“I will tear the threads of heaven to return. And you will help me, Ava.”
The monster called his mate by name, and the vision broke off when Malachi felt a roar erupt from his chest. His eyes flew open and she was there, holding his cheeks in her hands and shouting—
“Malachi!”
Rage washed through him like a churning river, like a flame ripping though dry brush. He wanted to hunt what stalked her. Wanted to wipe it from the earth and bathe in its blood. The fury coursed through his veins until Ava put her lips on his.
He took them. Digging his hands into the soft curve of her waist, he clung to her. He banded his arms around her body.
Malachi felt hands on his shoulders, breaking into the trance between them. Voices became clear.
“Leave him. Leave her. There’s no way—”
“Did you see that? I’ve never seen light like that. It looked like fire from the inside out.”
“Malachi.” Someone pulled at his arms. “Let her go. She can hardly breathe, Malachi.”
“No.” Ava pulled away from his kiss with a gasp. “I’m fine. He’s fine. Malachi?”
He snarled at those surrounding them, and they stepped back. Then she pulled his face down to hers and pressed her cheek to his.
“I’m fine,” she whispered. “Fine. Safe. You’re here. We’re safe. It was just a vision. Not real, Malachi. It wasn’t real.”
He reached down and pressed her hand over his heart where a phantom pain still lingered. “Hurts. Did it hurt you?”
“No. I didn’t see it that way. I’m not hurt.”
“He wants you.” His voice was hoarse, as if he’d been screaming. “Wants to use you, Ava.”
“You won’t let him, will you?” Her voice was calm, and he clung to that. “We won’t let him use us.”
“No.”
“And neither will our friends.”
As violent as his reaction was, Ava was safe. They were surrounded by allies. She was safe. He forced himself to take a deep breath. His talesm still glowed with light, as did Ava’s mating marks. In fact, as he glanced around the room, every one of the Irin was lit up like a Christmas tree.
Rhys grinned. “That was different.”
Sari said, “It was similar to the vision she shared with us at Sarihöfn, but this one was far more violent and powerful. I would guess that having Malachi back is multiplying her power.”
“Two birds…,” Lang said. “Volund and Jaron?”
Damien nodded. “I think it’s clear that some war is between them now. There were others there, watching. Did anyone else see that?”
Orsala nodded. “And there were jackals. Scavengers. Waiting to see who the winner is? To pick at the bones of the defeated?”
“Is this what is happening in Oslo right now?” Lang asked. “Is all this Grigori activity a result of two of the most powerful Fallen angels in history fighting? That… can’t end well.”
“And I hardly think the council will be much help,” Damien said. “According to Leo and Rhys, there are increases in Grigori activity all over the continent and they are being ignored. Who knows what’s happening in the rest of the world?”
“Whatever is happening in Vienna, we need to deal with the problem in Oslo right now,” Rhys said. “Analyze Ava’s vision later. If so many Grigori are hunting in the city, they have a base. They stay together when they’re not feeding. They would have… a house. A warehouse, possibly. Somewhere that a lot of them could be hidden. We need to find it and destroy them in their nest. Fighting all these individuals as they attack is not solving anything.”
“So you’re proposing aggression?” Lang asked. “Not just defense, but offense?”
Rhys paused. “I know it’s not the official policy, but—”
“Just clarifying, brother,” Lang said. “You won’t get an argument from me.”
“Nor me,” Damien said. “And technically, I’m still your superior.”
“So we find them,” Leo said. “Take them out where they sleep.”
Malachi said, “And we do it now. It’s near dawn. They’ll be hunting right now, but they’ll be sleeping at dawn. If we pull everyone in, find where they’re taking shelter and strike quickly, we might be able to stop this.”
Orsala said, “They won’t expect it. This is one of the things the Irina have learned. The Grigori expect Irin to be defensive, not offensive. They won’t be expecting an attack from you because it’s not officially sanctioned.”
“And we are oh so very good at following rules,” Rhys said.
Everyone moved closer to the map. Malachi took Ava’s hand again, leaning in to survey the red and yellow dots. It was true, there were many. Too many. But somewhere in the forest of attacks, they would find a nest of enemies.
Which was good. Malachi was more than ready to kill something.
“An apartment building in the city center?” Sari said. “Would that be too conspicuous?”
“A hotel?” Leo offered. “If many of them have come in very recently, they might not have a house big enough. But a hotel…”
“It’s possible,” Lang said with a nod. “They would be inconspicuous. And there are many hotels near the larger tourist sites where they’ve been hunting.”
“A group of supernaturally attractive men all in one hotel would be pretty darn conspicuous,” Ava said. “I mean, it might still be an option, but I have a hard time believing they’d be able to hide for long. It would look like a convention of male models taking over downtown Oslo.”
Leo added, “I’ll try to get in contact with Max and his friend.”
Sari said, “We’ll start without them. Send out scouts. Find the Grigori. Find their base. We find it before dawn, and then we kill them all.”
Only three hours later, Leo received the call from Max.
“We’ve found them. It’s not good.”
Chapter Twenty-four
Ava had spent little time in Oslo, usually only using it as a jumping-off point for treks in rural Norway. The waterfront was something new. The normally bustling sidewalks of the Aker Brygge were silent at dawn. None of the tourist traffic was out, and the few boats that sat in port bobbed quietly in the frosty air. Tall buildings rose on one side while the frigid expanse of the fjord stretched out before them. It was foggy and near freezing, and Ava stood as close to Malachi as she could while they huddled in the alley with Maxim and Renata. Jeremiah and the other Oslo scribes were cautiously strolling through the area, trying to spot any lingering Grigori or humans. They’d found the body of one girl, dead from attack or exposure, they couldn’t tell.
“The police are noticing,” Max said. “The girls who are disappearing are not just prostitutes and drug addicts anymore.”
Lang said, “Grigori attacks prior to this have been unnoticed—mostly because the women survive and don’t remember exactly what happened coupled with the fact the Grigori prey on the most vulnerable on the streets. But this many in the city? I’m surprised it’s not raised a public panic yet.”
“The house is two blocks down,” Renata said. “We haven’t been able to get inside, but we’ve been watching. I would guess there are around sixty soldiers.”
“I’d guess more,” Max said. “And I think some came in on a ferry today. I’m not positive—I was too far away—but they looked right for Grigori and the human women were reacting to them.”
“We never knew about this place,” Lang said. “They’ve kept it very quiet.”
“And you’ve been reactive, not proactive,” Renata said with a shrug, clearly not caring if she pissed off the tall scribe who glared at her. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of. All the scribe houses are.”
“Renata,” Max said with a warning tone. “It’s not important now. What is important is that they’re here now.”