Page 18
Chapter 18
Evil Butterfly
I didn’t think another Cash existed until we cornered Harmony’s boy toy and hauled him out of the club into a dark, less-traveled alley nearby. His shrill screams were quickly silenced by something Cash did with his magic. After some pretty fucking spectacular hocus pocus, my magical companion cloaked our presence and made us invisible to outsiders so we wouldn’t have to worry about witnesses. Not that anyone cared. The inebriated crowd was more focused on drinking, dancing, and fucking instead of some hoity-toity man-boy being kidnapped.
Cash had one hand on his hip while he checked the nails of the other for breaks. It should be noted that in this case, I was the brawn. Other than the usual magical theatrics, he’d barely lifted a finger. I didn’t have time to make a comment about it, though, because our hostage was literally bawling like he’d been tortured. He hadn’t. I’d grabbed him by the arm and barely squeezed before he collapsed onto the ground, a fountain of pretty-boy tears, proclaiming I’d abused him.
It didn’t take long to figure out that whoever this boy toy was, he was useless in a fight. You’d think Harmony would choose someone based on their abilities, but it appeared she only wanted them pretty and submissive. One thing was clear: The Wicked Witch of the West had a thing for gorgeous blondes with celebrity vibes.
I didn’t get the sense he was human, so I had to wonder what sort of beastie was lurking under all that eyeshadow and glitter. Still, I learned never to underestimate an opponent. He couldn’t do anything I wouldn’t rebuke with the fires of Hell, but the last thing I wanted was a reason for Phillip to lecture me.
“I think you know why I’m here, Magnus,” Cash finally said when he’d finished preening. “Tell us what we want to know, and I’ll make sure she never finds you after this.”
The inconsolable boy toy cried harder, and I rolled my eyes. “For someone who literally talks for a living, you really don’t know how to phrase things properly, Cash.”
The Dark Fae seemed confused I’d say so.
Ignoring him, I crouched down and leveled a serious stare on our captive. “What my associate here means to say is we have the means to keep you safe if you tell us where she is. We’re going to find her one way or another, Magnus. So, are you going to be someone we use to get to her, or are you going to be someone we take out alongside her? Up to you, my dude. But I’d say the better bet is to tell us and live another day.”
The glitzy pretty boy in a fishnet top and tight pair of glitter-painted white pants cut his eyes from me to Cash, then back to me. The tears stopped in an instant. Getting to his feet, he crossed his arms over his chest. That flamboyant flair of conceit Cash wore so well had manifested on our captive’s face.
Yeesh, this witch definitely has a type.
I didn’t know what I was most upset about—the fact that I’d thought for a second he was anything but a villain, or that a psychopath was dressed like a butterfly. Quite literally the definition of a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and I had to wonder how many had fallen under his spell.
“I like you.” Cash couldn’t hide his disgust, but Magnus didn’t appear to care enough to address it. “You’d make one hell of a queen if you were ever interested.”
“I’m not,” I clapped back, already tired.
Cash erupted out of nowhere. “Steady on, you masochistic fairy. Get that sleazy look off your face. She’s mine.”
Really? Of all the ways this night could go, that was where we landed? Fuck my life.
“Are you in or out? I’m not going to ask again. If the next word out of your mouth isn’t an agreement, it’ll be your last,” I threatened, nearly blinded by the damn shine on this evil butterfly.
Guess I’d turned into Phillip tonight. I didn’t have much patience for the cutesy act, not after he’d flipped the switch from abused pup to two-faced psycho.
Okay, so it was mostly because I knew what was waiting for me when we got back to the safe house. If I didn’t get something of value out here to prove to Phillip that I was a damn good Hunter and a contributing member of the group, then I’d sure as hell get my frustration out before we left.
Whatever Magnus saw in my eyes, it put him on guard. Not enough to smother his sassy little attitude, though. “You’ll keep me safe? That’s rich. Her web reaches everywhere. The once-feared Monster of the Realm without his power and a little beast girl isn’t going to cut it. She’ll eat you two alive.”
The once-feared Monster of the Realm without his power?
I kept my eyes trained to our captive. I’d ask Cash about the monster comment later, but I couldn’t lose our edge. We didn’t have time to talk around the subject. The Organization had eyes everywhere, and at a club like this, it was only a matter of time before our party got crashed.
“Funny you should say that, Magnus,” Cash whispered in a voice that would haunt my very dreams. It didn’t sound anything like him. The violent growl came from deep inside his chest, a reverberating rumble that hit my body in an odd way. The Dark Fae’s penetrating tone was saturated with murderous intentions, and as much as I hated to admit it, the sound startled me.
That was twice in one night Cash turned into something he wasn’t.
My companion’s magic crackled and exploded after he snapped his fingers. Magnus was suddenly pinned to the brick wall with his body covered in shadows. The translucent black mist seemed to crawl and writhe around the startled boy toy. Magnus’s face sunk in. The shape of his skull became terrifyingly clear as his skin stretched and thinned, pulling away from his eyes and mouth and mummifying in seconds.
It didn’t end there.
Underneath the very little Magnus wore, his body looked like something straight out of an Egyptian coffin. The state of our captive continued to deteriorate the longer the black mass crawled over him.
I tossed Cash a questioning look, but the platinum-blonde menace just smiled and winked like we were sharing a cute moment and he wasn’t in the middle of mummifying a stranger.
What the actual fuck?
“It can’t…you can’t,” the boy toy murmured before gasping as if it’d become impossible to breathe. “Okay! I’ll tell you. Stop!”
I still didn’t know what I’d just witnessed, but the second the black shadow around Magnus’s body receded, his cheeks filled in, his ribs disappeared under thickening skin, and his body seemed to return to its original state.
Taking out his phone, Magnus rushed to type something in it. I snatched it before he could finish, and his answering groan would’ve put every whiny girl I went to high school with to shame. “Do you want the location or not? I’d much rather give it to you here than…well, with my life.”
I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I looked down at the map on his phone and noticed several numbers were already entered into the search box. Coordinates. With an eyebrow raised, I handed the bedazzled phone back to Magnus, and he typed the remaining numbers. I copied the coordinates before nodding at Cash once the location popped up somewhere in the vast forest of Canada.
I was still rattled by the power Cash used on Harmony’s plaything, but I’d deal with that little fun nugget later. We’d gotten what we wanted, and now it was time to get the hell out of here.
“Just as insurance, you’ll be somewhere I can find you until we confirm this takes us to Queen Slag. Wouldn’t want to walk into a trap you laid out for us without some way to punish you later, now would we? If something happens, it’s ta-ta forever, Magnus,” Cash informed our grumbling captive before the glitzy butterfly was gone. No poof, just blink and he was no longer dead-eyeing us from his place in front of the brick wall.
I peered around in confusion, not sure what happened. Cash hadn’t used a stone, so for a minute, I thought he’d killed the dude.
“I’ll explain in a bit, love. Come along. You owe me a date,” was all the much-too-happy nuisance said before stealing my hand and leading me away from the alley where we’d accosted a butterfly.
By the time my brain started working, we were already in a crowded street at the other side of town. “There might be Hunters or—”
Cash’s glimmering cat eyes bounced over to me, and he smiled in a way too beautiful for someone who’d nearly mummified a person with their power. “You promised. Besides…” He peered around us, the people partaking in the festivities out of control and dancing everywhere in sight. “I wasn’t just saying pretty words before. I’ll keep you safe, V. I know you don’t have any reason to trust me, but I don’t think anyone they send will be a challenge for me. And certainly not you. Rest easy, dove. Enjoy yourself. Have a little fun for once.”
People all around us were hollering and living their best lives. A few could probably benefit from a little less living, if I were honest. But at one time, I’d pined for a night like this. I’d yearned to let loose and have a little fun on a special occasion. I’d always imagined when I hit college, I’d be sneaking off with Kate when Grams wasn’t looking to make a lot of bad choices in rapid succession.
Lately, it was always about the end of the world or the future Hunter uprising. I’d spent all year looking over my shoulder, ready to be some assassin’s payday. More so, going anywhere alone with Sloan or Phillip was a different kind of pressure. I’d spend the entire time trying and failing to be maturity personified.
Honestly, it was a little tough to be around them all the time. Both Hunters had been alive far longer than I had. They didn’t fuck up. Not like I did, anyway. They were top-tier Hunters, and they’d kicked way more ass than my measly nineteen years afforded me. A part of me felt like a burden whenever I was with them.
Sure, I’d gotten lucky with powers the Organization unwittingly saddled me with, but around them, I was an amateur. Around them, I had a lot to learn in order to fight at their level, and I never felt like I could really let loose and be that wild teenager Kate brought out of me. I was always projecting the version of myself I wanted them to see—the Hunter who was the face of a rebellion. Or even just a woman capable of fully realized adult relationships.
Maybe that was the reason Cash’s offer was so attractive. I didn’t have to be the powerful Hunter Phillip, Grams, and Sloan expected. I could just be V. Maybe letting go for one night with Cash wouldn’t be such a bad idea. Maybe I could finally act my age for once .