Good thing I had a lot of rage to work out.
Bob bared his teeth and ran at me. I stepped to the side and tripped him, but he managed to keep his feet, stumbling wildly.
So I kicked him in the ass and sent him sprawling.
“That’s for threatening the kids, Bob.”
He jumped up, his face flushing purple-red.
Then he lunged, his meaty fist swinging toward my head. But while the belt may have made Bob strong, it hadn’t improved his speed.
I slid out of the way and shoved my knee into his gut. He roared, throwing another punch. The punch threw him off balance and I dodged, grabbed his right arm and introduced his face to my fist.
Bob roared, and I followed the punch up with a slap across his face. His mouth fell open and I took the opportunity to smash the side of my hand into his throat.
The knife-edge made his eyes bulge, and he choked, falling to his knees.
“Yeah, that can’t be comfortable. Try and take deep breaths, Bob.”
My power caressed my shields, craving more violence. It would be so easy to shove my knife in his heart right now. Or I could slit his throat. The satisfaction would almost be worth it.
No. I needed him to tell me what he knew.
A flap of wings, and I jumped about a foot in the air as Samael appeared beside me.
“I hate when you guys do that. What are you doing here?”
He gave me a look. Oh right, I’d invited him to help me take down the bad guys and then hung up on him.
This little hate group had blown up my car, and almost me with it. Of course the demon would be here, protecting what he saw as his property.
Samael gave me a dark look that warned me we’d be talking about me hanging up on him later. I ignored him.
Asmodeus landed next to us, his red hair gleaming in the sunlight. He reached down and pulled the belt off Bob. Bob groaned but didn’t struggle when Asmodeus threw the belt to me.
“Thanks.”
I was holding something that was once worn by a god. ByThor. If I thought about that too hard, I’d lose my mind.
The belt wasn’t anything special. There was no gold to be found, no silver etching, no priceless gems. It was brown, woven, and could’ve been any old leather belt except for the power that radiated from it.
Misty let out a purr and I jumped. The dagger had been silent for a while now. If it liked the belt, it was a pretty good sign that I needed to give it back to the fae as soon as possible.
I folded the belt up and shoved it in my back pocket. Asmodeus hauled Bob to his feet. Bob swayed and the demon met my eyes.
“Where to?”
“The Mage Council.”
Samael shook his head. “That is a mistake if you’re planning to interrogate them.”
“They’re human, Samael. Like it or not, but they fall under the Council’s jurisdiction. And I’d like to clear my name.”
He studied my face. “Fine. I will, however, notify Albert that while the interrogations may take place in his territory, his people are not permitted to be involved.”
I shook my head. “Is that your idea of compromise?”
He shrugged and looked at Asmodeus. The demon took to the air, hauling Bob toward the Council.
