The Darkest Passion (Lords of the Underworld #5)(48)
Author: Gena Showalter

Aeron struck again and again, raining one blow after another. The man’s head whipped left and right with each new impact. More blood sprayed. Teeth even flew out like pieces of candy. Skin split and bones broke.

Soon, there were no grunts, no gasps.

A hand patted his shoulder. “You’ve punished him. You can stop now,” Paris said from behind him.

Aeron stilled. He was panting, his knuckles throbbing. Too easy. That had been too easy. The man hadn’t paid enough for the damage he’d inflicted. But maybe he learned a lesson, a voice of reason said inside Aeron’s head. For reason to have returned, control must be his once again.

“Let’s go home,” Paris suggested.

Home, no. He wasn’t ready to return to his room—to see the bed where he’d kissed and touched Olivia. Still, Aeron stood. He gave the man a final kick in the stomach before facing his friend. “I need some time. Alone.”

A while passed in silence, Paris studying his hard expression. Finally he nodded. “All right. Maybe use it to decompress, ’cause damn.”

“Plan to.” Even after Paris walked away, Aeron remained in place, trying to pull himself back together. I’m in control, he reminded himself, even though he still didn’t want to be. I’m in control.

Wrath continued to prowl through his mind, worked into a frenzy and ready for the next victim.

He needed Legion.

Or Olivia, he thought then.

His heart began pounding for a different reason, and it took him a minute to realize why. Arousal mixed with regret was beating through him exactly as his fists had beat at the human. Olivia hadn’t woken when he’d left her in Gilly’s guest room. She hadn’t woken when he’d given Gilly instructions to call him the moment she did. No, she’d lain on the bed, splayed adorably, hair tangled around her, snoring delicately. Fighting the urge to curl beside her again had proved nearly impossible. But he’d done it. He’d headed out to round up Paris.

Perhaps he should return to her, he thought, heading in the direction of Gilly’s apartment before he could stop himself. He glanced up at the heavens, hoping for guidance. His gaze never made it to the stars. Instead, he caught sight of white, feathered wings and ground to a halt.

Galen. Leader of the Hunters. False angel. Bastard.

Automatically Aeron palmed two blades and slipped deeper in the shadows. He shouldn’t have come into town without a gun, but he’d been so preoccupied with Olivia that he hadn’t thought to grab anything extra. Galen was perched on top of a building, those wings outstretched as he scanned the streets.

If he knew Aeron was below, watching him, he gave no notice.

All the while Wrath howled inside Aeron’s head. The warrior had committed too many sins for the demon to process, the need to kill simply flooding Aeron. Control. Absolute control. He couldn’t lose it this time.

Galen straightened unexpectedly. Aeron pressed against the wall of the building behind him, sure he’d been spotted but unwilling to walk away. Perhaps tonight they would end this. Finally.

Galen jumped, falling…falling… His wings stretched farther, flapped once, and he landed softly, several yards away from Aeron.

Aeron tensed. He couldn’t kill Galen without severe consequences, but he could torture the bastard before locking him away. And then torture him again afterward.

A moment ticked by, then another, Galen simply tucking his wings into his back and waiting. He never approached.

Every fiber of Aeron’s being wanted to leap forward and attack. Surprise attacks were his forte, after all, but he held himself steady. Sometimes battle wasn’t the best course of action in a war. Sometimes merely watching and learning reaped far greater rewards. What was going on here? What was Galen doing in Budapest?

He’d come here before, of course, but he’d recently left to fight a contingent of Lords who had raided a facility in Chicago where he’d been raising—and educating—halfling children. Half human, half immortal. All of whom had been taught to hate the Lords.

Now that school was in ruins, the Lords having liberated the kids and found them loving homes. Homes the Hunters would hopefully never be able to track down.

Was Galen here for vengeance, then?

Punish, Wrath said.

Not yet.

“Finally,” Galen said, his rich voice filling the silence.

Aeron scanned the area, but saw no one approaching. So, to whom was Galen speaking? To himself? Or—

A pair of legs appeared a few feet in front of Galen. Only, those legs weren’t attached to a torso. What the hell? The question had barely formed before a waist appeared, then shoulders, arms—and there, on the inside of the…apparition’s right wrist, was a symbol of Infinity, the mark of a true, dedicated Hunter—and lastly, a face. Then a male was standing there, fully formed, holding a piece of dark, flowing cloth.

Not a ghost, then, for there was no shimmering outline around him. Just a man, as real as Aeron was. But how had he— Cloth. The word echoed through Aeron’s mind, followed by another. Invisible.

His eyes widened in dread and astonishment. Cloth. Cloak. The…Cloak of Invisibility?

“I’ll take that.” Galen confiscated the cloak and folded it once, twice. Rather than cause the material to shrink yet thicken, each fold diminished both size and width, and soon it appeared the warrior held a simple square of paper.

Oh, yes. This could be nothing else but the Cloak of Invisibility.

Galen tucked the artifact into his robe, even as Aeron reached out automatically. Stay. Wait. His arm fell to his side. Information first, artifact second.

“There are cameras here,” the human said. “I haven’t found them, but I know the demons keep the city under surveillance.”

“Don’t worry.” Galen laughed, smug. “They’ve been taken care of.”

Oh, really. How? The cameras hadn’t been disabled. Torin would have texted him. Had someone hacked into the system perhaps, and was even now replaying feed? That had happened in one of the movies Paris had forced him to watch. Or could more powerful forces be at work?

Cronus sometimes helped the Lords, so it stood to reason that another god could be helping the Hunters.

“You confirmed that they have an angel in their midst?” Galen asked.

“Yes, though she doesn’t seem to be as powerful as you.”

“Few angels are. And half their troops are missing?”

“Yes.”

Another laugh from Galen. “Very good. Now join the others and stay hidden until I return. Some of our troops disappeared yesterday, and even our lovely queen has lost sight of them. Once I find them, we can attack. And this time, we’ll show no mercy.”