Page 24 of Mayhem and Ember

I wiped the blood from my arm and flicked a drop toward her before reeling in my magic.

“After swallowing roach goo, I’m not afraid of a little demon blood.” She stood at the ready, her muscles flexed, her stance wide.

“You should be.” I crossed my arms, the wound already healing. “It can drive people insane.”

She flicked her gaze to Chaos, who said, “It’s true.”

“Fabulous.” She rolled her eyes and shifted her attention to the body.

The woman had been disemboweled. A jagged, vertical cut from her neck to her pubic bone allowed her intestines to spill onto the pavement. Her lifeless eyes stared into the cloudy sky, and her mouth was frozen in a soundless scream.

“Anyone sense a rift?” Ember rose and glanced at me before focusing on my brother.

“I do not,” he said.

“Neither do I. Not in the vicinity, anyway.” I paused, an unmistakable energy registering in my psyche. The vibration pulled me north, and I strode toward it, my gaze bouncing over the scene, though vision would do no good for battling this vile creature.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Ember shouted after me.

I turned around to find the witches backing away while several human workers examined the body. “To find the one responsible and end him.”

“Not without us.” Ember gestured for the others to follow, and she jogged to catch up. “What do you sense? Is it a demon after all?”

“It is not.” I continued my trek, following the energy down an alley. A translucent mosaic pattern rippled in the air ahead of me, and I stopped, opening my senses even more and inhaling the rancid stench of fae.

“Is that what I think it is?” Chaos stopped beside me.

“Indeed it is.” I cracked my knuckles, a smile lifting my lips. “A worthy adversary straight out of the gate. I believe I’m going to like it here.”

The ripple shifted, and high-pitched chittering rang in my ears.

“Would you like to fill us in?” Ember stood on my other side, unafraid, though if she knew what lay in the alley ahead, she would have run and hidden.

“It’s a fae foot soldier,” Chaos said. “One rung above scouts.”

“Where?” Shade asked.

“Look for the ripples in the air.” Chaos pointed, and the fae moved across the alley. “They have cloaking powers, as do the upper fae horde.”

“Fabulous. Now we’re in the middle of a Predator movie.” Ember held her hand toward Ash, who poured a blue substance into her palm. She hurled the granules at the fae, and they bounced off its body.

“Well, frack. That didn’t work.”

“It’s part of their biology, not their magic.” I gathered hellfire in my palm. “You can’t counter it with a spell.”

I hurled a fireball at the fae, and it screeched, scurrying up the wall. Its shroud failed for less than a second as it recovered, revealing two sets of human-like arms with taloned hands, large, faceted eyes, translucent wings, and pinchers protruding from each side of its mouth.

Ember sucked in a breath. “Oh, for Hecate’s sake. Why do they all have to look like bugs?” Gripping her sword in both hands, she activated her fire magic, flames licking up the blade.

The fae’s shroud returned, and it lunged, knocking Shade to the ground. His shadow magic rolled into him, bringing the world into full color, and he shot to his feet, clutching a wounded arm. “The asshole bit me.”

Blood oozed from two puncture wounds on his biceps. “Are these venomous too?”

“From scouts up, they all are,” Chaos said. “And they become more toxic the greater the fae.”

“Guess we better mix a ton of antidotes when we get home.” Ash pulled a bottle from her bag. “Hide from sight our magical plight. With the power of Shade, my intent is conveyed.”

The world turned to grayscale again, and she clutched his good arm, dragging him to the alley entrance. He stiffened, the poison paralyzing him in seconds, and he collapsed to the ground.

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