Page 1 of King of the Unsightly

Witching Hour and Whiskey

All I wanted to do was relax in my crummy apartment, binge-watch my cliché romance movies, and cry my eyes out after my horrible breakup with Jared. Not deal with my mind’s twisted idea of a bad omen.

Man, my hallucinations were out of control. No way that lady kicked down my door.

A muffled squeak fled my throat, and I nearly toppled over my dining room table as the lady materialized in a chair beside me. I lurched back, slid open my window, and scanned all the rusty cars crowding the parking lot.

Everything outside looked normal.

My sight fixed on the woman still leaning in the chair, and my breathing hitched; her long black fingernails clicking against the table sent shivers down my spine.

If this was a new type of foreplay, I was far from interested, and Ireallyhoped Lucien didn’t have the audacity to hire astripper. The possibility wasn’t entirely out of the question since he attempted something similar for my last birthday in hopes of raising my spirits.Ridiculous.

Her mouth curled into a crooked grin. “The name’s Raagini, and we need to talk.”

A small freckle on her left cheek disappeared into her smile lines as I gawked at her sheer confidence. “Yeaaah, okay.” Wow. I finally hit rock bottom, even for me.

Her ebony hair bounced along with the tapping of her laced, black boots connecting with the tile floor; the thick layer of mud plastered on her soles chipped off with each tap.

She kicked her boot again and more mud fell, and I sighed in frustration.A stripper would have the common courtesy to knock and not track dirt everywhere.

This lady was so inconsiderate.

Raagini clapped her hands, and my concentration went back to her. “Soon you will be thrown into a war you don’t understand. One Larisa started and you, sweetie, will have to end.” She pulled out a lighter and popped it open, lighting a cigarette and taking a long drag before blowing it in my face. She met my gaze again with the cigarette between her tobacco-stained teeth, and I coughed at the secondhand smoke penetrating my lungs. “My, why are you acting so skittish? It’s only a warning. I’m here because your mother’s magic is fading, and her coven will stop at nothing to control the keys.”

A thick layer of smoke permeated the air, and I waved my hand, blinking a few times to fully take in her presence.

What the hell was she even rambling on about?

She obliterated my front door, materialized in front of me, and babbled on about magic, keys, and my mother, and dared to judge me for acting a little skittish? Newsflash lady—anynormal person would have kept screaming bloody murder. And I wasn’t some coming-of-age preteen who recently found out about her dark past and was prophesied to save the world. No. I was a twenty-three-year-old woman eating premade sandwiches for dinner for god’s sake, and who had more important things to worry about than a psychotic rant from a stranger—like my overdue rent.

Yeah, a stiff drink was needed after all this.

My throbbing temple threatened a migraine as I grounded myself back in reality. “Listen here, uh.” I rubbed my forehead, and tried to remember the name she told me after she kicked down my door. “Rebel?”

“Raagini.”

“Riggggght. Well, I don’t know if you’ve noticed but I don’t have magic ... and you’re insane.” I raised my voice and pointed to the hallway. “Now get the hell out of my apartment!”

Raagini threw her head back, slapped her knee, and cackled as if I said the funniest shit in the world. Her laughter died as she snatched the coffee mug in front of her and swirled it around. Her glare darkened as she smashed the cup against the wall, shattering it into tiny fragments. Her palm dripped blood as the artificial light reflected the pieces puncturing her open wound.

“This will be you if you don’t learn to protect yourself.”

She chanted under her breath, and the shards flew from the floor to her palm, reconstructing to their original form.

The cup fell to her hand, repaired like she didn’t slam it against the wall. I pivoted slightly, my vision lingering on my jean jacket placed on the counter a couple of feet from where she sat.

Could I slip away while she entertained herself with cheap magic tricks? And did Lucien honestly think hiring a deranged magician would make me feel better?Where was he, anyways?

A hard lump formed in the back of my throat, and I swallowed. “Super cool.” I scrambled to the counter, snatched the jacket, and shimmied into the black pants I left in the hallway when I thought my night would consist of movies, ice cream, and ugly crying, not some lady who got off on scaring the living shit out of me.

The door was still attached to the bottom hinge as I slid on my ankle boots and staggered out of my apartment.

“Now is not the time to run from your past, Adeline! The creatures next won’t be as hospitable!”

“Sure thing, lady, and how about next time, you ring the fucking doorbell!” I yelled back. My muscles strained under the tension enveloping my body as I rushed down the hallway, not giving Raagini a second thought.

The elevator dinged as I flew past it to the twentieth-story emergency exit. I shouldn’t take the stairs, but as a creature of habit, no way would I confine myself to such a tight, closed-off space. Elevators were a big no in my book, and I would rather be free and out of breath than trapped like a rat. It reminded me too much of the basement as a child.

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