Page 91 of The Fate of Black Hearts

Brik claimed he could get the demon, once exorcised, to talk.

He stalked to the house.

Efrem crossed his arms, blocking Dom’s entry. “Where is she?”

“Gone.”

“To where?”

“Who’s gone?” Flynn asked behind her.

“Flynn, gather your brothers,” Dom ordered.

Flynn cast a skeptical double eyebrow raise at him. “You know I’ve only realized who you are in the past half day. You’re a real shit to?—”

“Now!” Dom thundered. “Whoever is masquerading as Ian took Evie.” His phone rang. He put it to his ear without answering.

“They’re dead, Dom. They’re all dead.”

“Who is this? Dojin?”

“Brik is…I can’t tell if he’s dead. All the others who sat at the table are dead. The Conclave is no more.” Dojin’s fast breathing came through the phone. “What do I do? It’s a massacre of parts like a…like would be done by a…”

“Demon?”

“Hold on, it’s Brik. He’s barely alive.” There was a pause.

The break went on so long Dom asked, “Are you still there?”

“He said Levi. I think he meanstheLeviathan. What the…” Athunkas if the phone dropped. “He disappeared.”

“Brik disappeared? Or Leviathan disappeared?” He hoped Brik had gone underground to recover in safety.

“Who’s Leviathan?” Flynn asked.

“Brik’s gone. What do you make of Leviathan?” Dojin asked on the phone. “I only know the bad 80s horror film.”

Dom met Flynn’s gaze before turning around to give him his back. Low into the phone he said, “Leviathan is one of the demon princes.”

“Leviathan is a prince?”

“It’s a serpent demon. The prince of envy.”There were seven princes in hell who worked for Satan, but this particular fallen angel specialized in encouraging human envy. “Did you find Marik?”

“There’s so many random body parts. I don’t know. No, I don’t think he’s here.”

“Sort what you can there. I will take care of this.” He hung up despite Dojin’s continued questions.

“What did you do with my mother?” Roman asked.

Dom stared at his shaking hands. How could he have been so blind? “She was taken by the demon Leviathan.”

“I don’t understand.” Roman moved closer.

He fisted a hand. “Fool me once, shame on me. Won’t fool me again.” He pulled back his fist, prepared to punch the wall.

Roman grabbed his hand. “Mom gets cranky when we destroy her stuff. Maybe you could romance her out of punishment, but I’m just giving advice here. I recommend you not put your fist into it.”

“He’s not kidding,” Flynn added. “She made me scrub all the bathrooms the last time I punched a mirror. Like, on my knees scrubbing until they sparkled. There were five bathrooms in that house.”