“Can’t they see our tent?” Logan whispered to the goblin as the shadows continued to encircle the campfire. “No, bro,” Rafe shook his head. “They’re nearly blind. Skinwalkers hunt based on their other senses.” Logan let out a sigh of relief. “Thank God we left the fire going. The smell and sound of the flames is probably the only thing keeping them from pinning down our location.” He carefully walked over to where the three elve were sleeping and nudged them awake. “Brrroooooo,” the Rafe-like inhuman voice hissed from outside. “I need your help.” “How is that—” Abina started to say, but Rafe placed a tiny finger on her mouth before she could finish. “Skinwalkers,” he whispered. The second the words left the goblin’s mouth, all three of the elve’s eyes widened in terror. “How many of them?” Kelda mumbled quietly. “At least two,” Logan whispered, “but it sounds like there could be more of them out there.” “
From not far off in the distance, the other Skinwalkers returned the call of their fallen friend. The sound was a mixture of a human screaming in rage and various animal cries, and it was chilling to the bone. It sounded like there were a lot of them. Rafe hurriedly motioned for them to run, and we followed the goblin over to the far side of the campsite, next to the firewood. The two Skinwalkers Logan had seen from earlier both came lumbering over to their deceased friend and were quickly joined by two others. The first one could have passed for a dark elves with his ram-like horns and cloven feet. However, his breaths came out as gargled bleats. His face had the features of a human, but his lips protruded out like a goat’s, and his entire upper torso was covered with long brown fur. There was no mistaking that the final Skinwalker was a bear. It was down on all fours, sniffing the dead body of its fallen comrade with its long, black snout. The
“Having all five of us in a single area must have been making them go crazy. I didn’t think their territory extended this far, but the increase in power after we made love must have drawn them to our location.” “Yeah,” the goblin confirmed. “They were magicians themselves at one point, and now they keep themselves alive by siphoning the life force out of anyone who has powerful magical energy. We should—HOLY FUCK!” Rafe jumped back across the interior of the Jeep in terror, wrapped his arms and legs around Logan’s right arm like a koala, and pointed out the passenger-side window of the vehicle. Logan nearly swerved off the road when he saw it. Another skinwalker. He could only see the top part of the monster, and it looked just as gnarly as the rest of the creatures they had killed. Its face had sunken black eyes that rested at the base of a long, flesh-colored beak. Where there would normally be hair, a cluster of bloody spines stuck out of the cre
“That’s…” Logan couldn’t finish at first with how much he was laughing. “That’s not what sloth means.” “Wait, it isn’t?” Rafe asked as he tilted his goblin head sideways like a confused dog. “No dude,” he sighed. “Didn’t you pay attention at all in school?” “You know I didn’t,” Rafe laughed. “But you studied all this occult stuff, so—” “I just thought whenever they talked about sloth it was a big sloth,” Rafe said with a self-satisfied nod. “So, one of the seven deadly sins is a sloth?” Logan asked.“Well, a really, really big one with like long sharp claws and teeth like a monster wolverine. Then he’d stomp through cities and terrorize all the heathens.” As Rafe spoke, Logan could imagine that he raised his arms to his side like Godzilla and moved like he was stomping on imaginary buildings. “Bro, I love you,” Logan laughed. “You make every day awesome.” “Awww,” Rafe sighed. “Jakey, I love you too. Come on, let’s hug it ou
“And they will,” Logan reassured the elves. “It all starts with preventing Azar's return.” “So if there’s a Cougar Club, what did they call you guys?” Rafe asked through the tension. The three elves looked at each other for a moment and then started to laugh. “They’re the Circle of Sin,” Beth said as a sly smile spread up her face. “It makes me chuckle every time I say it out loud.” Kelda shook her head. “It was that Voidmoth's idea.” “Their former master was full of bad ideas,” Abina added. “For example, he thought he could rip them away from their beloved Logan. And now he’s dead.” “You’re welcome,” Logan joked and pointed at Abina with a forkful of eggs. “I get it.” Rafe’s position was given away by the maple syrup that dribbled down his invisible chin. “All the different groups of elves are like army battalions with their own codenames and shit.” “Precisely.” Beth nodded. “Fighting was their main function when they weren’t doing their o
“But what about Kelda?” Logan questioned. “She’s a fallen light elve” “I’m still a soldier,” the blonde interjected. “The only difference is that I was created in the image of one of the Divine rather than a demon.” “I thought you said you and dark queen went back before the Revolution?” Rafe seemed completely lost now. “I’m a madame on par with the lords of Hell,” Beth explained, pointing to the other elve. “I existed long before either of these two did.” Suddenly, Logan’s mind wandered into a dark place. “Beth,” he asked, “what happens if I die? Will Abina and Kelda survive?” “We’re never going to find that out!” Kelda cut off the redhead before she could respond. “You are our master now, Logan, and you’re the most badass, loving, and well-endowed guy we could ask for. We’re going to kill the rest of these demons, and we’ll kick the ass of anyone who stands in our way.” “To Logan!” Abina raised a glass of milk into the air. Beth, Keld
“What’s the matter?” Ira mocked. “Cat got your tongue in a vice?” “No,” Logan huffed. “I’m just thinking about how lame that little bone whip was when Voidmoth used it.” “This time you will see it used in the hands of a true master!” the dark-haired woman squealed as she lashed out at him with the whip. Logan knocked the whip away with a small shield of purple flame, and it ricocheted into the bathroom mirror. Shards of glass sprayed across the tiny room, but he quickly cast an emerald spell to send the deadly projectiles away from him and back at his assailant. The glass reappeared beside Ira, and the elve dissolved a few of them with her own blast of red Magicfire. The remaining shards stabbed into the woman’s left arm, and she let out a moan of pure ecstasy. “Now that’s what I’m talking about!” she smiled sadistically as she looked down at the glass sticking out of her arm. “Do it more. Please. Beat me like a naughty puppy.” “Sister Ira,” Lo
Kelda released her Lady's hand, and Beth passed her glowing fire over Ira’s wounds. As she did so, the melted flesh molded back into its regular shape and returned to its original peach skin tone. Once the petite, black-haired elve had been healed, Beth released her spell and stood back up. Logan reached down toward Ira, and she cautiously accepted his hand. He pulled her back to her feet, but then she took a few steps back in caution. “I appreciate what you did for me today,” she confessed, “especially the rough foreplay.” She raised a finger. “But this changes nothing. I am still loyal to the King of the Fourth Circle, as is my dominant half. The next time we meet, you’ll get to feel her wrath.” “What about your promise just now?” Kelda reminded the elve. A sly smile slid up Ira’s face. “Very well. I’ll give you a hint.” The dark-haired elve quickly summoned a ball of turquoise flames into both of her hands. She hurled one of the fireballs at Logan, and