“If the rest weren’t his, whose were they?” Devon asked, motioning for her to get out of the van.
Reagan complied quickly and gracefully, waiting for him to climb out after her before continuing in a whisper.
“I knew all but two, and they all belong to different vampires. This was a team of spies, basically.” Reagan’s eyes narrowed, and she stared off at nothing, obviously thinking through the implications.
“Spies…” Charity lost her balance as she got out of the van, falling against Devon. He threaded an arm around her back, taking her weight so she could stand. Her body trembled against him. Devon didn’t completely trust Reagan, but she was definitely right about Charity—they didn’t have much time left.
“If someone has spies in the vampire community, they have spies with us,” Devon said. Of course, they knew that already. The portal had been compromised.
“Yup.” Reagan made her way down the small, grassy ditch and climbed the other side. Devon swung Charity up into his arms and followed her. The rest of Devon’s pack hurried to get out of the vans and fall in behind them. “I could hazard a guess of who it is, but that’s all it would be. A guess. And guesses won’t do you a helluva lot of good.”
“Is this another play for Charity, do you think?” Devon asked, stopping beside a reaching branch and looking at the scene across the way in the field. The moonlight shone down on the stationary creatures. Flame flickered here and there, crawling across their bodies.
“I have no idea, and that’s the honest truth. If it was just a bunch of vampires, sure, maybe. But the demons? No. Somehow…it feels like they’re a message. Their presence here kept you from walking smack into the elf on the other side. In a messed-up way, their presence saved you. It also brought me here. It’s possible the person who sent them did it to help you, and challenge…someone.”
“Challenge who?” Devon asked.
Reagan turned to him, her eyes lost to the shadow, but her focus no less acute. “Me.”
“Why is a message for you mixed up with us?”
“That’s the million-dollar question. One Darius will have to sort out. For now, let’s get that fae through that portal, shall we?”
“What’s the plan, boss?” Steve asked, stopping beside them.
Devon looked at Reagan. He might be alpha of this pack, but she was clearly running the show. Even Roger had stepped out of the way when she’d come barreling into the battle outside of his house. She had some kind of magic that trumped everyone in this field, not to mention the experience to complement it—he needed to allow her to choose the best approach.
She nodded at Devon, a show that she recognized his status. She might not like dealing with Roger, but she’d learned how to cooperate with an alpha. And she was extending that same courtesy to him.
“There’s a real strong demon milling around in that field, and a whole bunch of magic blocking their ugly mugs from non-magical view. I’ve never seen that spell before, but it’s as ancient as the spells used to call those demons. A few wicked spells have been layered in that would’ve blasted your faces off if you’d run in by yourselves.” Reagan shifted her stance, popping out a leather-clad hip supporting a scratched and beat-up leather fanny pack. “Yeah, someone was extending me an invite. Someone who knows I will eventually tell Penny and Emery that one of their best—whoever that might be—is working for one bad mammajamma. But in the meantime, I’ll capture that demon, break it down, and steal all its secrets. The rest I will turn inside out and make them rue the day they wandered into my home.”
“She is not right in the head, alpha,” Cole said, and everyone startled from the shotgun blast of sound. Three demons across the field moved, their bodies turning toward the pack.
“Quiet, snow-tits, or I’ll slap you around a second time,” Reagan murmured. She clapped and started forward. “Let’s do this. I’ll need a few of you to change and take down the lesser demons. I’m going to have my hands full with the more powerful one.”
“What about the spells?” Devon asked, shooting the shifters who needed to change a quick look. Barbara, Macy, Yasmine, Dale, and Rod dropped whatever they were carrying and shifted on the spot.
Cole grunted, clearly not happy about being left out, but didn’t protest. Devon wasn’t sure if that was because of him or Reagan. Dillon winced as he grabbed a duffel, as did Steve when he grabbed another.
“The spells are nothing. I’ll take those down,” Reagan said, walking fast.
“I can fight,” Charity said, struggling in Devon’s arms. “I’m okay. I’ll rally.”
What Reagan had said ripped through Devon’s mind.
Magical poisoning.
“No,” Devon said, a little too forcefully. He didn’t know much about magical poisoning, although he’d heard the words before. Didn’t matter. One simply needed to look at Charity’s face to know Reagan was absolutely right. Charity looked terrible. Worse than she ever had after a bad episode, almost like she was in the last stages of cancer. “We don’t need you.” Harsh words he softened by squeezing her in his arms.