Release (The Protector Book 3) Read Free

and Brendan ran a hunter’s group out of New Jersey, and although Brendan was older, it seemed Cory was always the one calling the shots.
    “Yes,” Marcus said. “And that’s why we’re here. Unfortunately, we don’t have their locations, and as far as we know neither does Riley, but they have something we don’t.”
    “Yeah, a power complex and the Dark Douchebags on either side of him.” Cory laughed.
    “Right…” Marcus said. “Recently we lost possession of The Ring of Contact, an ancient artifact that gives its wearer the ability to speak with the gods. Some say—”
    “And whose fault was that?” Eric glared at me.
    Anger filled me and I opened my mouth to reply, but I thought better of it. I swallowed the emotions and turned back to Marcus. Apparently his training was working.
    “As I was saying,” Marcus said, “some believe it can summon the gods here. Tonight we need to decide on an action. We have no idea where Riley is or what his next move might be. What we do know is they have one of the soul pieces—Ithreal’s dagger—and he needs all of them in order to fully invoke Ithreal.”
    Eric snorted. “Don’t forget the fact that they aren’t in our world. They’re in some other dimension filled with pure blood demons that are more powerful than any of us. That, and we don’t even know how many soul pieces there are.”
    “That’s not entirely true,” Tiki said. “I think I do know how many there are. “Unfortunately, if I am correct, there may be only two remaining, and they are in very unfriendly territory.”
    “Of course you know,” Eric said. “Why don’t we all just put our faith into the demon from these demonic dimensions? Then we can all follow him blindly to our death.”
    “Why do you think that, Tiki?” Kate leaned forward.
    “As the legends go, and as Serephina confirmed, Ithreal merged his essence with other gods. This would have forced Ithreal to create new soul pieces for each new world that fell under his command. However, after cross-referencing my people’s legends with many others, I’ve found many believe the only true soul pieces are the ones that were created when each god originally created their world.”
    “And what does that mean for us?” Kate asked.
    “There are only three Ithreal-born dimensions: Theral, Proto, and Vortan. If this is true, Riley already has the dagger of Theral, leaving only one soul piece remaining in each of the other worlds. And Proto and Vortan are very dark dimensions.”
    Eric moved to the head of the table, stepping in front of Marcus. “You expect us to go into the Underworld’s darkest dimensions, full of who knows what, all based on some Underworld storytelling? No thanks. What we need to do is focus on finding Riley and killing the son of a bitch.”
    “And how do you suggest we do that?” Marcus asked.
    “We split up into groups and track him. Hell, if we have to, we’ll use the Triquerta Coven to help. Riley’s flexed his muscles enough. It’s time we push back.”
    “Riley is a lot stronger than you’re giving him credit for,” I said. “He hasn’t even invoked Ithreal and his powers are nearing god-like already. Now that he has Ithreal’s dagger, he’ll be even stronger. Before we assemble an army and prepare for a war we can’t win, we need to try preventative measures. Getting one of his soul pieces should be first priority.”
    “Why don’t you lean back against that wall and let the adults talk? You’re just a kid. You don’t have the experience to offer suggestions.”
    “Chase has more experience with Riley and the Brothers than any of us,” Rayna said. “You should listen to what he has to say.”
    “Says the mixed breed. Look, missy, I’ve lost enough people to this game to know how it works. After Riley’s last attack, I lost four hunters and all their kids. I’m not about to take advice from the son of their killer and risk losing anyone else.”
    “You think you’re the only