Sophia had shared with him the coordinates of where Eddie had been held, and their current trajectory was leading them there. If his power had been fully restored, he could have left Bianca to drive and flown ahead. But that would be making the assumption that they were going to where Eddie had been held, and making assumptions could give Ashe the opportunity he needed to slip away. Lucifer judged it best to stay with Bianca and follow the crystals.
What she’d not mentioned, even once, was that as a powerful witch, she was in as much danger as any other coven member. Perhaps it hadn’t occurred to her in her concern for the rest of the coven. Leaving Bianca would also render her vulnerable to Ashe. If Ashe got his hands on Bianca, Lucifer might not get his revenge—which was the only reason he didn’t leave the troublesome human witch to her fate. The only reason. It had to be. He disliked humans, and he disliked witches even more.
Miles from the nearest town, they left the car. Raphael joined them and spared her the necessity of walking the rough terrain. About three miles from the car, Bianca’s nape prickled, and goosebumps raced up her arms as they drew closer to a steel door wedged into the side of the mountain.
“Is this where they kept Eddie?” She kept her voice low. Something about the place made her want to whisper.
Raphael flew closer to the door, which hung ajar, revealing a dark maw in the rockface. It was the sort of place you’d have to know was there to spot it, which made sense, considering it was a top-secret demon lair.
Raphael peered in. “I don’t sense any recent demon activity.” He stepped inside, and his voice echoed back at them. “But there have been demons here, and many of them.”
Lucifer followed him. “Well, it was too much to hope that they’d hang around and wait for us after Eddie was rescued from here.”
“How rude.” Raphael smiled at her.
Probably to reassure her, but Bianca’s precognition was chattering to her. She wasn’t going to like what they found.
“Stay behind me,” Lucifer said.
As much as she enjoyed arguing with him, this was not one of those times.
Raphael led the way down a narrow iron spiral staircase. Their footsteps echoed loudly as they descended into the darkness.
Bianca dug in her bag and pulled out a small flashlight. The rockface of the stairwell abutted the stairs on either side, roughhewn as if a giant monster had taken a bite out of the mountain.
“It opens into a tunnel down here,” Raphael called. “Still no hint of recent demon activity.”
“Any trace of Ashe?” Lucifer’s voice echoed.
“Old,” Raphael said. “He was here, but he’s long gone.”
If he’d had his power, he wouldn’t have had to ask about Ashe. She really needed to find out what had gone wrong with his amulet. He hadn’t brought it up since they’d taken Emma to the theatre, which now that she thought about it, was super strange. Especially considering his initial reaction to discovering her whoopsie and his general comfort with airing his grievances.
The air changed and moved freer as she took the last step and stood in a large corridor.
Soft, yellow light sprang up in Raphael’s palm as he turned in a circle.
Open doors faced the tunnel at regular intervals.
“We stick together.” Lucifer nodded at Raphael.
A look passed between them, before Raphael smirked. “Agreed.”
Raphael murmured something to Lucifer that she didn’t catch.
“Yes, but not yet,” Lucifer said.
How sweet. They had little secrets. She strode down the passage before either of them could speak. “Shall we look around?”
“Balls!” Lucifer chased after her and caught her arm. “Stay with Raphael until we’re sure there are no nasty surprises.”
As much as she would like to have huffed off, self-preservation kept her close to the archangel.
Raphael went through the first door. A bare, stainless-steel cell sat on the other side. Cot, toilet, sink, and nothing else.
“I sense human energy.” Raphael walked deeper into the cell.
Bianca pulled the blue and green crystals from her bag. That blue barely flickered, but the green was still glowing. It cast an eerie light over the dim cell, and Bianca shivered. “Can you tell if the human in here was a witch?”
“No.” Lucifer shook his head. “We can feel magic when you use it, but witch energy merely feels human to us.”
He led the way out of the cell and down the corridor to the next doorway. The quiet was so absolute it felt weighty.
The next cell looked the same but even Bianca caught the power signature left over in here. “Nephilim,” she said.
“This must be where they kept Eddie.” Raphael’s top lip curled back in disgust. “If Wrath or Shade saw this, they’d lose their fucking minds.”
Bianca didn’t know how the beings housed in these cells hadn’t lost their minds. “Definitely Nephilim,” she said. “But not Eddie.”
She didn’t know how or why she knew, but she did.
Raphael and Lucifer gaped at her.
“Another Nephilim?” Lucifer found his voice first.
She drew the energy inside and sifted it. “Please don’t ask me to explain, because I can’t, but this one feels male.”
