Page 40 of Mastering Mayhem

A horn blared behind me, the offending noise like a dagger to my eardrums. I jerked my head up as a blue SUV jutted onto the shoulder and passed me, filling in the single car length I’d let grow between our van and the sedan in front of us.

“Asshole.” I straightened, leaning my neck from side to side, stretching the tension in my muscles. Mayhem reached across the console and dug his thumb into the sorest spot as if he could feel exactly what hurt.

He massaged from the base of my skull, down to my shoulder, and back up again before letting go and winking. “I’ll get the other side for you when we’re home.”

I grinned. “You better. Because now I’m lopsided.” How odd was it that I could still enjoy the flutter in my belly his flirting caused? If I were a good High Priestess, my thoughts would have been laser-focused on saving my coven. Instead, giddiness bubbled in my gut from simply being near him.

“I found an article on Witchipedia,” Ash said. “It has links to sources, so maybe it’s true.”

“What does it say?” I inched the car forward, nearly kissing the SUV’s backside as I turned on my brights.

Mayhem laughed. “You are much more patient than I am. He’d be missing a bumper by now if I were driving.”

“Can we not cause a fender bender tonight?” Ash glared at me through the rearview mirror. “We have enough on our plates.”

I dimmed my lights. “What does the article say?”

“Griffins reside in the Underworld and rarely cross the veil.” Ash slid her finger up her screen, scrolling the page. “Females line their nests with gems and other shiny objects so they can find them from the sky.”

“Does the Underworld have a sky?” I asked.

Mayhem chuckled. “You know our realm isn’t actuallyunderyours, right? We don’t live in a cave in the ground. It’s another dimension, parallel to yours.”

I gave him the side eye. “Of course I know that.”

“Then why did you ask?” He arched a teasing brow.

My belly fluttered again. “Because I’m tired and lopsided. So the griffin is making a nest somewhere in this realm. What else?”

“They nest in the mountains.” Ash continued to scroll. “When her eggs hatch, she’ll nurse her young until their wings are strong enough for them to fly away.”

“Nurse?” Shade sounded perplexed. “A mammal who lays eggs. What other anomalies do you have in the Underworld?”

“It’s not that unusual,” I said. “Platypi are mammals who lay eggs.”

“Platypuses is the right way to make it plural,” Ash said.

“Thank you, grammar police.” I blew out a hard breath. “You know what? Screw this.”

I jerked the wheel to the right and plowed up the shoulder to turn down a side street. The main road was normally the fastest route home, but there was nothing normal about…well…about this entire year. I took the back roads, going the long way around Salem so we could enter the town from behind the mess.

“So, we have a momma griffin about to lay eggs, the key to our salvation lays in her nest, and we have no idea where she decided to build it. We can scry for it, but how the hell will we get to it on the top of a mountain? And how will we get her and her eggs back to Hell?”

“Griffins are generally docile creatures. They won’t attack unless you agitate them…like trolls.” Chaos gave me a look, and yeah, okay, I deserved it.

I had agitated a troll, and we’d had to kill the poor beastie because of me. But I was getting better at not causing trouble. Someone should’ve acknowledged my progress, right? Baby steps were still steps, and I was a changed woman. I was in the process of becoming one, anyway.

“If she’s already laid her eggs, us just getting near her nest will upset her.” Ash swiped away the article and laid her phone in her lap. “Moms are vicious protectors of their babies.”

I turned left and made my way up the alley, a sense of relief washing over me as I pulled into the driveway behind our house. I allowed myself to feel peace for a moment before opening the door and sliding out of the van.

“Tonight, we sleep.” I opened the hidey hole and pulled out my sword. “Tomorrow morning, we scry. After that…I guess we’re climbing a mountain.”

“You have no idea the mountains we will have to climb.” Mayhem slid his arm around my waist and took the duffel bag from my hand.

“That’s why we’re going to scry.” I grabbed another bag of equipment and headed for the door.

“There are things you need to know.” He lowered his voice to a whisper and walked beside me. “We’ll talk inside.”

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