I gave up arguing. It didn’t change the situation.
“I’m not sure the demon wants to meet me face to face,” I said. I told Darius about the crime scene and what had happened afterward.
“That stands to reason. It’s looking for the heir to the Dark Kingdom; it must assume you are all-powerful, like your father.”
“Joke is on him. Or me, I guess, depending on how you look at it.”
Darius’s eyes softened. He stopped me and reached up, waiting for my flinch to subside before he ran a thumb across my lips. A fierce explosion of heat blasted through me. My lady bits tightened up—half painful, half pleasurable.
“Nope.” I slapped his hand away. Now was definitely not the time. I had a level-five demon on my ass. I had to stay focused.
“Together, with the Banks,” he said in a low, intimate voice, ignoring my reaction, “we can defeat it. I will keep you safe, Reagan.”
“I think it’ll definitely be a team effort. Okay, game face. I need to find addresses for those mages the bartender named. After I scarf down a quick bite, let’s hook up with Callie and Dizzy, and we’ll pay them a visit.” I threw up a finger at him. “And don’t, for one minute, think I am ignoring the fact that you initiated the bonding stuff. We will most certainly circle back to that.”
“I am looking forward to it.”
“You really shouldn’t be. It isn’t going to go well for you.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
An hour and a half later, I was crouched in a hedge with Callie and Dizzy, staring at the front door of a house that was about a half-hour outside of Seattle. The area was on the rural side, with the next house probably a half-acre to an acre away, separated by trees and wild grasses. In front of us, a wicked spell twisted and turned, invisible to the naked eye. This wasn’t a mere surveillance spell, like the one we’d encountered at the other house—it was designed for active security. Out in the boondocks, this mage wanted to make sure his homestead was protected. I bet the neighbors knew to steer clear of this whacko.
“What’s the plan?” Callie asked, her hand in her satchel.
I glanced off to the right, where Darius waited in deep shadow. He hadn’t wanted to join us in the spider-web-infested bush for some reason.
“Cut down the spell and charge in?” I asked. “I did the creeping around thing with the last one, and that was the pits.”
“Should we go through the front, or the back?” Dizzy whispered. “The light we saw was at the back.”
We’d taken a tour of the outside, monitoring the complex spell, seeing if it wrapped around the whole house. It did.
“Or we could split up,” I said. “After I slice down the spell, I’ll hit the back, and you come in through the front. Darius can wait at the side. At the sliding glass door. Unless the mage jumps out a window, we’ll have him.”
“This is probably a stupid question, but can Darius hold his own against a mage of reasonable power?” Callie asked.
“Yes, that is a stupid question.” I dug in my pouch. “We can also make the spell goboom.That’d get him all excited. Maybe he’d do something stupid.”
“Whatever we do, we’ll get him excited. I doubt this guy has seen half as much power on his doorstep as what we’re packing.” Callie squinted in the darkness. “Judging by the complexity of this spell, its power, and the way it’s set up, I’m guessing we’ve found the lead mage.”
“I agree.” Dizzy dug into his satchel before extracting a leafy plant. “A mage such as this would want to be in charge. He’d want underlings. It would stand to reason he’s the lead.”
“Happy days,” I whispered. “Remind me to pay avisit to that bartender and thank him.”
“Joe, you mean?” Callie asked.
“I have no idea. I had Darius with me, remember? Shifters don’t play nice with vampires.” I blew out a breath. “Screw it. Let’s do this. You guys wait until you hear a crash, then run for the door.”
Callie nodded and tucked the flap of her satchel at the back so the interior was open and accessible.
I crouch-ran behind the row of shrubbery until I reached the edge and straightened up. I stuck to the deep shadows, and Darius fell in behind me a moment later. “Side door,” I whispered, moving quickly.
Without a word, he peeled off.
The blood must’ve worked. He wasn’t being overprotective. That was good news.
Fire raged within me as I jumped over a rock and made for the back door. Deep down, I also felt that pounding cold, pulsing like a beacon, yelling at me to use it. I wished it would also yell instructions.
