I curled my hands into fists. “For once, I wish you wouldn’t expect the worst from me.”
“Tell me I’m wrong, Zoe.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Tell me you’re not worried about money.”
“Of course I’m worried about money. I’ve always been worried.” Sighing, I shook my head. While I wasn’t surprised by his reaction, it didn’t change the fact that it hurt. I’d thought we’d gotten past this, him and me. “Not to mention the fact that the Enforcer salary is a bit of a joke.”
He flinched, as if I’d slapped him. “I can’t believe you would say that. After everything I’ve done to help you, you’d just dismiss the job like it means nothing to you.”
Dorian turned and began to stalk away, his muscles tense and his spine straight. My heart lurched in my chest, and I reached out to stop him, my fingers barely grazing his skin. His arm felt cold and hard to the touch, a stark reminder that he was far more than met the eye. He was a vampire, but he was still one of the best people in the world I’d ever met.
And I hated that he still didn’t trust me.
“Wait,” I said, my voice barely a whisper. “Come with me. See for yourself. I’m not conning anyone.”
He paused and turned on his heels, his eyes focused hard on the wall behind me. “How will that prove anything?”
“You followed me around for months. You know what my cons look like,” I said, recalling the way I’d passed him time after time when I’d been out doing my cases. At first, I’d thought our random encounters had been just that. Random coincidences. But, in fact, he’d been following me the entire time, on the orders of the Lead Enforcer who had turned out to be seeking a way to bind demons to his soul.
“Maybe so. I did follow you for a long-ass time,” he said grudgingly as his eyes flicked to my face. A flash of pain went across his rugged features before he finally gave me a nod. “I’m sorry, Zoe. For leading Vincent to you. If I could go back in time and reverse it, I would.”
“I wouldn’t,” I said. “It led me to…well, this new life, I guess you could say. And I happen to like my new life.”
I’d almost said, it led me to you. But not only did that sound impossibly cheesy, it sounded like I was falling for the guy. And I couldn’t very well let Dorian Kostas think that. He was my partner and my trainer, and that was that. Sure, we’d shared some fairly close calls in the intimacy department, but they’d always been due to some intervening circumstances. Like the time I had a sip of the vampire elixir. And when I drank his blood to heal. Both times, I’d felt an intense charge between us, but I knew it hadn’t been real.
I couldn’t have feelings for Dorian Kostas. None whatsoever. Because he didn’t have feelings for me.
And I refused to entertain any thoughts otherwise.
“If you like this life, then show me you want to actually keep it,” Dorian said. Even though his tone was harsh, there was a light in his eye I recognized. Inviting him to come along must have been evidence enough that I wasn’t planning to con Juno. “Where does this girl work?”
“At a mechanic’s shop downtown near the bridge.” I hefted my bag onto my shoulder and patted my ever-present dagger hidden underneath my black shirt. “Let’s go.”
Chapter 7
Juno stood outside of the auto repair shop waiting for us, arms hugging her chest as the winter wind whipped her red hair around her uniform-clad shoulders. As we approached her, I scanned her pale face, searching for the signs that Dorian had been teaching me. First, her eyes. They were wide and slightly dilated. That was the first check in the demon column. Then, her forehead. Even though she shivered in her short-sleeved mechanic shirt, she had a slight sheen of sweat glistening on her skin. Another demon column check. And then there were the hairs on her arms, all standing to attention like soldiers preparing for battle.
I glanced at Dorian. His lips were set in a grim line, and he slid the bone chalk from his pocket. So, he’d come to the same conclusion I had. Juno showed all the signs of a recent encounter with a demon. That didn’t necessarily confirm anything, but the fear displays were enough to suggest we should approach this with caution.
“Is this the vampire partner?” Juno asked, her voice hitching on the last word as she stared up at Dorian’s tall and bulky frame. So, Nathan really had been sharing information with her. A lot of information. I wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about that. While I didn’t mind her knowing about my own connection to the coven, I didn’t want too much attention directed toward Dorian’s vampire nature. The council knew but most of the coven members didn’t. If word got out, life could get extremely difficult for him.
People tended to jump to the worst conclusion about vampires. I knew that from first-hand experience.
“This is Dorian Kostas,” I said. “He’s my partner and one of the best warlocks I’ve met.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dorian lift his chin at my words.
“Well, thanks for coming, Zoe,” Juno shifted on her feet, still frowning at Dorian. “I’m getting to the point where I don’t want to be in there anymore. I came by earlier to get some work done on a car, but the thing lunged at me.”
“How did you get away?” Dorian pulled a notepad from his back pocket and jotted down a comment, something I’d noticed he liked to do, even though he rarely consulted what he wrote later.
“I ran my ass off.” Juno’s back went stiff as she glanced at the steel building behind her, the garage shuttered by thick metal doors. “I actually thought it would follow me outside, and that I would accidentally let loose a demon on the entire population. But I think it’s still in there?”
I nodded. “Demons are confined to the buildings where they’re summoned. The four walls act as barriers in a way. Are you sure you haven’t seen a rune anywhere inside the shop?”
“That drawing thing you showed me?” She shook her head. “All I’ve seen is a dark winged shadow. It’s like the Smoke Monster on Lost, only this one is a hell of a lot scarier.”
“Wait.” Dorian snapped the notebook shut. “You can see it?”
“Yeah, why?” Juno glanced from me to Dorian, her eyes widening. “Is that bad?”
“It’s…unusual.” While a demon’s physical form was always visible to supernaturals, like Dorian and I, they stayed cloaked and hidden to humans and most animals. So, the fact that this one was visible to Juno? Well, it was strange, to say the least.
“Have you come into any contact with vampires recently?” Dorian asked, his voice edged in unease. I knew what he was asking, and the same thought had popped into my head as well. For Juno to see a demon, perhaps something had happened to her, something she didn’t quite understand yet. While Daywalkers couldn’t turn a human into a vampire, Nosferatu could. And while none currently lived in the States, that we knew of, there was a first time for everything.
Juno shivered as the wind continued to whip around us. She held a wrench tight in her fists, clinging on to the steel like it was a lifeline. “You’re the first vampire I’ve ever met. As far as I know, anyway. After talking to Nathan, I’m starting to think there’s a lot more going on in the world than I ever realized.”
“So, you haven’t met anyone odd lately? Someone who might have bit you?” I asked. “Any strange encounters? Hours that might be missing from your memory?”
“The strangest encounters I’ve had lately have been with you guys who work at the bar. Laura, Nathan, you. And the demon, of course. Sometimes, I kind of wish I’d never moved into that damn apartment.”
“Great, thanks,” I said, though I knew I shouldn’t take her words to heart. Three months ago, Juno had been living a fairly normal life. She hadn’t been aware of the supernatural world, and she didn’t have demons attacking people in her shop. I couldn’t blame her for wanting to go back to the way things used to be, to when she was still blissfully unaware of the magical underbelly of the world.
Because if we didn’t get rid of this demon, that underbelly could rise
up and kill her.
“We can worry about the how after we’ve completed the banishment,” Dorian said after a moment’s silence. “Where in the shop is it?”
Juno twisted the wrench in her hands. “I’ll show you.”
“Not so fast. You need to stay out here.” Dorian dropped his hand on her shoulder to stop her from going inside the building, and she jumped back with a loud gasp. Flinching, Dorian removed his hand and pressed his lips together. Clearly, Juno wasn’t comfortable with Dorian’s presence, even though his vampire nature had been a curse and nothing more. As a human, she probably didn’t understand the difference.
“It’s alright.” With a soft smile, I edged between them. “This demon is very dangerous. We need you to stay out here while we take care of it.”
“I have to admit, that’s a massive relief,” she said with a tight laugh. “After the way it lunged at me earlier, I’ve been terrified to go back inside.”
“Totally understandable,” I said with a nod. “Now, where did you last see it?”
“Just inside the garage here. That’s where I’ve always seen it,” she said, jerking her thumb toward the thick metal doors. “Are you sure you don’t want me to pay you?”
“No, like I said before, this one is on me.”
I expected Dorian to roll his eyes, but he wrapped his hand around my arm and squeezed. Something about his touch made my belly warm, like a soothing heat had filled my soul. I wanted to lean into him, turn to meet his eyes, feel his touch deepen even more. But his fingers fell from my skin, leaving me as cold as the winter wind.
“Alright.” I cleared my throat and pulled the dagger from my sheath. “We’ll be back in a few minutes. This shouldn’t take very long.”
Juno widened her eyes at the sight of the blade, but I figured she’d seen scarier things by this point. And even though my dagger did little to a demon on its own, holding it in my palm strengthened my power. It was an extension of my magic, and it intensified any spell I cast. Not to mention, I always felt a hell of a lot more capable when I had the weapon in my hands. As long as I kept it close, I could take on anything and anyone, especially since Dorian and I had worked for hours on hand-to-hand combat.
When we reached the building, Dorian leaned down to grab the door. He lifted it from the ground, rolling up the rattling metal. It screeched when it slid to a stop, and the two of us peered into the shop. Inside the bay, various vehicles sat on lifts and ramps. Hoses dangled from the ceiling and workbenches lined the walls. Spare auto parts decorated the oil-stained ground while an oscillating fan spun in lazy circles overhead, shooting across a cool breeze that carried the scent of gasoline, metal, and rust.
“So,” I asked in a low whisper. “What did you make of all that?”
“To be honest, I’m not sure what the fuck to make of it,” Dorian said in a matter-of-fact tone. “She’s seen a demon? And there’s no rune? Doesn’t really add up if you ask me.”
“It doesn’t.” I frowned, glancing over my shoulder as Dorian pulled the door shut behind us. On the curb, Juno stood waiting, her arms still slung around her body as if she needed to hold herself steady. “But why would she lie? I don’t know her super well, but what I do know of her, she’s not out to cause trouble. And she’s helped Nathan get through his attack when I haven’t had the time to do anything other than smile at him at work.”
“She doesn’t have to be lying to mean something is up,” Dorian said, pulling his own dagger from its sheath. “Nathan’s on the supernatural radar now. By helping him, she could have attracted the wrong sort of attention from the wrong sort of people.”
“Yeah, but.” I gestured at the seemingly empty mechanic’s shop. “Even if that were true, how does that explain everything else? The lack of a rune? The fact she can see the demon? There are rules, Dorian. The physics of the supernatural world. Her story goes against all of that.”
“Sometimes, rules are broken.” Dorian frowned as he scanned the silent shop. “Or, the rules end up being different than what we’ve been led to believe. I think we found that out ourselves with Vincent. Who would have thought someone could control demons?” His eyes caught mine as a storm cloud rolled across his face. “Besides, during the demon war, humans were able to see some of them.”
An uneasy shiver slid down my spine as the implication of his words sank in. “Are you saying the rules might have changed? That the demon wasn’t summoned here? That we should just throw out everything we know about how these creatures exist?”
Dorian tucked his finger under my chin and gave me a sad smile. “Don’t look so scared. I’m just saying that we should keep an open mind. Things might not be the way they’ve always been.”
Shivering, I held my dagger higher before me. If Dorian was right, then the supernatural world as we knew it would never be the same. If demons were now acting like they had during the war, what did that mean going forward? Were we headed back to a time like that again?
“Alright, let’s get started,” Dorian said, flicking the tip of his dagger toward one end of the garage. “It’s lurking in here somewhere, and we need to flush it out. You go that way, and I’ll go this way. If it comes at you, draw the rune and banish it.”
“By myself?” My face blanched. “But, Dorian, I—”
“Zoe. No arguments.” Dorian’s voice was all business, and I felt my gut clench tight. Even though a part of me felt annoyed by this hardcore, bossy side of him, a part of me felt drawn to it. There was a certain amount of admiration and respect I felt when he took charge, confidence and power radiating off his body. It was impossible not to straighten up and pay attention. “Listen to me. You can do this. We’ve been practicing the spell for months, and you’ve done this once before.”
“Okay,” I said with a nod, though my palms were so slick that my dagger slipped around in my fisted hand. “I’ll do my best.”
He smiled, and my heart flickered. “Your best is better than most. Call out if you need me.”
And with that, he began moving down the left side of the shop. With a deep breath, I turned right and inched past a row of elevated cars, my footsteps echoing on the concrete floor. Something plopped heavily beside me, and I jumped back, my heart batting wildly against my ribs. But when I whirled toward the sound, I saw that it was only droplets of oil falling from a beat-up truck.
Shaking my head at myself, I continued to move on. I needed to get a grip. Demons were able to smell fear. They revelled in it. It was almost like a siren call for them, a sign that an innocent human was there for the taking.
But I was no innocent human.
As I moved around the side of the truck, a chill swept across my skin as if I’d stepped in the path of an air conditioning vent on full blast. My hair billowed behind my shoulders, and my teeth began to chatter. With my heart lodged in my throat, I glanced around. The demon was nearby. There was no doubt about that, especially when a shrill hiss rang out from behind me.
I whirled in my boots and widened my eyes at the towering demon before me. Its body shifted like rolling clouds, all darkness and shadows and grief. Large wings spread out behind it, spanning the width of the truck. In an instant, it was rushing at me, its mouth open wide and its roar grinding against my ears.
“Dorian!” I shouted. “Over here!”
But I didn’t wait for my partner to arrive before beginning to cast my spell. If I did, there might not be enough of me left. I could already feel the demon sucking at my soul, trying to devour me like a lion with its prey.
With a deep breath, I dropped to my knees and drew a banishment rune on the concrete floor. My hand shook as the chalk dug into the ground, but I’d practiced this so many times that my body took control while my mind reeled. Bitter air whipped around me as I stood and held my hand up before me. My dagger buzzed as I pointed the blade at the demon.
“Go. Leave this place now.” Power trembled within me, rushing out of my hand and blasting toward the creature. The last time I’d perfor
med this spell, the demon had disappeared within seconds. Banishment magic was strong. Much stronger than most spells. All mages in all covens could harness this power. All it took was a rune and the strength of knowing you could. It could make the ground shake and the sky crack, and it could twist a demon inside out.
But that wasn’t happening now. The demon roared and stretched its wings, its growing body breaking through my magic. I sucked in a sharp breath and stumbled back, feeling the power within me snap like a broken string. It left me raw and empty inside, all the bright tendrils of power vanishing into nothing.
“What the hell?” Eyes wide, my back hit the truck as the demon surrounded me.
The demon cackled and rose higher from the ground, its mouth widening once again. Heart banging wildly in my chest, I gripped my hand into a fist and tried to cast the spell once more. But nothing happened. No power flew from my fingers. No magic even trembled in my body. It was like the demon had broken it, like it had ripped all my power to shreds.
“Give up, witch,” the demon hissed, sending every hair on my arms on end. “Your magic has no power over me.”
A hand wrapped around my arm, and I jumped, my heart lurching into my throat. Dorian whirled me to face him, his eyes wild and his face even paler than it normally was. Blood roared in my ears at the sight. Dorian Kostas had never looked scared in all the months I had known him, and yet he looked horrified now.
Something terrible was happening.
“We have to run,” he said in a harsh whisper. “There’s more than one, and they’re immune to our spells. The banishment rune isn’t working, Zoe. We have no power over these creatures now.”
Chapter 8
“Are you okay?” Dorian asked when we slammed the shop’s doors behind us, trapping the demon inside the bay. Or, at least, we hoped so anyway. These demons weren’t operating anything like the usual kind, so who the hell knew what kind of rules they had.
Witch's Storm (The Bone Coven Chronicles Book 2) Page 5