“It’s not your fault. No one could have predicted the demon would be there and attack you.”
Though he said it sincerely, I wondered if he was being honest. I almost felt like he and Kai had been fearing something like this would happen …
A few minutes later, Kai and Ezra walked out of the showers, the aeromage limping but steady. His hair shone wetly and he wore a clean t-shirt and black sweats. Every guild member kept spare clothes and a full set of gear at the guild; after becoming a member, I’d been assigned a locker in the women’s shower room. Come to think of it, I should probably make use of those resources.
They sat on the mats with Aaron, Ezra leaning wearily against the weight bench I was perched on, and I slid off it to sit cross-legged between him and Aaron.
“So,” Kai said, “we need a plan.”
I squinted one eye dubiously. “A plan for what?”
“Oh, nothing important,” Aaron replied breezily. “Just luring out and killing a demon without involving any other mythics.”
“Uh … what?”
Ezra pushed his damp hair out of his eyes. “I’ll try not to bleed as much next time.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” I pointed accusingly at Aaron. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Kai propped himself up on one arm. “Your story is good, Tori, but the whole thing will fall apart if anyone sees the demon with half its horns ripped off. It was sighted multiple times with its horns intact, and if anyone discovers its newly injured state, they’ll start asking questions.”
“They’re already asking questions,” Aaron added. “We don’t want any more.”
“So we have to find the demon and kill it first,” Kai concluded.
I looked between them, waiting for someone to yell, “Gotcha!”
“You want to find the demon,” I clarified, “which thirty teams of mythics haven’t found yet, and then you want to kill it, when it’s already butchered four combat mythics.”
“Yeah,” Aaron agreed darkly. “But the demon’s already gone for Ezra once. If he goes outside again, the demon should come after him a second time.”
My gaze swung to Ezra. He looked away, avoiding my eyes.
“But it could be anywhere,” I protested, unable to believe we were having this discussion. “It can fly.”
“Not very well … not anymore,” Ezra muttered reluctantly, as though worried he was causing us even more trouble. “I broke one of its wings.”
“See?” Aaron said. “It’s gotta be nearby.”
I squeezed my temples. “Okay, fine, maybe that would work. But what about the second part? You know, the part where the demon tore up Ezra once already and how it almost ripped the both of you apart too. The three of you going up against this thing by yourselves is suicide.”
The three mages exchanged glances as though wordlessly debating something. The silence stretched for a full minute, and I considered closing my eyes and humming loudly so they could speed things up with an actual discussion.
Finally, Aaron shrugged. “We should bring her.”
“No,” Ezra snapped.
“The area is crawling with teams and we can’t risk any witnesses. She can help by delaying or distracting anyone who approaches. She’ll run interference while we handle the demon.”
Ezra pressed his lips together. “No.”
I glanced at him, his jaw flexing and arms folded, then back to Aaron. Secrets hung between us like ghosts and half-formed suspicions filled my head, but the handful of puzzle pieces I held didn’t form a complete picture. The broken glimpses they offered, however …
My questions died on my tongue. I didn’t want to know. I didn’t want to know how Ezra had survived the demon, why it had gone after him, or why they thought it would attack him again.
“So, we’re going to hunt the demon,” I said slowly.
Ezra’s jaw tightened until it threatened to crack his teeth. He wouldn’t look at me.
“We’re going to kill a demon,” Kai clarified. “And we’re going to do it before anyone else gets the chance.”
“But first,” Aaron added, stifling a yawn with one hand, “we’re going to sleep. I’m so tired I’d lose a fight against a poodle.”
My stomach sank. Was this really happening? Were we going after the demon ourselves? No guild support. No backup. Aaron, Kai, and Ezra would face that deadly beast, all on their own.
“Guys.” I stared at the three of them. “This is insane.”
Kai shook his head. “No, Tori. This is survival.”
Chapter Eight
There are two kinds of girls: those who’ve fantasized about a threesome with a pair of hot guys, and liars.
I’ll be honest here. I was a hot-blooded woman without a boyfriend, and my three best friends were excessively attractive. All else aside, they had the hard-muscled bodies of professional athletes, and I’d seen enough of their skin to fuel my fantasies until my ovaries turned to dust.
That didn’t mean I intended to act on my fantasies, but come on. How could I resist a few steamy daydreams? In retrospect, I really should’ve resisted—because now every one of those inappropriate thoughts was parading through my stupid brain. Every. Single. One.
Heaving a sigh, I stared at the ceiling and focused on the uncomfortable mat beneath me. If I thought extra hard about the way the waistband of my sweatpants was pressing unpleasantly against my lower spine, I might forget about Ezra’s warmth on my left, and Aaron’s warmth on my right.
Kai was asleep on Ezra’s opposite side, and I was still trying to figure out exactly how this had happened. Yes, we needed rest, and yes, the only available place to sleep was on the second level, which was crowded with a mixture of tables, cots, and sleeping mats, plus a lot of mythics—four of whom were snoring.
But how had I ended up having a slumber-party foursome with the guys?
Another sigh slid from my lungs. Of course I knew. They weren’t about to leave me all by my lonesome in a corner.
The guys were my best friends. Aaron and I hadn’t made a compatible couple for some stupid reason, and I was damn lucky our friendship had emerged unscathed. Aside from some awkward moments in the first few weeks after the breakup, nothing had really changed between us. He was still the same fun, teasing, supportive troublemaker as before, which only confirmed we weren’t meant to be more than friends.
As for the other two, Kai had so much romantic baggage he could open his own suitcase depot. And Ezra eschewed any form of relationship—no dating, no flings, no one-night stands.
They were undateable, and that was perfectly fine with me.
Five minutes later, I gave up on sleep. Flipping my blanket off, I carefully extracted myself from the pile. The guys didn’t stir; they were out like three sexy rocks. With a longing glance over my shoulder, I tiptoed across the room and down the stairs. A drink of cold water—and maybe a splash in the face—then I would try to sleep again.
The pub was quiet. The clock read 2:32 a.m. and only a dozen people were awake. Elisabetta sat at the empty healers’ station, her head lolling forward. Felix had finally succumbed to exhaustion, so Tabitha sat at the computers in his place, watching updates scroll past. Six or seven strangers were resting at the tables. A few looked familiar but I didn’t know their names.
Only one small group was accomplishing anything besides keeping upright in their chairs. Four people were clustered at the end of the bar, whispering. As I headed toward them, I spotted Izzah—her makeup long gone, her leather pants scuffed, and her black shirt crusted with dried blood on one side.
Facing three older men, she spoke in a low voice edged with suppressed anger. “There’s only one explanation for—”
“You have no proof.”
“Do we need proof to act?” she shot back. “Or will you let more people die while you wait to be absolutely positive? What about your people, Lee? Our guild has already—”
“That’s enough, Izzah,” the short, middlemost man interrup
ted. “We aren’t picking a fight with the Keys based on unfounded suspicions.”
I recognized him as one of the GMs I’d brought coffee to, and I halted a few feet away, tiredly rubbing one eye. They were blocking my way behind the bar. Though I was tempted to barrel through like I usually did, curiosity got the better of me.
“The Keys are unleashing their demons to create false positives on demonic activity,” Izzah insisted. “They are deliberately muddying the search so they can get the kill for themselves. How long until having their demons claw up walls doesn’t get enough attention? What happens then, hah?”
“They wouldn’t go that far,” Lee said.
“The rumors—and the evidence—say otherwise.” She glared at the GM. “The last attack might not have happened if the Keys hadn’t faked a demon sighting so far east. Who knows how long we’ve been searching the wrong areas?”
I tensed. Was that how the demon had turned up so far west to attack Ezra and me when we thought it was in another neighborhood?
Lee folded his arms. “What do you expect us to do without evidence?”
“Go to MagiPol.” Izzah pointed at the door like there were MPD agents waiting on the front step. “Report the Keys. If you—or even better, if three GMs press them to act, they’ll eject the Keys from the city.”
Three GMs? Wow, Izzah had more grit than I’d realized.
“We have nothing to take to the MPD,” Lee said with finality. “Until we do, we can work around the Keys. You should rest, Izzah. Get some sleep.”
With that cool dismissal, he walked away. Another GM followed him, while the third headed upstairs. Izzah glared after Lee, then blew out a long, angry breath before giving me a tired smile.
“Hey Tori.”
“Hi Izzah. Is that Lee guy your GM?”
“Yeah.” She shook her head, her long ponytail swishing side to side. “I was afraid he’d take that stance. No one wants to report the Keys’ actions to MagiPol in case it forces a confrontation. So geram!”
I glanced at the ceiling as though I could see the guys through it. “Tell Kai about your suspicions. He’ll make sure our GM hears about it.”
Izzah hesitated, then nodded. “He’s sleeping-mah? I’ll catch him once he’s up and let him know. Guild rivalries or not, someone needs to act before the Keys get completely out of control.”
At the mention of sleep, a yawn pulled at my jaw. “I came down for some water. Want anything?”
“Water would be great.”
With Izzah following, I crossed behind the bar and pushed through the saloon doors. I grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge and tossed her one.
“Thanks.” She cracked it open. “How’s Ezra?”
“He’s doing okay. How’s … it was Roberto, right?”
“Yeah. He’s already itching to get back out there.” She grimaced disbelievingly, then asked, “How’s Kai?”
“He’s doing fine.” As I opened my water, she chewed on a fingernail, a crease between her elegantly arched eyebrows. With the glow from the pub lighting one edge of her face, she radiated mysterious beauty. Exactly the sort of woman I’d expect Kai to go for. “How do you two know each other?”
“Hm.” She took a long drink. “We dated for a few months … about three years ago now, I guess. Time flies …”
A few months? That was a long-term relationship by Kai’s standards. “How did you meet?”
Her expression softened, gaze sliding absently across the counters. “He tried to arrest me for attempted theft.”
My eyes popped. “Oh. Sounds romantic.”
She laughed. “I was twenty and thought I knew what I was doing, but I was in over my head. He was working a security job, and after deciding I wasn’t actually trying to steal anything, he helped me …” She trailed off, musing in reminiscent silence, then added matter-of-factly, “We dated for a few months afterward, then he dumped me.”
I winced. Oh, Kai. He was wonderful and considerate and protective, but he treated the woman he dated like Solo cups. “Do you know why?”
“No …” She leaned against the counter, swirling her water in the bottle. “I was naïve-lah. We never talked about being exclusive or made plans for the future. I was just … happy and in love, you know? But I guess he wasn’t.”
Judging by the sad yearning on her face, she was still in love with him. I wasn’t mean enough to point that out, though. “That’s tough. You’re friends, though, aren’t you?”
“I tried to hate him,” Izzah admitted with a sigh, “but I couldn’t, especially since we keep running into each other. And sometimes he looks at me like …”
Like he wanted to sweep her off her feet and carry her away. That’s what it had looked like to me when she’d strolled into the pub.
Grimacing, she chugged the rest of her water. “I must be tired. Spilling my guts to you. Don’t mind me-lah. Just oversharing with a stranger.”
I laughed. “Hey, any friend of Kai’s is someone I want to know.”
She grinned, then bid me good night. I watched her go, tapping my water bottle thoughtfully against my chin. I knew part of the reason Kai’s love life was so messed up, but I didn’t know why he felt the need to date chronically and dump women when he couldn’t commit to a relationship.
What were the odds I could wrangle an explanation out of the womanizing electramage on why he’d broken up with Izzah? I pondered the math. Less than fifty-fifty and definitely not in my favor.
* * *
Darius leaned against the front of his desk, facing the three mages. “You’re requesting what, specifically?”
Over twenty-four hours after leaving the guild, Darius and his team had finally returned to rest. These old men had more stamina than the young’uns. The guild master’s face was pale with fatigue, his clothes were damp from the on-and-off rain, and mud splattered his pants up to his knees. Silver knives were strapped to his hips, and as he spoke, he spun a steel bracelet around his wrist—a sorcery artifact, I was assuming.
“The demon’s movements have been unpredictable from the start,” Aaron explained. “Since it targeted Ezra once, it’s a reasonable bet that it’ll target him again.”
From my spot behind the three mages, I nodded along. I would’ve expected Kai to do the talking—he was the eloquent, bossy one—but Aaron had a closer relationship with Darius. Every Crow and Hammer member was assigned a mentor from the guild leadership team: someone to oversee their activities and training, handle personal or professional issues, and administer discipline. My mentor was Felix, while Aaron’s mentor was Darius.
“Considering how poorly the tracking efforts have gone,” Aaron continued, “it’s worth a shot to lure the demon out. I’m requesting permission to form a team with Kai, Ezra, and Tori.”
Darius studied Aaron, then his gray eyes turned to Kai, Ezra, and finally me. “With two encounters between the four of you, how would you assess your ability to handle a direct attack from the demon?”
“Ezra will be our early warning system,” Aaron answered promptly, “since aeromages can sense movement without seeing it. He’ll also act as our defense. Properly prepared, he’s well equipped for it. Me and Kai will bring the firepower. We can inflict heavy damage in a short time.”
“And Tori’s role?”
“Her familiar, Hoshi, will act as backup surveillance, since she can get a bird’s-eye view of our surroundings. Tori will be our communications point, since we can’t count on having free hands to call in the demon’s location. We’ll also equip her with tools to help distract the demon in a worst-case scenario.”
Considering us with a steely gaze, the guild master folded his arms. I shifted uncomfortably, wondering again how much Darius knew about Ezra’s secrets.
“Tori.”
I jumped at my name.
“This is an extremely dangerous endeavor, and you’re not combat trained. Do you understand the risks of joining their team?”
Gulping back my nerves, I stra
ightened my spine. “Yes, sir.”
Darius nodded and told Aaron, “I won’t have you wandering the streets unaccounted for. You’ll register your new team and join the grid search under the MPD’s direction. If you encounter the demon, you will follow procedure. Understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Be careful and don’t put yourselves in harm’s way. I expect all four of you back in the same condition as when you left.”
“Yes, sir.”
With a nod from the GM, we saw ourselves out. I huffed, not sure if I was relieved or apprehensive. Part of me had hoped Darius would forbid us from going out.
“Now what?” I asked as we headed down the stairs.
Aaron cast me a tight smile. “Now we gear up.”
I was used to the guys gearing up for jobs—decking themselves out in everything from protective clothing to weapons to communications equipment. I was always a little jealous of how badass they looked with their dark clothes and leather baldrics and big, scary swords.
I hadn’t expected to be gearing up too.
Thirty minutes later, I was standing in the pub, dressed for combat for the first time in my life. Sturdy black leather clung to my legs, and a long-sleeved shirt with a texture reminiscent of Kevlar covered my torso. On top of it, I wore a leather jacket with padded elbows, lots of zippered pockets, and several hidden compartments.
Around my waist was the most unusual piece of my outfit. The custom belt, made from wide, polished leather, had several quick-access pouches for my sorcery artifacts, and clipped along my hips were six alchemy “bombs”—glass spheres the size of billiard balls. Three were smoke bombs, and three were alchemic flash-bangs.
Aaron circled me, checking my new outfit. He was already dressed for battle in similar protective clothing and with Sharpie strapped to his back.
“All fits.” He tugged my belt, ensuring it wouldn’t slip down my hips. “The pants aren’t too tight?”
Demon Magic and a Martini: The Guild Codex: Spellbound / Four Page 7