Reaver fumbled the shears in his hand, but recovered quickly. “I’ve said more than enough.”
“Bullshit.”
For a moment, Reaver continued his clean-up, almost frantically, as though finishing would get him out of the conversation. Eidolon settled in for the long haul, braced one shoulder against the doorjamb and crossed his arms over his chest and his feet at the ankles, a silent message that said he wasn’t going anywhere until he got what he’d come for.
“You’re going to talk.”
Reaver snarled, his beautiful face twisted into as deadly an expression as Eidolon had ever seen from him. He hadn’t known much about fallen angels until Reaver came to him, wanting a job and a place to stay, and though Reaver had been at UG for sixteen years, Eidolon still knew very little.
“Serena is not something I can discuss with demons.”
“You’ve already discussed her, and in case you hadn’t noticed, you aren’t exactly bound by heavenly law anymore.”
Pain flashed in Reaver’s blue eyes. “I am bound by no law, heavenly or otherwise, since I’ve not entered Sheoul. But that doesn’t mean I don’t follow any rules.”
Eidolon’s Justice demon background gave him a sense of fair play, of law and order, and an appreciation for rules. But a lot of lives were at stake and his head fucking hurt and rules could take a flying fuck out the window.
“Here’s the deal,” he said, pushing himself off the doorjamb. “Wraith brought her in a little while ago. They were attacked by demons, and she was injured.”
Reaver looked so stricken Eidolon would have thought someone had died. “He already has the charm.”
“No.”
“Then she gave it to someone else.” Reaver sank down on a rolling stool and buried his face in his hands.
“We confirmed her virginity,” Shade said from the doorway. “It’s not possible that she gave it to someone.”
“Neither is her getting hurt.” The fallen angel’s voice was muffled by his palms.
Eidolon closed his eyes, thinking. “So there is nothing, nothing at all, that can harm her?”
“What part of divine charm are you not under-standing?”
“Okay, then what about someone else who is charmed? Could they hurt her?”
Reaver’s head snapped up. “I wouldn’t think so, but…”
“But what?” Shade asked. “Looks like maybe you heavenly geniuses didn’t think of everything, huh?”
“I just don’t know why another Sentinel would try to harm her. It makes no sense.”
Eidolon pondered that for a second. “Could they turn evil?”
“Unlikely.”
Eidolon cocked an eyebrow. “But you don’t know for sure.” Reaver didn’t reply, which was answer enough. “Can you contact your angel buddies and see—”
“No!” Reaver came to his feet. “I am not allowed contact with those who still serve.”
Eidolon got in the fallen angel’s face. “What are you allowed to do? You aren’t allowed to talk. You aren’t allowed to help. Seems like you are pretty damned useless to everyone.” E poked Reaver in the chest. “I get that you aren’t willing to help Wraith, but dammit, Reaver, don’t you feel the unrest in the underworld? Serena is a part of it, and we’ve got to find out why. You need to open the fuck up.”
Reaver’s lips peeled back to reveal two sharp canines Eidolon had never seen before. “Never. You. Are. Demons.”
“Hate to break it to you, buddy, but so are you.”
Reaver’s head rocked back with such force Eidolon expected to hear the crack of spine. And then Reaver’s fist was in Eidolon’s face, and Eidolon hit the wall so hard the plaster came down around him as he hit the floor.
“What the fuck?” Stunned, Shade looked between Reaver and E. “The Haven spell—”
He was cut off by the blare of sirens and the sound of battle. Running footsteps turned into a skid, and Gem popped her head through the doorway. “Haven spell has gone down. Hospital’s in chaos. This isn’t good, E. This isn’t good.”
Lore stepped out of the Harrowgate into Underworld General’s emergency room and came to an abrupt halt. What. The. Hell
Sure, fighting, fucking, and general chaos were staples anywhere you went in the demon world, but he’d figured a hospital would at least have a few rules. A demon of unknown species came at him, but he sidestepped the snakelike creature, wheeled around as it skidded past, and shoved its head into the wall. It fell to the obsidian floor with a soft thump.
He eyed the thing, hoping he hadn’t killed it. Not that he minded killing—it’s just that he preferred to get paid for it.
And speaking of getting paid…
He made his way to the triage desk, where a vampire nurse was futilely yelling at the patients and staff to stop fighting.
“Yo.”
She turned to him with a sigh. “Do you require medical assistance?”