Page 11 of Mastering Mayhem

“Good. Everyone ready?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Mayhem said in his fake Texas accent, and I suppressed a smile.

He gave new meaning to the expressionsave a horse, ride a cowboy. This demon was one cowboy I could ride all day long.

4

MAYHEM

We arrived in New York, and Ember and I waited in the van while Chaos, Ash, and Miles stalked around the auction house, peering into the windows and taking photos of themselves in front of it to feign the roles of simple tourists.

The time they were away would have been perfect for a discussion about why Ember dismissed, with an ill-timed joke, my every mention of our bond. About why she’d pretended to be asleep when I had confessed my love to her.

Unfortunately, Shade remained in the van with us, recovering from his encounter with the Formorian’s blade.

And oh, the noise…

New York City bustled with traffic—both vehicular and pedestrian—the incessant sounds of engines revving, people shouting, and horns blaring grating on my nerves. It was all I could do to keep from sending them all into a fiery rage and letting them battle each other to the death.

“We’ve got a problem.” Ash climbed into the van along with Chaos and Miles.

Ember pinched the bridge of her nose. “In addition to the eight hundred we’re already dealing with?”

Miles shut the side door and slid past the others to reach the back of the van. “Ash found a ward on the building. A fresh one.”

“Fantastic.” Ember dropped her head back on the seat. “Fifty bucks says it’s to keep out anyone with ill intent.”

“Bingo.” Ash rummaged through her bag. “I have the ingredients to get you through, but I’ll need more room to work.”

“And I need more room to move so I can think this through.” Ember started the engine. “Anyway, I’m sure a black van sitting outside an auction house filled with a bajillion dollars’ worth of artifacts isn’t suspicious at all.”

“I believe it’s highly suspicious,” I said. “Perhaps we should find a hotel room nearby.”

She rolled her head toward me, not lifting it from the seat. “That was sarcasm. Did people not use it four hundred years ago?”

Most women did not, but I didn’t dare say that aloud. Ember wasn’t most women. She was unlike any I’d ever known.

Shade swiped his phone screen. “It’s Friday. There’s nothing affordable within twenty miles.”

Ember shook her head, and I could almost hear the conflicting thoughts sparring in her mind, her morals insisting we pay for a room while her logical mind argued this quest required us to work in the gray.

“I believe this is one of your ‘absolutely necessary’ situations,” I said. “Perhaps a little mind magic would take away the burden of your maxed-out credit card.”

“He’s right, Em.” Ash leaned forward in her seat. “The closer we stay, the better. It would suck to get stuck in traffic and miss the whole thing.”

“All right. Fine.” She tugged on the gearshift, putting it into drive. “Where’s the closest one with immediate availability?”

“Two blocks east,” Miles said as he clicked the keys on the computer. “The Royal Dutch Hotel.”

“I’d like to say this is the last time you can use this dark power, but I’m not an idiot.” She pulled into the moving traffic, and the car behind her skidded, the wheels screeching as the horn blasted and the driver gave us the middle finger.

“When this is all over, though… No more.” She ignored the man’s gesture and drove into a parking garage, taking a small ticket from a machine before an orange apparatus lifted, granting us access. We spiraled upward, the low ceiling and dimly lit concrete corridor making me claustrophobic. Finally, she pulled into a spot and turned off the engine before sliding out of her seat and slamming the door.

“I don’t like leaving all this equipment unattended,” Miles said.

“We’ll set up a ward.” Ash opened the side door and climbed out of the van.

I joined Ember at the back of the vehicle, watching as she paced a short distance. She was tense, her jaw working from side to side as her shoulders tightened and drifted toward her ears. How I longed to rub the tension from her muscles like I had done a few days ago. Or was it yesterday? Time was meaningless to an immortal.

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