“Maybe we should introduce ourselves finally,” he rasps.
I shrug. “I don’t—”
“I’m Darius Devonshire. And you are?”
I say nothing.
“Rebel, right? That’s the code name you go by?”
“That’s my name,” I spit out.
He lifts his eyebrows. “All right. Sure. It’s a better name than Apple.”
With a sigh, I pinch the bridge of my nose. “This is where we part ways. You go about your life, and I’ll go about mine.”
I head toward the still-open door.
“I’m sorry,” he calls.
I stop but don’t turn around.
“Killing Morena means you don’t get paid.”
“I didn’t finish the job.”
“I know, but… whatever she was going to pay you must have been worthwhile, right? You really wanted it.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’ll get it from another witch.”
“What is it you want?”
“For you to leave me alone.”
He hurries to my side and reaches me just before I get to the door. Once again, he touches my arm.
“Why do you keep doing that?” I snap, jerking free.
“I… I’m sorry. I just… Please, hear me out. I didn’t… Okay, yes, I did kill Rena—”
"So, she wasn't lying."
“I had reason to!”
“A reason I don’t want to hear.”
“Rebel, listen. You have to believe me. I made the right choice. Rena was unhinged. She was killing people and using their body parts to create potions.”
I shudder. “Oh, wow. No wonder you were assigned to kill her.”
“I wasn’t assigned to,” he mumbles.
"So, you just upped and killed her because it was the right thing to do."
"Yes! I wish you were a part of the higher-ups in HEX U."
“HEX U?”
“Most people call it HEX Unite, but a friend calls it HEX U, and it’s kind of catchy. It stands for Hunters, Slayers, Executioners Unite.”
“Of course it does. Let me guess. All of the happy little paranormal beings from Magical Hunters Academy go on to be happy little paranormal hunters, slayers, or executioners for HEX U?” I ask dryly.
“You do know a fair amount.”
“Why are you so surprised?” I grumble. “I wouldn’t be good at my job if I didn’t know a lot about your secret world of magical mayhem.”
“Mayhem is right,” Darius mumbles. He runs his hand through his hair again. “I had no choice.”
“I’m sure you explained all of this to your boss. Why were you still fired?”
“It wasn’t exactly my first strike.”
“You’re a rebel.” I grin.
He blinks a few times and scowls. “It’s all Mirella’s fault,” he complains. “Before I met her, I had my entire life figured out. Ever since, I…”
“She changed you.”
“Yes.”
“Or did you let yourself be changed?”
“There’s no difference.”
“There’s a world of difference.” I tilt my head. “You love this Mirella.”
“No. I had a crush on her at one time, yes, but I think… We’re both arcane magic users. There aren’t a lot of us left.”
“Arcane,” I repeat slowly. “Morena could only make potions and do spells?”
“There are ten different kinds of magic,” he starts, but I wave my hand.
“Yeah, not interested in a lecture.”
"You should know, though," he protests, "for the future. You'll face other witches, I'm sure."
“I’m sure I will, but I have in the past, and I was just fine.” But there is one thing I do want to know. I eye him and ask, “How did you follow me?”
“I’ll tell you over dinner.”
“Are you asking me out? Seriously? After I tried to kill you?”
“You didn’t come close to killing me, and you saved me from the snake.” His smile is so smug I want to slug him.
“You so badly wanted to kill Morena that you were going to die in the process. You were ignoring the snake entirely!”
"Not true. I left the snake for you to handle. I knew you could handle it."
“And what if I hadn’t jumped in?” I demand. “What then? You would’ve died.”
“But you did jump in,” he says calmly.
“Aargh! You are so frustrating!”
He bursts out laughing.
“What’s so funny?” I grumble.
“I used to have that exact same reaction to Mirella. She would exasperate me to no end.”
“Something tells me I would like her very much.”
“Oh, I’m certain you would. Now, I’m starving. I need to eat and sleep to recover. You should eat too. Why don’t we—”
“Either you tell me right here and now how you followed me, or else I’m leaving, and I’ll eventually eat something alone.”
Darius’s scowl only makes him even more handsome. “Check your collar.”
Confused, I do. In the back is a bug, which I promptly drop to the ground and grind beneath my heel until it’s a worthless heap of twisted metal.
“You bugged me? When? During the fight?”
“I can’t give away all of my secrets.” His grin is wide, lopsided, sexy, and incredibly exasperating.
“It wasn’t even magic.”
“No. A witch can use technology, you know.”
“Yes, yes.” I wave my hand. “Goodbye, Darius. I’ll never see you again.”
“Goodbye, Rebel. I hope you’re wrong. After all, you did say you won’t kill me.”
“Actually, I said I won’t kill you for her. I also said you’re safe from me so long as I get my dagger back, which can’t happen so…”
“I can get you another dagger.”
“I don’t want anything from you.”
“But you did save my life.”
“An act I’m regretting.” I nod and rush away to my car.
He’s not wrong about needing to eat, but I’m seriously dragging. Sleep is higher on the priority list, and I pull over at the first hotel I find. The rate is higher than I want, and I go to walk out, and he offers me a lower rate. Confused, I turn back around and eye him closer.
He looks very similar to a dwarf I helped once.
“I’m his brother,” he murmurs.
“Thank you. I’ll take the room and tell Thur I asked about him.”
"He's doing just fine, thanks to you." Thur's brother hands me my key.
I head to my room. Thur had been cursed by his banshee girlfriend, and I procured him the ingredients he needed to give a witch to make the potion to cure him. That same witch is the one who will make my potion, the one to help me fulfill my quest and have my revenge.
As soon as I lie down, I’m out, and I sleep for over ten hours. I get something to eat, return to the room, and crash some more. By the time I check out, eat again, and drive home, it’s almost nine at night.
All of that sleep means I’m not ready for more and won’t be for a while, so I head to Ye Ole Chestplate. I deserve a drink or three.
Vinca is playing hostess again, and when she sees me, she squeals and calls out, “Mom! I’m taking my break now!”
“About time.” Her mom comes over. They look more like sisters than mother and daughter. “You should have an hour ago. Hello, Rebel.”
“How are you?” I ask.
“I’m well. Don’t get into trouble, you two.”
“Don’t worry. We will.” Vinca giggles.
She grabs my hand and leads me to a spot at the bar. We talk and laugh, and I’m feeling pretty good by the time she has to resume her shift.
Her abandoned seat doesn’t stay vacant for long. I glance over to see Azir.
The ogre shrugs. “I do not like to take no for an answer. I can pay you, and I’ll talk to you. I’ll tell you anything you want. Yes, I’m a paranormal executioner, and I have—�
�
“What’s the job?” I interrupt.
His eyes light up. “You’re interested?”
“Possibly.”
Most likely in all actuality. I just want to get away. Everything that went down with Darius and Morena just rubs me wrong. I don’t know why I bothered to talk to Darius so much. I should’ve just left right after Morena was killed, but instead, I hung around. Why? Why did I want to hear his side of things? What does it matter?
"Let me get you a drink first, and then we'll talk." The ogre grins, but I don't get the feeling that he's doing this to be flirtatious—the drink or the grin. It's just a business proposition and nothing more, which I appreciate so much right now.
All night long, the same troll bartender from my first night here has been waiting on me and bringing me out a different concoction each time from the dwarf. I have no idea what the different drinks are, but they’re all delicious and smooth, and I’m not about to complain.
As we wait for my drink, I consider the ogre. He’s a paranormal executioner. So was Darius. They might know each other. Probably do. It’s not easy for me to gauge the age of an ogre, but I think he might be around mine. Darius is definitely, maybe a few years older.
The bartender puts down my drink and eyes Azir. “How’s Malak doing?”
“Just fine,” Azir says.
“Good. My cousin still coming out on top when you two spar?”
“He never comes out on top,” Azir says dryly.
“I’m sure.” The troll sounds doubtful.
I duck my head to hide a smirk.
“If you’re such a great fighter, why do you need her?” the troll asks, nodding toward me.
“That’s none of your business, Zola,” Azir snaps.
She holds up her hands and walks away.
“Do you want her to spit into your drink.”
“Who says she doesn’t already?” he asks cheerfully.
“Ew.”
Azir laughs, and I have no idea if he’s joking or not.
The ogre sniffs and frowns. “Your scent…”
“I changed it.”
“Because of the werewolves. You’re rather resourceful. I love it. You’ll be able to do this for me. You’re more than capable.”
He’s almost muttering to himself. Whatever he wants me to do, he’s worried sick over it.
Azir rubs his hands gleefully. “All right. A week before I first approached you, Ruka went missing.”
“Ruka is…”
“The love of my life.”
I blink. “An ogre, a troll, a fairy, a…”
“An ogre. Light pink skin, beautiful orange eyes, longer ears than mine—”
“Pointed?”
“Yes. Long red hair that reaches all the way down here.” He touches just above his tailbone. “Two tusks. She’s absolutely gorgeous.”
“And that’s why you love her.”
He laughs some more. “Not at all! She’s fierce and strong and formidable.”
“Because who doesn’t want a formidable significant other.”
“Precisely.” Azir’s smile falls, though. “She’s missing, and I’m worried about her. If I could spare the time, I would track her down myself, but I only have another hour before I have to hunt down my next target. We aren’t too different, you and I.”
“Except I call the shots, and I take orders from no one.”
The ogre grimaces.
“Is she a paranormal executioner like you?”
“A slayer,” he corrects.
“And the difference?”
"A hunter is meant to go out and find and bring back a specific paranormal being. A slayer either goes out to kill a creature who resisted being hunted or is assigned to one who could either be brought in or slain depending on how aggressive they are. As for an executioner—"
“They are to hunt down and execute a particularly evil paranormal creature.”
“Yes, but if they see one about to harm someone, they are free to kill that paranormal being, but only if they can do so without a human witnessing it.”
Hmm. Darius killed an evil paranormal being, but he had been fired for it. Had a human witnessed it? Or had he killed her while she wasn't in the act of hurting someone so he had been released because of a technicality?
It doesn’t matter. I’m never going to see him again, so I’ll never know.
“Do you think that Ruka had been killed?”
"No. She's too competent for that." He reaches inside his trench coat and removes a file.
“You came prepared.”
“I was hoping you would be here. My next assignment might take me out of state, and the longer I wait to find someone to locate Ruka… This is the paranormal creature she was supposed to slay.”
“Still at large?”
“Yes.”
“Why hasn’t HEX U assigned someone else to the…” I can hardly believe these things exist. I exhale and finished, “To the bogeyman?”
“Because they don’t think anything has happened to Ruka.”
“And you do because…”
“She had been contacting me every day, and then… nothing.” I’ve never seen the ogre look more serious or depressed. “She went off to New York, and something went wrong. I can’t… She’s not dead. She can’t be. You have to find her.”
“And save her.”
He hesitates. “I can’t imagine Ruka needing to be saved, but…”
“If she does, I’ll save her. If she doesn’t, I’ll find her. Maybe she just got tired of checking in,” I say lightly.
The ogre downs the rest of his drink. “Thank you, Rebel. I can pay—”
“We’ll talk about that after I find her.”
Azir nods, removes his wallet, leaves some cash on the bar, and leaves without another word.
A bogeyman. Somehow, I don’t think this is going to be a fun experience.
Chapter 18
Once I swallow the rest of my drink, I turn to leave but remain sitting on the stool because Vinca is heading my way.
“Do you have an ogre for a boyfriend?” she asks. She holds up her hands. “No judgment of course!”
“I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“Why not?”
“In my line of work, having one just seems… not smart.”
“Oh, bother. Don’t think like that.” She reclaims the seat that had originally been hers. “He hired you for a job then.”
“Yes.”
“Can you tell me about it, or is that a big no-no?”
I grin. “Do you know much about the bogeyman?”
“There are a ton of them. Bogeymen. They don’t look the same. You and I, we could be looking at the same bogeyman, but we’ll see completely different things. They’re agents of fear, and the more afraid you are of them, the stronger they become.”
“Where do they live? There’s one in New York apparently.”
“They live in people’s homes, usually their basements or under beds.”
“Seriously?”
She giggles. "No, but they do like to hide there. They tend to live in mud houses near the water."
"Near a beach?"
“No. They don’t like all of the noise and lights from boardwalks. Bogeymen like the darkness, and they tend to hibernate during the day. Why are you asking? Do you need to find one?”
“It’s my best bet. I need to find someone else, but she had been on the trail to find a certain bogeyman in New York.”
“Great. It’s not as if the Hudson River isn’t three-hundred miles long or something.”
Vinca taps her fingers. “There’s something I could try if you want. It’s not foolproof, but if it does work, I should be able to give you a specific region or area to check out.”
I open my eyes wide. “What are you talking about?”
“Some fairies have the ability called oneirokinesis.”
“I’ve never heard of it.”
“It’s not a common power, and I think o
nly fairies can have it. Well, fairies and fairy hybrids.”
“What is it?”
“The ability to enter peoples’ dreams.”
“How will that help?” I ask, confused.
“I’ll be able to talk to him,” she says. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure he doesn’t realize I’m in his mind. We don’t want him to be on his guard.”
“That would be great.”
Her beam is ridiculously wide. “What would you have done if we hadn’t met?”
"I would have done some research. I've collected a lot of books about creatures over the years. The internet has mostly garbage, but…" I lean closer. "I know about supes.com."
Her eyes widen. “Humans aren’t supposed to—”
“I know.” I can’t help being a little smug.
“Whoever told you about our secret internet must have needed something huge.”
“You can say that again.”
A pixie wanted to have an incredible present for his girlfriend, so he hired me to find them a unicorn. Since I'd crossed paths with a unicorn years ago, I knew one wouldn't accept being a pet, and the pixie accepted that. The unicorn consented to a single ride for the girlfriend, but that cost me locating the unicorn a specific alicorn, a winged unicorn, the one he had dated years previously and wished to reconnect with. Yes, sometimes, I'm nothing more than a supernatural matchmaker.
“Do you need anything to prepare for oneirokinesis?” I ask.
“No. Not even silence.”
Vinca closes her eyes. Her lips move, but she doesn’t talk out loud. For some reason, she looks really strange, and that’s when I realize her wings aren’t moving. Normally, they always flutter at least a little bit.
Her wings start to flutter, and then she opens her eyes. “Kaaterskill Falls, New York.”
“Thank you so much,” I gush. “I…”
I trail off. I do not like owing people, but I do owe her. She did me a huge solid.
“You don’t owe me,” she says. “That’s what friends are for. Do you want a piece of advice?”
“Sure.”
“Wait until the morning to go,” she says. “That way, you can scope out the place while the bogeyman is hibernating.”
I grin. “If I can get away with not fighting it, so much the better. I’m not really after the bogeyman. I just want to see if I can use him to find the real person I’m after.”
Hunter's Quest: A Mayhem of Magic World Story (Rebel, Supernatural Bounty Hunter Book 1) Page 11