Page 50 of Ancient Magic

“How did they contact you?”

Long Jong hunched a shoulder. “A dude came into the bar a couple of weeks ago and mentioned he had some friends visiting the city and they were looking for volunteers.”

“Volunteers for what?”

“He didn’t give details, but he promised that anyone chosen would be cashing in big.” The demon took another drink of the grog. “I gave my number but I didn’t hear nothing. I forgot all about him until this morning when I got a text with an address and the order to be there at one this afternoon to drive his friends into the city.”

“Pick them up from where?”

“A place in Jersey.” Long Jong pursed his lips, trying to dredge up something from his memories. “The moon something or other. No wait. Or Lunar...”

“The Lunar Pathway?” Maya suggested, her heart missing a beat as she abruptly understood how Skye could be forced to do something against her will.

The demon snapped his fingers. “That’s the place.”

Maya licked her lips that were suddenly dry. “Tell me what happened when you got there.”

“Nothing. I pulled into the parking lot and waited ten minutes or so. Then they came out and got in the back seat.”

“Who came out?”

“A couple of fairies and a woman.”

It matched what she’d seen on the security video. An indication that Long Jong was telling the truth. Still, Maya wanted to make certain that she didn’t leap to conclusions.

Not when Skye’s life might very well depend on her ability to discover what the hell was going on.

“Describe her.”

“Blond hair.” The male paused, as if painting a mental picture. “Nice tits. Tasty ass.”

Maya rolled her eyes. The male barely rated on the demon scale. His teeth were rotting and he was in dire need of a bath. He should at least try to develop a decent personality. Instead he was just...gross.

“There wasn’t an older woman with them?” she asked. “A human?”

“Nope. Just the fairies and the pretty chick.”

Maya took a moment to visualize what had happened. Somehow the fairies had connected Skye to Madame Clarissa and used the fortune teller to force her to do what they wanted. Maya didn’t think the older woman was involved, at least beyond being a pawn. When Skye had first taken the human under her wing, Maya had done a thorough investigation of Madame Clarissa and her magic shop. No one was allowed to be a part of her friends’ lives until they’d been given the Maya seal of approval.

Well, not until Valen had stolen Peri away.

Maya shook away the aggravating memory. This was about Skye and how quickly she could find her.

“You drove them straight to Valen’s office building?”

“Yep. I pulled in front of the building and they got out. I took off and came back here and waited to get paid.” He glanced toward the phone, his expression petulant. “I’m still waiting.”

“Did you notice anything special about them?”

“Just the smell.”

Maya arched her brows. This male was complaining about someone else’s stench? That was ballsy.

“What about the smell?”

“The one who acted like the leader smelled like a fairy, but there was something more.”

“Human?”

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