Page 17 of Buzz Kill (Smoke & Mirrors Tavern #7)

Chapter seventeen

DECLAN

“I’m fine,” I muttered to the others when they slipped inside the bathroom.

Two pointed looks shot my way as they took in my arm trapped inside the shirt I’d yet to get off because lifting my arms over my head still hurt like hell. But pain was something I was used to, and Ollie wasn’t the type to wait patiently while I took my time, so I braced myself for the pain and started to raise my arms.

Alwin stopped me and stretched the fabric of the shirt over my other arm before lifting it over my head. Rith had already pulled the medical supplies back out and Alwin used another piece of that weird fae moss he carried to stop the bleeding again before bandaging me up once more.

Al’s hands were gentle as he took care of me and I wanted to sink into his touch, but I didn’t. We were back in the human world and what we’d given in to in the demon world couldn’t continue. Alwin had near royalty proposing marriage to him on a regular basis. He’d spent decades polishing that sterling reputation of his and was finally reaping the rewards. The way elves felt about humans was no secret, and a sorcerer who didn’t know magic was nothing more than that.

We were never a good match. Alwin was a formidable elf who’d built his court from the ground up. He was respectable and capable. And I was…. well, I was me. There was nothing about us that could ever work and as good as I was at sticking my head in the sand, I wasn’t delusional enough to ignore that fact.

A clean shirt from the pack Al bought was dropped over my head and he helped gently pull my arms through while Rith cleaned up the mess.

“Thanks,” I managed as he opened the door, finding Ollie on the other side, one fist raised, ready to pound it down.

Ollie slowly dropped her fist, seeming a little surprised to find us already done. Her eyes lingered on my chest for a moment before she raised an eyebrow at me.

“So what happened to you?”

“It was nothing, I’m fine.”

“Really?” She held up the shirt I’d been wearing when I was stabbed, the bloody fabric gaped open where the sword had run me through. “Looks like more than a scratch to me.”

“It looks worse than it was. I took a couple of hits while I figured out how to activate the artifact that got us back here, that’s all. It’s fine. Do you really think Al would let anything happen to me?”

Those words got Ollie to back off. Even if she didn’t trust me one bit, she did acknowledge Alwin’s abilities. And while I was relieved the excuse worked, my words had caused a flicker of something entirely different on Alwin’s face.

No one else noticed anything amiss as Al turned his head away to clean up, but the stiffness in his shoulders made guilt settle in the pit of my stomach. I hadn’t hesitated to use him to take the attention off myself, but I knew that Al did feel like he’d failed to keep me safe, and I’d carelessly thrown out that comment anyway.

“Can we go?” I asked, feeling glum.

It wasn’t like I didn’t use people all the time for my own selfish reasons, but this time felt different and I didn’t want to think about why that was.

“Yes,” Elliot answered as he sent off a text. “Everyone’s going to meet us at the tavern when we get back.”

I didn’t bother to hold back my groan. “Seriously? We just got back.”

“And you took much longer than you were supposed to,” Ollie bit back in annoyance.

“My family tried to kill us, just like I said they would. And did you miss the part where we got trapped in the demon world? It’s a miracle we got back at all!”

Ollie scoffed. “Did you even get what you went looking for?”

“We haven’t had a chance to review the books,” Alwin cut in, ending the argument. “Declan was busy trying to find a way back and I focused on training the demons we allied ourselves with to defend our position so he could do that. The demon world is not like this one, we were attacked frequently simply because surrounding demons questioned our strength and saw an opportunity.”

“Right, that makes sense,” Elliot said. “Sorry, being away from Evie has her a little irritable.”

“I’m not irritable!”

“Clearly,” I mumbled, dodging behind Alwin when Ollie aimed a glare my way.

As always, it was Al who finally got us wrangled and on our way and Elliot drove while Ollie pelted us with questions. I fell asleep fifteen minutes in, leaving Al to deal with the interrogation and by the time he shook me awake, we’d arrived at the tavern.

The lot was empty, telling me it was either Tuesday or Royce had shut down for a “private party” again so we could have our meeting. My presence wasn’t usually needed, which was probably why they never invited me, but in order to determine how much shit was going down in this town, I’d always crashed their little gatherings anyway. In the past, I merely sat in the back, tossing out an occasional comment that no one wanted to hear, but I had a feeling this time was going to be different.

Only Connor and Levi were already at the tavern when we stepped inside. As soon as Connor saw Rith, he immediately came out of the kitchen to greet us.

“Hey guys, everyone’s on the way. Looks like you made better time than you expected. Who’s this?”

“This is Seth,” I answered. “He’s going to be staying in Eastbend.”

Connor’s nose flared as he took in Rith’s scent, or what was left of it through the glamour, and his eyebrows lifted. “Relative?” he asked, though he obviously knew the boy wasn’t a sorcerer.

“Something like that.”

Connor crouched down to Rith’s level to greet him. “Hey Seth, it’s nice to meet you. Want a cookie?”

Rith frowned at the unfamiliar word we’d never had the need to use, and I nudged him over to the bar.

“I don’t think he’s ever had one,” I explained to Connor.

Understanding washed over Connor’s face and he flashed Rith that warm smile of his that put everyone at ease. “Well then, today is your lucky day. You’ll have to come over and join us on one of our baking days at my house. Arie and Kota would love to meet you.”

Without him needing to say a word, Levi pushed out of the kitchen with a warm cookie and a mug of hot chocolate and settled them in front of Rith.

“They would love that,” Levi agreed. “Just don’t take any frosting advice from Arie. Let us know once you guys are settled in and we’ll set it up.”

I blinked in surprise at their easy acceptance. Not that Connor had ever been rude to me per se, but the whole town had their suspicions when I came looking for Elliot and it mostly seemed like I never really shook that first impression. Of course, it wasn’t really me they were accepting, it was Rith.

“Sure,” I mumbled.

Rith took his first bite of the cookie and his eyes widened. He mumbled something in his own language through a mouthful and then pulled the plate and mug closer like he was worried someone would take them from him.

I patted his shoulder. “Relax, no one is going to steal them here.”

Levi’s face changed at my words and he disappeared into the back again. I winced, wondering if I’d accidentally insulted him. Before he’d arrived in Eastbend, stealing things was how he’d survived, but I really hadn’t meant to imply anything.

The man reappeared a moment later with three more cookies which he dropped in a paper bakery bag they used for takeout orders and placed it in front of Rith.

The cookies immediately disappeared into the bag Rith always carried with his things, but then he paused. “Thank you.”

It was a word he’d learned during our time together in his world. The Prescotts weren’t in the habit of thanking their servants, but most days those servants were the only hint of kindness I saw. While no one could stop my family from doing what they wanted, I’d quickly learned that being polite to the people that took care of me granted me kindness that my family’s power alone didn’t.

During our time in the demon world, all of the servants learned what that word meant. Sure, I was grateful for what they did for me, but it was more than that. Manners were a tool just as useful as intimidation or manipulation at times. I’d wanted those demons’ loyalty, not their fear. Sometimes that made all the difference, and I wasn’t above teaching Rith how to play the game to survive.

Levi raised an eyebrow at the Rith’s accent. “Shifter?” he asked Connor.

Connor shook his head and Levi didn’t ask any more questions. Instead he returned his attention to Rith and the way the young demon still had his arms wrapped around his snack.

A soft look came over the human’s face. “You won’t ever have to worry about food here, okay? If you’re hungry, just come see me or Connor.”

Levi disappeared back into the kitchen and Rith watched him go, half looking like he wanted to follow him to see what else he was hiding back there.

Connor chuckled. “We’re whipping up some snacks too. They’ll be ready by the time everyone gets here.”

Something at the back of the tavern caught the bear’s attention and he frowned.

“What is it?” I asked, glancing that way and seeing nothing.

“The back door just closed but there’s no one here.” Connor raised his nose in the air, searching for a scent and shook his head when he came up with nothing. “Did you guys prop the door open when you came in? Maybe the wind knocked it closed.”

The hair on the back of my neck rose. “We didn’t come in that way. Elliot!” I called.

My cousin appeared next to me a second later with Ollie at his side. “What’s wrong?”

“Can you send a ripple of disruption magic toward the back of the tavern?”

“Uh… not really, no. I’m not good with that kind of thing. It would take me a few days to craft and imbed the spell in something. I can only cast simple glamours and healing on the fly. And like super basic blasts of magic, but I don’t want to break the tavern.”

“Can you cast a glamour that does nothing but follow the edges of the solid objects in its path?”

“I guess so, but why?”

“Just do it. Hurry.”

Elliot sat at the bar and started casting while I did a quick head count and took stock of everyone’s position. Soon the glamour stretched out from Elliot’s hands casting a solid green color over everything in the tavern. The magic spread, taking over the bar, the floor, even us. We all looked like we were wearing morph suits by the time he was done, but when I counted, there were still only seven of us.

My shoulders relaxed a fraction, but something still didn’t sit well. The door at the back of the tavern opened again and Ash stepped through.

“What the hell is going on in here?” He looked down as his boot hit something on his way in, and that was when the new object emanating a faint glimmer of magic finally caught our attention. Whatever that was had been hidden behind a concealment spell until Elliot cast the glamour.

“Elliot, kill the glamour,” I ordered as soon as I got my hands on the heavy spelled object.

The concealment broke when I activated the spell on my hands and we finally saw what it was I was holding. A round of curses broke the momentary silence, but I was focused on breaking spell after spell, each one trying to activate the fucking bomb I was holding back.

“Get out!” I ordered. “The thing is booby trapped. There are a series of spells trying to activate the explosives!”

“The bookstore!” Connor exclaimed, hauling Levi outside to clear out the store next door.

“Can it be deactivated?” Alwin asked as Elliot put a hand on the device to search the magic and grimaced.

“What are you going to do with glamour or healing magic?” I snapped. “I’ll deactivate as much as I can. Get everyone out now!”

My magic was already weakened from dying less than a day ago, and now it was depleting further every time I used the spell in my hands. Each new spell activated only after the one before it was undone, leaving the only option to continuously cast and break them one by one.

“Can you move the bomb out of the tavern?” Ollie asked. “What if we just chuck it somewhere with no people around?”

I shook my head, sweat already dripping down into my eyes. It wasn’t some small bomb I could just pick up and run with, this thing was way too bulky and heavy. They must have used magic to drop it inside the door so quickly.

“We don’t have time to get it somewhere else. I can’t let it go.”

“Your magic is already depleted,” Al reminded me.

Like the spell in my hands, the curse fed from my own magic. If I didn’t have enough left to revive me, there was no guarantee it would work.

I gritted my teeth, forcing more power through my hands. “It’ll be fine. Just go.”

Ollie dropped a necklace over my head and I glanced down at the black stone resting against my chest. “It’s for protection,” she told me before letting Elliot and Ash pull her and a very confused Rith away.

Al ushered them out the door and I breathed a little easier once I knew everyone was out of the way.

“How long will you have once you let go?” Al asked.

He’d returned and propped open the back door, giving me an opening. There was no timer on the bomb, not a physical one anyway, but there was so much magic layered in that there could easily have been a magic timer that hadn’t activated yet. Or maybe one of the spells I’d already deactivated was the timer and it would explode the moment I removed my hands. There was no way to know. I hadn’t exactly been examining the spells as I destroyed them.

“Seconds, if I’m lucky,” I answered optimistically. “Go with the others and I’ll see you out there in a minute.”

Al gave me a look that told me he knew I was full of shit.

“You know I’ll be fine. It’s not like I can die.”

Truth be told, even I didn’t know if I could survive an explosion, especially with my magic depleted. But Al wouldn’t leave me if he knew that.

“The longer you stay, the more my magic gets depleted,” I warned him when he still didn’t go.

“Let it go and run,” Al told me.

I shook my head stubbornly. “You get away first.”

Al started to argue, but he knew how stubborn I could be and he finally backed away. “Count to three, then go.”

“Yeah, sure.” My voice was strained and my vision blurry from the sweat dripping into my eyes.

What the hell was I even doing? This wasn’t my fight. But Alwin had a niece or nephew on the way, and Elliot had a little one of his own. Rith would be better off with Al anyway, the gods knew I couldn’t even take care of myself. And I was starting to question what I even had to keep fighting so hard for.

I wasn’t really living. I was barely surviving. The few people who wanted me only did for their own selfish agendas. I was so damn tired. So tired of the constant fight just to exist on my own terms.

“Declan?”

Alwin’s voice snapped me out of my spiraling thoughts, and I blinked away the burning in my eyes to find that Al had never moved from those few extra steps he took away from the door.

“What are you doing? You were supposed to leave.”

“You have two choices. You can stay there, and I will come get you and carry you out, or you can let go and run to me and I will carry you out.”

“That really only sounds like one choice,” I muttered.

Al took a step closer and I stopped him.

“Don’t move. I’ll come to you, just back up a little more.”

Al took two more steps back and refused to move further. “I will count to three. If you do not let go and run, I will come get you.”

“Stubborn ass,” I mumbled.

“One.”

Dammit.

“Two.”

I let go of the bomb and bolted toward Al, pulling the necklace Ollie gave me off and clenching it tightly in my hand.

Alwin did not stay where he was like he’d promised. Instead, he’d started running at two just like I had, and he wrapped a ridiculously strong arm around me, practically dragging me along as we ran.

The remaining spells on the bomb ran down in seconds once I’d let go and the detonation behind us was a flash of heat that burned through my clothes as I jumped on Al and took him to the ground with the blast. His head smacked the ground, but the protective necklace I’d shoved into his leather armor when he grabbed me kept the impact from giving him a concussion.

I blinked down at Al, dazed and honestly surprised to be alive. “You okay?” I wheezed as a drop of blood landed on his cheek.

Al’s brows furrowed in a rare expression of concern. “You are not.”

The one arm I’d been using to hold myself up gave out and I flopped down onto Al. Exhaustion hit hard and I let my eyes fall closed. My back burned like hell and my side hurt in a way that told me I’d been impaled by something, but the hollow burning in the marrow of my bones drew most of my attention. I’d rarely suffered the consequences of an overuse of magic and gods, I never wanted to again. A wave of nausea hit, but I couldn’t move, and I refused to throw up on Al. Instead I groaned softly in misery.

“It’s okay, I’m here,” Elliot said.

Something cool and tingly washed over my back before I could manage to protest, and while it wasn’t a bad sensation compared to everything else I was feeling, I still cringed. Not that I could move.

“What the hell?” The healing magic stopped abruptly.

“What is it?” Ollie’s distant voice asked.

“We need to get him home, now,” Elliot said. His tone was severe and if I’d had the energy, I would have sighed.

Something brushed my temple, and the cottony feeling of a simple sleep spell wound through my body. After so many bad experiences, the uneasy feeling I always got when someone cast magic on me spun through my already queasy stomach.

I could have countered it if I had any magic left to activate the spell on my hands, or the energy to lift them to my head, but I didn’t. And the only thing that kept the panic at bay was the feel of Alwin’s arms holding me painfully tight as the magic pulled me under.