Page 9 of Demon Touched (The Demon Syndicate #2)

Nova

H er phone chimed and Nova rolled over, eyes still closed as she felt around for her phone. Fucking shit, what time was it? Only four in the afternoon? Ugh.

Then she saw she had a message from Dex.

Nova wondered if he was the ‘good morning, beautiful’ type. She hoped not.

Opening the message pulled up a picture and her heart dropped into her stomach. Holy fuck. It was a very sexually suggestive picture.

Closing the message, she shoved her phone under the pillow and pulled the blanket up over her head. It didn’t matter that she was living alone, and no one could see her. That was the dirtiest thing she’d ever seen in her life and Nova was suddenly sweaty.

What the hell was he thinking? Shit, she knew exactly what he was thinking.

Covering her face with her hands, she rolled over onto her back and tried to figure out how to even respond to that.

Knowing Dex, he was trying to fluster her, which—mission accomplished.

She threw off the covers and went to take a cold shower.

He’d agreed to go slow, but now she was kind of hating it.

All she had to do was text him and Nova knew, she knew he’d come right over. Whether he would actually do anything though…that was the real question.

Probably not.

They’d agreed to…date. Kind of. Nova didn’t even really know what to call it because that word had never been used. Just an agreement to some kind of relationship.

They needed to have a conversation about it at some point, but Nova was still just trying to get used to the idea. Dex was her first…boyfriend.

Fuck, she hated the sound of that word.

Stepping into the cold shower, she washed quickly, shoving down thoughts of Dex and his tongue as much as she could.

No matter how distracting he was, she had work to do.

Her mother had helped her through the locator spell using the tattoo she’d skinned off the dead wolf. Ingredient spells were easier for her to perform since the magic wasn’t being pulled from her and her alone.

The spell had taken her to a witch working in a tattoo shop, but the place was warded up the ass. Nova wasn’t a strong enough witch to break into a place like that and not end up cursed or dead.

So, going in as a witch looking for a tattoo would allow her to scope out the place. Then she could find a way in as a hunter once she knew exactly which spells she needed to counteract.

Finding out if they were Black Lotus would also help give her a better direction for her investigation, and maybe she could find out if the witch was working for a syndicate, or someone else.

Regardless, it would help her find answers.

Shutting off the water, she dried off and got ready, grabbing a red sports bra and Dex’s tank top. She threw them on over a pair of jeans and her combat boots. Nova grabbed her beanie and fixed her hair and makeup.

A dirty text or picture wasn’t really her style, but she’d seen the way Dex had reacted when she’d worn his clothes. He may not be a shifter, but he had a deep possessive streak that she honestly couldn’t get enough of – not that she would ever tell him that.

She took a quick selfie and then opened his contact.

I have to work, but I should be done by 3 if you want to come over and watch season 2 of AOT.

Then Nova hit send and attached the picture.

Grinning, she grabbed a scarf, jacket, and gloves.

The tattoo shop was in a weird area of Seattle, right next to Black Lotus territory, but not in it.

Going anywhere as a witch that wasn’t in Dex’s territory was a risk. She couldn’t use her skills as a hunter without exposing herself, and she wasn’t a very powerful witch. The risk would be worth it though if she could get what she needed.

Her phone vibrated.

I like the way my shirt looks on you, he sent back. Just text me when you’re done, and I’ll come over.

Nova found herself smiling at the message and instantly shoved the phone in her pocket.

Fuck, this was getting bad and fast.

This strange giddy feeling was something she’d never experienced before. Nova had never had a crush on anyone. She’d never wanted to date. Her entire life revolved around becoming the best hunter she could be.

Not even the boys at the university had really interested her – not for a relationship.

Five years there and she barely made friends. Nova had hung out with the hunters, made working relationships, but they’d never really bonded the way she had with Dex. She was too quiet and reserved for that to ever happen.

Nova left and took the stairs, pulling out the right charm to change the color of her bike. Slipping her helmet on, she considered how she was going to handle this witch.

Very carefully.

Getting info from her wasn’t going to be easy since Nova couldn’t tip her off to the real reason she was there.

Easing out of the parking structure, she took the quickest route and parked in the front of the tattoo shop.

It was a small hole in the wall parlor, one with enchantments all over the place to keep humans from understanding what exactly was going on inside on top of the nasty looking wards.

Nova took off her helmet and watched the sun dip below the horizon. Hopefully this didn’t take long.

The bell tinkled and the witch looked up from the laptop on the front desk. “Can I help you?”

Unzipping her jacket, Nova yanked down her shirt so the witch could see her chest piece. “I was hoping to add to my collection.”

“Interesting.” The redhead smiled at her, but it wasn’t pleasant. “How did you hear about me?”

“Through the grapevine.” Nova shrugged. “I just moved here, so I’ve been trying to find other witches. The coven and I…well, they weren’t interested in me.”

The other witch smiled then, her dark red lips nearly black. “They try to live that neutral lifestyle, but from what I can see of your runes, that’s not really for you.”

Nova gave her a sharp grin. “Not really. I’m Sarah by the way.”

“Krista.” The witch jerked her chin toward the back. “Come with me and we can discuss what you’re after.”

“I don’t have a lot of power,” Nova admitted, following Krista into one of the small rooms. “And the spells I can do are limited. The runes I have help me focus what little power I do have.”

“Take off your jacket and let me see what you’ve already got,” Krista told her. “I’ll let you know if there’s anything I can add.”

This was a risk, but Nova needed to know if she was Black Lotus, or just one of the witches who did their tattoos.

Tracking down the source of the ink hadn’t been easy, and she seriously hoped it wasn’t all for nothing.

Doing as she was told, Nova couldn’t help but feel nervous. Runic tattoos were so personal, and this witch would know exactly what she was looking at unlike most people who just saw some design they didn’t understand.

“Wow, this is really beautiful work,” Krista said, taking Nova’s left hand to inspect her forearm. “Who did it?”

“A friend of my mom’s,” she murmured, studying Krista with her purple eye for the Black Lotus tattoo. It would be hard to see through clothes, but her eye should pick up on the magic somewhere.

“Do you have any others?”

“Yeah, down my spine, and on my chest, but that’s it.” Nova didn’t like the feel of Krista’s hand on her skin.

“So, what are you looking for?” the witch asked as she turned Nova around to get a look at the back piece.

“I wear a lot of charms,” Nova told her. “I was hoping to make some of them permanent.”

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Krista murmured, tracing her finger down Nova’s spine. “This is…it looks like a binding spell.”

What?

Nova had no idea what the fuck to say to that. The piece down her spine had been the first tattoo she’d gotten, one her mother had said would help her control her magic.

“It just helps me focus,” Nova muttered, taking a step forward to get away from Krista’s touch. “There’s a lot of shifters in this city, and I was hoping to get my scent charm tattooed into my skin permanently. Is that something you can do?”

Krista eyed her. She wasn’t stupid, and knew more about this kind of magic than Nova did. What did the witch know that she didn’t?

“I’d check with your original artist,” Krista told her. “I’ve never seen a spell like that stitched into skin before. It’s definitely a binding spell and would explain why you might not be able to access that much power despite what I can sense.”

Nova didn’t bother picking up her helmet. She pulled out her phone and texted her coordinates to Dex.

Come get me. Now.

“I wouldn’t know,” she said, slipping her phone back into her pocket. “I can’t see the runes. Can you do the spell or not?”

Dex was plan B in case everything went to shit. If she timed it right though, she could knock out the witch and get what she needed before magic got involved.

Krista smiled slightly, eyeing her like she was a tasty piece of meat. “A spell to hide your scent is easy enough. The tattoo wouldn’t be very big. So anywhere is fine really. Give me a few days and a thousand dollars in cash. Then it’ll be yours.”

Nova didn’t return the smile. “Sounds like a good deal.”

They studied each other.

She’d definitely fucked up.

There was a binding spell on her back and somehow Krista could feel her magic which the runes on her skin were supposed to help hide. Nova didn’t have the magic or skill to fight a witch with the kind of power Krista had.

She needed to get out of there and now.

“Well, thanks for everything. I’ll be back at the end of the week?”

Krista tilted her head and smiled. “Or you could get it now.”

“That’s a lot of cash to come up with.”

“We could figure out a different payment.” Krista took a step forward.

Nova let her power build as slowly as possible so the witch wouldn’t sense it. One blast and then she could run.

“What kind of payment are you looking for?” Nova asked, playing the game a little longer.

“Oh, nothing you would miss.” The witch popped her knuckles and Nova felt the power crackle in the other witch’s hands. “Just some of your magic.”

Some of her magic?