Page 18 of Adepts and Alchemists

It didn’t take long to locate the glowing sign over the exit door. We had to squeeze past a pallet of cleaning supplies to get to the exit. Poppy reached out and grabbed one, screwing the nozzle off almost absent-mindedly. She gave me a sheepish smile when she caught me looking.

“Just in case. Bleach isn’t much, but it will still sting if I throw it in a monster’s eyes.”

Good point. I grabbed another, just to be sure. It wasn’t like the gas station attendant was going to mind. They had much bigger things to worry about. Like staying alive.

I pushed forward and put my shoulder to the door, opening it with a grunt of effort. It felt like there was something bracing it from the outside, like someone had put something heavy there, trying to pen us in. Sure enough, something with sharp teeth and shaggy fur tried to duck inside, going straight at Finn. Poppy stepped forward with a wordless cry, sloshing her bleach onto the thing’s head.

Its fur caught fire. Anywhere the bleach touched, blue fire leaped up. It was like she’d soaked it in gasoline and lit a match. I checked my bottle and sniffed it. Yeah, it was for sure bleach, so I had no idea what Poppy had done to make thething almost spontaneously combust. I didn’t throw my bleach on the burning creature, because it looked pretty incapacitated as it was. Instead, I kicked the thing further into the shop, where it collided with a shelf. More flames licked up to consume the cardboard candy boxes.

“Shit,” I whispered and then when I realized Poppy appeared to be frozen stiff in place, I seized her around the waist and half-carried her out the door—something which wasn’t easy considering I still had Finn over my shoulder.

“I think you just lit that thing on fire,” I said.

She nodded, and I could tell she’d come to the same conclusion, but she looked pretty shell-shocked about that realization.

“How is that possible...?” she began.

I shook my head. “I don’t know, but is it really important at the moment?”

“I guess not,” Poppy said, a slightly hysterical sound bursting from her when I set her down on the pavement outside. She immediately fell into step beside me as I ran across the parking lot and then paused underneath the shelter of the treeline, trying to catch my breath.

Finn rubbed his ribs with a frown when I set him down, but I couldn’t say he was my concern at the moment. I’d done what Wanda wanted me to do—I’d gotten the two of them out of there. Now, I was worried about everyone who was still inside. There were flames visible in the front window. I didn’t know where Angelo and Indigo had gotten off to. They didn’t appear to be near the pump or inside the store. All I knew? We needed to get out of here. With fire in the picture, this place was a tinderbox. It wouldn’t take much for an explosion to consume the entire building.

“I could help,” Finn said. “I have magic.”

I looked over at him and shook my head. “So does your mom, but you don’t see her charging into danger.”

“She doesn’t have magic like mine.”

I wasn’t sure that was true, considering what she’d just done to the creature, but I kept my mouth shut. Instead, I continued shaking my head, and this time, Poppy joined in.

“It’s best to err on the side ofnotbeing eaten,” she said.

“There’s a time and a place,” I said. “If you go in there, you’re just going to distract Wanda, and you know that’s only going to tick her off.”

Hurt flashed in Finn’s eyes, but he knew I was right.

“I’m in the same boat, buddy,” I said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “I want to help. But there are times you have to respect your limits. And this is me respecting my limits. Besides, none of us could ever live with ourselves if we let something happen to you.”

Finn looked slightly mollified, but the frown didn’t disappear from his face. He at least let his mother chivvy him toward my truck.

Indigo then appeared seemingly from nowhere, shadows coalescing around her like a shroud. The shadows threatened to swallow her whole, and I had to fight the urge to run in the opposite direction. Fear poured off her like perfume, choking the air. The scent of ash and brimstone was almost as strong. The source became clear a moment later when a bat-winged demon landed on the roof, tearing off the panels with ruthless efficiency. Angelo. It seemed stupid unfair that he was handsome in his demon form too. He was already slicked with sweat when he began lifting the witches out.

Indigo marched forward, expression resolute, still more darkness gathering around her. She seemed to draw it from every slanted shadow. Even the sky seemed darker. Bleaker.

“Night hag,” Poppy explained in a whisper. She couldn’t seem to tear her eyes off Indigo either. “That’s what you’re feeling,” she continued to explain as her eyes finally met mine. “They’re nightmares made flesh. They can stop a heart if they want to. That’s how Libby died, you know?”

I stared at her, wide-eyed. “Libby is dead?”

Then she realized her mistake. “No, I mean… the first time around.”

Oh, for the love of Pete. The first time around? “Wait, is Libby like... a vampire or something?” I was dating a vampire? “Why did no one tell me this?”

Poppy winced. “It’s a long story. Let’s make it out alive first. Suffice to say… no, Libby isn’t a vampire.”

Well, at least that was somewhat relieving.

“How’d you do the fire trick?” I asked, figuring I might as well make conversation while we waited out here, under the treeline.