Chapter 10

Viv walked through the library giving it one more pass before shutting the doors for the night. The shadows still kept watch over her and she still hadn’t told her friends. At this point, she simply said good night and left. They never seemed to follow her home. Maybe the library was haunted. She’d have to ask D if ghosts were real too. She couldn’t believe that she hadn’t asked before now. Of course, maybe it was just because Halloween was tonight. If it was a ghost, they didn’t seem like the type to cause problems. They made a good listener though; she often found herself talking to the shadows when the library was empty. There was the possibility that she was desperate for company, but she really did feel like sometimes the shadows were sentient and other times they were simply dark spots and normal shadows.

She walked to her car, thinking about how much candy they had and if they would need to buy more. There had been a few new families who had moved into the apartment complex in the last couple of months. Her primal brain suddenly screamed at her to run and her head spun around, trying to find the danger. She had her pepper spray in one hand, her keys in the other. There had been a few attacks recently that had her on edge. The shadows in front of her seemed sinister, nothing like the shadows in her library. She felt a gust of air come from the direction of the library behind her and the other sensation disappeared.

Viv shook her head at herself. Too many scary movies at night maybe; Thomas had convinced her to watch a few jump-scare and horror movies over the past week. She locked her doors as soon as she got in the car, eager to get home where it was warm. The temperatures had taken a dramatic turn toward winter. Cranking up the heat and the music, she headed home. She loved her relatively short commute. Fifteen minutes later, she was in her warm apartment getting the candy ready to hand out.

“I’ve got to run into work,” D said.

“Everything okay?” Thomas asked.

“I think so. There was a lead on the Shadow’s accomplice. Someone came in to confess and they want me and M—me there to make sure he’s the one we want. Stay safe. Stay in the apartment until I’m home? I might not have great reception, depending on where in Netherworld I am even with the booster.”

“We’ll be fine. We’ll stay here and hand out candy,” Thomas promised. “You need to be safe too.”

“I will. Call if there’s anything weird,” D said, giving Thomas a kiss before porting out.

“Ready for candy?” Thomas asked, holding out the cauldron.

Viv grabbed a Twix. “Yup. I’ve got the coffee going, I have my Halloween socks and hat on. Spooky music is already on my phone.”

Thomas grabbed a Reese’s. He had little horns and a tail pinned to his pants, a nod at his mate. Viv had on a witch’s hat. It was kind of lame, but an easy enough costume. It was cold, so they were both in long sleeves. And black. She had on black jeans and a billowy type of long-sleeve pirate shirt. Thomas had on leather pants and a black dress shirt. They had both worked today and didn’t feel like cooking, so they had ordered a pizza instead. When the doorbell rang, Thomas jumped up. “Pizza!” he cheered.

Viv laughed, going to the fridge to get their drinks ready. She poured the peppermint mocha-flavored creamer in her coffee cup.

“Did you want the peppermint or plain creamer in your coffee?” she called out.

There was no answer. “Thomas?” she yelled louder. Still no answer. Looking around, she groaned when she realized she had left her phone on the coffee table. Grabbing the marble rolling pin, she crept into the living room. A female demon stood there, holding Thomas, her hand over his mouth.

“You both stink of him. Which one of you is his mate?” she demanded.

“Who? Who are you?” Viv asked.

“D. He sentenced my mate to punishment. There’s no way out for him. He took my mate, I’m going to take his.”

“Who’s your mate?” Viv asked, trying to slide closer to her phone.

“My Shadow. They took my Shadow, so I’m going to take his human.”

Viv ran for her phone. She managed to open her contacts before she was picked up and thrown against the wall. Ouch. All the air rushed from her lungs as she collapsed to the floor. Thomas ran for his, but the woman ported in front of him, throwing him into the coffee table. Viv dragged herself up, standing in front of Thomas until he could get up on his own. Her phone was close if she could just reach it. She still had the rolling pin gripped in her hands. How she hadn’t dropped it when she hit the wall, she didn’t know. She felt wetness on the back of her head and figured she must have been cut from the wall.

“You can back the fuck off, crazy,” Viv warned, brandishing the rolling pin.

The demoness laughed at her, lunging for her throat. Viv cracked the marble against her skull but it didn’t seem to slow her down. She tripped over Thomas but caught herself on the couch. Seeing her phone on the floor, she dove for it and managed to get 9 1 dialed. A foot stomped on her hand, and she screamed as the stiletto pushed its way through her hand. The shock of pain caused her to lose control of her fingers and she dropped the phone. Thomas groaned, trying to crawl toward her, bleeding from a cut in his forehead.

“This has been fun, but I think we’re going to finish playing somewhere else,” the demoness said, looking at the front door. There was a knock, probably the pizza, and Viv opened her mouth to yell for help.

“Uh uh,” was the last thing she heard as pain exploded in her head and everything went black.

“You’re too late,” the man grinned at them.

“Too late for what?” Mac demanded. His demon was screaming at him, but that was nothing new.

“Your mate. A mate for a mate, she said.”

“What are you talking about?” D demanded, pulling out his phone and dialing Thomas.

“You sentenced her mate to the deepest pits. No escape or he’s destroyed. He wasn’t alone. But you will be. That’s what she said,” he giggled.

“Thomas. Call me back as soon as you get this.”

“Call Viv. See if she answers,” Mac ordered.

“No, neither one of them are picking up.”

“Shit.”

Mac called in another Enforcer, one he trusted. “He’s a decoy. The real accomplice was the Shadow’s mate and she’s going after D’s. Keep working on him, get everything out of him you can and let the rest know we might need them. I’m going with D.”

They ported out, landing outside the apartment. There was a pizza box on the floor. It was cold. Opening the door, they could smell blood. The table had been overturned, a dent in the wall that looked suspiciously like the size of a human torso. Both of their phones were lying on the ground, the screens cracked.

“They’re gone.”