Page 80 of The Misfit Mage and His Devilish Desires

“Not really. She acts ruthless—and if it comes down to it, she’ll end a life or a hundred—but she’s a big ole softy. Don’t let her fool you.” Kell gestured. “Me, on the other hand? I’ll gut a bitch for looking at me sideways. I’ve got no time for bullshit. Life’s too short.”

“Aren’t you immortal?”

Between the essence Mora shared with her and all the dark magics she cast, Kell had lived hundreds of years and probably intended on living hundreds or thousands more.

“Well, other people’s lives are short. Shorter if they piss me off.”

“You sound like Bez.”

“Thank you.” Kell giggled.

We returned to sorting through the glass chunks, setting them apart on trays that Tony whisked into the back for a special rinse that’d delicately remove the blood and dirt and anything else obscurely the etchings without ruining the integrity of symbols.

We studied the glass, coming to the conclusions in our notes as Remington had in his, as I was certain the witch who’d created these orbs must’ve noted. The materials were unfamiliar, unlike any Fae glass I’d encountered. Granted, there weren’t exactly tests to identify the depth of Fae artifacts and relics due to their secrecy, but there were usually hidden signs of their culture, of their power, that seeped into everything they made. Oddly enough, the Fae magic used in the creation of the orbs felt foreign, wedged inside the symbols like a garnish as opposed to an entrée.

It was quiet work for the most part. Sometimes, Kell and I babbled for hours; other times, like now, we silently tinkered, lost in the artistry of salvaging artifacts and decoding ancient magics. Once we’d sorted them all, Kell began putting together the list of ingredients Remington claimed would restore a broken Diabolic orb to its full integrity. Well, he didn’t so much say it as his overly simplified coded notes explained it.

I mean, I was working with an added edge since I’d had to decipher his scribbles for years on behalf of my bosses, whodidn’t have the time for paperwork, so I made a lot of ciphers for the coded writing.

And if it turned out the information provided was less than truthful, the added benefit of giving Bez a one-of-a-kind gift in the form of retribution was it also ensured I could follow up with Remington if he attempted to get one over on us. Though I very much hoped to never see the fallen Magus ever again. I’d allow Bez to throw the spiritus stone in a safe and allow it to rot, forgotten like so many of those trinkets.

“You know, at this rate,” Kell said, stacking ingredients into neat piles. “I can probably have a few of these recreated and devil-proofed in a few weeks.”

“Let’s focus on ready in a few days.”

“Darling, I can have one ready by tomorrow.” Kell side-eyed me. “Not all of us have a compulsive need to reread the directions three times over at each step.”

“It’s an invaluable skill that undercuts errors by 72%.”

“Did you read that in some silly step-by-step pamphlet on directions somewhere?”

“As a matter of fact—”

Lightning crackled so loudly it rang in my ears afterward. I froze, frightened I’d unleashed my essence in a fit, but there was no sign of my powers lashing out at Kell or the store itself. Lightning popped again and again so many times the black flashes of light outside flickered in here.

The silent sizzle between a thousand furious flurries of lightning strikes ended with an explosive eruption that shook the entire building. We weren’t on a fault line. Nothing about our private pocket portal city experienced the harsh extremes of nature; everything down to the temperature was cultivated by spells of the day.

We raced to the front, peering through the windows to find the sky slashed open. Seven long rips that’d literally carved openthe dimensional walls. Not to the mortal world but to the ether between worlds, to funnel in a force of sweltering heat that poured into the city like a sludge.

I stopped breathing and commanded my body to cease the familiar routine because fucking hell, every inhale was a battle with humidity.

“I think you’re gonna need to get that Diabolic orb ready a lot sooner than tomorrow.”

Every secret part of me that yearned for this not to happen burst. The parts that prayed and hoped and wished and craved and wanted my worries to be delusional, typical overthinking, and filled with unnecessary preparation.

“Fuck me.” Kell swallowed hard. “Which devil do you think it is?”

24

Bez

Black lightning crackled, each strike rippling through the fabric of the world and spilling essence into the city. It fell like a waterfall and splashed in waves larger than most of the buildings. It raged like a tsunami come to eviscerate everyone and everything.

I watched as that swarming essence devoured everything in its wake, miles away from my home, but it wouldn’t take long for it to consume everything here. It wouldn’t take long for Lilith to consume this tiny pocket world and spill out onto the mortal realm, feasting upon everything there, too.

This was Lilith. This devastation was her way of recovering, restoring what she’d lost in battle with Beelzebub. Her form was nothing more than broken essence, desperate and clawing at life and rubble alike.

A sizzle popped beside me and darted past the balcony where I stood. I spun around to find Mora leaping out of the Diabolic threads she’d laced across the city.

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