Marked For Death: A Dark Urban Fantasy Novel by Becca Blake (english novels to improve english .txt) 📕

been doing? How many would react like you did?” she asked.

“I don’t know.” I’d wondered the same thing myself, but I still didn’t have an answer.

“I’d be willing to guess there are a lot.”

“So we just stroll into town and tell them what happened?”

She nodded. “That’s the idea.”

“That’s insane.”

Though, was it really any crazier than anything else that had happened to us recently? A demon lord tore through Haygrove and burned buildings to the ground. I still didn’t know how many people had been killed in that attack.

If hunters knew the Council had been working with the demon who did that, would they still stick around?

Would I, if I hadn’t been involved in all of this myself?

It was hard to say, but I hoped not.

“Okay,” I said finally. “Back to Haygrove it is.”

Chapter Thirty-Five

It was late afternoon by the time we arrived in Haygrove. Celia slowed the car as we approached an unfamiliar security checkpoint at the edge of town. They had erected new fencing on either side of the road, and a gate now blocked the only entrance.

“What’s all this?” I asked.

“They’re controlling who goes in and out of town,” she said. “We told everyone this was for their safety, in case there was another demon attack. As if this would have done anything to stop Raxael.”

A heavily armed guard dressed in full tactical gear stepped out in front of Celia’s SUV, gesturing for her to roll down the window.

“Hi, Mike,” she said, flashing a smile.

The rest of us slouched down in the back, hiding behind the front seats and tinted windows.

“Councilwoman,” he said. “You’re back.”

“You sound surprised to see me,” she said.

“We were told you and your team didn’t make it,” Mike said. “I thought you were dead. There was a huge service and everything.”

“Well, they were mistaken. Here I am.”

“Should I call ahead and let the rest of the Council know you’re coming?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Celia said. “I’d love to surprise them.”

Not bothering to check the car, Mike waved for the others to open the gate and let us through.

“I guess they haven’t gotten the memo that you’re on the shit list,” Orion said.

“Or they have, and they’re calling Marcus now to warn him,” she said. “I guess we’ll see.”

“I still think this is a terrible idea,” he muttered.

As we drove through the wreckage, the streets that usually bustled with activity were eerily silent. It had been over a week since Raxael’s attack, and it looked like little had been done to begin the work of cleaning up the town.

“Where is everyone?” I asked.

“After the attack, the Council put a strict curfew in place. They aren’t letting anyone out right now without a damn good reason,” Celia said. “Those who lost their homes are being sheltered in the training center.”

“What about hunts?” Ayla asked.

“Suspended. We recalled all the hunters in the field so we—” Celia’s voice hitched as she caught herself. “Or, rather, so the Council can regroup and figure out what to do next. Last I heard, they don’t even know how many we lost.”

“If this is going to work, we need people in the streets to hear what we have to say,” Orion said.

“So, let’s get them out here.” Celia pulled the car over on the side of the road and grabbed her phone from the dashboard. “If they haven’t locked me out of the system yet, I should be able to send out an emergency alert for everyone to report to the Courtyard.”

As we waited on the side of the street, a few people cracked open their doors or pushed aside curtains to peer out at us, but no one came outside.

A few minutes later, Celia grinned and set the phone down. “It’s done. Looks like they didn’t bother removing me yet, since I’m supposed to be dead and all.”

“That should cause some chaos, at least,” Orion said.

“We still have to find Dr. Moran,” I said. No matter how many people we convinced to join us, our return to Haygrove would be a failure if we didn’t find the alchemist, or if he refused to help.

“We can stop by the lab on our way to the Courtyard,” Celia said.

We continued through town and made our way to Market Street, which seemed to have been hit the hardest by the attack. I knew it shouldn’t, after everything we’d learned, but seeing Haygrove like this broke my heart. This was my childhood home, and so much of it had been destroyed. Raxael and his hounds had leveled most of the familiar buildings down the main stretch.

The alchemy lab was one of the few still standing. Aside from the blown-out windows of the greenhouse, the building seemed fine.

As Celia navigated down Market Street, people poured out from the side streets, all heading to the Courtyard.

After parking in front of the lab, she slammed on the horn repeatedly until the front door opened, and Ed appeared.

He approached the SUV, his brow furrowed in confusion, but his eyes lit up as soon as Celia rolled down her window. “Councilwoman! How did the new injection work out? Did it stop the dark magic users you were after?”

Before she could answer, I swung open my door and stepped out.

“Ms. Collins!” He clapped his hands together. “What a pleasant surprise. I wasn’t expecting to see you back here. What about your enchantment? Did it work? I need all the details.”

“Kind of,” I said.

His face fell. “Kind of?”

“It needed more juice.”

“Ah,” he groaned, smacking his forehead. “A sacrifice. I should have realized that would be the case, given the gem’s nature.”

I nodded. “But once we powered it up, it worked great.”

“Excellent!” He leaned forward and lowered his voice to a whisper. “And Raxael?”

“Dead,” I said.

“Really?” The alchemist’s eyes widened, and he looked to Celia for confirmation.

“It’s true,” she said.

“That’s why we’re here. We’ve got something for you to look at.” I gestured for him to follow me around back.

“What is it?” he asked.

“I promise it’s worth your while.” When I opened