Page 116 of Veil of Death and Shadow

“No one asked me, actually. I don’t have much of a choice in the matter.” Kieran’s jaw was tight as he studied the two men in front of me. “And in case you forgot, I can’t touch them. Whichmeans that I can’t protect you.” He shook his head. “I don’t get it. Are youtryingto get yourself killed? Because there are less messy ways.”

“Don’t know her,” Rex said, his voice a wheeze.

I narrowed my eyes on him. “I don’t believe you.”

“You shouldn’t,” the bully said, his face smug, “he’s a liar and thief. Now if you’ll excuse us?—”

“Was she here today?” I balled my fingers into a fist. “Did you see her last night? She didn’t come home, and I’m worried about her.” Maybe appealing to his own fear would help my case. Sora had called this man a friend, hadn’t she?

He shook his head, though the movement was stilted by the man’s grip on him. “Like I said, don’t know your friend. Now get out of here.”

I took a deep breath. “One more chance, Rex. Do you know where she might be? I’m not messing around.”

“I said beat it,” he snapped, his eyes dark and filled with malice when they landed on mine.

“Fine.” I pulled back my arm and surged my fist forward, focusing on the follow-through when it met with his freckled nose. It already had a bump, like it had been broken once or twice before, so hopefully I didn’t do any added permanent damage.

The crack echoed around us, and the bully dropped his hold on Rex as blood splattered across his face.

Wincing, I flexed my hand. Sore, but there wouldn’t be lasting injuries.

“What the fuck, Agony?” Kieran pressed close against my back. “We need to get out of here. Immediately.”

“You said find my joy, right?” I ground out, shooting a look back at him. “This is me doing that. No joy until I know that my best friend is okay.”

The bully glanced from me to Rex, then swiped away a smear of blood on his pale skin. His face twitched into a vaguely impressed expression. “Not bad. Decent form.”

“Thanks.”

He sniffed once then shrugged. “Fine, you can deal with him for now. I’ll come collect later, Rex.” He started to walk away, then turned back to him, his finger extended in warning. “And don’t forget, stop by the house later. Maryanne’s making your favorite stew, she’ll be hurt if you miss it. But clean yourself up first.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Rex muttered, spitting out a spray of red. He ran his hands down his pants, straightening them out, as if that was the part of his outfit that needed the tidying. Then he shot me a glare, swiped the blood from his face on the sleeve of his shirt, and with a wince and quick crack, snapped his nose back into place. “I assume you’re Mars, then?”

“Mareena,” I corrected, my fingers jittery now that the moment was settling. “Sorry,” I added, gesturing to his face. “I think the tension of the moment got to me and I went a little overboard.”

Why had I punched him? Kieran was right. What the fuck was I thinking?

The market goers walked around us, occasionally with a lingering stare at Rex, but otherwise seemed generally unconcerned about the sudden bloodshed.

“Don’t worry about it.” He sighed, running his fingers gently over the bridge of his nose as if testing to see if it was, indeed, properly realigned. “I tend to bring out the violence in people.” He ripped the pendant dangling from his neck off and set it down on the counter of his booth. “This fuckin’ thing’s more trouble than it’s worth.”

Some talisman of some sort. Witchcraft, maybe? Did he practice?

At this point, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.

“Here.” I offered him a tight smile, then grabbed the bandana tied around my bag and handed it to him. “For the, uh,” I rubbed my nose to illustrate where blood was still pouring from his, “you know.”

“Thanks,” he said, blowing his nose into the cloth. I definitely would not be asking for that back. “And I was telling the truth—mostly. I haven’t seen Sora today.”

“But you do know her.” I narrowed my eyes. “Well enough to know who I am.”

He nodded, shoving the bandana in his pocket. “Yeah, she’s a nice girl. One of the few regulars who’s still kind to me around here.”

I winced, feeling worse for the whole punch thing. “Sounds like Sora. Not a mean bone in her body.”

He shook his head, then his eyes darted to mine briefly before scanning the people lurking around. “She’s really missing?”

“Yes,” I said.

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