Page 3 of The Blood Widow

The door behind me slammed open, but the little girl and I were already dropping into safety.

Fucking Sinisters needed to be dealt with. I couldn't do it myself, but maybe I'd need to try. They were becoming a big problem.

Chapter

Two

My head wasn’t in the right place after losing a good father to the Sinisters. The only thing that kept me going was the fact he wasn’t being tortured. Every time I attempted to spread the word about the gangs, it was magically silenced.

I didn’t practice magic, so I couldn’t counteract it and any witches I knew said it was too difficult to stop demon magic. My vampire side didn’t like magic. It messed up my spells. And my demon side liked it too much. The last time I did a spell, my demon craved the rush like an addict begging for a fix.

I needed a vacation. Somewhere I could let my demon out to play or strangle it into submission.

My phone rang as if fate wanted to bitch slap me back in line. When my witch friend’s name popped up on my phone, I reluctantly answered.

“No.” I knew what she wanted.

Bell chuckled. “I know your day probably has been eventful, but a message landed on my lap addressed to the Blood Widow. Do you want me to magically send it, or…”

“Just send it.” I hung up.

She knew how difficult it was doing my job. Bell was the leader of a rebellion group against the three ruling families. I didn’t feel like being me tonight. A sickly sweat crept across my skin, twisting my stomach, but I couldn’t not help. If I didn’t answer the calls of those in need, I might as well be the boogieman the city once knew me as.

Like I always did, I told Bell to send the person to the current meeting spot. She was the only person that had access to my home besides the fairies. The rose quartz crystal that sent me messages vibrated.

Just like I predicted, this was a time-sensitive matter, so I chugged the last of my potion from Bell to counteract the sickness too much tainted blood gave me. Then I stared down at the steaming cup of water and cocoa powder waiting for me and turned away. The Blood Widow wasn’t meant for such luxuries.

I grunted my way out of my cozy onesie and into my leather jumpsuit. All the weapons were still on from earlier today, so I called on my portal and watched it settle on the fucking ceiling. Growling, my palms vibrated as I flung a chair from the kitchen into my living room.

“Damn thing needs to get its shit together,” I griped out loud.

I slipped on a cloak and climbed into my magical portal. The smell of garbage slapped me in the face as much as the freezing air. At least the portal was on the ground on the other side, so it was relatively easy to climb out of the mystic doorway. Except my limbs were heavier than normal. Ugh, I was exhausted. My toes were tired for crying out loud. How did that even happen?

My chest was pressed against a wall as I peeked around the corner at the huge man covered in shadows at the end of the alley. The cloak I wore did the same, but my small frame could barely be seen.

“Speak.” The tone of my voice left no room for debate. I didn’t have all night. The longer I stayed in one place the greater my chances of getting ambushed.

With a grunt he spoke, “Children need your help. The parents’ hands are tied. They can’t do anything to stop the Sinisters.”

I shivered at hearing that name, that gang, again. They were getting as powerful as the three families who ruled over Saint Louis. My focus shifted back to his magically altered voice. It was why his words were so robotic.

“Two of the ruling families have voted for the kids’ execution already. It happens tomorrow.”

My stomach dropped. Of course, they had.

I stepped out from behind the wall. I was still covered by the hood over my red wig. Wearing a disguise was a common thing in the criminal world that we called the Underground. No matter anyone’s reasoning for being there, no one wanted their true selves shown. Most hid from the Sinisters, but dangerous people were like cockroaches, they popped out of nowhere and were hard to kill. The last thing anyone wanted was to escape just to have the attacker show up at their house. It was all about survival in the Underground.

As I got closer, the shadows flared around him like wildfire on a dry, brittle tree. His campfire scent drifted to me intensifying the image of dark flames.

“Why isn’t the other family invoking the right to claim the children?” I asked only a little exasperated at the ruling families. I lost hope in the demon, vampire, and shifter families a long time ago.

He sighed and stepped back when I stepped forward again. He thought I wanted to get a look at him, he couldn’t have been further from the truth. I could tell a lot about a man if I challenged him in small ways. The fact that he stepped backsaid he was either scared or he respected my dominance in the situation, either way was a good thing in my book.

“The rules have changed. The families cannot give sanctuary to anyone outside of their species, and the children are vampires.”

His words made me growl. The vampires were the worst of the families. Being half vampire and demon, I knew first-hand how cruel they could be. Being a halfling, they thought I was the dirt under their shoes. Good thing I thought the same about them.

“Very well. It’ll be done. Does the family want to go into hiding as well?” I tapped my thumb to each of my fingers as I spoke. The habit soothed me just like my damn hot chocolate would have right about now. If I mixed some blood into the drink, I would have been in heaven. Being a mixed breed made me an oddball. I needed human food to survive but very little.

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