“They would have the power and access to the knowledge. It takes more than a desire to pull a demon through the veil.”

He turned toward the old necromancer. “Can we send the demons back?”

“Yes. There are ways; that is what the Slayers were for. But there are none left but your Tracker.”

“Erik—”

“Is a faint imitation. Years ago, he would have been lucky to be a teacher in the school that educated demon slayers. It is only because he is a brother to the greatest Slayer our world has known that he is even tolerated. Slayers are not human.”

Liam closed his eyes. “And Erik is.”

“Yes.” Thomas frowned. “There is something about him I can’t put my finger on, but I do believe he can teach her. If she will learn. I do not think it will be enough to stop Orion in the end, though.”

That was not what Liam wanted to hear. Not for a second.

“The demons loose now—”

Again Thomas cut him off. “I know what you do, wolf. You try to gain knowledge through me. I see it in you, but I truly have little dealing with demons. What I know, I have gleaned from many years on this earth, not from direct contact. Necromancers are not demon dealers. We like them no better than the rest of the supernatural world. If those who were lost had truly done their job, the demons would have been sealed off forever.”

“You mean the Blood of the Lost?” Oh, Thomas had his interest now.

“Ah, you know of them?” Thomas lifted an eyebrow. “They are all gone now. And with them the last of our hope.”

Liam took a chance. “They are not gone. One is left.”

Thomas slowly brought his head around to stare at him. “Do you speak of yourself, wolf? Guardian and werewolf, you are a strange mix, one that has not been called upon for many, many years.”

“No, I don’t mean me.” Perhaps he’d said too much. Yet, his wolf seemed to be inclined to trust this man. Much as he’d tried to kill them, it had been in self defense, of a sort.

“Then you must mean the Tracker.” Slowly, the necromancer bobbed his head. “Yes, I see it in her now. The confidence, the brash behavior, the belief everything will turn out in the end. It never does, you know. The darkness is always stronger than the light, snuffing out candles and hope with a single sweep of its hand.”

“I pity you, if you truly believe that.”

The silence stretched after Liam’s words, the ticking of some distant clock in the house the only sound and he doubted Thomas could even hear it. But he could. He heard the way the necromancer’s heart beat, a funny hitch every third or fourth ‘lub, lub.’ Liam shook his head; so what if the old man had a twitchy heart?

“And I pity you, wolf, for you will follow her down all the dark paths she takes, and in the end, it will kill you.” Thomas’s eyes pinned him.

Liam didn’t turn from him, didn’t blink, just met his stare with his own.

“I know. But I wouldn’t leave her, not for an extra hundred years of life.”

Thomas laughed softly, lacing his fingers together under his chin. “Then it seems we pity one another, for I would not follow her, not for all the love in the world.”

His eyes narrowing ever so slightly, he turned from the necromancer. Not so long ago, he might have agreed with Thomas. But not now.

Not now that he had Rylee.

Chapter 16

I stood on the threshold of Doran’s home and very softly said, “Alex.”

He slunk forward, breathing in the air deeply, and just as softly answered me. “Ogres.”

Oh fuck. There was a shuffle of feet deeper in the house. A grumble of voices. Berget and Doran were not helpless, but they would be bound to stay in the dark rooms and spaces of the house. I wished it were night and Faris had been able to come with us.

Putting a hand on Erik’s arm, I tugged him close. “Ogres are big, fast and all they really know is fucking and fighting. And right now, they hate me with the heat of a thousand burning suns.”

“Poetic,” Erik whispered, “but I did manage to figure that out the last time I saw you interact with them.”

I shrugged and gave him a tight smile. “Thanks. I don’t know how you’ll fare against them, but stick close to me.”

He stilled. “I’ll wait outside.”

Again, he was going to leave me to do this on my own. Hell, he was really not much help at all. What a tool.

“Try not to get killed.” I pulled my sword free of its sheath and headed into the house. I aimed for the kitchen, keeping my footsteps quiet, knowing the ogres might already know we were here. Their sense of smell was, in some ways, better than Alex’s.

“Steak,” Alex whispered and I caught a whiff of meat being roasted, setting off my saliva glands. Apparently they were good cooks, just like Dox.

We inched closer until I could peer around the corner into Doran’s kitchen. Except for the two ogres screwing each other’s brains out on the huge butcher slab that acted as an island in the middle of the kitchen, everything was the same as I remembered. One ogre was green, the other red. Like a seriously perverted Christmas scene. Never mind catching mommy kissing Santa Claus.

Their moans and cries were starting to fill the room, the slap of flesh against flesh sounding more painful than pleasurable. I’d lay down good money even if we weren’t so quiet, they’d never notice us.

Using hand gestures, I relayed to Alex what I wanted. I’d slip in and put my blades to their throats mid-hump. Carefully, I slid my second blade from its sheath, the bare whisper of steel on leather the only sound.

Alex nodded and we swept in, as fast as we could. Fucking hell, it worked.

I had my blade on the throat of the one on the bottom for a good three seconds before he felt the pressure of the blade. Pressing hard, I tucked my short blade against the throat of the green female, her breath hitching to a stop as her eyes rolled to mine. And it was definitely a her. She reminded me of Sas in the way her sensuality rolled off. Alex had his claws wrapped around the male’s legs, ready to hamstring him if necessary.

A shuffle of feet behind me made me freeze. Alex grunted, “Uncle here.”

So, Erik decided to creep in after us.

“Get over here and help me.”

Erik moved to my side and I tipped my head at the female. “Hold the knife tight against her.” Erik swallowed hard and I glared at him. “Don’t let it slip. We need them alive for the moment.”