Page 59 of Spit

I’d come too close with Sev and Arlo. It was a miracle that I had made it out alive.

I had to be more careful.

Legion might have been one of the city's stewards, and I might have been attracted to him, but it didn’t matter.

I’d experienced what happened when a human became addicted. I didn’t need to know what a demon would do if he got a taste.

For some reason beyond my comprehension, Legion insisted on bringing Trey—the demonic equivalent of ahikikomori.

I’d never seen anyone less willing to leave their room. Still, Legion was adamant that he needed sloth to help us retrace the missing demon's steps.

I vaguely remembered that Trey had mentioned the auction house when he had rattled off the last places where he had seen the two missing demons.

One missing demon was an anomaly, but two? Legion was operating under the assumption that the missing demons were together, but what if they weren’t? I had only seen one demon in my dream, not two.

I waited outside of the mansion. The trees surrounding the main house bristled with the autumn wind. The gravel driveway was littered with crisp fall leaves, and I wondered how they got the leaves out from the small stones. It seemed like a big job.

I missed wearing my own clothes, though I still wore my leather jacket—which I fully intended to be buried in one day. I missed my weapons. I missed Kailee and Dare Security. Even the emoji texts from my sister, masquerading as a fleshed-out relationship. Instead of a superficial one based on familial trauma.

I glanced back at the house as I tugged the lapels of my jacket to cover my throat against the chill.

The ornate front doors creaked open, revealing Trey stretching as if he had just rolled out of bed. Knowing Sloth, he had probably used the fifteen-minute deadline Legion had given us to have a nap.

Though Pride, aka Ichi Legion, was nowhere to be found.

Trey sauntered down the steps, dressed more for a day of lounging than one of detective work. Despite the frigid air, the demon wore a tight white T-shirt and slouchy grey sweatpants—something that Kailee often called ‘a crime against vaginas everywhere.’

I wasn’t sure if it was because her vagina reacted positively or negatively to the presence of grey sweats on a man. Still, I knew that I had no business looking.

Trey blinked when he saw me as if I had just materialized out of nowhere. “The null witch.” He stated, scratching the back of his neck and fluffing his chestnut hair.

“Yep.” I popped the P of the word. Deliberately keeping my eyes on his face to avoid looking at the outline of his package.

Leery perverts weren’t gender-specific, and I had no idea why my mind was conjuring all sorts of images of what he was packing in those sweats.

Maybe a trio of ferrets because it kept moving. I bit back a laugh.

Trey eyed me as if I had lost my mind, which I kind of had.

“We’re just waiting for Legion, right?” I asked as the limo rolled out from the garages behind the mansion. Timkin, the driver, was nothing but a silhouette before he sprung out and opened the door.

“Urr.” Trey’s teeth were bared, and his lips pulled into a frown. “Legion said he would catch up. Apparently, something was going on with the witches. They were drained last night. Again. Katalina said it was you, and she went absolutely apeshit when Ichi wouldn’t kick you out on your ass. Kat can be a bit possessive.”

So that was where my shadow had been. I glanced down to the ground, eying Shadow like a naughty child.

We’re going to have words later.I told him.

Shadow put his hands in his metaphysical pockets and gave the impression he was innocently whispering.

Innocent, my ass.

I cleared my throat. Mindful that I had just drifted off mid-conversation. “Katalina and Legion are together then?”

Trey barked a laugh as he gestured for me to get inside the car first. “Kat likes to think so. She’s the supreme of the Hemlock coven. They took their name because of the water hemlock that grows on the edge of the property. The house is named after it.”

“She must be powerful if she’s the supreme,” I commented lightly.

Trey considered my words. “She has power.” He conceded. “Nothing beats a null, though. Power means nothing if someone else can take it in a blink.”

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