Darien Cassel intentionally fidgets at the Pit fighting club, as his preternatural stillness discomfits even the immortal residents of Angelthene; as “a pure-blooded hellseher and the leader of the Seven Devils,” he is widely feared (19). He fights frequently at the Pit, where he is the undefeated champion, to manage his emotions about his mother’s death eight years prior. He thrills at the opportunity to fight one of the ravenous demons that hide in the Angelthene sewers but finds the battle disappointingly easy.

Darien finishes the battle when he sees a messenger wearing a rabbit mask, who signifies a coming job for Darkslayers. When Darien emerges from the ring, however, the messenger is gone. He leaves the club, unafraid of the dark streets. Missed text messages from his sister, Ivyana, encourage him to visit their mother’s grave together, then express disappointment when he didn’t visit the cemetery with her.

The rabbit approaches him on the street and explains that the “target” has no name, but that the bounty for tracking them is “two million gold mynet,” an extremely high price (25). Darien is intrigued by the challenge, as tracking an aura without a name or photograph is significantly more difficult than tracking a known target. The rabbit directs him to seek a baby who was abandoned at “the Temple of the Scarlet Star” before being adopted (26). The rabbit provides Darien with bone powder from the target’s ancestor, which will allow him to magically track the target. Darien negotiates a higher payment but agrees to find the target and return them unharmed.

Loren feels “hollowed out” as she reports Sabrine’s abduction to a peace officer. She is frustrated that the officer doesn’t believe her story, seeing her as too unimportant to be worth a Darkslayer’s attempted abduction; the health-monitoring tattoo on her arm warns that she will soon faint without food or medication. She repeatedly describes the series of events and the identifying phoenix tattoos on the Darkslayer to the officer. The officer doubts this, too, as this is not the sigil of any of the city’s known Darkslayer circles. Loren refuses to be cowed by his dismissiveness, maintaining her story. She fears that Sabrine is dead.

Early the next morning, an exhausted Loren and Dallas attend orientation at Angelthene Academy. Taega Bright, Loren and Dallas’s mother, was unsympathetic when retrieving them from the peace officer’s station. Loren awaits a school tour with other members of the House of Salt, the house for human students and those whose magic aligns with earth. Dallas avoids her feelings about Sabrine’s disappearance by making flirtatious comments about their handsome professor. Loren chides Dallas for her comments and laments her sister’s use of magic for small things, as this makes her more susceptible to “the Tricking,” a disease that makes immortals age and eventually die.

Professor Phipps sternly warns students that a crumbling building is off-limits. When the students remain curious, he says the Old Hall is just for storage. A vampire student gossips that there used to be a secret “blood magic society” on campus that would “perform ancient rites” in that building (40). Phipps insists this “Phoenix Head Society” was just a social club, not a dangerous cult (41). Dallas warns Loren not to ascribe meaning to the parallel between the society and the Darkslayer’s tattoo.

After a week of school, Loren leaves the Academy to go to her job at the apothecary. She has paid little attention to her lessons, consumed with thoughts of getting into the Old Hall and finding Sabrine. On her long walk to work, Loren puts up posters soliciting information about Sabrine. She feels safe on the upscale streets that have spells deterring Darkslayers, though she knows that some Darkslayers illegally look through these wards. A flock of magpies flies overhead, reminding Loren of a nursery rhyme that warns that seven magpies represent the devil. She forces herself to ignore the birds and continue walking.

Darien watches Loren from a distance as she enters the apothecary. He is frustrated with himself for letting Loren spot his car before he realized that she was his target. He is surprised by her white and rainbow aura, which indicates innocence and optimism; his usual targets have gray or black auras that represent emotional troubles. He is confused that Loren is human, finding it unusual that someone would pay so much to kidnap a human. He watches the apothecary, telling himself not to let curiosity get the better of him.

When Loren leaves for lunch, Darien follows her to a sandwich cart. She sees two people, a man and a woman, watching her from near the apothecary. She tries to disappear into the crowd, afraid that, if she asks passersby for help, they will become collateral damage in whatever harm the pair intends. Two other men with phoenix tattoos join the pursuit. She ducks into an alley to call the peace officers’ rescue line but is stopped by Darien’s gun pressed to her head.

Loren agrees to go with Darien but tries to negotiate Sabrine’s release. His confusion grows when he sees how many people are pursuing Loren. He demands information; she cries that she doesn’t know who is chasing her or why. She is alarmed to discover that Darien is part of the Seven Devils, an elite hellseher unit. He is surprised that she is fully human. When the four other pursuers try to attack Darien, he cautions Loren to duck as he battles them.

Darien easily beats the other pursuers, shooting all four of them before they manage a shot in return. Loren tries to flee amidst the chaos, but despite her better judgment, she stops and faces Darien. She is optimistic that he might be able to help her. They retreat to a restaurant, where Darien explains being hired to track her. She explains Sabrine’s abduction. Loren recognizes Darien by reputation, as the Seven Devils are widely known and feared. He offers to help her figure out why she is being hunted, and though she doubts that she can trust him, she agrees.

Loren admires Darien’s good looks and the way others seem wary of him. He returns her to the apothecary, ordering her to meet him as soon as her shift is over. Loren contacts her employers and requests time off, allowing them to assume that she has a date rather than share the real danger that haunts her. She questions her decision to trust Darien.

After work, Darien takes Loren to his house, which he insists is “the safest place for [her] in the whole city” due to the high security, magical and not, that protects Hell’s Gate, where the Seven Devils live (78). They retrieve some of Loren’s things from Taega’s apartment, as Loren fears that returning to the academy will cause Dallas to ask questions, and Taega is traveling for work. Taega’s opulent apartment leads Darien to make snide comments about Loren being spoiled; she counters that her adoptive parents despise her, and Dallas is the only person she truly counts as family.

Darien regrets his assumptions and his tendency to speak before thinking. He laments that his own money comes from committing violence. Darien is surprised that Loren’s guardian is Taega, a commander in the Angelthene Fleet. Loren explains that Taega’s husband insisted on adopting her, which Taega resents. Loren explains she was abandoned as a baby. The only clue to her past is an amulet shaped like “the Scarlet Star,” which represents eight major deities (86). Taega’s husband, Roark, is avidly religious and accepted a priest’s suggestion that he adopt Loren.

Darien and Loren travel to Hell’s Gate; Loren becomes increasingly nervous about meeting the other Devils. The other inhabitants are temporarily absent, so Loren admires the gorgeous house. She and Darien develop a teasing rapport, though he refuses to give her any information about himself. He leaves the house, urging her to remain in her room while he’s gone.