Magic After Dark: A Collection of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Novels

by Margo Bond Collins

  “Well, that sounds super cool…and super illegal, as well,” Bailey laughed.

  “Yeah, well, they have information that I need,” Serafina smirked. “And after I get that information and we’re out of here, you can feel free to let your old buddies know all about it.”

  “While that is tempting,” Bailey sighed, “I’d sooner not contact them if I don’t have to.”

  Serafina could tell that Bailey wasn’t over not being able to work for the force. Knowing that her father had also been in the force, she could understand even more how upset he must have been; how upset he must still be. As the sound of a heavy bass-line and high-pitched tempos began to flood the tunnel, Serafina realized they must be close.

  “You really should turn back,” a tattooed woman with long black hair took a step towards them as they emerged from the tunnel.

  A man wearing the exact same tattoos with equally black hair stayed behind, but unfolded his arms as though he was preparing for more. “If you leave now, you won’t be punished,” he added.

  “Punished? What sort of ‘Fifty Shades’-BS are they spouting?” Bailey glared, reaching into her bag and pulling out a revolver.

  Guess it’s not just hand sanitizer in there, Serafina thought with a grin before saying, “I didn’t realize you were packing.”

  “Better safe than sorry, right?” Bailey grinned, turning to the two. “So?”

  “You think you’re the first to pull a gun on us?” the woman said with a high pitched cackle.

  The man’s laughter followed shortly after.

  The sound of the hammer cocking back silenced both.

  “In a place like this? Nope,” Bailey shook her head and leveled the barrel towards the man’s crotch, “But wouldn’t it just be a ball-buster—literally!—if I turned out to be the first one to do this?”

  “You should turn back,” the male glared, ignoring the gun aimed at his crotch and stepping forward.

  “Turn back now and you’ll be fine,” the female agreed, following closely after.

  “This is creepy as fuck!” Bailey frowned, abandoning her playful aim on the man’s package and leveling it between their heads. “Okay, I get you two must have some fetish for the twins from The Shining, but if you don’t back off right now then I will shoot you!”

  The male sneered and lunged forward towards her. Seeing this, Serafina planted herself between the two, catching Bailey’s would-be attacker and throwing him to the ground at her feet. The man, proving himself to be faster than she’d anticipated, grabbed her by the jacket and pulled her down, forcing the two of them to crash into the wall. Though dazed and sore, Serafina offered a reassuring nod back to Bailey, who’d already started towards the two of them. Seeing that she was still holding her own, Bailey turned her attention to the female.

  “Alright, that was the last warning!” Bailey moved to pull the trigger.

  The woman made a sound that hovered somewhere between disgust and rage and moved to evade the shot. Seeing this, Bailey held her trigger finger a moment longer, letting the woman perform her futile shift out of the barrel’s trajectory, before adjusting her aim and putting a bullet between her eyes.

  The male, hearing the shot, looked up in time to see his companion slump to the floor.

  “Nice shot,” Serafina congratulated before returning her focus to the distracted man. Sneering, she closed the distance between them so that she could whisper “I’m sure you can hear me, Gold… and I’m not stopping until one of us is dead. Be ready!”

  The man’s eyes widened as he turned to face her, clearly uncertain what it was he’d just been told.

  It didn’t matter.

  The message had been delivered.

  With that, Serafina slammed a dagger through his jugular, watching in satisfaction as he began to bleed to death in the abandoned subway tunnel. Yanking the dagger from his throat, she wiped the blade before returning it to its place under her jacket and moved to lead Bailey away before she could see the bodies disappear.

  She knew that Rumpelstiltskin was nothing but thorough at removing any trail that could lead to him, and she didn’t feel like explaining everything to the detective just yet.

  Bailey sighed. “More of your old acquaintance’s gang, I take it?”

  “Something like that,” Serafina offered.

  “You really gotta bring this kind of shit down here on my turf? Like my club ain’t got enough of a target over it without this sort of mayhem?” a masculine voice called out with a sigh before its owner stepped out. “It’s enough to make a man batty, I tell ya!”

  Serafina grinned, recognizing him as one of the regulars to their old camp. There was once a time when she’d have even said he was a close friend of hers and Damon’s.

  “I should be surprised to find you here, Jace,” she said with a smirk.

  “So you’re not then?” he said, returning the smirk.

  “No. Though I am surprised you didn’t call them off,” she nodded back towards the two bodies behind them.

  Jace glanced back at the two for a long moment, sighing—though not out of remorse for their loss—and rolling their eyes. “They don’t work for me, I’m afraid. And, quite frankly, I was sort of hoping you’d waste ‘em.”

  “Always the charmer,” Serafina scoffed, then, glancing back again, frowned. “And if this is your club, then why wouldn’t they work for you?”

  “Technically I only run one of clubs down here,” Jace answered with a frown. “But I think you and I both know who they were working for.”

  Serafina frowned at that. “You heard then?”

  Jace gave a gentle shrug, his eyes suddenly sympathetic. “I heard enough to know you got beef and that it’d be better to stay out of your way if you ever rolled in ‘round here.”

  “And now that I’m here?” Serafina pressed.

  Jace nodded. “Certainly explains the sudden activity with his… erm, followers,” Jace looked over at Bailey for a moment and then turned to Serafina, raising an eyebrow.

  She shook her head.

  The message between them was clear enough: she doesn’t know, and it’d be better to keep it that way.

  She frowned, realizing how selfish she was being. Perhaps she would tell Bailey before the night ended. Then, depending on whether or not the detective believed her or decided that she was crazy, the rest of their relationship would fan out accordingly. She looked over at Bailey, seeing that she looked worried for her, and offered a small nod.

  I’m keeping secrets from her and she’s worried about my wellbeing?

  “It’s okay,” she smiled softly. “This is Jace, an old friend of mine.”

  “Would’ve been nice to know that we had a guy on the inside,” she said, rolling her eyes.

  “‘Guy on the…’” Jace’s eyes widened. “Is she a cop?”

  “Ex-cop,” Bailey corrected, holding up her hands in a peace offering. “I just kept the lingo, that’s all.”

  Jace noticeably relaxed at that and nodded, shaking his head. “I’m sure it would’ve been nice to know that you had a guy… if she’d known.”

  Bailey raised her eyebrows at that.

  Serafina nodded, folding her arms across her chest. “Yeah, about that: you wanna tell me why you wouldn’t let me know about something like this?”

  “You mean other than the fact that it would’ve likely got you killed? Or me? Or both? Other than that, right?” Jace asked. “How ‘bout the fact that those in my line of work don’t typically do well when we advertise. How ‘bout the fact that there’s an asshole—our mutual friend—with a tight enough grip on all of this to know if one of us farts a few too many times for his liking.”

  “Fair enough,” Serafina said, nodding. “So, about this asshole…?”

  Jace nodded. “Right. Well, I know he was staying at a penthouse downtown. Some ritzy joint,” he offered.

  “But he keeps moving, right?” Serafina asked.

  Another nod. “Yeah, ‘cept from what
I’ve seen, he only stays at places that have some kind of gold theme.”

  “Gold?” Bailey frowned. “Like, gold paint or…?”

  Jace nodded. “Gold paint. Gold curtains. Gold in the name. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d take a place some week just because it used to belong to a guy who ran a jewelry shop. Seems like, so long as the place has something to do with gold, it makes the list of possible places to move to.”

  Serafina frowned. “Come on, Jace,” she pressed, “you gotta have something else to give me. I need to find this guy!”

  “Okay, okay! Uh…” Jace looked away and kicked his toe against the floor. “I think I heard one of the other owners talking ‘bout how he’s shacking up in a hotel this week. I remember ‘cause they was makin’ jokes ‘bout him ordering room service on gold leaf.”

  “Well there’s only one hotel in the city that has any sort of gold theme to it ,” Bailey offered. “Should be easy enough to check out.”

  Serafina nodded at that and, though she already knew the answer, turned to Jace and said, “I take it he still only stays in penthouses?”

  He gave her a look.

  “Fine, you’re right, dumb question,” Serafina sighed. “Anything else?”

  “Yeah: be careful,” Jace frowned. “He’s strong. Stronger than anybody could imagine.”

  “I already know that,” she acknowledged. “But I need to do this.”

  They were getting close. She could feel it. Like an approaching storm, she could feel it welling and rising and growing denser, darker. She could feel the energy—his energy—as it coiled around them, surrounding the entire city. She knew she should turn back; should get Bailey out of harm’s way, count her losses, and make due with the life she still had. But she couldn’t. Despite every fiber of her being urging her to stop and turn away, her feet refused to stop; her will refused to succumb.

  They bribed the doorman, and as they walked past him Bailey gave her a knowing grin.

  Then, far easier than Serafina thought should be possible, they were heading up the stairs to the penthouse.

  She could almost taste the victory.

  Then two of Rumpelstiltskin’s lackeys appeared in front of them.

  Literally appeared.

  Before, when he’d still been teaching Serafina, he’d explained that he only offered the gifts of his lessons to the ones who he felt could handle the powers. More than once he’d made it clear that he hoped that she would be something special to his roster of students—perhaps even go on to be something more. At the time, “something more” had represented a romanticized ideology to her—“something more” carried tones of magical unions, of new life and new hope and new promise. But “something more” had only ever meant one thing to him: a stronger class of servant. If things had been different, Serafina couldn’t be certain that she might not have been one of those overpowered goons being sent out to defend Rumpel from his enemies.

  But things had played out differently, and now Serafina had the magic he’d taught her and the drive to use it against him and any he threw in her way. And, just like that, his pupils—his followers—were nothing more than fodder.

  Fodder that materialized in front of them like a dream ripping into the real world.

  “WHAT THE HELL?!” Bailey cried, nearly falling back down the stairs.

  So much for breaking the truth to her gently.

  Rumpelstiltskin was no longer pulling his punches, so neither would she.

  Turning to Bailey, Serafina lifted her hand, encircling her in a protective bubble before turning back and narrowing her eyes. The two launched off the staircase towards her, the wall flashing a sickly yellow as their magic propelled them forward. The closest of the two impacted as though he’d been fired from a cannon, and Serafina found herself spiraling back through the stairwell with the two throwing magic-laced punch after punch at her. The punches she deflected. The first impact against the waiting stairs she did not. Crying out at the sharp pain in her back, Serafina barely had time to dodge the pair’s incoming attacks. Curiosity overwhelmed her training, and she dared a glance up the stairs to make sure that Bailey was still safe. It was time enough for the lackeys. As a punch connected in her sternum, she let out a soft grunt, narrowing her eyes at the two.

  “Where are you, Rumpel?” she demanded. “You… can’t hide… ANYMORE!” she screamed, throwing a palm over one’s chest.

  As her hand landed against their sternum, she let loose a magic-laced attack directly into their heart. She watched as they were thrown off of her, landing in an awkward heap on the steps. The second, either not noticing the loss of their companion or not caring, blew out a breath of air that was born into the stairwell like a tornado.

  But Serafina, having learned the trick early on, knew to duck around it and place herself behind her attacker.

  “Sloppy!” she scoffed. “You’re getting sloppy!”

  “Show you sloppy!” they shot back, phasing back through Serafina—sending a cold chill through her as they passed through her body to emerge behind her—and starting up the steps towards Bailey.

  By the time Serafina had turned to start after them, their hands were already glowing with their deadly intent. Seeing this, Serafina matched the spell, willing her own hands begin to glow with the death energy, and pushed her aching body to take the stairs two at a time. The lackey, reaching Bailey and the protective orb surrounding her, began to pound on the layer of magic dividing them, starting to chip through more and more with each impact.

  “Show you what happens when you challenge him!” they growled around each strike.

  “NO!” Serafina tackled them before they could deliver the killing strike, securing her hand against their back even as the two of them crashed down onto the stairs.

  “You won’t stop him!” they growled, struggling against the hold as Serafina braced her hand against their spine for another attack. “He’s too powerful!”

  The magic flooded their system, their skin instantly turning cold against her hand. As the body crumpled and started a slow, lazy roll down the stairs, Serafina turned back to Bailey, lifting the protective bubble spell with a wave of her hand.

  “What… what the hell!” Bailey stammered as she stumbled free of the invisible wall that had been surrounding her. “How did you..?”

  “Come on! We need to get out of here!” she frowned.

  She had put Bailey in danger, and she wasn’t going to be optimistic—or stupid—enough to believe that there wouldn’t be more just like the two that had shown up. She wouldn’t be surprised if Rumpel had hundreds more like that; hundreds more that he would be willing to throw between him and the two of them should she keep pushing forward. On her own, Serafina might—MIGHT!—stand a chance against them, but with Bailey…

  And the poor detective didn’t even have the benefit of knowing what sort of threat she’d just faced.

  Serafina wasn’t going to sit around and wait to be attacked again; wasn’t going to risk the life of a person who didn’t even know what she was fighting against. While those two had been sloppy, they had gotten their fair share of hits in and Serafina was no longer in a fit condition to take Rumpel head-on. As they made their way out of the hotel, they began to navigate towards the park. When Serafina felt they were safe, she turned to Bailey.

  “I have to tell you the truth,” she sighed.

  “I would say so,” Bailey frowned, her face still pale.

  “Come on,” Serafina said, sitting on a nearby bench. “I… I’ve never had to explain this to somebody who didn’t already know… so be patient with me. Please.”

  “What happened?” Bailey asked as she sat beside her.

  “I… to tell you what happened, I need to start at the beginning,” Serafina took a deep breath.

  “So… it’s like the fairytale?” Bailey blinked.

  “Worse.” Serafina frowned. “He’s real and he’s deadly.”

  “Wow…that’s a lot to take in,” Bailey whis
pered.

  “Yeah, I know. And I’m sorry I got you mixed up in it.” Serafina moved to stand, turning to leave. “It was wrong to accept your offer without telling you everything.”

  She didn’t expect Bailey to stay, after all, with how dangerous her situation was, it was certainly safer for her not to stay. Beginning to leave, she fought the emptiness that grew at realizing she’d never see Bailey again.

  “And where the hell are you going?” Bailey demanded as she caught her arm.

  “Huh?” Serafina looked down, unsure of what to say. “I thought…well—”

  “Well you thought wrong,” Bailey grinned. “I mean, yeah, it was shitty to not give me all the deets upfront, but I would’ve had a hard time swallowing that pill if I hadn’t seen all that for myself just now. Tell the truth, I feel a lot better wasting these creeps now that I see what sort of dark shit they’ve gotten themselves into. So, yeah! I’m still in,” she exclaimed as she rose to her feet. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

  Serafina watched as Bailey turned and headed out and couldn’t help but fight the smile that grew as she watched Bailey, her new friend, leave.

  Chapter 5

  The trip back to the motel was over too soon in Serafina’s opinion. Her mind was still wracked from thoughts of just how close she had been to Rumpelstiltskin, as well as wracked from the thoughts of just how close she had been to getting Bailey killed. She was tired of the games—had been tired of the games for so long—that she’d allowed herself to get sloppy. And, unfortunately, with all the eyes he had in the city and the display she’d just made at the hotel he was staying in, he probably wasn’t going to be staying there much longer.

  In her haste, she’d likely just reset her own search…

  Moving her finger to the crescent moon charm, she lightly caressed the cold metal, clenching her eyes.

  “Hold it together, girl,” she ordered herself. “Hold… it… together.”

  When she got to her room, she was only slightly surprised to see Ixion waiting at the door. They stared at one another for a long moment, and Serafina hoped—but knew better than to believe—that she only looked as flustered and defeated as he did. It was clear they were both fighting their own demons, and she hated the idea that hers were doing such a better job at kicking her butt. Then she caught sight of his gift. She smirked at the still-sealed bottle of wine and the two glasses that he had waiting. Seeing these and the look on his face when she came into view, she was surprised to find that she was actually excited to see him there.