When my gaze fell on Cass, his was already on me.
‘Tea is for pussies,’he said, and we grinned at Gran’s usual line.
But there was no way we’d say it out loud. The Japanese warriors were far from pussies, and I hadn’t even seen them in action yet. With their matching leather armor, trim muscular physiques, and katanas hanging from their waists, the brothers were badasses, that was for sure. But it was the sharp glint in their eyes that told me they were more dangerous than their well-mannered sophistication suggested.
“Gran wasn’t fond of tea,” I said diplomatically, and steadfastly refused to meet Cass’ gaze. If I did, I’d crack up. “I haven’t had the chance to stock up yet.”
What with life being absolutely bonkers lately and all.
Reo and Haru sighed in unison and pushed their cups forward for a refill.
“I have decaf for you in the kitchen, Ev,” Cass told me, and I growled.
Reo’s dark eyebrows spiked upwards. “I see the kitsune is close to the surface.”
It was more like my innerbitchwas close to the surface. There was entirely too much fussing going on. I was pregnant, not made of porcelain.
I smiled grimly. “I just want to get on with the training. If that gate is leaking underworld magic, we need to contain it right away, before anything else slips through it.”
Reo and Haru snapped to attention. “What do you mean ‘before anything else’ slips through?” Reo asked while Haru leaned forward, resting on his forearms on the table. “Has something already come through?”
I flinched. Oops. Was I supposed to tell them that right in the beginning?
“At least two sirens that we know of, and a giant demon troll thingy,” I said.
“But these are no ordinary sirens,” Cass interjected. “Well, at least one of them isn’t. She’s far more powerful than she was the last time we encountered her and her twin sister. Something’s happened to her magic. We think she might have bound herself to a powerful witch.”
Haru and Reo straightened. “Siren twins? Are you sure they’re twins?” Haru asked.
“Actually, they’re triplets,” Cass corrected. “We caught two of them, until the one, Calista, escaped. We’re tracking her now.”
Actually, we weren’t exactly tracking her now, what with underworlders wanting to convert my home into hell on earth and all. But just as soon as we finished this little talk, I’d get Cass and Molly right on it. Calista was a loose end, and at times like these, loose ends like her were more dangerous than usual.
Neither of the brothers spoke for a moment, instead sharing nervous glances. Finally, Reo said, “The three demon sisters are a formidable force. We grew up hearing of their malicious ways.”
Chills broke out on my arms and I cleared my throat. “Yeah, we just found out that they like to eat human souls and all that good stuff.”
The warriors nodded.
Great, there went my hope that we were wrong about that.
“You don’t know where Calista is right now?” Haru asked.
I shook my head. “But she’s in town. She was here just last night.”
“And you lost her?” Haru took a seat around the table.
I had to work hard to repress the growl vibrating in my throat.
“We successfully captured both the sirens,” Cass corrected, and tilted his chin upward, sliding into the chair next to me. “The humans lost Calista,notus. We’re certified supernatural bounty hunters and damn good at our jobs. Last night we had to fight off a giant demon that was more dangerous than Calista. The giant demon’s dead, by the way.” He fake-smiled at the brothers.
You tell ‘em, Cass.
“With Calista loose, we must be extra vigilant to prevent her from finding out what Evie is.” Haru leaned across the table to impress us with the seriousness of his statement. “Hell will descend on us, unless we get the only living kitsune in the world powered up and ready to defeat whatever tries to crawl out of the gate.”
He was all rainbows and cuddles, this one.
“That’s right. She’s the only one who can close the gate for good,” Reo chimed in. “You need to let us train her, Sabine. If you think siren triplets with a taste for havoc are bad, just wait till you find out what else considers the underworld its home.”
