Page 83 of Hellfire

Mary climbed off the cushions and crept to me, taking my hand, bravely walking back to the storage shelves.

“You’re so brave, Little Bug.” I gave her a quick hug and grabbed a map that didn’t stain from the candle wax.

She smiled. “You’re the brave one, brother. Running away and making a life for yourself without fear. You’re my hero.”

Fuck. I didn’t know about that. I had plenty of sleepless nights.

“I’ve never been anyone’s hero,” I admitted.

“A first for us both.” She squeezed my hand and gently reminded me, “Luna’s waiting.” Luna, not the princess. The first time Mary didn’t correct herself. A day of many firsts.

Right. I got caught up in the emotion of my sister’s admiration when I only ever received scorn. The change was profound and freeing.

From a secret compartment beneath the floor, I removed a rosewood tether stick I’d made, shoving it in my pocket. The spell bound my crew of runaway serpents, myself, and Mary to Camus. Months back, I added a piece of Luna’s hair from my pillow to the spell for a safeguard.

Mary and I took the equipment into the shop.

“Sorry, Mary. We didn’t mean to startle you,” Blaze said, and the other two murmured their apologies, making me grateful.

Mary nodded and unraveled the map on my counter.

“Right, gents. Watch and learn.” I placed a black candle in the top left corner, a white in the opposite, repeating this on the bottom side. Light and dark. It also stopped the edges of the map to stop it from rolling up.

The three of them leaned on the reverse side of the counter.

“We use black candles to represent the dark forces and white for the light,” I explained to Mary. “Gold to find Luna. Purple for our princess.”

What I did and why formed her magick lessons, even though she leaned away from it. I wanted her to be able to defend herself if she ever needed it.

Mary twirled hair over her finger. “She has beautiful purple curls.”

“Yeah, she does, Little Bug.” I stroked the back of her head and got back to work, snipped off a bit of Luna’s hair from the tether into the bowl. “Adding Luna’s hair will connect to her and help us find her.”

Mary nodded to her tuition.

I began to recite the spell. “Oh, magick of the light, reveal to me the location of my beloved Luna.”

I poured the bowl’s contents onto the map, and the liquid trailed south to the edge of the map.

“Fuck!” Cole pinched his mouth with his shaking fingers.

I glared a warning at him to cool it in front of my sister. She didn’t need aggression when it set her on edge. “Little Bug, can you grab me the map of the state? It’s on the second shelf in the corner.”

“Certainly, brother.” She hurried into the backroom, items scraping as she moved them, searching for them.

I picked up a dagger from beneath my counter, which I kept as a weapon and pointed it at him. “No aggression in front of my sister, ever.”

The last time he did that, he killed my brother, and I wasn’t taking the chance with my sister.

“I’m sorry.” Cole stabbed a hand through his wayward hair. “I’m stressed.”

I appreciated the apology.

“How about we take it out back?” Blaze grabbed Cole by the shoulders and guided him into my apartment, leaving Talon and me to get this done.

For the best. I didn’t do well with others breathing down my neck. And I didn’t want to risk Mary’s nerves weaving havoc into the spell.

Mary’s padded steps signaled her return. “Here, brother.”

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