One thing about the fourteen-year-old was that she was going to make you feel stupid, no matter who you were. It was usually one of her best traits, but right now it was hellaciously annoying.
Every time we thought we had a plan of action, Jinx remembered another factor that rendered it impossible.
The root problem: how did you eliminate a sprawling compound filled with an unknown number of parasitic monsters without alerting them to your presence?
Trick question.
You didn’t.
You gave up and let the murderous parasites take over the universe because frankly, it wasn’t my business what the ungodly did.
Too bad the others didn’t see it that way.
The shifters, the angels, and my teammates were outraged that the ungodly could spill out through portals and end civilization as we knew it. They acted like it was personally offensive.
Personally, I hoped the ungodly won.
People were annoying, and if it was my time to be the host of a monstrous crustacean, then that was my destiny.
It was called giving up, and everyone needed to practice it more.
“We can’t forget about the portals,” Jinx reiterated.
I doodled a self-portrait with chalk and said, “Best-case scenario, they don’t have any portals nearby.” The chalk scratched loudly across the board as it turned to ice, and I picked up a new piece.
Malum countered immediately, “But the worst-case scenario is they have a portal in the center of the base.”
I pretended not to notice how gruff his voice sounded.
Pain definitely didn’t streak down my back.
My lips most certainly didn’t tingle as I remembered how he’d kissed like he was trying to devour me.
Nope.
I added more blood to my dying stick figure, but since the chalk was all white, it didn’t give the visual effect I was going for.
Pitiful.
Malum cleared his throat harshly, and I glanced over with exasperation to find him looking smug. It took me a second to realize he thought he’d one-upped me, like we were back at Elite Academy, competing to see who was the smartest.
Who was going to tell him there was no competition?
I was already winning.
“Most likely scenario is there is a portal because of their weapons,” Jinx said in a duh tone like we were both stupid. “But it will probably be located outside the base—likely in the surrounding mountains. The energy field from portals disrupts matter and makes it difficult to build around. You need advanced enchanted materials, and the city appeared to be constructed from bricks.”
“So back to plan A.” Malum’s chalk squeaked loudly as he wrote. “Surround the base and trap the ungodly.”
“Have we tried to negotiate with the infected?” A male voice asked from across the room as the angel named Arthur looked at us expectantly. “Why don’t we try to talk to them first?” He pursed his lips. “It can’t hurt.”
I covered my mouth to stop myself from saying something I’d regret.
Some people needed a chair to the face.
In the far corner, Vegar muttered something about idiots as he played with Zenith’s hair, and both demons looked disgusted.
Chalk creaked in Malum’s fingers, and we shared a long-suffering glance of disbelief.
