Page 63 of Ancient Magic

Ten minutes later her wager was rewarded as he stepped out of the shop and glanced nervously around before he locked the door and headed south. He was going to plead for mercy.

Satisfaction surged through Maya as she followed at a safe distance. One way or another she was going to get answers.

They jogged a couple of blocks before Hexx thankfully darted into the subway. Maya had more stamina than a human, but her heels were made for beauty, not durability. She lingered in the shadows until the train stopped and Hexx jumped on without looking back. Maya quickly slid on behind him, not worried she was being led into a trap.

Hexx was the sort of demon who had zero impulse control. It wouldn’t have occurred to him that he might be followed. His only thought was getting to someone who was stronger, smarter, and hopefully willing to protect his black-market business.

They’d reached Upper Manhattan before Hexx pushed his way through the commuters and off the train. Maya waited until the last second before darting through the doors and losing herself among the gathered crowd. There was always the chance Hexx was meeting someone and she didn’t want to spook them into fleeing.

Hexx paused, glancing around, but with long strides he was heading up the stairs and out of the station. Maya had no choice but to trail behind. Where was he going? There weren’t any demon clubs in the neighborhood. At least none that she knew of—

Her speculations churned to a halt as they turned a corner and she realized where they were headed.

The Green House Theater. The spot where she and Skye had blundered into the top-secret demon meeting a few days before. The air was squeezed from her lungs as she watched Hexx stop in front of the box office, his hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans and his shoulders hunched.

He just stood there for several minutes, shifting from foot to foot in a nervous dance. Then the door to the theater was shoved open and a large form suddenly appeared, stepping on the sidewalk to stand directly in front of Hexx.

Maya released a string of swear words, recognizing the goblin with a shaved head and muscular form stuffed into a leather jacket and jeans. Or more specifically she recognized the aura that was bright enough to spill through the streets.

This was the head goblin commanding the others to perform some mysterious task a few days ago.

Hastily she reached into her purse to grab her phone. There was no way she could get close enough to overhear the heated conversation, but she could make sure this wasn’t a wasted opportunity. Careful to stay hidden in the shadows, she took several photos of the two demons. She couldn’t put a name to the goblin, but there was an excellent chance that Valen or one of his staff might recognize him.

The males ended their conversation and Hexx turned to scurry away. A second later the demon disappeared into the theater, slamming the door shut behind him.

Maya tucked the phone back in her purse and grimly headed toward Valen’s lair. It couldn’t be a coincidence that the Benefactor had ordered her to travel to this theater. He’d wanted her to see the male demon. Probably because he was going to be involved in Skye’s disappearance. Not to mention the attack on the Cabal.

Dwelling on the Benefactor and the reasons he might have sent her to this location, Maya abruptly found herself lifted off the ground by an invisible force and pressed against the side of an abandoned pool hall. It wasn’t a spell. Or magic. But she recognized the smell of unyielding power that swirled through the air.

The Benefactor.

Her mysterious patron possessed a scent that was utterly unique.

The invisible bonds pressed against her with a force that wrenched a small groan from her lips. There were times she wasn’t sure the Benefactor knew his own strength. Or perhaps he didn’t recognize her fragility in comparison to his overwhelming powers.

Knowing better than to struggle against the magic, Maya flinched as the image of the Witch’s Brew seared through her mind. She was clearly being commanded to return home.

She hissed in annoyance. She desperately wanted to speak to Peri and share what she’d discovered. If Valen could identify the goblin from the theater, then they might be able to track down Skye. They would at least know where to get answers.

Now she would be forced to send the pictures to Gabriel, who was presumably acting as the liaison between her and her friend, and hope they would follow up on the clues.

Maya’s frustrated fury boiled through her like acid, nearly causing her to miss the shadowed form standing directly across the street. Even when she forced back the anger and cleared her mind to call on her magic, she could make out nothing more than a vague man shape and the strange outline of something on his head.

Wait. Shock jolted through Maya. Was the man wearing a fishing hat? He stepped away from the wall into a pool of light. Suddenly she could see the bushy beard and the velour jogging suit.

“Joe,” she breathed, struggling against the crushing grip of magic. “Did you follow me?”

With a shrug, he turned to stroll down the street.

“Wait!” Maya commanded. “Why are you here?”

Stopping beneath the lamppost, Joe slowly turned and Maya braced herself to ignore his usual insults. She wasn’t going to let him distract her. Not this time.

But he didn’t toss out some rude comment; in fact, he didn’t say anything. He stood, staring at her as if he was contemplating some deep thought. Or perhaps communicating with an alien spaceship. Anything was possible with the insufferable man.

Then, without warning, there was a strange distortion in the air around him. As if he were suddenly going out of focus. Maya snapped her lips together, wondering if the Benefactor was blurring her vision. She wouldn’t put it past him to temporarily blind her to keep his secrets. But it wasn’t her eyes that were being blurred, she realized, as Joe was replaced with a tall, broad-shouldered male with burnished copper hair framing perfectly sculpted features.

He was gut-wrenchingly gorgeous. Even from a distance his striking beauty hit her like a punch. The smooth bronzed skin, the angular features that had been chiseled by the hands of a master, and the eyes that glowed with a brilliant emerald fire.

For a moment...or an eternity...Maya couldn’t think. She didn’t know where she was or why. She could barely recall her own name. Her brain had short-circuited and she was fairly certain that she was being given a glimpse of something no mortal should ever see.

She was still gaping at the vision when it flickered and abruptly disappeared and Joe was once again a solid form. Maya made a strangled sound, struggling to figure out if the vision had been real or a figment of her raw nerves. It’d been a rough couple of days. Maybe her brain was fried.

As if sensing her bewilderment, Joe bent over in a mocking bow before he straightened and strolled away.

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