River

“Shax and Magnus,” Kobal said and halted beside me.

A few dozen humans followed the truck. They walked with their shoulders back and their weapons at the ready. A flutter of wings drew my attention to Raphael as he landed beside Caim and shook some of the dust from his wings.

“How did it go?” Caim inquired of him.

Raphael hesitated long enough that I didn’t think he would answer Caim. “Well enough. They are strong for humans,” Raphael finally said. “They are ready for war. I’ve seen them use their weapons, and they are very skilled with them. The woman, Wren, says she can bring more humans to the fight, if she believes they’ll be treated fairly here.”

“Hmm,” Kobal grunted and turned his attention to the pickup as it came to a stop before us.

A pretty woman with pale blonde hair slid out from behind the wheel. I recognized her as the woman I’d glimpsed at the gateway. “Is that Wren?” I asked.

“Yes,” Kobal said.

Now that I knew she’d been the one to shoot Kobal, I contemplated setting her ass on fire as I eyed her up and down.

Two men also exited the truck as Shax and Magnus broke away from the other people and strolled forward to join us. “I know what Shax thinks of them, but what do you think?” Kobal inquired of Magnus.

“I think they’ll kill any one of us just as easily as they’ll spit at us. And unfortunately, I’ve discovered they’re a bunch of spitters,” Magnus snickered. “However, they are definitely survivors and could prove valuable.”

“They also know the wilds better than any of us,” Shax said.

“True,” Kobal agreed.

“Perhaps you should be asking us what we think of you,” Wren said as she strolled forward with her rifle against her shoulder.

“I know what you think of us,” Kobal replied. “And if you think that gun will help you, you’re wrong. I didn’t want to kill you before, I won’t hesitate now.”

Wren slid the rifle down to rest the butt end on the ground. “I’ve no doubt,” she replied.

“I told you if I ever saw you again, I’d kill you,” Kobal said to her. “Why would you go to the gateway after that?”

“You said to me that I had no idea what monsters truly are and that, if you failed, we would know. You made me curious about what you meant by that and what it was you were trying to succeed at doing. And when I learned what it was, I decided to help. We’ve been fighting to survive for years. It’s what we do, but we would like for the fighting to end one day.”

“That day may never come,” Kobal stated.

“Maybe not,” she replied. “But we can come together against a common enemy instead of fighting each other. There is also the possibility for a better life for us,” she said with a wave of her hand at those gathered around her. “We’re not stupid or stubborn enough to think we can survive in the wilds without help anymore, not with everything we saw come out of that gateway.”

She turned her attention to me. “Speaking of which, I saw what you did at the gateway. What are you?”

I bristled when her curious gaze raked over me, and Kobal released a rumble of warning. “Do you honestly think I would tell you that?” I retorted.

“No, but I figured it was worth a shot,” Wren replied with a shrug of one of her shoulders. “What you did at the gateway was impressive.” A few people nodded behind her while the others all eyed me as if they were trying to solve a puzzle. “You died to close it though, so you’re mortal, but the angel saved you and the demon looks like he’s about to tear my head off for speaking to you. I bet it’s a fascinating tale, and one day I hope you’ll trust me enough to share it.”

I blinked at her, unsure of how to respond to her blunt words, but she was already focused on Kobal again.

“Okay, Beastly, here’s what I think of you. You’re a demon, you’re a prick, and from what I’ve been told you’re the king of Hell, but you’re on our side, so the rest of it doesn’t matter if it keeps this world from going to complete shit. We’ll fight for you if we believe it’s the right thing to do, but we’ll follow her,” she said and pointed her finger at me.

My eyebrows shot into my hairline. I was fairly certain her time in the wilds had rattled Wren’s brain, but I kind of liked her brazen insanity.

“Fair enough,” Kobal replied. “But she is my queen and will be treated as such. If any of you try to harm her, I won’t kill you. Instead, I will have you pleading for death every day for the lengthy lifespan I will allow you to have.”

Behind her, the others all blanched. Wren remained unfazed as she studied me. “A fascinating tale,” she murmured to me. “Understood,” she said briskly to Kobal. “If all goes well here for us, I can and will bring you more fighters. We’ll also help you map out the wilds that we know. Some of us have been to areas others haven’t, and there are some areas none of us have ever been to.”

“What do you expect in return?” Kobal asked her.

“The added protection of demons fighting on our side, honesty, and the respect we deserve.”

“You will get all those things if they’re earned. One foot out of place and you will be destroyed, as will everyone who came here with you. No questions asked.”

“Good thing I’m pretty nimble then,” she said and hefted her rifle into her hands.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” Corson drawled as he strolled out from behind us and crossed the field to where Wren stood.

She frowned at him as he circled her. From the tip of his right ear dangled a little star earring, a fish hung from the top of his left ear, and a gold stud was in the bottom of his right ear. He’d been extremely busy last night, I realized.

“What’s your name, beautiful?” Corson inquired.

Wren tapped the barrel of her gun against her palm. The malice behind the gesture had Corson grinning back at her.

“Her name is Wren,” Kobal said.

“Wren,” Corson purred the name and stopped circling to plant himself in front of her. “I like it.”

“I don’t care what you like,” she retorted, and his smile widened.

“Tell me, Wren, do you wear earrings?” The look on her face almost made me laugh out loud as Corson flicked back a strand of her hair to reveal her bare ears. “Pity,” he murmured. “I’d be willing to go without them though, for you.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Fucking demons.”

“Oh yes, we are quite capable of fucking. All. Night. Long,” Corson said slowly.

Wren gawked at him like he was an alien life form. The color creeping through her cheeks wasn’t something I’d expected from the brazen woman. A demon threatening to kill her was fine, but one flirting with her completely rattled her.

“I’d be more than happy to take you for a spin,” Corson continued.

“Enough, Corson,” Kobal commanded.

Corson remained where he was, his eyes locked on Wren’s before he winked at her and stepped away. Wren’s mouth dropped before she clamped it closed and gripped her gun against her chest.

Kobal turned to face Shax. “I intended for you to come with us today, but I think it best if you stay and get them situated here. I’ll send Mac to meet with you once I’m done speaking with him. He’ll also have to agree to these humans staying here, but I don’t see him turning away help.”

“I will take care of it,” Shax said.

“Let’s go,” Kobal said to the others and turned on his heel to head back toward the wall.

I glanced over my shoulder at Wren as Corson gave her a sweeping bow. He claimed her hand and planted a kiss on the back of it before she yanked it away from him. He leapt back in time to avoid the punch she launched at his face.

“Until we meet again, my sweet,” he said to her and sauntered away to catch up with us.

“She didn’t appreciate your pitiful attempt at flirting,” I told him when he fell into step beside me.

“She enjoyed it,” he replied with an arrogant smile.

“She tried to knock you out.”

He did an odd little skip step. “It was meant to be a love tap.”

“I think you’re mistaken about that.”

“Or I’m right and you’re going to be eating your words.” He pulled the earrings from his ears and tossed them aside. “Now, let’s go find your brothers.”