Marked For Death: A Dark Urban Fantasy Novel Becca Blake (fiction novels to read .txt) 📖

demon lord disappeared with my partner, leaving me alone in the middle of the road.

Once I caught my breath, I got back in the Cavalier and sped away from Haygrove as fast as it would take me. By the time I merged onto the highway, everything I’d been holding in caught up with me, and I pulled over onto the shoulder.

Sobs tore through my chest, and I slammed my fist against the top of the steering wheel. I’d been so stupid to think we could stop Raxael, and Jacob was now suffering for it. He’d been dragged back to Haygrove, back to his father, and I had no way of knowing if he would be okay.

Worse, I’d agreed to hand Orion over to Raxael. If I didn’t, Jacob would die.

How could I choose between them? I loved Orion. He’d been family for as long as I could remember. But despite the rocky start to our partnership, I was starting to care for Jacob, too, and I didn’t think I could live with myself if I doomed him to die.

Even without the weight of that choice over my head, I was in so much pain. My infernal wound throbbed, and the healing herbs in my duffel bag were useless. I would have to find another way to treat it soon, and without access to the clinic in Haygrove, I wasn’t sure how I’d manage that.

Whatever my next move was, sitting in my car on the side of the road wouldn’t help.

I rubbed my eyes and steadied my breathing before pulling out my phone.

Orion must have been waiting for my call, as it only rang once before he answered. “Are you safe?”

At the sound of his voice, I relaxed back in my chair, my body sagging with relief. I’d been too afraid to call and check on him while we were still in town, and until now I hadn’t realized how worried I was.

“Riley?” he pressed, worry creeping into his voice, and I realized I hadn’t responded to him.

“Yeah,” I managed. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m alive. Where are you?”

Awkward shuffling came from the other end, and I could hear faint voices in the background.

“I made it to Ayla’s. She didn’t seem thrilled to hear from me.”

“But she agreed to let you stay? Temporarily, at least?”

“If she didn’t, I wouldn’t be here. She’s being polite about it, but it sounds like she wants us out by the end of the week.”

There was a long pause on the other end. Neither of us seemed to want to be the first to turn the conversation to Haygrove.

Orion gave in first. “How did things go in town? Did you get the enchantment?”

“I…” I hesitated as I searched for words to describe all that had happened. “I got it. But Raxael attacked Haygrove. And he took Jacob.”

“Infernal hells,” Orion breathed out.

I continued describing the hellhounds’ attack, as well as everything I saw with the Council. I stopped short of telling him all that had happened after, or about the deal I’d made with Raxael.

We could solve that problem later. Right now, I just had to get to him.

Chapter Twenty-Six

By the time I arrived in Omaha, the moon was high in the sky. I navigated to Ayla’s address, which brought me to a bookshop downtown. After parking in a nearby lot and grabbing my bag, I approached the building. The sign on the door read that it had closed several hours ago, and the door was locked. I pressed my face against the window, trying to get a better view of the interior, but it was too dark to see much of anything.

Just as I pulled out my phone to text Orion, a light came on inside. A dark figure appeared in front of the door, and the lock clicked.

I stuffed the phone back in my pocket and let my hand hover over the gun at my hip, just in case.

Ayla pulled the door open. She stared at me for a few moments before pulling me into a hug. “So much for no Arbiter crap, huh?”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” I said.

“Come on—let’s get upstairs.” She pulled the door shut behind me and locked it, then gestured for me to follow.

I trailed her through the cramped rows of bookshelves. “We walked past this place when we met up that night. I didn’t realize you lived here.”

“I live upstairs and work downstairs,” she said as we started up a staircase in the back room. “It’s pretty convenient. Less of a commute than my last job.”

“Living above the bookshop you work at? That sounds like a dream for you.”

She looked over her shoulder and grinned. “Yeah. It’s perfect.”

“I really am sorry for bringing all this trouble to your doorstep,” I said. “I just wasn’t sure what else to do.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she said, sighing. “I knew I was taking a risk by contacting you. And, to be honest, as much as I love this place, I kind of miss all the action.”

“Just not the Arbiter crap.”

“Exactly.” She spun around, pausing in front of a door at the top of the steps. “Orion says you’re trying to stop them.”

“That’s the goal.”

“Well, count me in. I’ll help if I can.”

“You don’t have to—”

“Trust me. I want to,” she said. “Screw ‘em.”

Before I could respond, she opened the door, and Orion nearly flew out of the apartment. He enveloped me in a hug that was a bit too tight, and I gasped at the sharp pain that shot through my chest.

As he let go of me and looked me over, his forehead creased with concern. “You look like crap.”

He wasn’t wrong. I’d left my ruined leather jacket in the car, so only my black top remained. It was torn around the wound on my shoulder, and the edges of the material were charred and frayed. I probably should have changed into something clean before coming inside, but I’d been so exhausted it never crossed my mind.

“You didn’t mention this when we were on