Page 22 of Mayhem and Ember

Chaos gestured for her to slide over, and he took the middle seat before motioning for Mayhem to join them. “I found reality shows to be the best way to learn the current culture.” He turned on the TV, and I climbed onto a stool at the counter.

“I’m meeting Inga outside to give her the spells.” Patrice loaded a canvas bag with bottled magic. “I’d like to spend the night with her if that’s okay. It’ll free up a bed for…” Her gaze flicked to Mayhem.

I couldn’t say I blamed her. I’d rather not sit here with an untamed demon in the house either, but I didn’t have the option to leave. “No problem. I’ll text you in the morning to touch base.”

“Good luck sleeping.” She flashed a hesitant smile before turning to the sink and washing the dishes she’d used.

I wouldn’t need any luck at all to sleep tonight. Chaos seemed to have a handle on his brother, I had enough vim to set up some good alarms, and my reflexes when I first woke up were fast enough to behead Prince Pissy Pants in a heartbeat if he set them off. Plus, I was so damn tired I had no doubt I’d pass out the second my head hit the pillow.

Patrice left to meet Inga, and twenty minutes later, the guys returned with shopping bags, two dozen foil-wrapped tacos, and the beer.

“At last.” Mayhem ripped open the pack of underwear and dropped his drawers in the middle of the living room.

I tried to look away. I really did, but damn. “Lesson one, dude. We don’t show the world our naughty bits. From now on, change in the bathroom.”

“You’ve already seen my ‘naughty bits,’ so what’s the problem?” He pulled on the undies and stepped into his jeans.

“Just…” I squeezed my eyes shut. “Keep watching TV so you can learn.”

Miles handed out the food, and Shade set the twelve-pack on the coffee table. We all grabbed a beer, and Ash ate on the couch with the demons while Mayhem absorbed an episode of Big Brother.

Miles and Shade joined me at the table, and I popped the cap off my beer, taking a long pull and sinking deeper into my chair. The crisp, effervescent liquid tickled on its way to my stomach, and I let out a massive sigh.

Sadly, it was not a contented one. At the rate we were going, I might never experience that sensation again.

I took a bite of taco number one and closed my eyes, focusing on the flavor explosion of al pastor, cilantro, and chopped onions. The second bite of spicy, seasoned pork tasted better than the first, and before I knew it, I’d downed three tacos and moved on to my second beer.

“I guess Patrice is done playing with monsters?” Shade wiped his mouth with a paper towel.

“She’s helping Inga,” Ash said around a mouthful of pork.

“Nobody gets to bow out until this is through.” I stood and tossed my wrappers into the trash. “Which is why we need to summon Discord ASAP. Hopefully we can fix this before any more overgrown insects break through and make the situation worse.”

“Can we create a strong enough containment circle without Patrice?” Miles asked.

“I don’t think she contributed much.” Ash joined us at the table, leaving the demons with the TV. “I withheld as much of Chaos’s magic from her as I could, and she didn’t share much with us. She’s truly afraid of them.”

“Can you blame her?” Miles grabbed a second beer and popped the top. “She’s a healer. We can’t turn her into a fighter.”

“We’ll make it work.” I tossed my empty bottle into the recycle bin. “Right now, we need to set up wards on the hall and bedroom doors. Nothing with ill intent gets into our rooms.”

“What about out?” Shade leaned toward me, lowering his voice. “You’re not afraid he’ll take off while we sleep?”

“I’ll stay up with him,” Chaos said from the living room. “Recharge your vim in peace.”

“Works for me.” Yes, it went against my very nature to trust a demon, but Chaos had proved his loyalty to Ash a thousand times over. He might not have given a flying flip about me, but he wanted to save my sister as much as I did.

I grabbed a handful of crystals from the drawer, and Ash helped me set up the wards. Of course, I knew now that the ones I used against Chaos wouldn’t have stopped him if he really wanted through, but I made sure to cast ones with alarms so I’d have a second to wake up if things went south.

With our protections in place, I headed for the shower, and just like I suspected, I was dead to the world as soon as my head hit the pillow. I could have slept a full twelve hours if not for the woman’s agonizing wail ripping through the morning fog.

10

MAYHEM

A tormented screech of pain sliced through the quiet morning, and I tilted my head toward the sound. “I haven’t heard a scream like that since Lucifer tried to keep a banshee as a pet. Is it a normal occurrence here?”

“Not at all.” Chaos shot to his feet and darted down the hallway, no doubt running to his witch’s side to protect her.

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