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Prologue

Three Years Ago …

“He’s gone Let’s call it”

Shade ignored his partner and crunched another series of compressions into the shapeshifter’s chest Beneath his palrated with each doard stroke

One—one thousand, crunch Two—one thousand, crunch Shade’s own heart was pounding, puh blood per enerator, but the patient’s heart didn’t so hkneeling in blood next to the patient Four—one thousand, crunch A tingle spread down the derht shoulder to his hand as he used his specialized gift to force the patient’s heart to beat

“Shade Stop” Skulk, Shade’s half-sister and pararay hand on his arm “We did all we could”

Knowing Skulk was right didn’t h breath left in his lungs to curse about it Panting, he ceased CPR and sat back on his heels on the filth-strewn floor of the abandoned brewery His ar heavily around his neck

He ground his teeth as he looked into the glassy eyes of his deceased patient The vic was just a kid Fourteen, maybe He’d probably only recently learned how to shift out of his hued to The telltale birthmark of a true shifter, a red, star-shaped mole behind the left ear, had barely formed

“This is bullshit,” Shade els who had called in the report to the hospital stood, their sweet, virginal appearances belied by the sinister glint in their eyes

“You didn’t see who dropped him here?” he asked

One of the angel iainst her white gown “He was just lying there Peaceful”

“He looked peaceful with half his organs ?”

The other False Angel sestively along the low-cut neckline of the gown no true angel would wear “How about we help you relax, incubus?”

“Yes,” the other one purred “I’ve always loved a man in uniform”

The first False Angel nodded “Veragoth does so enjoy haunting police stations”

“Moth twirled a strand of hair around a finger and swept her hungry gaze fro to think I should be hanging out with paramedics”

Yeah, his black, BDU-style medic unifor off the fuck-me pheromones that came standard issue for Se nad with two beautiful fery, and damned sick of the newest rash of deave a rat’s ass that so the on since tian, but few cared

Shade did

He was the asole who got called to scenes where he rarely made a difference in whether or not the vic died Most were too far gone Or dead

Skulk holstered her radio and dug through the juloves “Since shifters don’t disintegrate aboveground, Doc E wants the body Let’s scoop it up We’re done here”

We’re done here Too many calls ended like that lately

Cursing, Shade helped Skulk load the kid’s body onto a stretcher and wheel it to the rig The black a Underworld General Hospital, was protected by a spell that rendered it unnoticeable to humans, but here, the cloak wasn’t needed They were in a quiet part of New York City, a for Prohibition and was only now starting to build up again as a residential neighborhood

“Let’s roll,” Shade said, and sla’s rear doors

It was Skulk’s turn to drive, so Shade cliu out the run sheet

Patient’s chief coan removal

Patient’s response to treat dead

“Sonofabitch” Shade pinged the pen at the dash “This sucks—” He cut off, suddenly shaken by a rumble deep inside him, an earthquake in his very soul Pain rolled up froh his body until the tsunaony slammed him backward in his seat

“Shade? What is it? Shade?” Skulk shook his shoulder, but he barely noticed He threw open the door, thankful they hadn’t taken off yet, and fell from the vehicle

His knees hit the paveh the roar of blood in his ears Doubled over, he wrapped his arulfed his vision, his brain One of his brothers was dead Who? Gods, who?

He reached out with his mind to connect with Wraith, the brother who couldn’t be more his opposite, but ho He couldn’t feel Wraith at all Struggling for each breath, he felt for the weaker connection with Eidolon, but again, nothing He couldn’t sense Roag, either

In the background, he heard Skulk talking on her cell phone with Solice, the on-duty triage nurse at the hospital “Where are Shade’s brothers? I need to kno!”

“Skulk …” he gasped

She knelt next to him “Hold on” She listened into the phone for awent to Brimstone She’s allready to head there now She doesn’t knohere E and Wraith are They refused to go with Roag”

Not a shock No Seht mind would step inside a demon pub where female lust could hold you prisoner for days, or worse, send you to your death at the claw-end of a jealous ht mind

Shade groaned, sed sickly Gradually, a pinpoint of light pierced the darkness Wraith He could feel Wraith’s life force Thank the gods Relief , but only for a second He couldn’t sense Eidolon Blindly, he reached out with his hand as though he could touch his brother Skulk caught his arh his

“Breathe, Paleshadow,” she whispered, using the childhood nicknah this”

Not if E was dead Shit, he was the brother who kept the in line and Wraith alive

Awareness sifted through him Eidolon He was safe

The pain faded, but a gnawing, aching emptiness drilled one more hole into Shade’s soul Seminus demons were connected to all their brothers, and when one died, he took a chunk of his surviving siblings with him Thirty-seven deaths later, Shade felt like a colander

“Who was it?” Skulk asked softly

“Roag” He drew in a deep, shuddering breath “It was Roag”

“I’m sorry”

“So am I,” he said, but it was an automatic response As much as he hated to admit it, the world was now a better place