Page 61 of A City of Smoke and Demons
‘Well,’ he said. ‘That wasn’t so—’
Jem and Tobias drew their weapons and Ezra’s heart lurched as something unfolded itself from the darkness of the alley. It was a man in a rumpled suit. Tobias pulled a flare from his bandolier and lit the alley up. In the flash of light, Ezra thought he saw a blonde woman with a skull for a face. He blinked, and she was gone.
The man held up his hands, terror on his face. His lips quivered.
Jem swore and stepped forward. The man’s face shifted, his skin twitching and suddenly, he exploded. His skin peeled back, opening like a piece of ripe fruit. Ezra froze, his stomach sinking, as something black and glistening, with limbs longer than a human’s, pushed its way from the shell of the man’s body. Blazing red eyes looked at him from a face crafted by nightmares, two jagged horns jutting through its bulbous head. A thick stream of black liquid escaped the creature's slit-like nostrils. Spikes adorned its shoulders, and a blade-like tail crawled behind it, swishing side to side with evil intent as the demon growled low in its throat.
Ezra gaped. How had he spent his life in this city and never seen something like this before? The creature let out a guttural roar, and the next few minutes were pure chaos.
Tobias pushed Ezra back against the wall as a bullet lodged in the creature’s shoulder. It roared and lifted itself to its full height. It towered above them, black body taut, and released another roar that shook the ground beneath Ezra's feet.
Jem clutched a vial of shimmering liquid fire in one hand, a dagger in the other. Tobias fired again, and the creature howled. It swung a massive paw at him; he danced out of the way, narrowly avoiding being gutted by those deadly claws. As he twisted to the side, he threw one of the smaller blades from his bandolier; it struck the monster in the face, embedding itself to the hilt below its eye. Jem unleashed the liquid fire. It shot from the vial and engulfed the creature’s head. It growled and shrank away from the light. Maddog darted forward and sliced off one of its hands. Screeching, the beast swung at him, but Jem’s blade slid into its gut. Black blood spurted onto the cobblestones.
The monster clutched its stomach, shadows swirling around its body, red eyes flashing. Jem backed up as it came closer, talons raised, ready to shred flesh and bone.
Maddog’s bullet hit the demon straight between the eyes, above where Tobias’ knife had landed. The creature stumbled, but didn’t fall to the ground, and Ezra finally remembered why he was there.
His hands moved without thinking—three knives left his fingers as fast as a blink. One found purchase in the demon's left eye, another its throat, and the final knife landed where its heart, if it had one, should be. The creature collapsed in a heap, smoke and shadow rising from its shiny, black body.
Ezra concentrated on breathing as Jem crouched by the dead demon. He used his dagger to lift a piece of it from the ground, before letting it fall into the wet pile of skin and blood. He stood and emptied another vial of liquid fire onto the body of the demon. It took less than a minute for there to be nothing left, no evidence the creature had existed.
There were a million words running around Ezra’s head, but when he opened his mouth, all that came out was, ‘Fuck me.’
Jem chuckled. ‘So eloquent as usual, Ezra.’
‘Let’s get back and get cleaned up,’ Maddog said. He slung an arm around Ezra’s shoulders—Ezra nearly jumped out of his skin. ‘Great arm. If I’d known you could throw knives like that…’ He shook his head. ‘...You were wasted in my boxing ring.’
Ezra could only nod.
Demons were real. His gangster boss and his best friend were fucking demon hunters, and he’d helped them kill a demon.
They made their way back to the club. Dazed, Ezra followed the others through the empty front bar and into Maddog’s office, where Lira and Analise were waiting. As they walked in, Analise shot to her feet. She mumbled something, and hurried from the room, red-cheeked.
Jem and Tobias sat on the lounge, Jem’s arm slung around Tobias’ shoulder. Maddog produced a bottle of whiskey and they took turns drinking. Ezra didn’t know what to say. Once the bottle was empty, Maddog, Jem, and Tobias left, Jem giving Ezra’s shoulder a squeeze on the way out.
Left alone with Lira, Ezra dragged his hand through his hair.
‘Tobias and I had a bet, he thought you’d pass out.’ Lira sat back, putting her feet up on the small table. ‘You’ve got a set of brass ones, that’s for sure.’
Ezra shook his head. ‘Was any of that real? Or am I high?’
Lira laughed. ‘You’re not high. You know, someone was worried about you.’
‘I’m going to need some proof of that,’ he said, wiping his hands on his trousers.
‘She barely moved and watched the door the whole time you were gone.’
‘Maybe she likes your brother. Or your uncle. Hell, even Tobias.’
Lira made an exasperated noise.
Ezra sighed. ‘She hates me, and she has the right to.’
‘Yes, she’s angry, but it doesn’t mean she doesn’t care,’ Lira said with gentle firmness. ‘Analise doesn’t trust people easily. She’s spent the last five years looking over her shoulder. She’s hurt, but she does care.’
Lira left him in the ringing silence with the chaotic tumble of his thoughts.
It was close to midnight when Analise went downstairs, drawn by the sound of music, laughter, and the clink of glasses. The Canem Club was closed so who were all these people? She lingered at the bottom of the stairs, smoothing her hands overher clothes—a plain cream blouse with short sleeves and a dark grey skirt. Not really party attire, but she’d tidied her hair.
