Del repackaged the beaker in its specially designed box, locking it tight. We drove in silence back to Ancient Magic, where we’d arranged to meet everyone else after a long day of hunting down info. While Del and I had been on beaker duty, the rest were trying to discover the mob boss’s whereabouts.

  All the way home, the silence was thick as pudding. Worry was the whipped cream on top.

  I pulled up to the curb in front of Ancient Magic and cut the engine, then glanced at Del.

  Concern glinted in her eyes. “I sure hope someone else found something out.”

  “No kidding.”

  I climbed out of the car, grabbing the box and going into the shop. The door was open and Cass was behind the counter, though the shop wasn’t officially open for business. After I’d ended up in the hospital a few days ago, we’d shut down the shop to dedicate all our time to hunting the mob boss.

  But I already missed this place, with its shelves full of magic and history.

  Cass straightened from her slouched position in the chair behind the desk and pushed her red hair back behind her ear. “Any luck?”

  “A little.” I put the box on the counter. “You?”

  “Not much. The League of FireSouls knew nothing.” Cass had gone to visit the only other FireSouls we knew, an ancient organization that was a bit like a magical Justice League. “But Aidan will be back from the Shifter Council soon.”

  “Roarke as well,” Del said. “Maybe the Order knew something.”

  Each had gone to see the government that they were loosely affiliated with. Hopefully, the Alpha Council or Order of the Magica would know something useful.

  Cass tilted her chin toward the door. “Speak of the devil.”

  “Devils. Plural,” Del said.

  I felt him before I saw him, an innate knowing that was new. Ares. Was the connection from the blood he’d given me to heal me after my injuries? Just the idea made me nervous, but it was hard not to make the connection.

  Slowly, I turned. Ares walked toward the shop alongside Roarke and Aidan. I hadn’t felt their presence like I’d felt his, so this was specific to the vampire.

  They stepped through the doorway, single file, each huge and handsome. But I only had eyes for Ares, who looked like a fallen angel.

  “Look what I found loitering outside the shop.” Aidan hiked a thumb toward Roarke and Ares.

  “Hardly loitering,” Roarke said. “Good timing, is how I like to think of it.”

  Ares didn’t speak, just looked straight at me, gaze penetrating. It was as if he hadn’t seen me in ages, though we’d just parted yesterday. Because of my injuries, and the fact that I’d been asleep for most of three days, we hadn’t had much time to talk. I still didn’t know where we stood besides being massively attracted to each other. Being around him felt like flame drawn to flame.

  Not that it mattered at this precise moment, considering all that we had to deal with. Everyone gathered around the counter. Ares came to stand at my side, close enough that I could smell the cold winter morning scent of his magic and feel the slightest bit of heat from his arm. I shivered.

  But he didn’t look at me. Which was good. I needed to focus.

  “Did anyone learn anything useful?” I asked.

  “Strike out with the Order of the Magica,” Roarke said. “But I have a couple more contacts I can check tomorrow.”

  “Aidan?” Cass said. “Any luck with the Alpha Council?”

  Aidan, as the Origin and most powerful Shifter, had gone to speak with the governing body of all Shifters.

  “A bit,” Aidan said. “About fifty years ago, someone similar to our target set up a massive compound about twenty miles from their headquarters at Glencarrough. It was an organized crime operation that recruited young shifters. The Council didn’t like it, so they raided the place one night, razing it to the ground.”

  I nodded, remembering the massive shifter stronghold in the Scottish Highlands. The place was nearly impenetrable. “Could that be our guy? Fifty years is a long time.”

  The mob boss hadn’t looked that old when I’d last seen him. If he was some kind of immortal, we were in big trouble. Immortality was rare, and always a product of strong magic.

  “It could be,” Aidan said. “They said his power was enormous. But they lost track of him after that night. He abandoned his men.”

  “Like he did last week.” The bastard had flown off in a helicopter, blowing up his compound with a bomb that had nearly killed me. That willingness to abandon all those who worked for him. With him. I shuddered.

  “Exactly. His men are disposable, his mission is not. But they couldn’t say what that mission was.” Aidan scrubbed a frustrated hand through his hair.

  “Did they say anything else?” I asked.

  “Only that his men called him Drakon.”

  “Dragon?” Fire burned low in my belly. “He doesn’t deserve that name.”

  “No. But it’s what he’s after.” Ares spoke for the first time, his rough voice and light accent curling around me like a caress at the most inappropriate time.

  I turned to him. Despite the exhaustion shadowing his green eyes, he was the handsomest man I’d ever seen.

  “Please tell me that the Cathars could help,” I said.

  While I’d been hunting information about the beaker, Ares had returned to the Cathar stronghold in Southern France where we’d first learned of the prophecy that Drakon sought. Ares shook his head. “They could not help, nor would they. Though they protected the prophecy for centuries, the one who encrypted the prophecy is long dead. They know no more than we do.”

  Damn. “At least we now have a name. And a few more clues. Maybe we can find someone to read the history of the beaker.”

  “Tomorrow.” Del yawned, the exhaustion of the last two days clearly wearing on her. “For now, let’s get some sleep. Start fresh tomorrow.”

  I couldn’t help but feel like we didn’t have time to sleep, but my own eyelids were drooping. “Fine. I’m going to keep the beaker in my apartment. It’s safest.”

  It’d go right into my trove, but I didn’t want to mention that place to Ares yet. Too private.

  “Agreed,” Cass said.

  I picked up the box containing the beaker and looped the strap over my back, then followed my friends out of the shop, Ares at my side. They stopped to wait for me when I turned to ignite the security charms on the doors.

  “Go on ahead.” I clutched the box to me and ran my fingertips around the edge of the doorframe.

  “See you tomorrow,” Del said. A chorus of goodbyes followed, and they headed down the sidewalk toward the door to our apartments.

  Ares stood at my side, his presence a constant reminder of the attraction and tension that shimmered under the surface. Every inch of me was so aware of him.

  “How are you holding up?” His voice was rougher than normal, no doubt from lack of sleep. He’d been hunting answers as aggressively as the rest of us.

  “Fine.” I finished igniting the enchantment and turned to him. His shoulders blocked out the light from the streetlamp across the road, bathing him in shadow. “Thanks for helping with this.”

  “The Vampire Court has a vested interest in this. I have a vested interest.”

  “Because of what Laima said?” A couple days ago, the Vampire goddess of fate had done me a real favor by telling the Vampire Court that they’d better back me up.

  “Because I like you, Nix.” His green eyes bored into mine. Truth reflected in them.

  A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. “Walk me to my door?”

  His lips turned up and he turned. I joined him, walking down the sidewalk toward our apartments. Ares’s hand closed around mine, warm and firm. A shiver raced through me. I glanced up, brows raised.

  “I shouldn’t hold your hand?” he asked, his voice held a hint of playfulness that I’d never heard before. It was so small that I might have imagined it.

  “No, I didn’t say that.” We’d had a rocky start, with the murder accusations and the Vampire Court trials, but this was definitely moving us in a different direction.

  I’d had more of his blood after my injuries at Drakon’s compound. More than ever, I felt like I got a sense of his feelings. And if I wasn’t mistaken, he was totally into me.

  I clutched the box to my stomach and held Ares’s hand, enjoying the warmth of his touch. We’d only shared a few kisses, but they’d blown my mind. Touching any part of Ares always had the same effect.

  I’d seen Cass and Del with their guys and wanted the same thing. Then Ares had shown up—in circumstances that weren’t exactly the greatest.

  I was still processing, to say the least.

  The moon was just a sliver in the sky as we walked, the air chill. Street lamps shed circles of golden light on the sidewalk around us, insulating us in our own little world as we walked.

  “I’m headed back to the Vampire Court tonight,” Ares said. “I need to pick something up. It’s important, or I wouldn’t leave. But I can meet you in the morning. We’ll start the search fresh.”

  “Sounds good.”

  We were only ten feet from the door leading to my apartment when magic crackled on the air. I got a brief whiff of rotten garbage before a hand landed on my shoulder, yanking me backward. I lost my grip on Ares.

  Instinctually, I clutched the box to my chest. I conjured a sword as a strong arm wrapped around my waist, heaving me upward. My stomach dropped as panic chilled my skin.

  “Nix!” Ares roared. He spun and plowed toward me, his shadow sword already in hand. He thrust the blade near my head. Blood sprayed my cheek, no doubt from the head wound he’d just delivered to my attacker, whose arm loosened around my waist.

  From behind Ares, four more figures appeared out of thin air. Demons—huge ones wearing leather vests and carrying big swords.

  “Ares! Behind you!” I dove away from the man that Ares had stabbed.

  There were seven total, demons of all shapes and sizes. All were different. Horns, no horns, spiked skin, talons for claws. Two were actually mages, if I had to guess. They looked human, at least. The attackers were standing in the road, but approached the sidewalk where we stood.

  “Nix, run!” Ares shouted as he plunged his sword into the gut of the nearest demon.

  Indecision tore at me, but only briefly. Though I hated to leave a fight, I couldn’t let these jerks get the vessel of truth. Ares could handle them.

  I spun toward P&P, sprinting toward the cafe. But a mage nearest me threw out his hands. A blast of wind hurtled over me, forming a shimmering barrier in front of me. I shielded my face with my arm and tried to plow through it, but I slammed into a solid wall.

  Pain flared in my arm and I stumbled back.

  Shit.

  Running was out. I raised my sword and turned, taking stock. Ares was cutting down two demons while another two approached me.

  I charged the nearest one, a demon with a wickedly curved sword and muscles that bulged out of the leather vest he wore. He raised his blade, but I parried, blocking his steel with my own. I kicked out, nailing him in the stomach. The breath whooshed out of him and I used his shock to plunge my blade into his neck.

  Beside me, Ares swung his sword like a whirlwind, slicing through demons as if this was a game.

  But it wasn’t. More appeared, three in the street and one on the sidewalk. A mage conjured a fireball and hurled it at me. I swung my blade up, blocking the fireball, which exploded against the steel. Heat seared my face as sparks flew, singing my skin. The light from the flame blinded me.

  A heavy arm wrapped around my waist, clutching tight. I lost my breath, plunging my blade backward blindly at the level of my waist. It sunk into flesh. A roar sounded at my ears as the arms around me loosened. I yanked away from my attacker.

  My vision had finally cleared.

  And we were so screwed.

  Ares was cutting through demons left and right, but there were still a dozen of them. Bad odds. And more were appearing every moment.

  “Fire from above!” The voice sounded just as a fireball hurtled down from the sky, landing directly on the nearest demon’s head. It flattened him, sending him to the pavement.

  Across the street, the air shimmered, an opalescent sheen that was about the size of a car. For the briefest moment, my dragon sense tugged me toward it, then it was gone.

  Weird.

  Another demon charged me as an icicle flew down at him, piercing the skull of his nearest compatriot.

  A quick glance overhead showed Cass and Del, hanging out of their windows and firing their magical weapons. Aidan leapt out of one window, transforming into a griffon on his way down. Golden magic swirled around him, dissipating to reveal a massive winged beast with a huge beak and fierce eyes. His feathers gleamed in the lamplight as he hurtled toward a demon on the ground. Roarke shifted midair as well, his back wings stretching wide as his demonic form appeared. He swept through the sky, aiming for the mage who was throwing fireballs.

  I turned back to my attackers as two lunged toward me. Though I’d only looked skyward for half a second, it’d been enough time. One demon grabbed the box that I clutched to my chest, tearing it away. He yanked so hard that the leather strap snapped and I stumbled forward.

  The thief dodged away as another came for me, blade raised. His flame-colored eyes blazed.

  “Come on now,” he growled.

  3

  Panic beat frantic wings within my chest as I swung my sword, desperate to cut him down so that I could rescue the beaker. He blocked my strike with his blade, then swept out with his massive claws. They raked across my side and stomach, sending pain flaring.

  I gasped, biting back a cry and stabbing my sword toward his middle. He dodged, swiping out with his claws again. This time, I was faster, receiving only a shallow slice to my ribs. He growled his displeasure and I thrust my blade up into his gut.

  His eyes widened and his mouth gaped. I kicked him in the middle, dislodging him from my sword. He fell backward and I turned from him, searching for more threats. Ares beheaded a demon while Aidan chomped one in two with his massive beak. I couldn’t see Roarke, but assumed he was in the sky or behind me.

  The thief who’d stolen the beaker wasn’t far off, only ten feet away and dodging fireballs shot by Cass from above. I sprinted toward him, lungs burning and the wounds in my side aching with pain.

  Another demon attacked me from the side, but a fireball landed on his head when he was only feet away. He roared as it flattened him to the ground. I dodged his flaming body, but another demon sprinted for me.

  I had to get to that box! “Cass! Del! Backup!”

  The demon who raced for me was only three feet away. I was about to swing with my sword—which would have been highly ineffective as I was still running after the demon who had stolen the box—when an icicle plunged through the top of his head. Del’s weapon of choice.

  Blood spurted and my stomach lunged at the grisly scene, but I turned back, racing for my prey.

  “Go!” Cass shouted. “We’ve got your back!”

  I sprinted harder. Demons came for me, but each was struck down by a fireball or icicle. Flesh burned and blood sprayed, an apocalypse of demon death all around me.

  But I ignored it, trusting Del and Cass as I gained on my prey. He was dodging icicles sent by Del and doing a fabulous job of not getting hit, but they slowed him down enough that I caught up.

  I plunged my blade into his back, stumbling with the force of my blow.

  He staggered, roaring as he fell forward, and hit the ground with a heavy thud, the box clattering to the ground at his side. One of Cass’s fireballs exploded against his back.

  I scrambled forward, reaching for the box and clutching it near. A quick survey of the battle showed that the tide had turned.

  We were winning.

  Ares and Roarke were beheading their own demons while Ares sliced the neck of another. The rest were on the ground.

  I hugged the box to my chest and grabbed the fallen demon’s shoulder, dragging him onto his back. The cuts in my side screamed with pain and my blood dripped onto the sidewalk. I ignored it.

  Where was the damned tattoo?

  There had to be one. These had to be Drakon’s men. I yanked at his high collar, pulling it back to reveal a tattoo of a writhing dragon, fangs bared and eyes gleaming.

  Shit.

  “They’re Drakon’s men!” I called. “Search the mages!”

  My hands shook as I scavenged his pockets, searching for an ID or anything. But I wouldn’t get lucky with a demon. They rarely carried ID. Someone would have to find one on a mage.

  The demon’s body began to crumble to dust. I cursed, stumbling back onto my butt. Normally, demon bodies took a little while to return to their underworld after they’d been killed. But anyone hired by Drakon seemed to be enchanted with a spell that poofed their bodies immediately.

  He didn’t want us tracking him. It was an effective method.

  I scraped the flyaway hair from my face and dragged myself to my feet, clutching the box to my chest. My breath heaved as I leaned heavily against the wall, my wound and the fading adrenaline making me shake like a terrier in a thunderstorm.

  All around me, the bodies of our attackers had turned to dust. Ares banished his shadow sword to the ether and strode toward me, a limp not slowing him down.

  “Are you okay?” Concern darkened his voice.

  “Fine.” I gasped as pain flared in my side. A glance down revealed blood soaking through my blue T-shirt, coating the whole right side of my body. It’d traveled all the way up to the wiener dog who was sitting in a hotdog bun. “Shit.”

  “You aren’t okay.” Ares limped the last three feet toward me. My gaze went to his left thigh, where blood dripped down his leg.

  “Maybe not quite.” I sucked in shallow breaths, trying to control the pain.

  Aidan landed with a thud next to us. He was so big that his beak was level with my head. Blood and gore smeared the smooth surface. Roarke landed next to him, dark gray skin speckled with blood that wasn’t his.

 

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