Page 39 of Spit

Legion’s magic was more subtle. Pride and lies. The first circle. Every time one of the ninjas tried to strike him, Legion had moved. The demon appeared to be in seven places at once, a master of illusion.

As much as the show was hot and slightly entertaining, I was tired.

One of the stragglers tried to rush me, something in his hand as he lunged for my leg. I felt a sting and a flash of pain before I kicked him away. “You stabbed me?”

A moment later, my shadow was on the man, ripping into him like a feral dog.

I couldn’t stop my shadow if I tried. He was hungry, and the blood soaking my thigh had given him permission to go ham on every single human on the street. There must have been twenty of them, all there to try and take down three people. Two demons and a witch, but still.

Not a moment later, every man in black dropped to the floor, their bodies jerking and their eyes glazing over as the life was sucked from them.

I didn’t have it in me to feel bad.

Sev and Legion turned to me, a question written on their faces as plain as day.

I said nothing as I marched through the mass of dead humans, sprawled on the sidewalk like confetti, and limped towards the limo.

We rode in silence back to Legion’s mansion. The only sign that something was amiss was Legion’s missing jacket and his white shirt flecked with blood.

I took my leather jacket off and bundled it on my lap to hide the mark on my thigh from where I had been stabbed, though there was only a tiny amount of blood. It couldn’t have been a knife. It must have been some kind of needle or thin spike.

My thigh muscle ached, but the rest of my body was warm in a way that I had missed.

With Dare Security growing more prominent, as paperwork became all-consuming, I hadn’t had much time to visit the dojo as I would have liked.

The fight was just what I needed, though I wanted my guns and knife back.

“Is this a common thing?” I asked as we approached the house. “How many enemies do you guys have?”

“Not as many as you’d think,” Legion growled.

“The ninjas were an entirely new experience.” Sev’s eyes twinkled with excitement.

“Who do you think sent them?” I wondered. “Do you think it was Magicktek?”

Legion laughed. “If it was, they did a poor job of doing whatever they intended.”

I rubbed my thigh. I wasn’t so sure about that.

We passed through the gates of Hemlock House, an estate that belonged in the pages of Wuthering Heights, with the grassy hills shrouded in mist and the eerie howl of the hounds in the distance.

I shivered, feeling the same strange magical signature I had the first time I had crossed the gates the night before. My shadow was doing its best to appear uninterested in Sev and Legion.

“You think that Magicktek is behind this?” Sev asked Legion. Neither demon paid much mind to me as I stared out the window.

“Their wards are substantial. Every witch I sent within a hundred feet of their head office got turned around.” Legion huffed. “The only one that got close was Ms. Boudaire, and they turned her away at the door.”

Sev chuckled. “What did you expect? Did you think they would pat you on the back and welcome you into their secret lab when you proved that you could get past their wards with a null witch?”

“Their wards shouldn’t be that strong. They’re humans.” Legion growled, his fists clenched as he pressed them against his thighs. He was more bothered than he had let on.

“They specialize in magic and technology. Creating things that humans can use.” Sev tapped his chin thoughtfully. “They aren’t going to reveal their inner workings. Humans call it something—trade secrets, I believe?”

Legion rolled his dark eyes. “We need to find Mars and Quinn.”

“You’ve searched Hell?” Sev asked. “Being in another reality may be the reason the bond is muffled.”

Legion chuffed a bitter laugh. “They aren’t in hell.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m not making the same mistake I made with Camio.”

---