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Seth

I refused to release the two special souls that had brought me back from the brink and brought them with me, one in each arm, to the circle instead.

I arrived to see that Tansy had Eamon there too, and Penny had Prax.

Sybil had her two familiars, Salt and Pepper, but also her mate Zayn was next to her for support.

I was just like everyone else here, stronger with my people.

The only thing missing from our family was Little Bit. Except she wasn’t missing at all! Mateo returned with the plastic bin I used as Little Bit’s travel carrier, then promptly draped the rather confused ball python over my neck.

The second I started reciting and joining the mass spell, Little Bit quieted.

She knew what was up. Ball pythons were about as intelligent as a single orange cat, by which I meant that the adorable doofuses all shared one single brain cell, and took turns with it.

Ball pythons had a similar setup, but we were still waiting for Little Bit’s turn with the brain cell.

So she was happy just to hang there in our combined body heat.

Ever attracted to warm, dark places, the little danger noodle decided to drape most of her long body over my shoulder, but stuff her face between the buttons of Hazel's uniform top. This time, no one stopped her.

I rejoined the group incantation, and this time it was personal.

That bitch had shown me Liam lying in a ditch, eyes lifeless and body decaying.

To be honest, I should’ve known it wasn’t real because demons were not made of real flesh and bone.

And in my visions, Hazel had refused to acknowledge me, even in my despair. That had been false too.

But the realistic visions, more convincing than any nightmare, combined with my being exhausted from lack of sleep and this extensive spell, had tricked me. It promised me a world with Liam still in it, and Hazel at our side.

But Seth, we could’ve had so much fun , the voice crooned. And we’d be so powerful together. It’s not too late to change your mind. Come to me and you’ll be the richest man on the planet; I’d make sure of it.

Now that she couldn’t fool me anymore, The Bitch was back to promising power and fortune. It wasn’t going to work.

The knowledge that I’d been a breath away from losing everything I’d ever worked for and ever loved spurred me on.

With Liam and Hazel in my arms, it was easy to ignore her and continue to cast the spell forcing the portal closed.

It was tiring work, and I didn’t know how long we’d been at the fissure, but every time the remaining EA representative from Rome came around and drew another red line, it gave me another burst of energy.

Did I notice the way Hazel stiffened when Tommy noticed her in my arms and yelled, “What the fuck is she doing up there with him ?” I did. But I also felt her arms tightening around me when Mike gave her a thumbs-up and yelled back, “Holding up our MVP.”

Perhaps it looked to those on the ground that she and Liam were propping me up, and even if they hadn’t been when we first started, they were now.

Then, all of a sudden, several balls of energy shot out from the portal, one of them aimed straight at me. With so much of my power caught up in the spell, I was unable to cast another one to protect us in time. Liam jumped in front of me, trying to protect me with his body.

The idiot! Demons were incredibly resilient but not impervious, especially if magic was involved. I had no idea what The Bitch was capable of. She wasn’t even of this dimension. Liam could get hurt.

It happened in slow motion. I reached for him, trying to pull him back. But Hazel was faster. She grabbed onto Liam even as the ball of light reached them.

No! Not her too! Why did the loves of my life have to be so heroic?

But they did not incinerate before my eyes. A yellow shield protected them. No, not just them, all of us.

It wasn’t mine. That much I knew. And the color…it was Hazel’s magic!

It must’ve concluded that Liam and I were integral to her safety and happiness and extended out to include us. I was still stunned when I finally got my body to move, and I pulled them back.

There was chaos all around us, and the building across from us was on fire. The circle of spell caster was scattered, and from the sounds of it, there were more than a few injuries.

The Breach was tiny now after using so much of her energy offensively, but only a few of us were holding on, and I felt ready to collapse. Sybil wasn’t faring much better. Her Naga mate was coiled around her in his naga form, holding her upright.

I watched, appalled, as The Breach started to grow again. Realizing that this was as close to winning as we were going to get today, I shouted, “We need to contain it.”

Sybil nodded, coming to the same conclusion. “We can’t close it today,” she shouted into her speaker. “But we can contain it while it’s small.” Then she started a spell. Recognizing it immediately, I chanted along with her, and soon, everyone who could still cast was joining in.

The Breach shrieked and begged so pitifully that I almost felt bad for it until I remembered the horrible images it had forced into my brain.

In the end, the whole ordeal had lasted less than an hour, but everyone was exhausted.

We had a small hole about the size of a toilet, surrounded by the world’s most complex yet thrown-together containment spell.

Every caster had added his or her own signature to the lock.

The whole thing was now only about the size of a car.

It was quite heavy since everything was compressed, and there were so many layers, but it was silent.

I heard nothing. There were no more promises. Not even a peep.

“What the hell are we going to do with it now?” Sybil said.

I shrugged. “Beats me. I never want to see it or hear it again.”

There was a clearing of throats, and Chief appeared with his hands on his hips. “Some of the victims’ families are happy it is still open. They insist on attempting to retrieve them. Especially the last victim.”

That had been Palivius.

I rolled my eyes. “It’s not like they are being held in there in suspended animation.

That thing was a portal. They went somewhere—and I still don’t know what Eldritch horror lies on the other side—but I really don’t think she was inviting them to a tea party.

Even if they weren’t immediately consumed by whatever hungry entity waited on the other end, the initial victims have been in there for a good week.

You’ll be retrieving corpses. My professional opinion is still to close the damn thing completely. ”

“I tend to agree with you,” Nina said. “But Palivius’s family is kicking up a fuss, and this at least shuts them up for a bit. And the new development means that head office is keeping Alfonzo here to analyze The Breach.”

Great. That meant he wasn’t going home.

“If they really want to study it, can’t they ship it to Rome?” I asked. “Then he can take all the time he wants analyzing it?”

“That’s what I said!” Nina exclaimed. “But no. They didn’t want to move it.”

“But it has to move. It’s in the middle of the intersection,” Chief said.

Alfonzo came butting in, wagging his finger in the air. “No, no, no. No move. And no close! Everything will be wrong. Even now, everyone has touched it. How can I take my measurements?”

“Well we can’t just keep it in the middle of the intersection,” Chief said. “Traffic needs to flow.”

“I do not care. It must not be moved!”

“And what if you succumb to her, uh, it?” I asked. I wanted this thing as far from Darlington as possible.

“It does not speak to me like in the reports. I am not a man of magic, but of science.”

Well, that explained why he hadn’t reacted to it at all.

There was a clearing of throat, and we turned to see Desmon in his human form, dressed in his signature suit. “This is my city. And if the EA wishes to keep such a dangerous artifact here, I will require payment. The EA will also need to do all they can to ensure the safety of my people.”

“You must be Desmon.” For the first time, Alfonzo actually looked reverent. “I’m sure we can work something out,”

“For now, why don’t we turn this intersection into a roundabout to keep the traffic flowing? We can build a small shed around it and load it up with locks and wards.” Hazel suggested.

“Hey, that might work!” Chief and Director Kwan said together.

“A shed?” Alfonzo exclaimed. “I can’t work in a shed. I need a laboratory!”

“Well, then,” Nina said, putting her arms around the shifter. “You better start convincing head office to fund it because a shed is all we got enough for in this backward town.” She guided him away, but only after sending a wink back to us.

Director Kwan had her eyes on the ball. If we had to keep the wretched thing open in Darlington, the least they could do was increase funding.

The good thing was that I no longer heard her voice in my head. We were safe, for now.

“Good job, Seth.” Desmon patted me on the back awkwardly.

The dragon of Darlington was still coming to terms with the fact that he had effectively started thinking of Mateo and me like sons he’d never had. Human emotions were still difficult for him, but it was coming along.

I didn’t bother being tactful. “Does that mean I get a vacation?” I asked, resting an elbow on his shoulder. Before he could reply, I moved Hazel in front of him. “Have you two met? This is Hazel. She’s important to me. So you’ll be seeing her at the weekly dinners from now on.”

Hazel looked a bit in awe, probably because she’d never met a dragon before. But she’d get used to it. Desmon was mortal, just like the rest of us.

“I will see you at dinner.” Then Desmon was called away by a frustrated-looking Director Kwan.

“So, kid,” Chief said to Hazel when we got back to her cruiser, “you and the wizard, huh?” The chief put his hand up. “And before you deny it, it’s a good thing. At least I know you’ll be well cared for. He’ll keep you out of trouble.”

Hazel gasped indignantly. “Keep me out of trouble! More like the other way around.”

“Your grandparents were so sad when your parents took you away. They were sure you were meant to stay in Darlington. And now you have not one, but two people anchoring you to the city. They would’ve been very happy.”

The words put a pensive look on Hazel’s face.

“Hey look, they’re giving out pizza!” Mike said as we approached. “Go hog us a box, will you, Sarah?”

“Why me?”

“I could send Eugene, but you know he’s going to come back with pineapple on it.”

Hazel made a face. “Eww! Okay, fine, I’ll go grab us some pies.”

The second Hazel was out of earshot, Mike, Tommy, and Eugene descended on me and Liam.

Chief just walked away like it was totally fine for someone in uniform to threaten to remove all my limbs and put my own head up my ass sideways if I ever even thought about breaking her heart.

Tommy explained in detail how the human body could be turned inside out like a tube.

If these guys had ever doubted Hazel’s ability to do her job, it was in the past. They thought of her as one of them now. Perhaps there were others on the force who still doubted her, but her job was secure.

Did they not understand that Liam and I could take all of them at once and still have enough energy left to make Hazel scream our names?

But I decided that for once in my life, I was going to take the noncombative route.

These weren’t just some guys Hazel worked with; they considered her something of a little sister, and I understood that all this was a necessary display to keep the peace.

I was just ready for today to be over so I could take Liam and Hazel home and we could spend the rest of the night recovering in my giant jacuzzi. Maybe Liam was onto something about a hot tub on the yacht.

We hadn’t even had a proper talk about what was happening between us yet.

It was Liam’s, “Um, guys, where’s Hazel?” that finally had everyone scanning the crowd for her.

It was only now that I felt it… the familiar aura of my father’s magic. I would recognize that stench anywhere. Fuck! If that asshole was here, that meant he’d seen Hazel with me. We needed to find her now!