Wrath growled and Shade tensed.
There were a lot of demons between them and the door if Ashe recognized her.
But Ashe made his way to the front of the room as demons parted for him. He passed close enough to Eddie for her to touch him, and she shrunk back against Shade.
He put a hand on her hip, warm and reassuring.
Power prickled and snapped from Wrath, turning his skin a darker shade of blue. Other demons started murmuring and side eyeing him.
Sophia wrapped her arms around his neck, pressed her body to him, and whispered in his ear.
He took a deep breath, and the power subsided to a manageable level. Between them, Shade, Wrath, and Sophia could level this gathering, but then they’d be working as blind as they were now. Information was what they needed most.
Coal bowed low to Ashe and gave up the platform.
All eyes turned to Ashe. Eddie could almost taste the excitement in the room.
“Pride is ours,” Ashe said. He didn’t raise his voice, but it carried to the corners of the silent space.
A murmur broke out.
Coal growled, and silence fell again.
“As is Lust,” Ashe said. “Their lords are missing, and we are to take full advantage. The seal of Wrath remains stronger and should be a priority to destabilize.”
Waves of fury drifted off Shade, and Eddie put her hand on his arm.
Sophia pressed even closer to Wrath.
“We are to continue to gather our armies.” Ashe’s gaze swept over them. “And to ramp up our destabilization of the seals before the hell princes figure out how to repair them.”
Eddie’s heart stopped as his gaze seemed to stick for a moment, and then he was speaking again.
“The master needs more demons, and it is your task to get them for him,” Ashe said. “More rebel demons means more pressure on the seals, and we need those fucking things to break.”
Nods of assent happened all around them.
Eddie nodded along but kept her eyes trained on the feathered back of the demon in front of her.
Coal held up his hand. “What of the amulets?”
“Production of amulets has slowed,” Ashe said. “But the master has plans to correct that soon.”
Another demon hand went up.
Ashe’s gaze snapped in that direction. His voice dropped silky with menace. “You have a question?”
“No, Ashe.” The hand disappeared again.
“The horsemen wake,” Ashe said. “They sense the chaos we are creating. The master wishes for that to escalate. With the hell princes focusing on hell, we can continue to generate more anarchy on this plane.” His gaze swept the room. “That is all. You know what you must do.”
He stalked out of the room, and it wasn’t until he’d gone that Eddie drew her first full breath.
“What are you?” A demon snarled close by.
The hair on Eddie’s nape rose.
A large bull-like demon was focused on Dee and glaring at her.
“You know what I am.” Sophia undulated in front of Dee. “And now you have my attention.”
“No.” The demon shoved her out of the way. “What the fuck is that?”
More heads swung their way.
“Time to go,” Shade murmured.
“More than time to go.” Another demon appeared beside Wrath. “You shouldn’t even be here.”
Wrath growled and went for the demon.
“Not now,” the demon snapped and started herding them toward the door.
There was something familiar about the demon, but Eddie couldn’t put her finger on it. She was certain she’d never seen him before, with his equine features and grace, but he felt familiar.
“It’s a human!” Bull demon bellowed and lunged for Dee.
And pandemonium broke lose.
Demons lunged for Dee.
Sophia hauled her over her shoulder as if she weighed nothing and surged for the door.
“This is going to get fucking messy,” Shade whispered.
Demons were pushing and shoving toward Sophia now, as she fought her way to the door.
With a bellow, Wrath transformed into himself.
“Wrath!” Someone screamed.
“Fuck it,” whispered the strange demon. Light shimmered, and suddenly Lucifer was there.
Now the tide turned from trying to get to Sophia to trying to get to the door.
Demons shoved, screamed, punched, and climbed over each other to get out of the building.
“If you can’t beat them.” Shade shrugged off his temporary form.
