Page 27 of Cold Curses

Lulu’s smile was thin. “Oh, the meal wasn’t free,” she said, then pointed to the kitchen…and the pile of pans and dishes that awaited us.

“As they say, never look a gift meatball in the mouth,” Alexei said.

“Nobody says that,” Connor muttered as Alexei took Lulu’s hand and they headed for the stairs. “Nobody says that!” he called out again. And was ignored.

He looked back at me. “Rock, paper, scissors.”

“Scrub, rinse, dry,” I said. “Grab a towel.”

SIX

At dusk, we stood in the town house’s doorway. I knew how strong Connor was, how determined, how brave. But I still had butterflies about the danger he faced. As he probably did for me.

“I could go with you,” I said, as I had before each challenge. But we both knew it wasn’t the right move. A vampire at an Apex fight created unnecessary drama, and made the fight less about the future of the Pack and more about our relationship. Yes, they were intertwined, especially if I was “joining” the NAC. But the challenge needed to be about Connor and his opponent.

He must have seen understanding in my eyes as he leaned forward, kissed me lightly. “I’ll be fine, I promise. And Dan has my back.”

“Good,” I said.

“You be careful, too. And work very hard not to get blown up.”

“Very hard,” I agreed. “On the other hand, every time I almost get blown up at a warehouse, I get a delicious pasta dinner. I’m one for one.”

As my Auto pulled up in front of the house, I slid my lips to his ear. “Kick his ass, puppy,” I said, and carried my katana to the vehicle.

* * *

I directed the Auto to drive past the fairy castle on the way to the office, just to make sure things seemed relatively normal. There were guards at the gatehouse and the building was intact, so I called that good enough. I wasn’t going to tempt fate by getting closer.

We drove smoothly across town; traffic was at its usual pace. But clouds began to thicken overhead, shot through with lightning that had a green tinge I didn’t care for. I couldn’t think of any nonmagical reason Chicago’s sky should look like the background of a dystopian movie.

And it only got worse when I reached the office.

I climbed out of the vehicle and heard somethingflapin the lowering sky. The sound—almost wet?—had me putting a hand on the pommel of my sword.

A really big bird? A human testing the limits of flight?

I walked through the gate of the fence that surrounded the property and toward the parking lot in front of the main building. There was anotherflap—air being pushed, silence being broken. A breeze sour with demon magic stirred the trees at the edge of the property. I stared at the sky, looking for some indication of what I’d heard. But saw nothing.

Something big and demonic flying above campus, I messaged the team.Could use an assist at the door.

On our way, Theo messaged back.What is “something”?

??was my response.

I caught movement to my left, had my katana unsheathed in seconds. An angle of wing—dark and leathery and tipped with spikes where the wing was jointed—dipped from the clouds. Batlike wings shouldn’t have frightened me. Bats ate fruit or crawly things and were supposed to be friends of vampires.

It slipped down and turned, as maneuverable as a fighter jet. It flew over the trees at the edge of the compound and, with a shriek that would probably haunt my dreams for weeks, banked around again. I still hadn’t seen it in any detail. But I saw enough to know that it was big. Much, much bigger than me and spilling magic into the sky.

I gripped my sword in both hands and turned my body to narrow its target.

The demon dived, and I swept my sword in an arc above me, felt it connect. Furious, it spun and pulled its claws back, raking my right shoulder with one razor-sharp tip. The wound burned like fire, like I’d been stabbed with a Fourth of July sparkler, and my arm went numb. My sword fell to the ground. I ducked to grab it as the demon winged back again, picked up the sword with my left hand. While I was far from ambidextrous, I’d trained for this.

Unfortunately, I hadn’t trained for a leathery demon with a good thirty-foot wingspan to land in front of me and put its body between me and a building.

And its body was…not a wonderland.

The torso between the wings was jet-black and smooth skinned. It stood on two legs, but they were jointed like a dog’s back legs and protruded in front of its body. Its head was squarish, with a mouth of gleaming teeth. Its eyes were small and red, its ears just slits.