Page 5 of Temple of Magic and Bone

"That obvious, huh? Fuck. Please, Andres, there's somewhere I need to be, but I'll come back. Don't burn them. There's something fucking weird happening, and I don't want you getting rid of the evidence until I know what these sigils are."

Andres hissed, his glamor slipping enough to reveal a mouthful of sharp fangs. "I'll give youoneday, and then I'm burning them."

"Thank you. You're a good friend," Vanth said. "Even if you dress like an emo teen."

Andres didn't bite. He was too upset. "I don't know why you can't just drop your ghouls off and come back for them."

Vanth shrugged. "I got a hot date."

"That will be the day," Andres snorted. "If you knew how to date, you wouldn't hang around ghosts all the time."

Vanth laughed. "Isn't that the truth? I'll be back. I promise. This is one appointment that I can't afford to miss."

Andres nodded. "I trust you, but I'm serious this time, Tarael. I'll burn them because they are freaking the fucking dark hells out of me right now."

To keep Andres happy, Vanth warded the two freezers the bodies were kept in to make sure the magic in them didn't leak out. It was death magic in its purest form and would reanimate anything it was exposed to for too long.

Vanth knew this for a fact because he finally figured out why the magic felt familiar—it was his.

3

The sun was coming up by the time Vanth got back to his van. The ghouls were still silently staring at the body bag. Vanth checked that the man was still breathing and that the paralyzing potion was still good.

"Only a little while longer, I swear," Vanth told the ghouls. If he went home, he would probably fall straight to sleep, and he couldn't risk it.

Instead, he went to his favorite café and loaded up on breakfast croissants, pastries, and extra coffees. He drank his cup of five espressos mixed together and drove through the fae district and towards the outskirts of the city.

The fae district was an eclectic mix of modern and ancient buildings that matched whatever personality of the family or beings that lived in it. As a result, you could go through impossible landscapes on a regular basis. A forest grew in the center of the business area for a start. Then, there were the intersecting rivers and canals that led to the ocean. As all the tales warned, it was better to stay on the main roads and not wander off while you were in their territory.

People tended to forget there were ancient gateways in it that led to Faerie, Tir Na Nog, the Green, the Otherworld...whatever your preference to call it. The point was, it led you into a place in the ancient lands of the fae where very few laws protected your ass.

The gateways acted like anchor points and had been sanctioned by the First Council. The fae didn't extort them because everyone knew if they tried to bring in armies or monsters, Inferno would fight back. The dragons would scorch the gateways and the district and wouldn't lose a scrap of sleep over it. The fae, higher and lesser, knew better than to piss off the dragons.

Vanth parked outside the gates of what looked to be a large, fancy estate. The guards checked him for weapons and let him in with a welcoming smile.

A woman in scrubs with unicorns on them was waiting for him as he stepped into the foyer to sign in.

"One skinny cappuccino and a cinnamon roll," Vanth said, handing them to her.

"You're a saint even if you look like the devil," the med-mage said, her turquoise eyes shining.

"Clara, I don't know where you get the idea that I'm the devil."

Clara grinned. "Because I actuallyknowyou, Vanth. How many ghouls have you got waiting in your van today, huh?"

"Only two, but they are my housekeepers. I need them to keep up with my laundry," Vanth replied. He gestured at Clara, and she handed him a clipboard. "How is she doing today?"

"Restless. She had a bad night. I knew you were due for a visit today. Otherwise, I would have called you," Clara replied, tucking her pen into the pocket of her scrubs. She checked her watch. "She will have finished her shower by now if you want to go in."

"Thank you, Clara. I appreciate you. You know that, right?" Vanth said, giving her his most charming smile.

"Ah, huh. Smile all you like, but you know your nonsense doesn't work on me. I appreciate the breakfast, though."

Vanth shot her a wink. "Heartbreaker."

Clara only waved him on, and Vanth passed through a sharp sting from the wards.

If humans aged and lost who they were to degenerative diseases or mental disorders, they were put in care facilities and watched over with security. The magical creatures and wielders of the world were not as harmless when they went mad. Magic gone wrong led to all sorts of problems, so Inferno had facilities with everything from med-mages to witch doctors to treat and care for them. This place was one of the nicer, more expensive ones, and it was the reason he had fallen into becoming a body cleaner in the first place.

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