Page 26 of Demons In My Head: Exposing the Exiled
I remembered the masks I'd brought for everyone, reaching into my pack to distribute them. Felix's eyes lit up when I handed him the face paint, and he quickly found the nearest reflective surface to apply his signature skeleton design. As I slipped on my black pig mask, I watched the others don their disguises.
Ashland pulled on the black hooded mask with stitched X's for eyes, looking every bit the grim reaper he could be. Talon strapped on his gas mask, its filters giving him an eerie, apocalyptic appearance. Rhodes opted for a simple, ornate masquerade mask that somehow made him look even more mysterious. Felix, now sporting his skeletal face paint, grinned wickedly at us all.
Elara cleared her throat, drawing our attention. "Do you need any further assistance from me at the moment? I need to check in with my group and get updates," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
I exchanged glances with my brothers, silently communicating our thoughts. Ashland nodded, speaking for us all. "You can go. But before you do, feel free to spread the word that The Exiled has arrived."
A dark smile spread across Elara's face, mirrored by each of us in turn. The thought of whispers in the dark, of fear spreading like wildfire at the mere mention of our presence, sent a thrill through my veins.
"With pleasure," Elara purred, slipping away into the shadows.
As her footsteps faded, we turned our attention to the open doorway before us and whoever was on the other side of it. We crept closer, and words became clearer. I quickly realized that Balor was there along with Fischer and Cam, two of Khol’s spies,and apparently also, two of Saige’s mates. They were having a heated discussion with…
“Is that Laurie?” Rhodes whispered, looking disgusted.
One of Asrael’s longtime hookups. We made it our business to keep tabs on that fucker and everyone he fucked around with. She was on the scarier side of crazy and pretty powerful. We’d have to catch her off guard.
Suddenly, a high-pitched shriek pierced the air, causing all of us to cover our ears. Talon’s eyes met mine, and they were full of fury. He stomped ahead and rounded the corner, the rest of us on his heels. Laurie continued screaming like a gods damned banshee as Balor, Cam, Fischer, and Kai—who I now spotted—covered their ears in pain.
Talon didn’t waste time. He executed a perfect roundhouse kick to the back of her head, dropping her like a sack of rotten potatoes. The screaming ceased, thank the gods.
“Who the fuck are you?” The tall, storm mage questioned, ready to spring into action if needed.
“Fuck are we? Who the fuck areyou?” Ashland demanded, pretending like we didn’t already know, as he took a step forward.
“Holy shit,” Balor exclaimed. “You’re here.” He had warned us to stay out of the castle until he signaled for us, but he should have known that was never going to happen.
Felix replied, his smile in clear view. “We are. Tell me, when does the party start?”
Balor glanced at Felix before looking around and shaking his head. “Not here. Let’s find a safe place to speak. Follow me.” He glanced back at Laurie’s body and waved his hand. “Leave her.”
A man with wild, dark brown curls, who I instantly recognized as Fischer—the cognitive mage who worked for Khol—snarled at the suggestion. “I’m not leaving this bitch anywhere. I think we should kill her now and be done with it.”
The three men continued their conversation, and I tuned them out, choosing instead to join Ash in investigating the woman.
Ashland stepped up next to me with a chuckle. "Guess Talon kicked her into another dimension."
"Of course she’s involved," Rhodes said, unimpressed.
"It's really not that surprising," Ashland replied. "Laurie has been up Asrael's ass for as long as I can remember."
Our conversation was cut short when Fischer announced that Laurie was to be coming with us, and he bent down, wrapped his hand around her ankle, then began dragging her along behind him, much like one would haul a slab of meat. A grisly trail of blood was left in their wake as they moved across the floor.
“That’s fucked up,” Talon announced with satisfaction. “I like it.”
We all followed Balor into what I had to assume was a meeting room. Laurie was deposited in the corner like a rag doll, and I took a seat at the massive table, the rest of the group joining me. We each settled into a chair, ready to begin our discussion. Talon flopped into a chair and kicked his legs up on the table, making himself at home.
The three men across from us studied us intensely, but that didn't bother me because I was doing the exact same to them. Didn’t matter that we already knew who they were; this was posturing at its finest. In our circles, everyone tends to know everyone else, whether on a personal basis or through whispers and rumors. These guys, though, had been in Port Black before. They were spies, so there was no other reason for them to have been there other than to do just that. We never had any run-ins with them, and they probably thought we didn't know they'd even been there. Wrong. We know everything.
I couldn't help but notice that they looked like fucking shit. Whatever they'd been through here up to this moment was sure to have been a pure living hell.
Ashland broke the silence. “We were invited here and told that today was the day.”
I couldn't help but voice what was running through my head. “We were promised today would be the reckoning."
“And it will be,” Balor replied, drumming his fingertips on the tabletop.
“Who are you?” My focus shifted to the mage who asked the question. Had we not been wearing our masks, he would’ve known who we were right away. He had short black hair and a tall, slender frame. His equally dark eyes scanned the five of us with animalistic caution, betraying his affinity.The panther shifter.Kai.
