Page 30 of Demon Touched (The Demon Syndicate #2)

Nova

“ T his is one of the ones connected to the tattoo witch right?” Zane asked her, shifting slightly beside her.

Nova stayed as still as possible as she watched the witch get out of her car. “Yeah, it is.”

They were on the edge of Grim Corp territory and it was making her nervous. If they had to cross over, then there was a good chance they’d have to deal with Dex.

Did Zane know who he was?

Her reports had been pretty vague about the details. Nova had been tasked with observing, not gathering intel for the council. The whole point of her presence here was to take care of the unchecked magic—not create dossiers on each and every paranormal in the city.

“Is there anything special about this area?” Zane asked as he loosened his guns in their holsters.

“It’s close to more than one of the witches on the list.” And they were all contacts in Krista’s phone.

Keeping that from Zane had felt wrong, but Nova couldn’t tell him or he’d find out she wasn’t just a hunter. She wasn’t sure she was ready for him to know that.

What if he decided to tell the council? Or someone worse?

Nova didn’t really trust anyone outside her family.

And Dex.

“We’re also close to Grim Corp territory,” Nova muttered, loosening her own weapons as she kept the shadows close but not too close that Zane noticed them. “It could potentially cause problems if we have to enter their territory.”

“I’d rather not have to deal with them if we can help it,” Zane agreed. “But what’s the plan if we have to?”

“Keep the witches from hurting anyone. Nothing more, nothing less.” Nova walked in the same direction the witch was going and made sure to keep out of sight.

“If they’re stealing magic…” Zane trailed off as he followed. “There are a lot of witches who hold seats on the council, Nova.”

She paused and studied him. “You don’t want them to know?”

“Have you ever heard of witches stealing magic before?” Zane shook his head. “I didn’t even know they could do that.”

Neither had she.

Nova paused when the witch entered a building that had no obvious affiliation. It didn’t look like a business, but maybe something like an office.

“So, let me get this straight. You don’t want the method these witches are using to get out?” Nova asked. She wanted to make sure she’d understood him correctly.

“There are no hunters on the council,” Zane reminded her.

“And yet they expect us to take care of every little thing with nothing more than the promise that witches are neutral. Stealing magic is not neutral and the appeal of gaining more power could cause us problems later. Not the council, but the hunters who put their lives at risk for them.”

He made a good point.

“Then why did you want to work for the council?”

“Someone has to keep the powers that rule our world in check.”

Nova studied him, wondering how she’d missed that. He’d always been so playful, cracking jokes while he worked his ass off. But she supposed that made sense. “So, you’re not loyal to the council?”

“I’m loyal to the idea that they’re the only thing keeping our world from plunging into chaos,” Zane admitted.

She hauled herself up and over the edge of the roof and then jumped down to the fire escape as she considered that. Zane followed her over and they silently dropped down to the sidewalk just like old times.

“Witches aren’t neutral and the sooner the world stops pretending they are the better off we’ll all be,” he muttered as he pulled a charm from his pocket. “I’m not going to give the council more power either. They need to be kept in check just as much as everyone else.”

Zane tapped the charm and all the lights on the street disappeared. She concentrated and the street got a tiny bit darker, the shadows clinging to any camera she could sense.

“If they commit too many atrocities, the paranormals won’t have faith in them any longer and our careful peace would be threatened,” Nova whispered.

That was what her father had told her a long time ago when she’d asked why he didn’t work for them. He’d said freelance hunters were the only thing keeping the council from taking advantage of their power.

Zane reminded her of that mentality, but he seemed to be of the mindset that one should keep their friends close, but their enemies closer.

Pulling out his guns, he gave her a look. “I want this to end tonight, Nova. This game you’re playing is too dangerous.”

Nova made sure her zip ties were easy to reach. “What game do you think I’m playing?”

“Your boyfriend works for the Grim Corp syndicate.”

She’d hoped he wouldn’t figure it out, but Zane was smarter than he pretended to be. She should have known he’d figure it out somehow.

It was definitely a conflict of interest if she was seeing someone from one of the syndicates, but she had no plans to let it interfere with the mission.

Was she wrong about Zane? Was he going to report her to the council?

Nova was quiet as she tried to decide what to say to him.

“You didn’t know?” He frowned down at her and she avoided his gaze.

“I know he works for Grim Corp,” she admitted.

Zane watched as she pulled out an airsoft gun with sleep charms inside and slipped her favorite hunter’s knife from her thigh.

“What if he breaks the law?”

“Then I’ll kill him.” Nova arched an eyebrow at him. “Do you doubt me?”

Zane frowned in confusion. “But you love him.”

“We’re running out of time. Are we doing this or not?” she snapped, ignoring his statement completely.

“Nova…”

“No, you don’t get to do this.” She rolled her shoulders back and cracked her neck. “I promised him that I would kill him if I had to and I will. Got it?”

Zane just sighed, but he didn’t argue with her. “Yeah, I got it. Let’s go.”

They crossed the street and Zane took point like always. It always worked in her favor since she could see more this way and cover them better. She could sense things even Zane couldn’t and he relied on her to guard his back.

She’d never given him a reason not to trust her.

Thankfully he didn’t seem angry about Dex.

Zane unlocked the door while she stood guard and they both scanned the building for wards and traps.

“If we disarm it, they’ll know we’re here,” she murmured, keeping her voice low and deepening it ever so slightly.

“We need to get a visual,” he whispered back. “Any suggestions?”

The longer they stood out here in the open, the riskier it was.

Nova considered the wards and then froze when she heard a noise. Shit . She grabbed Zane and yanked him into the deepest shadow she could find.

“I hear the Corp is hiring more witches now,” a woman practically trilled.

“Good,” another said. “The pickings have been slim ever since the Lotus put us on their payroll.”

She pressed against the wall and held Zane back with one arm over his chest as they waited to see what these witches were going to do.

Turning her head, she put her mouth to his ear. “Go get one of the bikes and make it quick.”

He disappeared around the corner without question.

Would the witches notice the lack of streetlights? Nova doubted it since they were heading in the opposite direction. They’d only taken the lights from this one section.

Five witches headed to the same car and she really hoped they weren’t going anywhere that would cause even more complications.

Looking up, she saw the nearly full moon and wondered if whatever they were about to do needed a perfect full moon or if the day before and after would suffice. Sometimes it wasn’t important and sometimes…

“Did you see what happened to the tattoo shop?” one of them asked.

“I heard Krista tried to take from a Black Lotus witch and they burned her shit to the ground.”

“That’s why we’re not hunting in Lotus territory anymore,” another snapped. “Let’s get this done.”

What exactly were they hunting? Other witches?

All the doors closed and she moved along the wall to see which direction they were going.

Zane pulled up in the silent motorcycle and tossed her a helmet. She had it on in record time and he scooted back so she could drive. She was the better rider no matter how much he might hate it.

“If you can manage to get a tracker on them…” Nova eased to the street and caught them turning a corner.

“All you gotta do is get close enough.” Zane slipped an arm around her waist and held on tight.

She took off, weaving through traffic.

They took a sharp turn, catching up with the car quickly. She blew by the witches and looped around a block to get back behind them while Zane tossed a tracker charm at just the right moment.

Zane tapped her shoulder and held out his right arm, showing her his watch. “Stay about a block away, I’ll give you directions,” he told her over the comms in their helmets.

Leaning forward, she kept an eye out as she stuck to the quieter streets. The last thing they needed was to grab the wrong kind of attention. Nova kept to the border, making sure to stay on the right side as they followed.

Maybe if they were lucky, these witches wouldn’t even cross over. They might just find nice juicy prey in the grey area.

Slowing down, she watched as they made a right down a busier street near the club district. It looked like they were headed towards the club where she’d run into Dex the second time they’d met.

Her hands gripped the handlebars tight.

Unfortunately, they weren’t going to get lucky.

“They parked near a club,” Zane informed her.

And then what? Were they going to kidnap a witch?

There had to be a better way to do this.

Nova went straight instead of turning to follow them. “There has to be a secondary location.”

“Maybe, maybe not.” Zane pointed and she followed his silent directions. “If they strip the witch of their powers, it will kill them. So maybe they plan to dump the body in Grim Corp territory.”

Which could potentially start a small war.

Nova crossed over into the Grim Corp’s territory and she felt a tiny flash of magic before the sensation dissipated, like she’d shocked herself on metal in dry weather.

The last thing she needed was for Agmos to realize they were here. She gritted her teeth and sped up. She had a job to do, but she also needed to protect her partner.

Stopping on one of the quiet side streets, she saw the witches getting out of their car.

“Track them while I stash the bike.” She took the helmet from him when he got off the bike and secured it. “I’ll be right back.”

“Got it.”

Nova watched him go and then turned toward an even smaller street, letting the shadows accumulate slowly.

She needed to warn Dex.