Free Darkest Before Dawn by Pippa DaCosta

way they moved. Seventy percent of human communication is non-verbal. We’re constantly in motion. Demons don’t understand the intricacies of being human, mostly because they don’t spend long enough in their human-suits to care.
    I watched the crowd for any sign of someone standing perfectly still or a figure walking toward me, chin down, eyes up, but I couldn’t place any demon, and within five minutes, the sickening fear and crawling sensation passed.
    I slumped in the chair and closed my eyes. When I reached for my lukewarm coffee, my hand shook.
    I’d faced Hellhounds. I’d drained a Prince of Hell of his element. I’d summoned and controlled enough raw elemental energy to level a city. And I regularly tracked demons and bumped them back across the veil, or worse, but very little struck fear into my soul like my brother, Valenti.
    “Is it gone?” Dawn asked.
    I nodded and eyed her over my coffee. Her flushed cheeks and light fluttering breaths suggested fear, but the look in her eyes didn’t. When she smiled, it wasn’t the nervous flitter of a smile I’d seen from her before, but a pearly-white grin. There was almost a predatory glean to her expression. She blinked and puffed out a sigh. “That was fun.”
    Fun? I chuckled. Right. She obviously hadn’t met my brother. “We should get back to Blackstone.”

Chapter Nine
    T he drive back to Blackstone was slow going. I threaded my way around various backstreets and roads to nowhere in an attempt to flush out any tails. It wasn’t likely to do me much good. Val didn’t drive. Such mortal means of transportation were beneath him.
    How had he found me? It might not be Val, I told myself. Whoever that demon was, he may not even have been there for me. Maybe a demon lived in Salem and fancied a coffee or a new pair of shoes. It could have been a coincidence. Nobody could know I was in Salem. Although if anyone could sense me, it would be Val, as we had the same blood in our veins, courtesy of our father, Asmodeus.
    Why would Val be here? Had it been Val? Why didn’t he show himself? My brother didn’t lurk. He was too proud for that. Had it been Val, he’d have just walked right up to me and said whatever he had to say. No, it couldn’t be him.
    By the time we returned to Blackstone, I’d convinced myself the phantom demon hadn’t been my brother. That didn’t stop me from checking the tree line around the driveway and house as I emptied the groceries from the car.
    At least inside we were relatively safe. Val couldn’t enter the home without an invitation, and even if he got inside, the hidden marks on the walls would prevent him from calling his power. On those terms, I could rest easy.
    Dawn broke into a huge grin at the sight of the donuts. She plucked a pink ring donut free and took a generous bite. Her expression exploded with a sugar rush of glee.
    “Good, huh? I told you.” Shrugging off my jacket, I placed Ryder’s cell on the countertop. The lure of the voicemail message called to me. I tapped my nails on the counter and chewed my lip.
    Dawn sat at the breakfast table, chewing loudly, licking sugar from her fingers. “Can I have another donut?” she mumbled through a mouthful.
    “Sure.”
    “They are amazing. I’ve never eaten anything like this. Why are they round?” She continued in a breathless rush of words. “How are they made? They taste like chaos, don’t they? What’s the hole in the middle for?”
    I fell quiet and let her talk. My gaze settled on Ryder’s cell. The last conversation I’d had with Stefan replayed in my mind. How had it come to that? Did he hate me? The parasite around my heart twisted. I winced.
    Dawn lifted her gaze. “Are you okay?”
    “Yeah...” I sighed. “I was thinking about a friend. He’s a half blood like us. He taught me what we really are.”
    “Is he good?”
    “Yes.” My smile fractured and crumbled away. “I think so.”
    “Like Akil?”
    “Oh, Akil isn’t good.” I poured