Page 32 of Stuck with my Frenemy
“I’ll tell you later, cutie.” Tossing him a wink, I sashayed forward, telling Bird and Squirrel to take the ground for a minute. I had things to do.
“Now that we’re here, what’s the plan? Do you two feel the magic trail, or—”
The minute Ash’s words cut off, I knew he’d noticed me. Good. Because I was a sniffing queen in that moment, my nostrils flaring as I sucked in as much air as I could. Repeating the move, I inched forward, bending at the waist and angling left and right to make sure I got a good lungful in.
Nothing.
I couldn’t sense the magic at all.
Falling to my knees on the ground—which didn’t feel too nice at all, mind you—I crawled like a baby, dropping my nose to the ground and inhaling as I did.
They’d wanted a hound dog, so a hound dog they would get, or my name wasn’t Cherry-San.
“What the actual fuck is she doing?” Ash tossed the words out as if he really had no clue. I didn’t get it, either, because wasn’t he the one who’d called us magic hound dogs? Oh wait, it might’ve been Bunny. My potato was the brains in the duo for sure.
What in Cupid’s balls did I just think? Bernie isn’t “my” anything.
Shaking those kinds of thoughts from my mind and clearing it, I refocused my attention, trying to drown out the incessant chatter from behind me.
“Just let her do her thing. Trust me, the more you’re around her, the weirder it gets. All you need to do is go with it,” Ebony stated dryly, and I wanted to puff out my chest. She really understood me.
Awwww.
Leaning on my haunches because I was sniffing blanks so far, I shuffled around, licking the air instead. “Hmm. Interesting.”
“The air taste good there, Cherry?” Ebony mocked. “What’s it like? Heavenly?”
“Like rotten bananas, actually,” I told her, continuing on and not paying any mind to her. We had a job to do. That was when it hit me. “Eureeka, I’ve got it,” I shouted, hopping to my feet. “Do you smell it guys?” I aimed the question at my familiars, and when they sampled the spot, both nodded.
“I’ve got something over this way,” Ebs revealed, and when I glanced where she stood, I noticed her trail was leading the opposite way mine was from the parking lot. “How did those fuckers escape out the front door?”
I raised my hand slowly like a human child in school who knew the answer but was a little scared to say it in front of the class. “That would be my fault, since I all but fainted and all.”
Biting on her lower lip hard, Ebony glowered at me before turning toward her trail and shaking her head. “Bernie, go with Cherry and her familiars. Ash, you’re with me because I might kill Cherry if she comes with me. We’ll meet back here later.”
“You can call me!” I called out excitedly, immediately frowning after the shout. “Oh wait, no you can’t. Because you don’t like those ‘apparatuses.’” I changed my voice to sound like a little human brat from those family-based human movies I liked so much for a time. They got old fast, though. Especially with their happy endings and the mother’s who loved their children unconditionally.
Nobody needed a depressed Cherry, and wishing I had a mother like that always depressed me.
“Cherry, shut it.” Her words were loaded as if she was ready to spit them at me like bullets.
Grinning like a madwoman—and honestly, I probably was since I loved to irritate Ebs so much—I bowed to her. “Yes, your majesty. I will always obey my Queen of Death.”
An exasperated sigh fell from her. “Go do your job. Bernie, call Ash if he doesn’t call you first. Now everyone move.”
Giggling, I bounced on the balls of my feet. “Perfect. Let’s do this.” Flexing my biceps, I turned to Bernie. “If anyone crosses us, it’ll be time for the gun show.”
Bernie threw his head back and laughed. “You are so funny.”
“I know.” I blinked at him. “Took you long enough to notice.”
Smiling, Bernie followed along as I led us through the parking lot and around the building. He kept quiet the whole time, letting my familiars and me concentrate to get the task done, but honestly, the scent was easy to follow. The magic seemed to almost sizzle in the air. It was powerful, for sure, and that made nervous energy swarm my gut. Whoever was behind this had the capacity to hurt us pretty good. And only one thing was that powerful.
One of the gods.
Plus, the signature of the magic smelled so familiar it was driving me crazy because I couldn’t pinpoint it. I could’ve sworn it tasted like … well, almost like mischief. I just couldn’t put my finger on where I’d come across it before. Hopefully it would hit me soon enough so I could beat Ebony to it.
Down winding streets and into back alleyways we crept, the lights of the city sparkling as bright as the moonlight. The magic grew thicker the farther in we moved through, and before we knew it, we stood in front of a casino, the scent so syrupy it felt like it coated my lungs.
