Page 56 of Mastering Mayhem

Resting her hands against my chest, rose onto her toes and kissed me. “But thank you for keeping me grounded. I would have regretted it the second the rift closed behind us.”

“My only desire is to make you happy.”

She ran her fingers along my jaw, stroking my cheek with her thumb. “I know I don’t show it, but you’re doing a damn good job.”

The griffin grunted and closed her eyes, making Ember smile. “I wish we could keep her.”

I shook my head. “She would lose herself. Wild beasts aren’t meant to be kept.”

Ember looked at me, her eyes searching mine, and I prayed to Lucifer she would find everything she was looking for.

Her lips twitched, tugging into a sad smile. “I know you’re not.”

19

EMBER

“Iwasn’t talking about myself,” Mayhem said.

“I know.” I pushed from the wall and paced toward the door, tugging my buzzing phone from my pocket on the way. “It’s Ash. They’re five minutes out.”

And thank the goddess for that. I couldn’t handle any more sad talk with the demon of my dreams. I sucked at goodbyes, and the finality of ours was ominous. No need to stretch it out from now until the bitter end.

I pulled the door inward and peeked into the cemetery. Everything appeared in full color, meaning the shadow magic I’d borrowed from Shade had fizzled out. We were exposed to the eyes of anyone who might try to venture inside, just as we were exposed to the senses of Ignacus, Adrian, and anyone else who tried to scry for the amulet or the griffin.

Not exactly the safety we’d offered the poor momma.

The minutes inched closer to midnight, to the start of All Hallow’s Eve. Normally, my coven would light a bonfire and gather beneath the moon for our annual ritual. We’d give our thanks to the goddess while working in shifts to keep the veil intact until November first was halfway through, when the veil began its return to its normal strength.

We’d managed it well for decades. Hell, probably even centuries. Now, I couldn’t begin to fathom what tomorrow would look like. We’d sent way too many powerful beasties back and forth across the veil recently for it to stay intact.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” A teen girl’s voice drew my attention to the left, and I peeked further out the door. She wore a black sweater with a purple witch’s hat, which she could have bought anywhere in the city. Everyone sold them, especially this time of year.

“Yeah, it’ll be fine.” A guy around eighteen walked beside her, a toy store Ouija board tucked under his arm. “I mean it would be better if we waited until dark.”

“No!” She tumbled, catching herself on a gravestone before jerking her hand away and wiping her palm on her jeans. “I don’t want to be here at night. It’s scary enough now.”

The back of my throat heated with my annoyed sigh. This cemetery? Seriously? There were plenty of old graveyards where famous…or infamous…Salem residents were buried. This wasn’t one of them.

“What’s wrong?” Mayhem asked.

“I was hoping not to rack up any more mundane casualties.” I rolled my eyes as the guy set the board on a gravestone and rested the plastic planchette in the center.

“Would you like me to get rid of them?” He stood beside me, touching the small of my back.

“I’ll handle it.” It had been a while since I’d gotten the chance to put the fear of witchcraft into an idiot.

“Put your fingers on the planchette.” The guy grabbed the girl’s wrist and forced her hand onto the board.

“I don’t want to.” She tried to pull away, but he held her tightly. “This doesn’t feel right, James.”

I tugged a dagger from my thigh holster, set the tip ablaze, and strolled toward them. “Oh, James. You really should let the dead rest in peace. You never know what you might stir up.”

I touched my index finger to the flat side of my blade, letting the flames lick across my skin.

“It was his idea.” The girl scrambled to her feet. “He said we could summon my dog.”

James rose and gestured at my dagger. “Where’d you get that? How does it work?”

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