Page 24 of Commanding Chaos

Hungry and angry. That was exactly how Ash felt. How we all felt. Sometimes Ember made good points. I’d give her that.

The server returned with large glasses of water, and we ordered our meals. Ember asked for a hamburger, while Ash ordered grilled chicken.

“I would like the twenty-ounce prime rib, as rare as you can make it, two baked potatoes, and a dozen fried shrimp.” I handed my menu to the server, and she hurried away.

“Good goddess,” Ash said, still not looking at me. “We aren’t made of money.”

“You once promised me a steak and seafood dinner. This is my chance to collect.”

She ignored me.

“What did I say about talking?” Ember snapped.

“I can make it so our meal is free.” Scrambling the mind of an individual was easier than summoning hellfire. We could walk out the door, and no one would remember we were here.

“Absolutely not!” She finally made eye contact. Even narrowed into angry slits, they were mesmerizing.

I rested my forearms on the table. “Would you like me to change my order?”

“It’s fine.” Ember placed her hand on top of Ash’s. “My last shift was a corporate ax-throwing party. They tipped well.”

“People pay money to throw weapons?” I asked.

“Good money,” Ember replied. “Neither of you listens very well.”

We sat in silence until our food arrived. As she had requested, I ate half of my steak, one potato, and six shrimp before I spoke. “We should move under the cover of darkness tonight to the next point on the map. Now that I have a corporeal form, neutralizing whatever is guarding Mayhem’s skull will not be an issue.”

“Wait.” Ember took a drink of water. “You said Boston summoned the basilisk. Why do you think that?”

Ash set down her fork, the muscles in her jaw tensing. “Can we please talk about what happened out there yesterday? Your playtime cost a man his life.”

It seemed the food didn’t help calm her down, so I sent a pulse of magic through my mark. Otherwise, we would never get anywhere having three conversations at once. Their sleep requirements had already wasted twelve hours of valuable time.

“Oh, hell no.” She lifted her sleeve, showing me the sigil. “This is not for you to use whenever you please. Stop it.”

How else would we focus on the issue at hand instead of her emotions? “I was trying to help you calm down so we can discuss our next steps rationally.”

“Oh, you’ve done it now.” Ember shook her head. “That was the worst thing you could have said.”

I turned my palms up. “It is the truth.”

Ash shot to her feet. “I can’t do this right now. I’m going home.” She stomped out of the restaurant, leaving me alone with her sister. Ember took a large bite of her hamburger, her right cheek protruding as she chewed.

Watching my witch walk away affected me in a surprising way. An ache formed in my being, twisting and stretching down to my stomach while tightening my throat. Had I disappointed her? Enraged her somehow? Never in my life had I cared how another person felt, yet it pained me to see her this way.

I waited for Ember to swallow her food before asking, “What did I do?”

She laughed. “You’ve caught on to the way things work in modern times pretty fast, but your knowledge of how women work is still in the stone ages.”

“Please, enlighten me.” I’d do anything to end the agony churning in my being.

“First of all, never tell a woman she needs to calm down. It will have the exact opposite effect of what you’re trying to accomplish.”

“Noted.” I put down my fork, giving her my complete attention.

“Second, never try to manipulate her. Goddess knows why, but Ash has some weirdly fond feelings for you. She trusts you, even though she shouldn’t, and I hate to admit that it…you…have been helpful. Try to control her, and all that will go down the drain.”

My chest warmed. I knew Ash felt a kinship with me, but hearing her sister admit it caused the tightness in my abdomen to loosen. “My intention wasn’t to manipulate her.”

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