Page 28 of Wicked Ties
Before any of us could say something else, they were gone, disappearing into the night on silent black wings. Grayson strolled over to one of the little tables in front of the restaurant and pulled a chair out then plopped down on it and crossed his arms.
Maze narrowed his eyes at him. “Comfortable?”
“Waiting.” An ear-splitting screech shattered the night, and Grayson pointed toward the sky. “Not long.”
“They’reeee hereeeee,” Logan whispered under his breath.
CHAPTER 12
MAZE
The wind kicked up around us, and three figures darted across the night sky. They had huge bat-like wings with tears in them that blew the wind around like a huge fan. Tattered black rags covered their slim muscular bodies. They weren’t emaciated but they had very little meat on them, so little that I could see their bones. Rags hung from their necks and hips, covering only their chests and down to their thighs. Their skin was a grayish-pearl that reflected the moon like they were made of dull marble. Their dark blue veins ran over their entire bodies. Their hair was long and stringy, running in tatters down to the middle of their backs. They were beautiful in a terrifying way. With sharp teeth, etched features, and fully black eyes.
When they swooped in lower and landed in the middle of the gore, they hunched over like the true vultures they were. The one in the back to the left stepped on a demon’s head, popping it like a balloon. It bent down low, squatting over the corpse and plucking at its insides. Black blood coated the ends of its talons.
The one in the back on the right hopped and danced around the bodies, squeaking and clapping to herself. But the one closest to us, the one who appeared to be the leader, hovered over a body. A small sack-like bag hung across her body and swung just in front of her. She crouched down with her legs spread wide and only the cloth barely covering her. Her hand hovered over the demon, and she snapped her talons together like they were huge tweezers about to pick at her food. They made an obnoxious clicking sound.
When she placed her hand on the demon’s body, she dug the tip of her finger in and sliced him open like a surgeon with a scalpel. When she dug her hand in it sounded like a chef stirring wet spaghetti.
Odin gagged next to me and whispered, “Yuck.”
The lead Keres’s head snapped up, and she hissed in my direction with her hand still inside the demon. When the others all stepped around me, she rose to her feet and held her hands at her sides. She spread her fingers wide and hunched her shoulders. Strands of her hair fell over her face as she bared her teeth at us. Like a cornered animal about to attack. Her sisters joined her, and they, too, took fighting stances. Their wings twitched and fluttered with each of their movements. Tattered pieces hug between the rips and drifted on the wind.
I held my hand up. “We’re not here to hurt you.”
The one in the middle threw her head back and cackled. A moment later the other two joined her. She stopped abruptly and stared at me with those vacant black eyes. “Hurt us?”
Her voice was low and gruff, like she’d smoked three packs of cigarettes a day for a thousand years. It sent a chill down my spine. “We’re looking for something.”
The one on the left broke rank and began to walk toward Tilly. I stepped in front of her, blocking her path. She was only inches from my face when she hissed, and her disgusting breath fanned over my face. “Back the hell up.”
I let my magic flow from my hands and wind around her legs. She chuckled and fanned it away with her wings. When I glanced at Kylian he gave me a what-the-hell-was-that sideways glance. My powers always stayed.
The middle Keres snapped her fingers, and her sister took a few steps back. “You can’t hurt us. We are old as time, born of darkness. Your magic has no home here. Even if you are the most powerful of your kind, psychic.”
The one on the left who’d been silent until now pointed at Grayson. “That’s a House of Shade.” She stuck her nose up and sniffed the air. “He would taste of sadness, blood, and chocolate.”
Grayson chuckled, flashing his fangs. “I’m not a snack, ladies.”
Tilly stepped out from behind me. “We’re looking for something you have.”
The one in the middle gaped at her. “I know you.”
“You stole something from me.” Tilly narrowed her eyes. “I want it back.”
“She’s the one,” the one on the right hissed.
“The joy,” the one on the left added.
The one in the middle reached into her bag and when she took her hand out, a small white glowing orb hovered over the palm of her hand. It flickered like a Christmas twinkle light and every part of me knew that it belonged to Tilly. My insides fluttered toward that little orb. HERS.
“Mine.” Tilly’s muscles tensed to spring.
“Mine.” The Keres in the middle placed Tilly’s spirit back inside the bag strapped around her body.
Grayson snapped his fingers and motioned to the bag. “Give it here.”
She tilted her head to the side. “Why should I?”
