by Emma Dean
When she could breathe again, they were back in Eisheth’s penthouse where it was still daylight and the golden sun shone down on them, dipping toward the ocean she could see from this height beyond the city itself.
“Welcome back, my darlings,” Eisheth said as he swept out of the kitchen with a tray full of drinks and snacks. “I know the last time you were here wasn’t precisely a good memory, but I’m hoping to make up for that.”
Mika looked around and then eyed Jess. “Brought you something as a thanks.” She handed Jess the expensive bottle of whiskey and glared at Ethan.
He was fast when he wanted to be.
Ethan smirked and pulled out a second bottle. “This is for the guest who was so kind to meet us.”
Mika didn’t know what she would do without Ethan. He was always so calm and sure and mentally ten steps ahead of everyone else.
“Look,” Jess warned. Then she saw the label on the bottle. “Holy fuck, this is the good shit, Mika.”
“Nothing less for my cousin,” she said carefully, trying not to fidget or demand to see the banshee.
Jess floated two glasses over to her and flicked the cork top off with her ridiculous strength. “As I was saying, she’s been in hiding since discovering her powers. So, try not to fuck that up.” Then Jess handed Mika the second glass.
“Cheers,” Mika murmured, clinking her glass to Jess’s before downing the liquid. “I have no plans to ‘out’ anyone. I just need some blood. The spell requires blood from all the Morrigan’s children.”
“I actually prefer vodka,” the svelte woman with dark hair and green eyes said. She seemed to appear out of nowhere and Mika realized she hadn’t heard a single footstep from the female.
Ethan looked down at the bottle of whiskey and murmured a few words. “I hope this suffices.”
She took the vodka bottle and smiled slightly. “I’m Mavis. Jessica tells me we’re related somehow?” she asked, looking to Mika.
Eisheth chuckled. “In more ways than one.”
Jess sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. “Exactly how many do you plan on adopting?”
“As many lost souls that exist who need me,” Eisheth declared with a huff. He patted Mavis’s shoulder as he walked by and wrapped Mika up in a hug. “But I only have one daughter at the moment,” he whispered in her ear. “I’d say Mavis is like…a half-sister to you. A step-daughter to me.” The demon shrugged. “Someone has to watch out for all you forgotten beauties.”
“It’s almost like they forgot us on purpose,” Mika muttered, eyeing the banshee.
The female opened the bottle of vodka and drank from it like it was water.
“I have a feeling we’re going to need this,” Jess whispered to Mika, pouring more whiskey in their glasses. “I had no idea such a small thing could outdrink me.”
And Mavis was kind of small, but curvy. Her black hair and pale skin really offset the sage green of her eyes.
Mika had so many questions. She’d barely heard whispers of banshees before, and never thought she’d meet one despite both of them having the same roots. Too bad it would be rude to ask them.
Ethan looked between the three females and decided to sit down next to Eisheth on the plush cream-colored couch.
“Good choice,” she heard the demon whisper as he threw his arm over Ethan’s shoulders. “Females are vicious and deadly. Let them figure out where they stand on their own or you might just lose a body part you value.”
Mika rolled her eyes and drained her glass before holding it out to the demon witch for more.
“So, you’re a blood witch,” Mavis stated, eyeing Mika up and down. “And you need something from me. My blood?”
“Yes.” Mika didn’t feel like justifying her reasons or the purpose of it. “I can give you something of equal value in exchange, or a favor to be called on later.”
The banshee looked from Jess to Mika and back. “The only reason I’m even here is because she saved my ass. I agreed to listen as thanks, but that was it. No other promises.”
“The Hellfire Society in Vegas had captured her,” Jess stated calmly, pouring more whiskey. “They were trying to harness her abilities.”
“How did they figure out you exist?” Mika asked, frowning slightly.
“They watch the news.” Mavis threw back some more vodka without making a face. She set it down on the counter and then sat down in one of Eisheth’s comfortable armchairs, crossing one leg over the other and letting her arms lounge over the armrests like a queen on a throne. “When I scream, it makes the news.”
Mika was intrigued. “Well, what do you know about the Morrigan?”
Mavis inspected her nails. They were short with chipped blue polish. “She’s some goddess who supposedly created my kind, per Jessica anyway. You’re a blood witch, Mika. You’re going to have to give me a damn good reason to give you my blood.”
Mika shared a look with Jess. They both knew how dangerous blood could be. “I promise not to use it for anything that you don’t consent to,” Mika told her. “And like I said, I would give you something in exchange.”
Mavis eyed the rubies around Mika’s neck. “I’ve been hiding what I am for a really long time. What will happen if you free the Morrigan?”
Jess cleared her throat awkwardly. “I may have explained a few things already.”
Ethan smirked into his drink and tossed a cookie in his mouth. “I can sweeten Mika’s deal. I’m a storm witch with an affinity for plants. Mika can do things no one else can. She even has a poison garden that’s the envy of every witch on the west coast. I assume between every person in this room we know someone else that could solve any problem you might have. An oath would protect your blood from being used in any way that you don’t agree to. So, what’s holding you back?”
Mika glared at Ethan.
Mavis smiled slightly and her eyes twinkled as she appraised the quiet male witch. Mika snarled softly and stepped forward. “He’s taken.”
“I can see why, sister. Good for you.” Mavis’s smile widened. “I like him.”
The careful numbness was receding, and all Mika felt was possessive rage – even if she knew Mavis would never try to take what was hers. It didn’t matter. Every bit of power she possessed flared in indignation, ready to protect her own with vicious efficiency.
She couldn’t pull it back, she couldn’t keep it from lashing out. She was losing control again.
“Mika!”
Jess slapped Mika across the face to pull her back from the edge, hard.
That rage turned on the demon witch and Eisheth cursed before she saw him throw up a shield.
She tried to calm down, she tried to reel it all inside again. When Mika realized she couldn’t she tried to direct her power away from Jess, away from Mavis.
This was not how she’d wanted things to go down.
At the last second, she ripped open her arm with her nails and set a tight circle just as Jess reached for her.
The demon witch ended up in the circle with her, trying to teleport them both out.
Mika panicked. She’d set that blood circle on purpose, to contain whatever power she unleashed, but with Jess in the circle with her…
Nothingness.
When she could breathe again, they were in the middle of nowhere and Mika directed her magic upwards at the red sky where it blasted nothing, Jess staring up at the red power with a grim look on her face.
Mika sank to her knees in the sand, breathing hard from trying to control her own volatile power. “I could have killed you,” she snapped at Jess between breaths. “Why the fuck did you jump into my circle?”
“You’re less likely to kill people in hell,” Jess told her matter-of-factly.
The demon witch sat down cross-legged beside Mika and studied her with an annoying look of understanding. “Was that the first time you felt challenged since Claire?”
“Second,” Mika admitted, studying the barren desert around her. So, this was hell.
“Did anyone die?”
“Some trees.” Mika took a deep breath and looked down at her shaking hands. She could feel the magic simmering just below the surface. “I managed to make it to the forest before I hurt anyone.”
“I’ve killed a lot of people,” Jess admitted, taking Mika’s hands. “Most of them deserved it, but some…didn’t.”
Mika stared up at the demon witch in shock. She’d taken her hands without hesitation, even after that.
“It’s not just that,” Mika admitted. “It’s everything else on top of losing a sister I never really had.”
Jess nodded and laced her fingers through Mika’s so she couldn’t pull away. “You thought she was someone who cared about you, and then found out she was keeping secrets that could have made your life easier if you’d known you weren’t alone.”
Those words struck a chord and Mika stared at Jessica.
The hunter shrugged. “My mother hid me away on a farm and disappeared. It wasn’t until some demons showed up to try and kill me that I knew we weren’t human. That I wasn’t even really a witch.”
Mika squeezed Jess’s hands and felt the magic in the other witch. It was a deep well of boiling hellfire and power that felt a lot like…Lucifer. Jess had enough power to rival a god, Eisheth had said.
“How do you manage it all?” Mika pulled away and this time Jess let her. She stared down at her hands and felt her magic settle as she calmed her breathing. “As a Marshall, our bloodline is already gifted with ridiculous quantities of power. Then the blood magic doubles it. I’m—I’m afraid of what it can do, what I can do.”
Jess summoned hellfire in one hand and Mika could see it burning in her eyes too. “For me, it wasn’t just the power. It was realizing who I was. Being able to wield hellfire, to keep it from accidentally burning anyone and everyone, meant I had to acknowledge that I wasn't just a witch, but a demon too.”
Wind whipped around them, howling like a thousand lost souls. Mika shook her head. “But I’m still a witch.”
“Mm, it’s not the same as being a storm witch,” Jess told her. “It’s…like being a necromancer or even a demon witch. Our powers are dark and seemingly endless.” She closed her hand and the hellfire disappeared. Her eyes went back to that strange green that seemed to almost glow. “The rest of the witches fear us because of our strength, because of what we can do. Even Ethan is shunned in his own way. He can’t heal like Malachi, and his power can rip a city apart if he felt like it. I assume that’s why he focuses so much on plants.”
Chittering reached her and Mika eyed the goblins as they came to investigate. “Do you know what a death knight is?”
Jess nodded. “Demon witches can do something similar. We’re more alike than any other class of witch, with necromancers as a close second. Lucifer said some in those three classes were all death knights once.”
For some reason that made Mika feel better. “At least I’m not really alone. I have you.”
“And there are a few necromancers out there, under the radar.” Jess smirked. “You should hear Lucifer bitch about it.”
Mika smiled at the thought, but it disappeared when she looked down at her hands again. “How do you keep it leashed?”
Jess shrugged, holding her hand out for one of the goblins to sniff. “I finally accepted that I was also a demon. Once I did that, I wasn’t fighting my own magic so much.” The goblin bumped its ugly head against Jessica’s hand and then turned its focus on Mika.
“I thought they ate people who didn’t belong in the hell realm,” Mika said, letting the creature sniff her. Once it decided it liked her, it flopped down in a huff against her leg. It was so ugly it was almost cute, and kind of reminded her of the blood beasts locked away in her necklace.
“They do.” Jess grinned at her. “Lucky you. At least I can invite some family to the next infernal ball.”
“So, once you accepted who you are, it just…obeyed you?” Mika sighed when more goblins started piling on top of the first one so they could nap, apparently.
“No, once I stopped fighting it, I was able to control it just like I control my body.” Jess scratched behind one of the goblin’s ears and pulled it onto her lap. “The sheer strength and power will never go away. But you can stop being afraid of it. You can learn how much power you actually need for each task, and I’d advise you use your magic more unless you want to hold onto it for something massive. It’ll make the itch easier to manage.”
“Something massive?”
“Yeah, like say…destroying another witch and her entire house, an entire coven, or branch of an evil secret society.” Jess stood and the goblins chittered in annoyance at being disturbed. “Practice more, as in every chance you get, in every situation you can. Now, let’s go apologize to the banshee so you can get your blood.”
Mika looked up at the demon witch who called her cousin, and realized they were related in more ways than one. She took the offered hand and inhaled as they disappeared into the nothingness and reappeared back in Eisheth’s condo.
“Mika!” Ethan wrapped his arms around her before she even realized she was back. “Are you okay?”
“She’s fine, prince charming,” Jess said with a smirk, before turning to the banshee. “Maybe don’t go making eyes at her boyfriend?”
Mavis actually blushed. “I’m sorry, it’s one of those things I can’t help about myself, part of what I am. I really am sorry, I would never try to take him from you,” the banshee promised, wringing her hands as she stood just outside the damaged circle of carpet. “We’re called temptresses for a reason. I’m still figuring out how to keep that part of me leashed.”
It seemed they all had something to master.
“I’m going to have to get my carpet replaced again,” Eisheth said with a massive sigh from his place on the couch. He looked so unbothered in his silk dressing gown and pajamas, sipping from his whiskey glass. “Maybe I should go with something cheaper next time, like vinyl.” The demon made a face at the thought.
“It could have been this entire condo,” Jess warned him. “Stop being so dramatic.”
“I’m sorry, Eisheth,” Mika murmured.
“You smell like sulphur.” Ethan wrinkled his nose before kissing her cheek. “You sure you’re okay?”
Mika squeezed his hand once and nodded. “I’m fine.”
Then she looked at the shorter female. “So, do we have a deal?”
Mavis nodded and slid a knife from her boot. Mika blinked; she hadn’t been expecting that despite this rock chick princess vibe thing the banshee had going on. Mavis didn’t even flinch when she sliced open her own wrist.
Before any of it was wasted, Mika reached out and slid a vial from her belt. The blood floated toward her and into the open vial. Capping it, Mika murmured the spell as she drew the rune on the bottle, inscribing the glass with her power. It disappeared to join the vials of raven blood and blackthorn sap hidden in the temple.
Mika cut her wrist in the same place the banshee did and held out her arm. “I promise not to use your blood for anything other than freeing the Morrigan unless you ask it of me. In return I owe you one favor to be called in at your discretion.”
The banshee took her hand and their blood mingled. “Agreed, sister.”
“Seriously, if you need anything just call me, or Jess, or Eisheth.” Mika squeezed Mavis’s arm. “You’re not alone anymore.”
And neither was she.
20
Jess took her and Ethan to Kenzie’s house next.
“What is that awful smell?” Corbin asked as he greeted them. His hand found hers and Mika squeezed.
“Sulphur,” Ethan said, eyeing Mika. “I didn’t ask why.”
“I took her to hell for a second,” Jess stated cheerfully, slapping Corbin on the shoulder harder than necessary. “Did Kenzie find that necro witch yet or what?”
“Mika, why am I not surprised?” Hunter appeared out of nowhere, hands clasped behind his back
as he eyed their group. “Jess.”
“Hunter.”
Mika could never tell if the two of them simply tolerated each other or if it was some kind of inside joke. With Hunter, it could easily be either. Mika went up the front steps and hugged the crotchety fox before he could dodge her.
“I missed you.”
“Doubtful.” Hunter’s eyes twinkled at her though.
“Lucifer says hi,” she teased.
His irritated snarl was music to her ears. Mika laughed and stepped around him into the house that was becoming as familiar as her own.
“Guests!” Finnick yelled from upstairs. “Ash!”
“I’m already in the kitchen!” Ash came out with a tray and set it down on the massive dining room table. “The necromancer agreed to meet us here. Try not to kill her, Mika.”
She rolled her eyes as Jess laughed harder than was strictly necessary. “It’s not funny,” she muttered, leaning back into Ethan.
“It’s hilarious,” Jess insisted. “We’ll just warn this one to keep her googly eyes off your boys.”
“Speaking of, where’s my favorite…uncle? Cousin?” Finnick asked as he jumped down the last five stairs. “Lucifer should really visit more often.”
“Cousin?” Jess considered, kissing both Finnick’s cheeks before doing the same to Ash. That she didn’t even bother to try with Hunter told Mika the demon witch visited a lot more than she realized. “Lucifer may be old as shit, but he’s dating me. Theoretically, if we ever got married, we’d all be cousins by marriage.”
“And what is Mika? The baby cousin, or like our niece?” Finnick ruffled Mika’s hair and laughed in delighted surprise when she managed to snatch his wrist. “You’re getting faster. Excellent.”
“She’s Eisheth’s daughter, so you’re stuck with cousin,” Jess told the red-headed fox with a smirk. “Have fun with that.”
“Jesus fucking Christ, Christmas is going to be intense,” Ethan muttered.
