by Jessica Gunn
Krystin dropped her sphere as well, but her eyes were focused on something far away. “Love makes us do stupid things. That I’ve definitely learned. Especially the love for your team.” Her gaze met mine. “Look, if you want to get out of here for a while, I’ll cover for you. I’m pretty certain Ben’s not going to care.”
I nodded and crossed my arms. Glancing down at my shoes, I considered where I’d even go. There was only one place I could think of. “Yeah. I think I’ll do that.”
She waved it off. “Anytime. I’ll call you if anything comes up.”
“Thanks, Krystin,” I said, then headed for the door.
I was reasonably sure I’d safely make a quick, normal getaway out the front door of Fire Circle Headquarters rather than having to teleportante somewhere in the middle of the day. But that plan was foiled as soon as I went to climb the stairs back up to the ground floor.
There, outside the door, stood Kian, his face a carefully put-together neutral mask. Like he hadn’t been listening in the entire time. Which we both knew was a lie.
“You can come with me if you want,” I said to him. “I’m leaving Headquarters either way.”
Then I kept on walking.
I didn’t want to hear what he thought about my words to Krystin about Brian or my team. About any of it.
Kian’s footsteps echoed behind me.
Chapter 8
It took some clever routing, but eventually Kian and I found a way to teleportante into New York City without being caught either at my old apartment building where I’d lived with Will, or by suddenly appearing in the middle of an alley in daylight. From the back of a restaurant Kian had memorized the staff schedule to, we crossed the city in comfortable silence.
Kian wasn’t mad anymore. Or concerned. But I was only able to figure that out by the lack of a mask on his face or angry steps in his walk. It wasn’t until we’d stopped outside the construction fencing around Midnight Ring’s old building that we really even looked at each other.
“You think they’d have started to build something here by now,” he said, kicking away a stray stone from the original foundation.
“I think Hydron worked their federal government magic to keep the place ‘under construction’ for now,” I said.
“Guess it’s in all our best interests that Midnight doesn’t re-open. Though I have to wonder how many other rings exist.” Kian used to fight for Crimson, based out of Los Angeles. So there was at least one other ring.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if there was one in all the major cities across the United States,” I said. “Though I doubt they’re all covers for Talon operations.” My voice quieted on the last words as a group of tourists on a walking tour of the city crossed our paths.
Kian and I watched them, pretending to be deep in conversation instead of visiting old stomping grounds. Maybe being here in broad daylight was a bad idea.
When we were alone again, Kian turned to me. His brown eyes were rounded and his lips were pressed in a thin line. “So.”
I shoved my hands into the pockets of my shorts. “So?”
“Boyfriend’s alive?” he asked.
“Ex-boyfriend, yes.” I sighed heavily. “Apparently.”
“Thought you’d be happier about that,” he said as he looked away, back toward the ruins of Midnight.
“Six months ago, I might have been.” The admission flowed out of my mouth without hesitation. Which scared me.
Silence fell like a brick wall between us, heralding tension just as thick. I knew what Kian wasn’t asking, but I didn’t really have an answer for it.
Instead, I nodded toward the construction fencing and the ruins that lay beyond. “You know, this was the last thing that really made sense. As twisted as it was.”
Kian arched an eyebrow. “Fighting in the ring?”
“Yeah. I mean, I went in, fought, won, made money. What’s more to want? And after another couple of weeks, I might have had enough for Will and I to have skipped town for good. We would have started over again somewhere new, away from all of this, and all this crap with fighting Veynix again and seeing Brian alive wouldn’t have happened.”
A frown pulled on Kian’s lips. “We did more than fight Veynix, Ava. We destroyed a poisons cache big enough to take down the entire Fire Circle.”
“Wouldn’t have been my problem anymore.” Except that wasn’t true. Even if Will and I had disappeared before Talon had unleashed their Circle-wide attack, as soon as I would have found out what had happened, guilt would have torn me apart.
“So what are you going to do now that you know Brian survived?” Kian asked.
“Ignore it for another couple of hours until Ben or Dacher forces me to acknowledge his presence,” I said dryly.
Kian cracked the beginnings of a smile. “Solid plan.”
“It’d never work, if that’s what you’re wondering but not asking.”
His mouth thinned again, although his gaze was on the pedestrians on the other side of the street. “Not sure what you mean.”
I shot him a look. “You know exactly what I mean, Kian. Six months ago, yeah, maybe I’d have given Brian another chance. Three months to recuperate, that’s legitimate. But nine months is a hell of a long time to play dead, especially when you know there’s someone who’d be happy to know you’re alive.” I shook my head and turned to lean against the construction fencing. I met Kian’s eyes. “Whatever was there before between Brian and me is gone now. I don’t want to talk to him—I could barely even look at him back there. How do you lie to someone you love like that?”
Kian’s eyes hardened. “I don’t know. But I’m glad to see you’re not taking his story at face value.”
“Even if it’s true, it’s still bullshit.” Another couple of people walked by. I waited until they passed before continuing. “I’ve already mourned for him, Kian. Whatever it is you’re worried about him ruining, you don’t need to worry about it.”
“I never said anything about him ruining something.”
I reinforced my hard stare, trying hard to focus on the conversation despite the number of tourists within hearing range. “You know what I mean.” Whatever this was between us. We hadn’t given it a label. And after last night, I was pretty sure any sort of name for it was off the table for good.
But Kian had come here with me. And so far, he wasn’t running away this time.
“I just don’t want you regretting anything,” Kian said.
“The only thing I regret that’s in my control is not knowing about my magik earlier,” I said, being sure to keep my voice down. I also regretted Jeremy, Em, and Liz dying. But no amount of mourning or guilt would ever bring them back. “It would have saved us all a whole load of trouble if Veynix had died sooner.”
“Hear, hear,” Kian said dryly, his words barely a whisper. “Now, what do you want to do about the number of people surrounding us right now?”
“Noticed that too, did you?” I asked without so much as smirking. I didn’t want to tip off our watchers that we’d spotted them.
Kian nodded. “At least three across the street. I think they’re all demons.”
“Solid assumption,” I said. “Kind of like the walking tour that passed us a minute ago?”
“They’re coming back down the street now,” Kian said. “Better not look.”
I shrugged. “Got you watching my back. I trust you.”
“Just let me know if we’re going to try fighting or walking away,” Kian said, his eyes narrowed and calculating.
I was about to ask how menacing they looked, or if they appeared to want to attack in broad daylight, but I was cut off by a shimmer in the air. A teleportante.
The Ember witch demon from last night—Mason, Ben had called him—blinked into existence between Kian and me. Like there wasn’t a reason in the world things like magik and demons and the entire damn war needed to stay a secret.
“Hello,” he said, his voice low. His burgundy eyes met mine. Thi
s close, I saw the gold lining his irises like other Ember witches. The effect made his eyes look like molten, golden lava.
“You’re an idiot,” I spat. “We’re in the middle of New York City.”
Mason only shrugged. “My associates cleared out the area. I won’t be long.”
His associates had ‘cleared out’ the area? How many Talon bounty hunters did he have working for him?
Or… hiring him?
“No, you won’t,” Kian grunted as he shifted closer. He had his hand near his back. “Move along, kid.”
Kid. Ben said Mason Whitmore had been kidnapped and transformed into a demon at a young age. And that he had been only twelve or thirteen when Ben and his team had run into him in Salem. Yet here Mason was, at least twenty years old at the youngest.
Mason didn’t break eye contact with me when he said, “You can run along, Hunter. It’s Ava I’d like to speak with today.”
Kian stepped closer to him. “Not a chance.”
“What do you want?” I asked Mason.
His eyes met mine with something akin to innocent sincerity. If a demon could manage such a thing. “I wanted to speak to you about Veynix.”
Hearing that bastard’s name sent chills down my spine, even though I knew he’d died in this very spot three months ago. Not even demons could survive explosions like the one that had occurred beneath Midnight.
I sucked in a deep breath before lifting my chin. “What about him?”
Mason opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. Finally, he asked, “Did he suffer?”
My eyes narrowed. The question, so unexpected, made my stomach drop. “Excuse me?”
“When he died?” Mason glanced over his shoulder at the ruins of Midnight behind us. “I know it was rather sudden.”
“Why the hell do you care?”
Mason looked back to me. “A student can’t ask about his master?”
With a heavy realization, several large puzzle pieces slid into place in my mind. “You were his apprentice.”
“Veynix bought me in Landshaft and turned me himself,” Mason said. “He saw the power I wielded, the same powerful magik that had made my human family afraid. Veynix turned me, then employed my help furthering Talon’s plans. Especially after the downfall of Darkness’s heir—may magik rest her soul.”
Some small part of me felt bad for Mason and all the brainwashing he’d surely undergone during his time with demons. But it was an unfortunate reality of being an Ember witch that there was a huge chance you’d be captured by Darkness and sold into the Trade at Landshaft, if not recruited by the Hunter Circles. Neither party had ever been shy in their quest for power, not in this war.
“Well, that sounds perfectly fun,” I said. “Glad you survived the demon city.”
“Survived?” Mason laughed. “I’ve thrived since then. Even my master’s death hasn’t put too much of a setback in Talon’s plans. Tell me, has your friend survived the initial phase?”
“Friend?” Another round of realization slammed into me. My blood ran cold. “Leave Will out of this.”
“Ah—Will, right,” Mason said as he paced away from Kian and me. “How is the new Ember witch? Has phase two begun?”
“Why do you care?” I spat.
Mason turned, an amused expression twisting his lips. “I want to see if Talon’s plan might work. While Will wasn’t the first to be infected, his circumstances are surely unique. Most of the experiments have been run on known magik-users. His development of magik is surprising.”
“How the hell do you know he’s developed magik?” I asked. Only a handful of people had actually seen Will use his newfound power. Me and Krystin. Ben, Kian, Bria, and Dacher. Those closest to us and this case.
“I see more than you think, Ava,” Mason said, his eyes dark and cold. Everything about him screamed arrogance and power. Or at least an unshakeable faith in that power.
“Then you don’t need me to tell you anything,” I spat, charging toward him a step. “Stay the hell away from Will.”
“Or what?” Mason asked. He hadn’t even blinked. “You’ll kill me?”
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from speaking. You’re in public. Even if Mason’s associates had indeed cleared out the area, that wouldn’t stop traffic cameras from potentially seeing us, or other CCTV. And god knew I’d done enough damage here nearly unveiling the war to people who didn’t need to know about it.
But the real truth was: I wasn’t sure I could take Mason, with or without Kian at my side. And surely not with all of his demonic friends nearby. Mason alone posed a huge threat as a powerful Ember witch.
“Well?” Mason asked, a single eyebrow arched like an invitation.
“Stay away,” was all I said. My hands shook. “Leave Will out of your crusade against the Hunter Circles.”
The skin around Mason’s eyes wrinkled as another amused smile slid across his face. “The Hunter Circles? You think our ‘crusade’ involves them?”
“It must if you’re following Veynix’s commands.”
Mason’s eyebrows shot up, then he let loose a laugh. “This is amusing.”
“Amusing?” Anger built like a geyser inside of me, pressure growing until I wasn’t sure if I could hold it anymore. “You’re a bastard, just like Veynix was.”
“No doubt,” Mason said, still laughing.
I shot Kian a single look, then we both jumped for Mason. If I could just get him on the ground and slam a requirem somewhere on him—
But Mason lifted his hands and a barely-visible wave of orange Ember ether shot out from his fingertips. It sent Kian and me stumbling backward into the construction fence.
“Until we meet again,” Mason said, his fiery gaze lingering on me. “Be well, Ava. And tell your friend Will to rest. He’s going to need it.”
And then he, and every single demon along this street, disappeared in a teleportante all at once. Like they’d never been there at all.
Chapter 9
I grabbed for Kian’s hand and brought us back to Fire Circle Headquarters right away. If Mason had felt safe enough teleporting in the middle of the day, then it must have been okay.
Mason was Veynix’s apprentice?
Then everything happening right now—Talon’s crusade and Mason’s targeting of me—was as much about revenge as it was finishing Talon’s plan to attack the Hunter Circles. But Mason had said they weren’t the only target.
Who the hell else were they planning on attacking with a horde of forcibly-turned Ember witches?
“We need to talk to Dacher immediately,” I said, racing across the first floor to the main staircase. I’d brought us to the freelancer job board, figuring that if Brian and the other Hydron representatives were still here, they wouldn’t be in this area.
Kian nodded but didn’t move to follow me. “There’s still a good chance he’s speaking with the Hydron agents.”
“Guess I’m facing that then.” I didn’t want to talk to Brian, especially not after the conversation I’d just had with Mason regarding Veynix. Even though I knew Veynix was dead, hearing someone else speak his name had still sent shivers coursing through me.
As we crossed the first floor of Headquarters, sounds started filtering in from upstairs. Heavy footfalls, like people were running, and screams, shouts. A group of people hurried down the stairs. One Hunter even jumped from the landing where the staircase turned.
“Watch out!” they called as they landed. “Get out of here, go!”
Kian pulled the Hunter aside. I vaguely recognized him as Steve Neil.
“What’s going on?” Kian asked.
Steve’s eyes went wide and he shook his head. “They’re evacuating the upper floors. The poisoned Hunters are attacking everyone.”
My stomach dropped. “What?”
Steve tore himself from Kian’s grip. “Gotta go.” He took off toward the stairs leading down into the great hall without another word. Others followed him, as if that were the designated eva
cuation point. A few months ago, when Veynix and Talon had attacked Headquarters, it had been.
“Let’s go,” Kian said, his eyes focused on the staircase leading upward.
I swallowed hard. If they’re evacuating, there wasn’t much we could do. But if it involved the poisoned Hunters, that meant whatever fight that might have been happening upstairs was taking place in the Infirmary. Will was up there.
Kian led the way up the stairs. We dodged fleeing Hunters at every turn. Heavy thuds sounded, followed by the sounds of magik impacting walls and people. The air smelled as though something were burning, like several fires had been lit.
“Keep going,” Kian said. I hadn’t realized I’d slowed down. “Unless you don’t want to go help?” He pressed himself close to the wall as another wave of Hunters rushed by.
“I’m saving Will at the very least,” I said as we continued onward.
When we crested the top of the stairs at the third floor, we appeared behind a wall of magik-users, including both Ben and Krystin. She had drawn her three-piece-sword and was ducking instead of wielding the magik she was famous for.
Ben turned and saw us. His eyes narrowed on Kian. “Get out of here. It’s not safe.” The words for anyone without magik hung in the air, but I was starting to get the distinct impression Ben really meant it wasn’t safe for anyone, period.
“What’s going on?” I asked, taking in the scene before me.
An impromptu wall of ether stood between the entrance to the Infirmary and the main waiting room area. Ben, Krystin, and the other magik-users huddled around it, taking turns lobbing shots inside. Beyond it, the poisoned Hunters paced back and forth, their eyes wild and glowing red-orange. Almost demonic but still solidly…
Ember witches. Glowing red-orange ether flames danced in each of their hands. Behind their front line stood Will in the entrance of one of the first exam rooms. His eyes weren’t glowing as bright—or, at least not as bright as they had in Veynix’s lair under Midnight. But Ember witch ether swirled around his hands, too. I’d known the poison had awakened that magik in him, but seeing him work it was another thing entirely.