Page 25 of Unbound

I look back down at the scorched mark on the screen. “They just cause chaos.”

“Bad news,” Xavier says, coming back into the kitchen. “Since this is the second case, the FBI is getting involved. I don’t have anyone on my payroll there yet.”

“We might be able to work around that temporarily,” Leo says, looking a little cocky.

“I don’t think your Order-issued fake badges are going to cut it,” Xavier says, with no emotion on his face. “If the Order is behind this and working with Vaelric, they’ve probably already flagged you.”

“And I think the rumor that Antonio is a vampire might still be alive and well within parts of the Order,” I remind them. “Even for the people who know it isn’t true, I’m sure they’re perpetuating it just to make us look bad.”

“So what’s the plan?” Devon asks.

“I need to find out exactly who this demon is,” I say. “If it’s corporeal, we can kill it.”

“Well, not easily,” Antonio corrects. “I mean, maybe we get lucky and one stab to the heart does it, but this thing needed a ritual like that to come through. It’s going to be packing some serious power.”

“Right.” My mind goes straight back to walking through the large double doors of Crescent Moon Academy. Now it’s my turn to be careful not to get too cocky. Having magic gives me an advantage over every other hunter in the Order. I have the same skill set and the same knowledge they do, but I also have an entire arsenal of abilities they don’t.

I can kill demons without even touching them.

“Am I late to the party?” Mabel asks, coming downstairs. She’s wearing an ivory-colored nightgown and a flowing matching robe, complete with feathers on the sleeves. “All I heard was something about a chaos demon. What exactly do they do?”

“We’ve never come across one,” Antonio starts, taking the lead like he normally would in any hunting situation. “But we’ve heard of them. Saying they cause chaos sounds vague, but that’s literally what they do.” He shrugs.

“They might target a single person or a whole group. I don’t know what the plan is here, but they’ll do anything to disrupt normal life. That could mean starting fights between two random people in line at the grocery store or causing power outages. Literally anything that creates disorder.”

“Great,” Theo grumbles. “As if we didn’t already have one supernatural menace on our hands.”

“We’re going to find him, and we’re going to kill him,” I say, ignoring the anxiety rising inside me, threatening to take over every cell in my body.

My phone dings with a text. “It’s Marie,” I say out loud. Nerves grab at my spine from the inside, rattling me so hard my fingers tremble as I unlock my phone.

Yes, I recognize that, but I can’t tell you the demon’s name off the top of my head. I’ll run it by a colleague. Does this have to do with what happened yesterday?

Most likely. Google the 409 Reapers and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

She likes my text, and I set my phone down, letting out a shaky breath.

“Marie is going to find out the name of the demon,” I tell everyone. “In the meantime, let’s treat this like any other job.” I look at my brothers.

“What does that entail?” Xavier asks.

“We cover all the bases. Get weapons ready. I’ll work on vanquishing potions. Anything that might help. And then, as soon as we find out what it is, we go after it.”

“Like tonight?” Mabel exclaims, her brows going up.

“Yes,” Leo, Antonio, and I answer at the same time.

“If there’s one thing about demons,” Antonio continues, “it’s that you don’t give them advance notice or time. You have to strike immediately, because the longer they have to plan, the worse it gets.”

“I might have found out one other minor detail from Marie last night,” I say, wincing slightly as I speak.

“What is it?” Xavier asks.

“Certain demons go after witches because they have a way of taking our powers. I guess because they have their own type of magic, they’re able to separate a witch from her power, unlike vampires, who have to kill the witch to turn her.”

Chapter

Nine