“How do you feel?”
“Pretty drained. But I can walk. I had no idea you two would hit me so hard.”
“It would’ve been no fun if we had warned you,” said Kain. He stood up and pulled her with him. Sophie let him guide her up and started looking around for her clothes.
“I’ll get them for you,” said Alexi.
?
It was way past dinner time when Tengu reached the priest’s house. Sophie, Kain, and Alexi were sitting by the fire, listening to Father Michael talk about the village, the people who lived there, and how Count Casimir D’Argyle took care of them and helped their children get an education or good jobs in the city. They didn’t like what they heard, but they had to clench their teeth and refrain from telling their kind host the truth. They needed to be patient if they wanted to get useful information that would later help them bring the demon down.
“Welcome back, my dear friend!” said Father Michael the moment Tengu entered the small living room. “We’ve already had dinner, but if you’re hungry I can fix you something in minutes.”
“Where’s the shaman?” asked Kain before Tengu even had the chance to answer the priest.
The incubus threw the blond an impatient look, then accepted Father Michael’s offer. He wasn’t hungry, and as an incubus he didn’t even need food, but he had to send the man away for a couple of minutes without raising any kind of suspicion.
“The old man is in one of the other villages.”
“He is so weird…” whispered Sophie. It still boggled her mind how the shaman could go without sleep or food. What kind of magic did he actually possess? Was he that powerful?
Tengu took a seat at the table and the three cambions gathered around him.
“We don’t have much time,” he said. He gave Alexi and Kain the two files he had brought with him. “Alexi, you’re going to take the identity of Marquis Leraje.”
“Leraje?” Sophie’s heart jumped in her chest at the sound of the demon’s name. A chill ran up her spine, and she felt a bitter taste in her mouth. It was the taste of having almost failed on her first training session.
“Seems okay,” said Alexi. He opened the file and threw a glance over the first page. He already knew it by heart, but he’d have to read it again to figure out how to better copy the demon’s signature aura.
“Kain, I think Marquis Andras is a good fit for you.”
“Seriously? A demon of discord?”
Sophie leaned over his shoulder to take a look at the file. It was the first time she heard about Andras, and she couldn’t understand why Kain didn’t like his new identity.
“You think very little of me, Tengu.” Kain shook his head in disappointment, but a small smirk was tugging at his lips.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” asked the incubus. He had no time or patience for the blond cambion’s silly games.
“You know I’m a straightforward kind of guy and you make me copy the aura of a demon who likes manipulating people and sowing discord. I’m hurt.”
Tengu cocked a thin, dark eyebrow, and chose to ignore the comment. He didn’t find it funny in the least. “You have tonight to study your new identities and see how you adapt to them.” He turned to Sophie. “I hope you are ready, young lady.”
“Oh, I am.” Sophie straightened her back and looked Tengu straight in the eyes. “This is my first case and I know The Pantheon has taken a huge risk allowing me to work with my mentors, but I will not disappoint you.”
Alexi shot her a quick glance and couldn’t help but smile at the determination he saw in her beautiful brown eyes.
Tengu nodded his approval, which was enough to let Sophie know he trusted her. There was no turning back, anyway. They all had to trust her now. The next day, she would go to the Count’s representative and offer her services for the Spring Celebration he was getting ready to organize up in the mountains, at his mansion. The game was on.
CHAPTER THREE
“Sophie…”
The woman set her pen down and fixed her with golden, mesmerizing eyes. Sophie’s frozen smile didn’t falter.
“I haven’t seen you around. I’ve been helping Count D’Argyle take care of the five villages he has taken under his wing for many years, and I believe I know most of the villagers.”
Sophie hadn’t expected it to be easy to convince the Count’s representative to hire her, so she had made sure she had answers to all possible questions. The woman before her, Berith, was just a lesser demon. However, she was smart and suspicious. Even if it would have been easy for Sophie to overwhelm her with her aura and render her unconscious in a matter of minutes, that was not the point. Berith was not important. Her master was.