Chapter 3

Atlas

Where are you?I snap to my brothers though our telepathic link.

The horde of Manifold demons advance toward me and the woman they're here to get their hands on. The Sentinel-Calix bond is as old as time, and until the connection is complete, the Netherrule will do anything to keep it from happening. Eliminate the Sentinel race by eliminating the Calix, and the Netherrule can assert its power beyond the Netherrealm. I'm grateful Manifolds aren't the sharpest of demons, but their power is in their clones, which will increase if I don't kill the original. My eyes are still on him, and I'm fucking grateful the space is so narrow—harder for them to move, but more difficult for me as well.

"Get the fuck out the back," I snap at the woman again, needing her beyond the reach of the demon, even if it's just out of the way. And somehow—thank fuck for small favors—she listens. Her power signature wanes the farther she gets from me.

On the way, Rome's clipped reply rings through my head as if he were standing next to me.

What little brother? Can't handle a few demons?Samson's voice jokes.

It's a fucking manifold and I'm standing in the Hole-In-the Wall,I think through the link.

So jealous. Sounds like a good time,Samson's voice says. Don't look away.

"Take it outside," the barkeep says.

I don't blame him. "Sure. I'll just grab my tea and crumpets too while I'm at it," I snap without looking away from the manifold.

"I mean it, Black. I don't need this shit in here. You and your fucking, troublemaking bullshit."

He can't see the demon. He just sees a single guy. Unless you're a sereph, you wouldn't be able to, so this whole fucking town sees us Black crew as trouble. Whatever. I don't give a shit about that. It's trouble none of them want to fuck with. If only they knew what the fuck we save them from.

I should have forced her out, I tell Rome.

You sure she's your calix?

Yeah. She's out the back.

We'll go there first, Luka tells me through the link.

I should have grabbed her, thrown her over my shoulder, and taken her straight away to the garage, but I didn't want to scare her either. Our power connection lit a beacon for any demon in the vicinity. But abduction isn't in my usual bag of tricks. I'd hoped I could charm her onto the back of my bike instead. I had the feeling she was a fighter from the moment I saw her, and her snappy attitude of bitchiness confirmed it.

Fuck.

She's going to be tons of fun.

I pull a dagger from the belt at my back.

"What the fuck," the barkeep yells. "I'm calling the cops."

The horde makes that unsettling noise at the sight of the knife—like a whine, but squelchy, as if it were cutting through flesh—as one voice, and the clones converge around the original, but I keep my eyes glued to the first demon. "I'm waiting," I say.

Cyclopians!My brothers' voices internally intersect the external sound of the horde.

"Fuck!" I yell.

There's no time to wait. I rush the manifold, who collapses, the entire horde dissipating into nothing. A fucking distraction. Shit.

"What the fuck," the barkeep says. The rest of the patrons stand, mumbling, the volume rising as they begin to freak out. They might have not been able to see the horde, but they saw the man suddenly disappear.

"Inhaere," I say flicking my fingers followed by a small wave of my hand. "What's seen and heard is broken," I recite from the Sentinel Book of Praesidium. The spell sweeps across the room like swirls of light, locating each taedae—human—energy source in the room. Then with a flick of my fingers the light latches, then slithers into the middle of their foreheads, cleaving their memory from what just happened.

The barkeep blinks, just as the rest of them do the same.

I grab hold of the whiskey shot and down it.

"Take it outside," the barkeep repeats, though he blinks again, unsure why he's said it to begin with, looking around as he does.

"I'm leaving," I say, slapping money on the bar to cover it just as a scream rips from the alleyway. Then I run, hoping my brothers and the rest of the clan have the cyclopians under control—or else my calix is in trouble.