He nodded. “The guy in the cloak paid me fifty bucks. Said you were practicing for an audition for a play.” His gaze scanned my face and he took a step back. “Not auditioning. Uh, sorry dude.”
“Dude?” My power slammed into my shield and I gritted my teeth, holding it back with sheer willpower. The teenager took the opportunity to sprint in the opposite direction.
Of course, this had to happen directly after I’d convinced Samael to stop having his demons follow me around. If I hadn’t, Scarface would be in demon custody right now.
The thought pissed me off. My phone vibrated and I fished it out of my pocket, forcing myself to stalk away from the kid.
“What?”
“Uh, are you okay?”
“Cara?” I was so mad I hadn’t even looked at my screen. “Sorry. What’s up?”
“I heard a little something through the grapevine.”
I pushed the alley door back open and stepped into Merrill’s back room. “What kind of something?”
“That rowan wood in your arrow? I did a little poking around, and the demons keep rowan quiet, putting a stop to anyone who grows it. But there’s a seller in town. You could go talk to him and see if he knows anything about your arrows.”
I sure could. “Can you send me his details?”
“Yup.”
“Cara, I really appreciate this. Thanks.”
“No problem.”
16
Danica
The next morning, I threw on a load of laundry, played with Lia, and then dropped by the tower, where I handed over the footage I’d collected from Merrill’s neighbors to Steve.
He grunted at me, guzzling coffee, and I left him to it, heading to Selina’s for a quick lesson.
She’d had me raising and lowering my shields every hour for the past few days, and I was officially convinced— I’d do whatever it took to learn how to wield my power without needing to lower them. After half an hour of intense focus, I could slowly eek out a trickle of magic from beyond my thickest shield. It felt like forcing syrup through a sift, but it was something.
My homework this week was to keep my shields up but use my power to see each person’s magical ‘signature.’ Selina had shown me how I could use my power to measure other people’s power without dropping my own shields, but it was easier said than done. I’d had a glimpse of Samael’s power a few weeks ago. It was a crimson so dark it was almost black.
The practice seemed to help, and by the time we were done, I didn’t need to concentrate on holding my power back. It was no longer pressed up against my shields like it was just waiting for me to lose control.
I thanked Selina and strode out her front door. Vas was waiting on her porch.
I scowled. “This seems like deja vu.”
He grinned. “You know, I was recently thinking that we don’t get to hang out enough. I’m always busy working for Samael, you’re usually bounty hunting. Now we get to spend some solid time together.”
I wasn’t buying whatever he thought he was selling. “Samael said he wasn’t going to have anyone follow me around anymore.”
“He’s not. I’m your partner.”
For fucks sake. “I want some privacy. Is that too much to ask?”
Vas’ face hardened. “Yes. Yes it is. Want to tell me what’s got you so pissed?”
I turned and walked toward my car. Vas followed, and I scowled as he reached out and turned me back to him.
“I’m just struggling with a few things. I don’t want people watching me break down.”
