by Ciara Graves
Every inch of my body throbbed in pain. I hadn’t been in a fight this bad in a very long time and would be feeling it for days.
The taint of magic made my skin crawl, and I longed to get home and take a shower, wash the stench away as fast as I could.
A goblin groaned.
I hurried back.
Rot was stirring.
I had him in cuffs by the time his eyes opened.
I moved onto the others. He frowned at his bound hands then at Liam’s dead body. “What the bloody hell? What is this?”
“You killed him,” I said flatly, moving the other goblins toward Rot, warning them not to take off running or I’d be inclined to shoot them in the back since I only had two sets of cuffs.
“No, I didn’t!” Rot yelled. “This is a setup! You did this to us! You brought us here.”
“You don’t remember anything about the fight? About Mercy?”
“Who?” he asked, eyes narrowed with hate. “All I know is you are impeding on my rights!”
The other goblins nodded along with him, holding their heads. All of them looked confused.
The doors burst open and Nor rushed in, roughed up and bloody, but alive.
Iris was right behind him. Along with most of the agents.
“Liam?” Nor asked me.
“Dead.” I motioned to his remains. “It’s quite a story, sir.”
“And the woman? What about her?”
“Ran off I’m afraid,” I lied. “But she took the human girl with her. She was alive after all.”
“Well, not the ending I was hoping for, but at least we have someone to drag down to the Fed building.”
“I’m not saying anything!” Rot yelled as two agents hauled him to his feet. “Nothing!”
I frowned as I surveyed the scene one final time.
Liam was dead, cutting off one of our leads to finding out who he’d been working for.
What he’d said right before he died, telling me I had no idea who I was dealing with, plagued me and all the way back through the hospital and out to the street. I wondered if he’d meant that about whoever he worked for.
Or if there was something he knew about Mercy that I didn’t.
Chapter 18
Mercy
The cold night air surrounded me, and I shivered, knowing I should’ve worn something else with this damned dress.
My hands scraped against the crumbling bricks. I almost made it to the sidewalk, then my knees gave out, and I crashed to the asphalt, vomiting from the explosion of power.
It might’ve saved our asses, but I’d be dealing with the aftermath for days, maybe longer.
Head spinning, I made to get up, then crashed right back down
A strong set of arms suddenly scooped me up.
“I told you to be careful,” Bowen hissed, carrying me like I weighed nothing.
“You? What the hell are you doing here? Put me down.” I pushed against his chest weakly, but he merely scowled down at me. “What? I’m alive, aren’t I?”
“Have a care with your life, Mercy. For all our sakes.”
“And what does that mean? How did you know where I was?” I demanded.
He clenched his jaw and remained silent as he walked down the deserted sidewalk.
Too exhausted to fight, I went limp in his arms, noticing how strange and comforting it was to be there.
A voice in my head said to keep asking him questions until he gave in and answered. Maybe even threaten to break his fangs again, but the look in his eyes held so much concern I stopped myself from taking my anger out on him at how this night ended.
“You don’t have to carry me all the way to my place,” I muttered after a while.
“Why not? I could use the walk.”
I shrugged, ready to come up with some smartass response.
My eyes shot open, and I scrambled to get out of his arms and back to my feet. “Shit! What time is it?”
“Why? Worried you’ll turn into a pumpkin?” he teased.
“No, you jackass, but if I don’t get back to the office by midnight—damn it. Damian, he’s going to kill me,” I whispered.
Another level of fear washed over me.
“Calm down, he won’t kill you,” Bowen assured me.
I shook my head. “I failed him. And this time, he won’t let me slide. I… I have to go.”
“I’m coming with you,” he insisted.
I planted my feet and shoved at his chest.
“Mercy, don’t be ridiculous. I can handle myself.”
“No, I—uh, I don’t want him to hurt you.” I blinked, shocked at the words and the truth behind them. “Thanks, and all, but I have to deal with this on my own.” Swallowing back the realization that this night might very well be my last, I sprinted away from Bowen.
He easily could’ve caught up with me, and for all I knew, he had, but I only had enough strength left to focus on one issue.
If I went back to my place first, if I tried to run, Damian would find me.
Hell, he might already be at my place waiting for me.
I passed a bank and the time scrolling across the window said I had five minutes to get my ass to the office.
All I could do was tell him the truth. It wasn’t my fault I wasn’t bringing in Liam. It certainly wasn’t for lack of trying.
Damian had a soft spot for me. He’d forgive me. He had to.
Keep telling yourself that, my inner nagging voice muttered. You’re done for.
As true as that statement probably was, I had no will to try and run tonight. The use of magic had weakened me, and if I couldn’t lay my head down soon, I’d pass out and who knew who or what would find me then.
Shivering now from walking, possibly into my death, I slowed as I neared the office entrance and smoothed my hands down my torn and bloodied dress. Throwing my shoulders back, I stepped inside, cringing at how loud the bell sounded.
Voices came from the back room, and I hesitated.
Damian’s was one of them.
The others, I didn’t recognize.
The Gathered. He said they’d be here by midnight, but I had a few minutes to spare. Figures, they’d be early.
The voices cut off and the curtain was thrown aside.
Damian emerged, eyes already glowing red as he took in my disheveled appearance. He said nothing, walked to the door, looked outside, then circled me, tapping a finger on his chin.
“Is this a new trick you want to show me?” he finally asked.
“Trick?”
“Yes. The one where you show up and act as if you do not have the target, and then he miraculously appears at your side. That trick. Because otherwise, it would appear you have failed me.”
“Just listen to me, alright,” I said quickly.
His hand was around my throat as he slammed me into the wall.
“Damian… wait.”
“For what? You failed me, and I told you what would happen.”
“Wasn’t my… fault,” I gasped. “Rot… he turned on him… killed Liam. Nothing… I could do.” I clawed at his hand, but all my body wanted to do was give up. My hands fell to my sides, and I glared fiercely at him. “Get it over… with then… asshole… Feds didn’t get him… either.”
His grip loosened, slightly. “Explain.”
“Rot and the other goblins turned on Liam,” I started, then went ahead and told him everything that occurred at the club.
When I reached the part about my magic chasing off the goblins, Damian’s hand fell away completely, and a bit of the half-demon who saved me from the street showed. Barely. I finished my story and waited to see what he would do next, wanting nothing except sit down and go to sleep.
“You expect me to believe this?”
I sagged, not sure what else to say to make him believe me. “It’s the truth. Believe it or don’t, Liam Manchester is nothing but a mutilated corpse, right now.”
“And what do you believe I should do with this failure?
”
“You will do nothing.”
The curtain parted behind the counter.
Four men wearing dark blue robes with the hoods over their heads stepped out.
The one in front moved toward Damian and threw back his hood revealing a middle-aged man with tattoos on his cheeks and forehead, as well as on the backs of his hands. His sharp, green eyes glared at Damian until my boss backed away from me. “This is the bounty hunter?”
He was the one who’d said Damian would do nothing, I could tell from his voice.
“Yes,” Damian replied, lowering his gaze, in his own office, to a client. Never had he acted like this before. As if he was afraid the mage would hurt him.
“Why were we not told her name?”
“Wait. You know me?”
Those green eyes softened when they landed on me. He reached out and rested his palm on my shoulder. A comforting sensation rushed over me, and I was able to stand up straight again. Behind him, the three mages whispered, their heads close together, but their gazes were all on me.
“We knew you survived. But we never dreamed you would be with him.” The mage near me threw a glare toward Damian.
“I don’t understand.” This night had gone on far too long, and now it seemed it was going to keep on going. And driving me nuts. “Can someone tell me in simple terms what’s going on here?”
But the mage was back to giving Damian a steely glare. “You are the daughter of a great mage. A man who was honored amongst the Gathered. After the attack which killed your parents, we believed you to have been taken to a safe refuge. No news ever came of you. The child of Eamon and Bianca Edge.”
“Edge?” He had to be lying, right? “My name is Temple. Mercy Temple.”
“No, it is not,” he corrected. “That is the name whoever took you in gave you, to keep you safe. Though I’m afraid with that mark upon your face, even a name change isn’t enough.”
Pulse pounding in my ears, I pressed myself as far back into the wall behind me as I could as if I could just disappear. What was he telling me? My father was a mage? Part of the Gathered? I would’ve remembered that, right? But Mom… No, none of this made sense! I was not this girl. I couldn’t be. Yet the way all four of them looked at me, with such promise and sympathy at the same time, told me they were telling me the truth.
“Who… who the hell am I then?” I sputtered. “Tell me, damn it! Who?”
“Your name is McKenna Edge,” the mage replied. “And you should be one of us.”
“No,” Damian growled, moving to stand between me and the mages. “You will not take her with you to that damned, dark mansion and never let her see the light of day again. She is my ward. Understand? I took her in. I saved her.”
“And yet here you are threatening her for failing,” the mage pointed out.
Damian crossed his arms, and for the first time since I was a kid, I saw how protective he was of me. Not just as his employee. But of me. There was something going on here that he wasn’t sharing though. Otherwise, I doubted he would be this upset. “She is not going with you.”
“That should be her decision. She is old enough. Yes?”
“Go with you and do what?” I stepped out from behind Damian.
“We would train you, of course, to be as your father was.”
“I’m cursed. Remember?” I pointed to the scar on my face. “I can’t do magic.”
The mage shrugged. “That is where you are wrong. Come with us, and we can show you all the many possibilities that lie within you. Cursed or not.” His eyes shimmered.
The urge to go to his side had me taking a step forward until Damian placed his arm in front of me, stopping me from moving.
The shimmer was gone, and I was left with a weird, hazy feeling in my head.
“You cannot keep her from us. We are her destiny.”
“This is a lot to take in for a night.” Damian argument was logical, and I nodded along with his words. “Why not give her time to decide?”
I was in full agreement with him, since the comforting feeling faded away and I was left cold and shaking again. “I’ll think about it.”
“If that is your decision, then we will respect it, of course.” The mage lowered his head, then raised it. “But keep in mind, the curse placed on you will only grow worse over time. This is one storm you cannot face on your own.” He strode to the door, the other mages following, then paused. “Though you did not apprehend Liam, it sounds to me as though you led to his demise, which is the fate that would have befallen him if returned to us.” He dug in his robes and tossed a large envelope to Damian. “For your troubles.”
“Wait,” I called out, “did you know what he was? A hybrid or whatever?”
The mage—I should’ve asked for his name—sighed. “Liam was many things. In the end, we did not understand. He turned from our path a very long time ago. Whatever he became… he was not the first, nor will he be the last, I fear. Good night.”
And then they were gone in a puff of black smoke.
“Damn it,” I snapped. “Was it true? What they said about me?”
Damian walked behind the counter and opened the safe behind the mermaid painting. He shoved the envelope inside. When he turned around, he slid a stack of bills toward me. A very large stack.
“What is this?”
“Your share of what they decided to pay us for our failure,” he said quietly, not meeting my gaze. “Now get home before you keel over.”
“No. What’s gotten into you?”
He tapped his long, black nails on the glass counter. “Don’t know what you mean.”
“Yeah, you do. Why wouldn’t you let me go with them?”
“You’re my best employee.”
“Only employee,” I corrected. “And this was not about keeping me around for work. You’re protecting me from something and don’t sit there and deny it. As much as you threaten me, day after day, you still try to keep me safe. What don’t I know?”
“It’s late. Please, just go home.”
I planted my feet and didn’t move an inch. “No.”
“You’re threatening me now, is that it? I could push you over with a heavy breath in the state you’re in,” he warned.
I merely shrugged.
The hard-faced Damian I’d come to know slowly slipped away and I was left staring into the worried eyes of the man who first brought me in off the streets.
“What they said is true, about your name.”
“My dad was one of them?”
“He was. I never knew him, but I knew of him. Many of us did.” His whole body shifted as if he wanted to be anywhere else, instead of right here telling me this. “I knew who you were the second I spotted your face, which is why I took you in.”
“But why not hand me over to the Gathered? They would’ve been more adept at helping me, right?”
His growl caught me off guard.
“And what do you think they will do when they find out what you are? What you truly are? No one knew about your mother. No one. Your father saw to that. The second they learn the truth, you will disappear.” He threw his arms in the air as his voice grew louder with his rage. “No one would ever hear from you again, that I can promise you.”
“But they knew my father… and you said you didn’t,” I said slowly. “Wait… how do you even know that about me?”
Damian turned his back to me and flipped off the lights. “Go home.”
“No. Answer me!” I rushed around and grabbed his arm. I was nowhere near strong enough to make him move, but he gave into my tug anyway. “Tell me. You at least owe me that much.”
“Like I’ve told you before,” he said, voice strained, “I have many sources for information.”
“You’re lying.”
His face scrunched almost as if he was in pain and he gently removed my hand from his arm. “Go home. I’ll call you when we have a new case. Until then, I suggest you rest up and regain your strength. The mages were right
.” He turned his back to me. “A storm is coming.” He stalked to the rear of the front room.
I was left alone, watching the curtain sway back in place.
Carrying my bundle of cash and leaving with my life intact were two things I did not expect from this night.
I left and somehow got back to my apartment without falling over in the street, kicked out of my heels and plopped down on the couch.
No, I had more than two things I didn’t expect.
For one, the mages.
They knew my father. They claimed he was one of theirs, but what Damian did—not what he said, but what he did—told me was hiding something. That he had been all this time.
I rolled onto my side, staring out the large windows as the moon moved across the sky, full and bright.
Out of all the secrets I carried around with me, my true heritage was the worst.
If anyone found out what lurked within me, I’d be in serious trouble.
Growing up, all supernatural children heard the stories. They were a way of reminding us how terrible our world could be compared to what it was if we gave into our natures and did not keep the peace amongst the humans.
Hundreds of years ago, a single race nearly decimated the entire country, half the world really.
They’d been filled with pride and hatred for the humans and started a war that lasted for nearly a century before the races and the humans banded together to put an end to them.
Everyone believed dragons had gone extinct in the aftermath, hunted down and slaughtered like sheep.
But not all of them were killed off.
My father might’ve been a mage, but my mother was dragonborn.
And sadly so was I.
Chapter 19
Rafael
“How is it you have no idea who she really is?” Iris asked me for the tenth time.
“I never asked for a name,” I repeated the same answer. “She offered to help, and in the end, it worked out. Nothing more to know about her.”
“But there is. I saw those goblins running away. Many were burned to a crisp.”
“And?”
“And if there’s a supe running around that powerful, we need to know.”