Normally, Mist wouldn’t dream of disturbing a sleeping Belial, but this was important, and time was of the essence.
“Belial.”
He didn’t so much as stir. Mist shifted uncomfortably. This was the last thing he wanted to do, but he told himself it was necessary.
He lifted his tail and prodded Belial in the cheek lightly.
Bel’s fist shot up and snatched it out of the air, and his eyes popped open. Hellfire flickered in them momentarily until he recognized Mist looming over him.
He groaned and released the tail, which Mist gratefully moved out of reach. “You’d better have a good reason for waking me up.” His voice was hoarse.
“It’s important or I wouldn’t disturb your sleep.”
“What is it?”
“I believe Raum is in trouble.”
“Raum?” Bel rubbed his eyes. “What’s he done now?”
“He came into the kitchen and told us he was leaving for a few days. Though he seemed calm, there was a scent on him. It was so subtle I almost didn’t detect it, but I went into his room and scented it again on his clothing.”
“A scent? What scent?”
“An angel.”
“An…angel.” Belial closed his eyes briefly as if hoping that when he opened them again, Mist wouldn’t still be there. “Like…a heavenly-ass angel.”
“Yes.”
“Was it Dan? Dunno why he’d be hanging out with him, but—”
“It was not Dan, nor another Grigori. It was an angel.” Angels’ powers were stronger than Grigori, and therefore, so was their scent. Mist could tell the difference.
Bel rolled over and sat up. Bending his knees, he propped his elbows against them and dragged his hands through his hair, leaving it all standing up. He looked quite haggard, truth be told, and Mist felt another twinge of guilt for waking him.
“Why the fuck… Raum? Makes no sense. He didn’t say anything to you?”
Mist shook his head. “I feared that perhaps…he couldn’t.”
Belial dropped his hands, and his gaze sharpened as he focused on Mist. They exchanged looks of mutual understanding, and then Bel said, “Fuck.”
“I will hunt him and find out where he is and what he is doing. But if my assumption is correct, we need to be prepared to trap an angel. I don’t have access to the necessary equipment—”
“I can get it.” His tone was anything but enthusiastic, and he rested his forehead on his palm. “I’ll get us whatever we need. Just…make sure we actually need it first.” He lifted his head and pinned Mist with a sharp look. “No false alarms, got it?”
Mist nodded.
“Good. Raum? Who would want to fuck with him? He’s too goddamn nice, the idiot.” Bel’s hand curled into a fist. “If some angel puts so much as a scratch on him, I’ll see how bendy their spine can get when I shove their head up their own asshole.”
Mist winced. “I’ll go hunt now. But I need to tell Lily—”
“Go. I’ll talk to her. I’m up now anyway, and I’m going to need a fuckload of coffee to get through this day.” Bel waved toward the curtained windows as he climbed out of bed. “Window’s open.”
Without another word, Mist dissolved into mist and ghosted through the window into the brisk morning air.
It was time to hunt.
9
