by Jessica Gunn
And now… now I wasn’t so sure who the enemy was. Giyano had said that the Powers wanted to use my magik for not-so-good things, despite Alzan needing it to save the city. I wasn’t sure I believed him, but he had turned against Lady Azar to help us save Riley. That had to count for something. I just didn’t know what.
“We will,” Nate said as he stood. “One day. Right now, we need to focus on finding out which demon attacked Hunter’s Guild.”
“Assuming it was a demon at all,” I said. “It could have been a witch. I didn’t feel any leftover auras except for the big one. But Ember witches have demon-tinted magik. It could have been one of them, or Shadow Crest, or—”
Shawn interrupted. “We’ll know soon. Hopefully by then, I’ll have figured out this Alzan magik thing.”
I peered at him. Being one half of this prophecy despite not having so much as a drip of an aura didn’t make sense. Shawn was literally a clean slate. He could have been anyone in this world of magik and demons. And yet fate had chosen him as the Son of Alzan.
“Yeah.” I bent down and scooped up one of the semi-precious stones from the coffee table. “Meditate on this. It’s for clarity and focus.”
Shawn took the stone from me and closed his fist around it. “Will do. I’m gonna go get some lunch down the street.”
With that, my “other half” was gone. And still powerless.
I knocked on the door frame to Ben’s small room, filled wall to wall with sports memorabilia. He was sitting on his bed, a tablet in his lap. “Hey.”
He looked up, eyes brightening as soon as he saw me. “Hey, what’s up?”
Things had been weird between us since rescuing Riley. Maybe it was my fault for kissing him, but—it was what it was. Ben was a good guy when he wasn’t being an arrogant asshole, hell-bent on saving the world alone. And in the week since saving Riley, he’d mellowed out some.
“Shawn’s still magik-less. But we did uncover one fun tidbit of information.”
Ben’s eyes widened. “Yeah?”
He gestured for me to come in the room, so I did, stopping just short of his bed. I tried to ignore it, but something about Ben made my insides do happy somersaults.
“We have the same birthmark,” I said, showing him the inside of my elbow. “Or, we did before my mother had mine cut off. That’s how Jaffrin knew he was the other half of the Alzan prophecy. Not because of some magik he doesn’t have.”
Ben set his tablet aside and crossed his arms. “See, that still doesn’t make sense.”
“Nope.”
“Not all of us were born with magik, though,” he offered as explanation. A good one, too.
“But Shawn’s twenty-four. His magik should have shown up by now.”
Ben squinted, then shook his head. “Has anyone actually looked at the wording of this prophecy? I know when you told me, it wasn’t verbatim.”
“Beats me. I only know what Jaffrin and my mother told me. Maybe it’s time I go find an actual copy of the damn thing.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t before,” Ben said.
“I was busy joining this team. And stalking demons before that. And training from a young age before that. Besides, they never would have let me get my hands on the actual document until now.”
Silence filled a lull in our conversation, and it wasn’t an easy one. Until just now, I hadn’t spoken to Ben since I’d stormed out of Hunter’s Guild the previous night like a child. Like he’d done on the night we met, even if those were incredibly different circumstances.
Still… “Sorry I ran out last night.”
His eyes softened and he released a breath. “It’s okay. We’re each allowed one freak-out-and-run a month.”
I smirked. “Only one a month? Are you capable of limiting yourself to that?”
Ben shrugged. “Guess we’ll see, won’t we?”
My legs suddenly felt like jelly, as if I’d carried the weight of everything—being a Hunter, joining the team, Drew’s death—for too long. I walked the few steps between Ben and me and sat on the edge of his bed. “Drew’s always been the one who had his life together. He was the better Hunter and a much better person. Why he chose a job at the Guild, I’ll never understand.”
“I might.”
I glanced up at Ben. “What do you mean?”
“I’d take a job there if it meant knowing the movements of Darkness. Especially if I had family in the Circles. Maybe he did it to glean information for Jaffrin and the Fire Circle as much as he did it to protect you.”
“Some protection. Nothing can keep me safe. Not him, not my father. Not whatever my mother did to deface this stupid birthmark.” I held up my elbow. Pricker bushes. Why had I ever believed that story?
“Look,” Ben said, leaning forward. “I can’t pretend to know Drew or his story, but what I can tell you is that as someone who’s pretty family-oriented myself, I get it. And he’d be happy to know you’re going to go after his killer.”
I raised an eyebrow. “I am?”
He leveled me with a look. “I’m not stupid, Krystin. Just promise me you’ll do it with the team behind you and not run off on your own.”
Like you did when I met Drew the first time. Ben’s thoughts sifted through my head, nearly screaming. Damn this telepathy sometimes. He really didn’t want me to go alone.
“I promise.” I also made a mental promise to work on reinforcing my telepathic walls.
No one else’s thoughts had made it through in years. Until Ben, the loudest voice I’d ever heard. I wasn’t sure what that meant, if anything—aside from maybe that Ben was more powerful than we knew. Given Jaffrin’s assembly of us onto one magik-filled team—minus Shawn—I believed it.
I stood from Ben’s bed. “I need to go confirm funeral arrangements with Drew’s wife, and how they’re going to get him out west to his home.” I frowned, thinking of the time we’d gone to Disney World together. “I’m going after this demon, Ben. But I’ll do it with you and the team. Until then…”
“Get some rest,” he said. “Please. We’re not on duty until later.”
I nodded and headed for the door on unsure feet. Being with Ben, in this room, felt a lot like an escape from the world. One I so desperately needed right now.
But there was one other person who might be able to offer that, and they had the information I needed.
Chapter 5
Ben
The afternoon was uneventful, especially compared to last night’s massacre. My team ended up playing babysitter for the scene at Hunter’s Guild while Jaffrin discussed the situation with representatives of the Ether Head Circle. They’d stood there all high and mighty, stoic in their yellow robes, save for nodding their heads in acknowledgment every now and again just to prove they weren’t statues.
No one opposed them for any reason, and Jaffrin wasn’t any different. In fact, I’d be willing to bet he was terrified of them. Almost as scared as he’d been when he’d seen the destruction of Hunter’s Guild the previous night.
When Jaffrin had let me and my team off for the night, I’d returned to the house with them. But now, at almost 1 a.m., I was stuffing pillows under my blankets. The oldest and most childish trick in the book. No one should come looking for me, but if they did, they’d believe my story of being a sound sleeper.
Hopefully.
I got dressed and tied on my boots before looking at myself in the mirror. Eyes red from lack of sleep or stress, likely both, had turned me from a normal-looking person into this stranger with wrinkles around his eyes and hair that needed to be cut.
I flipped off my reflection and said, “Teleportante.” The world around me bled away, shimmering into the lobby of Fire Circle Headquarters.
Derek, the nighttime front desk admin, glanced up from his computer, not startled. Hunters teleported into and out of Headquarters all the time. Most just didn’t do it at one in the morning.
“Hey, Hallen,” he said, stretching out a hand.
I shook
it and nodded my head toward the hallway. “Any new jobs on the board?”
“Yeah.” A beat. “You really out for more?”
“Have to keep busy somehow,” I said, putting one foot in front of the other. “I’ll see you later.”
He shrugged and returned to his work. “Don’t die, please. I’d hate to be the guy who told you to take a job that killed you.”
I waved him off and continued to the job board in the main hallway. Fire Circle Headquarters had a list of to-dos that the freelancers could grab, but anyone bored enough was allowed to also take on solo missions. The ones listed on the granite slab, papers taped to its surface, weren’t too dangerous. But every now and then some big bounty showed up. Those were the ones I liked the most, especially when I’d still been a new Hunter.
The Fire Circle paid their Hunters okay. But those big bounty jobs, even if you had to split it with one or two other people, paid for plenty of extracurriculars. Like all that alcohol I wasn’t supposed to be drinking anymore.
I’d come here every night since I’d dropped off Riley with Sandra and had taken on two or more jobs each time. Whatever kept me busy and my mind too occupied to think of Riley and how the hell I was going to make Boston safe for him again.
Boston and its cianza were one thing. Shadow Crest was another. Darkness was a beast all its own.
The job board was fairly empty. Between the regular Fire Circle freelancers and all the extra missions I’d taken on this past week, we’d cleared out the listings.
My heart sank, fingers itching for a fight. I could always hit up the normal demon haunts, but that seemed like a shitty idea given the attack on Hunter’s Guild last night. Actual hits, taking out specific demons instead of a random one, was the more logical option.
“Dammit,” I hissed, reaching up for the remaining jobs.
A drug raid—dharska. That shit was everywhere these days, and someone in the Circles had wanted this particular buyer gone. I’d had enough of that crap for a while.
There was also a request for someone to exterminate a pair of lower-level demons at a bar downtown. According to the listing, they frequently took midnight snacks there, feeding on human energy almost every night. Power-hungry idiots.
I sighed and grabbed both jobs off the board and left the other listings. The bar wouldn’t take long, not after Krystin had taught me so much about my magik. As for the dharksa raid… If I played it safe, it’d be all right. Hopefully. Not like I’d have Nate around to save my ass again.
Someone loudly cleared their throat from the lobby, leaning into the hallway just enough to see me. They stood there, arms crossed, hip-cocked.
My stomach dropped. “Rachel?”
My cousin swung her blonde hair over her shoulder and stalked down the hall. Too shocked to find she’d followed me here—or worse, had been doing the same and also taking on solo missions—I couldn’t move an inch as she stepped right up to me and snatched the job listings from my hands… and tore them up in front of my eyes. The ripped shreds of paper glided to the ground.
“What are you doing?” Rachel pointed up at the job board. “Because if it’s what I think it is, need I remind you why you were kicked out of Sandra’s house the first time?”
I bent down and retrieved the fallen papers. “I was kicked out because I stopped being a boyfriend, not because of my trip to the ER.”
“Really.” Fire burned in her blue eyes. “Do tell me more about this fantasy world you’re living in. It sounds super interesting.”
“It’s not what you—”
“No? You’re not taking on side missions in a misguided attempt to get revenge on Lady Azar? Or is it that you’re not doing it because you think going all rogue is the way to take more demons off the streets?”
“Well—”
“You forget I grew up with you, Ben. I know you better than anyone else on this team.”
I gulped. Not because she was intimidating, but because she was right. “So, who cares if that’s what I’m here doing? It’s my life.”
“Correction: It’s our lives. You’re the team leader. If you die or get caught up in something while off running solo missions, it becomes our problem.” Rachel looked up at the job board again. “Half of these are ridiculous anyway. You’d need a team.”
I held up my handful of torn papers. “That’s why I stick to the easy ones.”
“Why?”
“Because the world isn’t safe. For anyone. Not just Riley. Especially after last night. So I’m doing my part by killing more demons.”
“Killing isn’t going to make less killing happen, Ben. That’s all I’m here to tell you. You don’t need to do this.”
“Talk to the Circles, then. Killing is all they’ve trained anyone to do since the beginning of time.”
“What is your problem?”
“I don’t have one. I came here to get a job and then go complete it. What’s yours?”
Rachel pointed at the wall next to her, but somehow, combined with her next words, I felt she meant something farther in the distance. “Krystin lost family back there, Ben. And for some time, you lost Riley.”
Heat soared up my neck, lighting a fire in my lungs. “He’s fine now.”
“Now,” Rachel echoed. “For how long? And if you die on a solo mission, what’s going to happen to him then? You can’t go off and do these things, Ben. We’re a team. If not all of us, then just you and me.” Her expression softened. “We started this together. There’s no way I’m going to let you finish it alone.”
She was right, and I knew it. But the papers in my hand weighed too much for me to move them, much less tack the listings back to the job board.
“Put them back, Ben.”
I swallowed hard. “They’re all I have.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “What?”
“Of Riley. If I can’t rid Boston of enough demons, if we can’t stop Darkness and Shadow Crest for good, I’ll never be able to see Riley again. And, if word gets out about him having the Power, he’ll become a target. Hunted all over again.”
“So train with us,” Rachel said as she placed a hand on my shoulder. “Make Krystin take you one-on-one if you want to challenge yourself. Or take on the entire team all at once. We won’t kill you, but any of those demons”—she pointed to the board again—“they’ll do it without hesitation.”
I frowned but eventually let it go. “You’re right. Let’s go.”
Rachel peered up at me with squinted eyes. “I don’t know if I believe you.”
“I’m telling you the truth. Yes, I do still want to go on these missions. Especially since no one else will, now that they’re torn asunder.” I held out the remains of the job listings. “And under normal circumstances, I would probably still go out alone instead of going home with you. But…”
“But what?”
I turned and leaned back against the granite job board, laying my head against the cool stone. “Honestly? I’m tired. Exhausted. Over pretty much everything that’s happening right now.”
“You and me both.” She leaned against the board, too. “But we have to keep marching on.”
I shrugged. “Or we could run with our tails between our legs. No one back home would know the difference. Not Michael. Not Amanda. Hell, your parents would be ecstatic. And we’d never have to tell them the truth about what we’ve been doing.”
Rachel was quiet. Not even her facial expression had changed. A ten-second span of silence grew into thirty. The sound of nothing deafened my ears.
“Yeah,” I finally said. “I thought it was a shitty plan, too. Let’s go back to the house and get some sleep.”
She nodded and pushed off the board. “Glad we had this conversation.”
I smirked. “You’ve always been good at telling me what to do without telling me what to do.”
“And sometimes being more direct,” she offered.
“Yeah, that too.” I held out my hand to her. “Ready?”
She
placed her hand in mine and I teleported us both back to the house.
The crumpled remains of the dharksa raid and the demon bounty papers were still pressed between my fingers when I walked back into my bedroom alone. I flicked on the light.
That was when I saw it: a picture I’d taken with Riley a week ago, his adorable two-year-old goofy grin wide as ever.
Determination swelled inside my gut, pushing out my fear of demons and death. My fist curled around the job listings, the sound of crinkling paper echoing against the walls of my bedroom.
I had to make this world safe for him, no matter what.
And it’d start with these stupid jobs.
Chapter 6
Krystin
I gave myself until 9 p.m to grieve for Drew before I wiped the tears from my face and got dressed for a fight. Now that we were off-duty, Jaffrin shouldn’t be looking for us for a while. Which was good. I had something to attend to and answers to demand.
I glanced down my hand, the mark from a few weeks ago still fading. Giyano’s blemish, the one left by his magik when it had invaded me and turned my own magik dark. Demonic. The dark power thrummed in my veins, growing stronger in the week since we’d last spoken.
I hated to admit it, but my body seemed to crave his power.
So tonight I’d set out on my own, walking the shore along Castle Island to seek out my “other escape.” I didn’t know where Giyano usually hung out, but I didn’t want to go too far from our house. Not with some rogue demon out there.
The stars shone bright against the clear nighttime sky. My breath wisped up from my lips in slow spirals on each exhale. A chilly wind swept through my leather jacket, sending a shiver down my spine. Winter was really starting to set in—my least favorite season out of the year.
