There was now a tie between us. I don’t know where it led to— if it was tied to Samael’s soul, or the deep well of his power. Supposedly, demons didn’t have souls. But I could feel him at the end of the bond— an ominous, masculine presence— and the thought made panic creep up my spine.
No. I had no time for panic. I’d fix this little mess, figure out who was killing Samael’s demons, lose the bond, and get back to my regularly scheduled programming before my deadline.
The whispers started the moment I entered the facility and I ground my teeth. The lobby was packed with mages, and every head turned as I stalked toward the front desk to sign in.
I held my hand over the wide crystal bowl, and the water glowed green, allowing me entry. The receptionist gave me a shaky smile, her eyes wide, and I stalked toward the elevator.
On the fifth floor, the stares continued, along with a healthy side of disgust. Ben sneered at me and I raised one eyebrow, staring at him until he glanced away.
Keigan leaned against an empty desk and waited for me, his brown eyes mournful as he watched me approach. His face was boyish, almost innocent, and his eyes were usually lost in thought, a crease between his bushy eyebrows as he considered whatever problem he was working on.
Today, that problem was me.
My eyes stung, and I forced myself to keep walking, no matter how much I wanted to slink away. His disappointment hurt worse than anything else, and I bit my lower lip as I dropped my gaze to the floor.
Keigan was one of five Discipulus Mages who were in charge of the day-to-day running of the facility and all of the people who worked and trained in it. Since the moment I’d begun working for the Council, Keigan had seemed to know I neededsomeone.He was careful to give me space, but he’d always been a sounding board when I needed one.
“What happened?” he asked, and I glanced over my shoulder. Keigan followed my gaze, raising his eyebrows, and everyone immediately found something to do.
“I made a mistake,” I whispered. I took him through the events of last night, ending with “I have two weeks to solve the murders and then I’m free.”
Keigan lifted one eyebrow. “Samael isn’t known for negotiating.”
I shrugged. “He must’ve been in a good mood.” My skin prickled at the memory of the rage in his eyes. He hadn’t seemed like he was in a good mood.
“I hope for your sake you solve his mystery by his deadline. You’ll let me know if I can help in any way.” Keigan said, and I nodded.
“The biggest issue will be staying off Albert’s radar.”
Keigan’s face lost some of its peaceful cheerfulness. Discipulus Mages trained for years before they were given the opportunity to study for their positions. From there, the only way they could join the Mage Council was by proving themselves inherently indispensable to the Council, either through the amount of power they were able to channel, the cases they supervised— and their close rate— or through ‘furthering the Mage Council’s interests.’ Keigan had never mentioned if he’d like to join the council, but I knew he disapproved of many of the decisions Albert made.
“I believe in you, Danica,” he said. “I’ve always thought you had it in you to do great things.”
With that, Keigan gave me a gentle smile and I gave him a wave as I walked through the wide doors leading to the assignment counter.
A mage name Charles was on job distribution today, and he scowled at me as I approached the counter. I held out my hand and his scowl turned to a smile as he handed me the piece of paper with my next bounty.
I let out a low growl as I read the summary. The mages were unhappy I was working for Samael, but they knew better than to take it up with the demon. Instead,I’dbe on the receiving end of their displeasure.
This assignment involved tracking down a witch. Only, most of the actual details were missing from the summary. The only information included was that she’d failed to appear at her sentencing for a magic-related crime. The crime itself was sealed.
Failure to appear.
I glanced up from the summary. “Are you serious?” Failure to appear cases were given to first-year baby mages.
Charles just stared at me, blank-faced. I sighed. I anticipated a lot of bad jobs in my future. One more thing to blame Samael for.
This assignment was likely to involve long days of stakeouts. Witches were social creatures, mostly preferring to stay in the comfort of their covens. That meant I’d need to keep an eye on her house, while also following up with any known contacts.
I reached for the thin folder Charles held out to me, and the muscles around his eyes tightened as he glanced down at the demon mark poking out from beneath my sleeve.
“Yeah, yeah,” I muttered. “I fucked up.”
Ignoring his snort, I opened the folder, scanning the photo of the witch. Mary Johnson was in her mid-fifties, and her face was familiar. Maybe I’d seen her around when I was a child. Her dark hair had been ruthlessly straightened, and her grey eyes were tired.
This wasn’t the full file, but I was hoping I wouldn’t need it for a failure to appear. I took the paperwork with me, inputting her address in my phone.
After two and a half years on the job, I was no dummy. I stopped at a gas station to use the bathroom and stock up on snacks, then checked that I had my phone charger so my battery wouldn’t die.
