Page 7 of The Misfit Mage and His Darling Demon

I wanted him now, but I’d respect his need for privacy. “I’ll have us home in fifteen.”

“I hope not.” He rested his head on my shoulder, his tongue teasing my ear and warm breath sending a quiver down my spine. “I wanted to revisit your proposition on the mile-high club. Not sure I could handle joining the club if you wenttoofast.”

“Are you screwing with me?”

“Never.” He kissed my neck. “Well, there will be screwing, but I was hoping you’d be the one doing it.”

I placed my hand on the small of his back and guided him to the door where it’d take everything not to mount him the second the crisp air of the night hit.

A collection of pink butterflies materialized at the entryway of the door, forming the pink Fae who’d led the performance and delivered our trivial seeds of inspiration. Her stance appeared playful, her smile sincere, but her eyes were wide and locked onto Wally.

I stepped ahead of him, flexing my muscles and nearly tearing the cheap fabric of this suit—I wasn’t sure how much longer this host body would hold all my glory.

“What do you want, fairy?” I clamped my jaw.

“Walter Alden, the mage wanted by the Collective, attending our performance,” she said with a dismissive shake of her head. “This evening, you were gifted inspiration, coveted magic kept secret, and somehow managed to walk away with it almost entirely unnoticed. The baron wishes for an accounting of these observations.”

“Your baron can go fuck himself.” Coating my hand in essence, I manifested outstretched black claws and lunged forward, prepared to gut her.

She vanished.

In the seconds it took to plant my arm where her heart should’ve been, a flurry of butterflies fluttered in her place, reappearing behind Wally.

“The baron only wishes for words with the mage.” She snapped her fingers, and Wally exploded into a million silvery specks of glitter, each fading to nothingness before a single fleck hit the floor.

In an instant, this Fae had abducted Wally.

I roared, furiously flapping my wings as the pink Fae transformed into her gathering of butterflies. Summoning a massive whirlwind, I whipped about all the feeble mortals in this lobby, focusing the wind on pulling these colorful insects into my grasp.

She’d either rematerialize, or I’d spend the night ripping the wings off each and every one of her tiny bug decoys until she returned my mage.

Snatching one of the butterflies, it crumpled like an autumn leaf in my hand, burning with pink fire and leaving only embersin my palm. Every single butterfly followed suit, leaving a pink inferno swirling around the wind I’d conjured.

I dropped to my knees, tightening the tether connecting me to Wally and feeling only the faintest snag of his presence.

No. I had to find him

3

Walter

I took my glasses off, brushing the glitter off the lenses only to smudge them since, of course, the glitter had faded on its own. It’d been months since I’d teleported through Fae magic, but I recalled the sensation quite well. So much so my breathing hitched when memories of time spent tucked inside the Dimensional Atrium exploring before returning to long hours hidden inside the repository of the Magus Estate.

I shook away the memories. No time. I’d been taken somewhere by the pink Fae who appeared from a swarm of butterflies. An actual kaleidoscope of butterflies, which would be fascinating to study. Did she tame the insects through something similar to a familiar bond like mages? Were they mere puppets conjured through Fae resurrection and repurpose of nature? Or were the butterflies simply an illusion meant to hide or distract from her actual teleportation movements?

“Stop,” I said. “You need to figure out where you are.”

I took a deep, quieting breath. Where had I ended up?

“Ah!” I shouted. I was floating above the empty auditorium and nearly plummeted to the ground when I fell back.

Ow.

No. Not nearly. Not at all. My butt thudded against something hard, and my hands remained flat on a surface level holding me upright. I tapped my knuckles, knocking on the invisible flooring.

At least the Fae hadn’t taken me far. I could hear Bez roaring beyond the auditorium, yet he felt so distant.

Scrambling to my feet, I swallowed my anxiety and rushed across the unseen floor. “I’m not going to fall. I’m not going to fall. I’m not going to fall.”

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