
“I’m not sure. It seems the Sang have moved one rung up the food chain. You’re welcome to join us.”
“I’ll have him meet you at first light.”
“Thank you. My apologies for calling so late.”
“Not at all. Is all going well with …?”
“Yes, I’m fine.” Gavin caught sight of Sabelle, biting her lip, eyes vacant as though deep in thought. “Thank you, Ceferina.”
“Talk soon, Love.”
Gavin hung up the phone. “Wish I knew where these bastards flashed to.”
Shivering, Sabelle pulled his jacket tighter around her body. “That’s gotta be one frightening place.”
***
Calix stepped through the ash and rubble where Ryke’s fighting lair once stood. The old abandoned factory had been burned to the ground by his brother, Ferno, who possessed the gift of hellsfire. Nothing survived hellsfire, including a single clue as to where Calix might find Ava.
Huffing, he ran his hands through his hair and crouched in the ruins that lay around him. Calix had been banned from seeing Ava, thanks to Ryke, but at least there’d always been the sense—her presence a constant warmth that surrounded him. The knowing where to find her and how to reach her thoughts, on nights when he felt particularly lonely without her.
He reached for a skull as he came to a stand and hurled it across the debris. It slid through a hole in a half-burnt brick wall, and he started at an echoing crack he hadn’t expected to hear.
Calix crossed over charred body parts, seared weapons, and around the cage remnants that scarcely managed to stand. On the other side of the wall, he found a hallway, hidden behind the wreckage. While half had been burned away, the final three doors remained surprisingly intact.
What the hell?
On the wall, a circle had been drawn in chalk and
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