A

maya yanked open the door to Maximum Effort and marched through the martial arts class filled with twenty plus students. Scarla—in the middle of a takedown move—stopped to watch her approach.

Amaya halted in front of her and the student. “We need to talk.”

Scarla paused with her mouth open, no doubt something snide poised to trip off her tongue. Amaya gave a single shake of her head. Today wasn’t the day. Scarla’s gaze scanned Amaya. Her eyes narrowed on the strategically placed pockets and the slight bulges under Amaya’s sweater.

“Class, ten more minutes, and you’re done for the day. See you on Thursday.”

Amaya pivoted and continued to the rooms in the rear of the building. She stopped in a living room that could’ve been a copy of the one in her basement. The duffle bag slung diagonally across her chest, weighed heavily. She adjusted the strap, but it didn’t change the weight.

The door swung open behind her and Scarla and Sophie entered. Amaya ignored the sidekick and addressed the one she came here for. “The UnHallowed are in trouble—”

“Because of you,” Scarla interrupted. She folded her arms and struck an unintentional pretty pose.

Wasn’t true, but it didn’t matter.

Scarla shrugged and waved a careless hand. “Whatevs trouble they’re in, they will get out of it. They’ll call in reinforcements.

“There are no reinforcements to call because they’ve all been captured by an army of Spaun and Darklings. All eleven.” She ran down the list and watched the shock on their faces.

Scarla’s eyes widened with each name. “You left out Razuel,” she squeaked, her voice reedy, even though the rest of her mimicked a statue.

Even though she’d met him once, Amaya shook her head. “Don’t know him and we don’t have time to find him.”

“How were they caught?” Disbelief torqued Scarla’s voice.

“Demon traps, plus a dimensional pocket to keep Bane inside the mansion. Malphas was captured on the lawn,” Amaya quickly explained.

“Wait,” Sophie interrupted. “How do we know they’re still there, at that mansion? For all we know they’ve escaped and are recovering in the shadows.”

“I wish that were true, but it’s not. They’re not in the shadows.”

“How do you know that? You can’t know that,” Sophie insisted, twisting her fingers in her shirt.

“Because ten minutes ago, they were all carved up and some were in pieces.” Amaya’s voice shook. “Sam, Kush, and Zed were strung up. Rimmon and Chay were nailed to a wall. Daghony and Malphas were gutted. Ioath’s chest was cracked open, and Riél had his skin peeled from his chest and face. Gideon, they took his hands and eyes. Bane, I couldn’t see what they did to him, but I saw the hatchet and I heard it chop through flesh.” Amaya fought not to gag while Sophie ran to the small kitchen at the other end of the room and threw up in the sink.

All the color had drained out of Scarla’s face. “And Gadreel?”

“Chained and nailed to a corner, spears around him. Toothpicks through his eyelids so he couldn’t look away.” A shudder went through Scarla. The same shudder had traveled through Amaya, only ten times worse because she actually saw what she’d just described.

“He got off easy,” Amaya murmured.

“The hell he did,” Scarla snarled and got in Amaya’s face, her blond and black hair escaped from the clip on the top of her head. “You think it’s easy watching your brothers suffer and can’t do anything about it because one touch from any weapon will make you a bigger threat to them? You watch your family destroyed and tell me it’s easy.”

Contrite, Amaya lowered her head. “You’re right.”

“Scars of the mind don’t heal as easily as scars on the flesh.” She threw a furtive glance at Sophie, then spoke with utter focus. “How do you know they’re still there?”

“Because they invited me to return or else they’re going to kill them.”

“I need five minutes.” Scarla headed for the rooms in the back.

“You have two.” Amaya slung the duffle around to her front and then planted her ass on the sofa. She hadn’t noticed where Sophie had wandered off to, and she didn’t care.

The strap on her boot was loose. Amaya shifted the duffle to the space beside her and tightened the strap. That lead to her lifting her sweater and checking each blade strapped to her torso. She wasn’t even gonna try and show up in Siberia without being ready to kill. This was a blitz operation. Everyone would focus on her while Scarla got the UnHallowed free.

And then…whatever happened, happened.

She fished a power bar out of her jacket pocket and devoured it in three bites. The remaining three she stuffed in her back pocket, along with some throwing stars. She picked up her duffle and slung it over her shoulder again. “One minute!”

Scarla hustled back into the common area. Dressed in all black with a sleek, custom made tactical vest and a black ball cap covering her platinum blond hair, but left the black lower half exposed. She had two guns holstered to her chest with extra clips, the hilt of two short swords peaking above her shoulders, and a number of knives around her hips. Girlfriend was ready to party. “Let’s go.” She slipped on a pair of gloves.

“I’m coming with you.” Sophie skidded to a stop in front of Amaya. She had on black Danskin leggings with a matching spandex top. Her burgundy hair stuffed under a wool ski cap. She looked like she was going to teach a yoga class.

“Oh, no, you are not.” Scarla blocked her.

“Chay and Kush are out there. You need all the help you can get and have no time to get it. I’m it and I’m going.” Sophie patted her chest.

“We’re fighting demons, Sophie, not run-of-the mill muggers. You’re going to get yourself killed.” Scarla pointed angrily at Sophie.

“And so are you.” Sophie pointed at Scarla.

“Maybe. Maybe not. But you definitely will be dead and I won’t have that on my conscience.”

“That’s not your decision to make!” Sophie shouted.

“Well, I’m making it.” Scarla got in her friend’s face.

Amaya stepped between the two women and faced Scarla. “Sophie’s right. If she wants to come then she comes. Frankly, we can use her as a distraction so you and I can kick some ass.” She spun and faced Sophie, got all up in her grill. “You need to be unfuckable. If you can’t rise to the occasion, then you need to stay the hell home. A crutch we don’t need. So step up or sit down.”

Sophie yanked two short swords off the wall and stepped up.

Amaya couldn’t help but smile. “You understand, there will be blood. Possibly yours. Still want to come?”

Mouth grim, one nod is all Sophie gave.

“All right. Let’s get this shit show on the road.”

“Not without me.” Dina rounded the corner of the hallway, clutched in her hand, an empyreal sword.

Amaya had no idea she was here and it didn’t matter. She sliced her head to the side. “You had a Darkling inside of you.”

“Had.”

“Where we’re going probably doesn’t have any windows for you to take a header into the sunlight. Once infected, it may make you susceptible to it happening again. I won’t take the risk.” Even if Dina could wield an empyreal sword. Just because she had it didn’t mean it responded to her.

“My husband—”

“Your husband! Scarla’s father, brother, uncles! Sophie’s friends! And my man!” Man-UnHallowed! What-the-fuck-ever! He is mine! “We’re wasting time while they may be dying.” Amaya had enough of the arguing.

Dina pounded her chest. “I am the best chance you have of success! I was a captain in the Celestial Army!”

“And now, you’re a liability.” Scarla picked a side and moved to stand beside Amaya.

Dina’s face screwed into a vicious snarl. “Because I’m human? Guess what. So is she.” She pointed at Sophie. “At least I have skills! Skills acquired after thousands of years of training, which neither of you come remotely close to.”

Scarla shrugged. “Yeah, but we trust her more than we trust you. Let’s go.”

Amaya wasted no more time. She snatched the power out of the air and formed a dimensional pocket large enough for the three of them.

Dina jumped in front of Amaya. “I get that you and Scarla trust Sophie more than you trust me, but that’s not the point. You’re using Sophie as a distraction. Where one distraction will work, two would be better.”

Scarla threw up her hands, clearly frustrated with Dina and Sophie. “What you two don’t get is you’re probably going to your deaths. That leaves me explaining to Gideon and Chay how I let you two die!”

“Enough of this!” Amaya rotated her duffle bag to the front of her body and unzipped it. “While we’re bickering, sunrise is approaching Siberia; and I just know the Spaun are going to use that against our men. The arguing is over. This is my mission. You do what I say, when I say, without argument. Agree or get left behind.”

“Okay.”

“Alright!”

“Fine.”

The women replied in discontent.

Amaya eyed each woman, measuring their commitment. She needed them, but she also needed them not to be headstrong idiots, especially Scarla. Convinced they were at least in the same chapter if not on the same page, she removed two bottles from her duffle, uncorked both, and doused Dina’s and Sophie’s hair, face, and clothing.

Both women sputtered while Scarla jumped back from the stray drops that burned the back of her bare hand. “What is that?” she asked.

Amaya turned to the dimensional pocket waiting behind them. “Holy water. Now, everyone shut up and get inside.”