Ursula’s eyes locked on the sword in Bael’s hand. Why had he brought it? She was defenseless with the stupid dagger. He could hack her to pieces in an instant. Don’t antagonize him. That’s what Kester would have told her. And don’t let him see your fear. “I admire your taste in weaponry.”

“I feel more comfortable with a blade in my hand.” He tossed Honjo to her, and it spun through the air. She caught the hilt nimbly, and relief flooded her. He wasn’t going to murder her. Shockingly, her plan was working for once.

“I smelled you on that one. Please understand that you can’t use it against me, or you will die.” He spoke matter-of-factly.

“That is fairly obvious.” As she followed him out the door, her eyes flicked to her overturned dresser. Apparently, he’d used it to barricade her in.

As they walked through the hall, the sword hanging loosely in his grasp, his eyes followed her every move. She had the distinct impression he was calculating and recalculating how quickly he could decapitate her if Honjo so much as twitched in her grip.

Up close, he was downright terrifying. Where Abrax was all lethal grace, Bael was pure, shadowy power. His arms were massive, knotted with muscle. She was certain he could tear her limb from limb without breaking a sweat. He’d certainly rearranged her entire apartment in only a few minutes.

“How do you move so quickly?”

“Emerazel gives you access to her infernal flame, Nyxobas lets me draw upon his shadows.” It wasn’t much of an answer, but his expression told her that she wasn’t going to get any more than that. He cast her another disgusted look. “Your natural smell is polluted by Emerazel. It sickens me.”

“You know, in the human world, it’s kind of weird to comment on how people smell.”

“You’re not human.”

As they walked down the stairs, Bael continued to glare at her, but didn’t speak. God, he was unnerving.

She cleared her throat, watching as he pushed the elevator button. “How are we getting to this lair?”

“We drive.”

Drive? “We’re not using some kind of magic method?”

“I can’t fly, and without my wings…” As they stepped into the elevator, he studied her carefully, a look of uncertainty on his face. “I don’t have all the magic we need, since one of your brethren mutilated me.”

“I guess it’s a good thing we’ve got Joe.”

His pale eyes slid to her, as if he was staring right through to her soul. “I must warn you that you’re in way over your head.”

She nodded grimly. That much was clear.

* * *

Ursula and Bael stood on a crumbling pier, completely alone. A row of industrial tanks roughly the size of two story buildings towered over them. The black waters of the East River flowed nearby.