2. Ember

2

EMBER

T he needle of Ash's tattoo gun raked across my skin, the resistance to venom sigil taking shape on my arm. I winced as the ink approached the bend in my elbow, sucking a breath through my teeth.

Ash laughed and finished the final line. "All done. You should be used to this by now."

"My nervous system is fried from yesterday. From the past few months." I set the tip of my finger ablaze and lit the thicker skin, protection, and venom resistance designs, activating the magical ink. The sigil trio glowed bright red before fading to a cool blue.

"I'd ask for speed and strength too, but I don't think I can handle any more ink."

"Offensive sigils tax my vim too much. I couldn't handle doing five on each of us." She wiggled her tattoo machine at Chaos. "You're up."

"I'm not sure your sigils will protect me. I'm not of this realm." He sat at her station and laid his arm on the table.

"It's worth a shot." She changed the needle and dipped it into a fresh well of ink. "The fae venom got to you last time, so we have to try."

While she applied sigils to her demon and herself, I checked my phone. I'd messaged both Miles and Shade twice, but they hadn't responded, so I dialed Shade's number, the phone ringing five times before sending me to voicemail.

"Fae are destroying the library," I said. "Meet us there ASAP."

I hit End and tried Miles. He picked up on the third ring, his voice thick from sleep. "Hello?"

"Higgins called. There's a fae soldier in the library." I assumed it was a soldier, at least. What other beastie would be invisible to the cameras? I sure as hell didn't want to know.

"What time is it?" Sheets rustled through the phone before he sighed. "It's five in the morning."

My phone pinged, and I checked the screen. Higgins's text read, Where the hell are you? The reference section is being shredded.

"I don't think the fae care about the time. Neither does Higgins, so wake up Shade and meet us there."

"On it," he said through a yawn. He hung up the phone, and I hoped to Hecate he didn't go back to sleep.

"They should come here first so I can give them ink." Ash lit her finger ablaze and activated the sigils on herself and Chaos. "Defensive sigil magic doesn't tax my vim as much as healing does."

"I'll let Patrice know to be ready." I sent her a text and grabbed my sword from the table. "He's tearing apart the reference section."

"Oof. We better hurry then."

I knew that would get her in gear.

She slung her bag over her shoulder and cast a forlorn glance at the tattoo mess we were about to leave behind. "We have to save the books."

With my sword sheathed in my back scabbard and four knives strapped to my legs, I led the way out the back door. If we lived in any other town, the number of weapons I wore on the daily would set off alarms. Thankfully, Salem was a booming tourist attraction, so most people assumed I was in costume.

Not that it mattered this morning. Sea fog had rolled in overnight, desaturating the dark city and making it look almost like we were walking through one of Shade's shadows. The crisp morning air raised goosebumps on my arms, and I rubbed them to chase away the chill.

"We should have worn jackets." Ash matched my determined strides, her teeth chattering as the library came into view.

"Nah. Things are about to heat up."

My phone pinged with a response from Patrice: Let me know if you need me. Oh, I spoke to Chrys's mom. Someone messed with the ward on her building and broke into her and a human's apartment. Could be Boston again.

I replied: It was us. I'll explain next time I see you . At the library now .

It pinged again when I shoved it into my pocket, but I ignored the message and crossed the street.

Higgins stood on the front steps, his meaty arms crossed, a toothpick hanging out of his mouth. "It's about damn time you got here. You stop for breakfast along the way?"

My eye twitched. How could a man in his position hold so much contempt for the people who saved his ass on the regular? "Maybe next time you should take care of it yourself. Or are you too scared?"

"I ain't afraid of no ghosts." He ascended the stairs and unlocked the door before curling his lip at me. "But I left my proton pack at the station."

"Scrub the footage when we're done." I unsheathed my sword and stepped through the door before I could lob off his head too.

A few lights glowed softly overhead, which was all I needed to see the mess the soldier had made of the fiction section. Paperbacks and hardcovers lay haphazardly about the floor, no doubt thrown aside when the overgrown fly-man couldn't find whatever he was looking for. Loose pages littered the tables and chairs, and claw marks marred the dark wood shelves.

Ash gasped behind me. "How dare he?"

"There's a rift." Chaos marched ahead, pointing to an area on the right where a shelving unit lay on its side, the books it once contained strewn around it. "We should seal it."

A thud and a scrape sounded from above, like furniture dragging across the floor.

Ash ground her teeth. "We have to save the books first."

"Is the reference section still on the second floor?" I headed for the staircase.

"Yes," she said, and they followed me up.

As I reached the landing, I slowed, my gaze cutting left and right, searching for the Predator shimmer in the air, listening for the grotesque rustle of giant insect wings. The sound of footsteps echoed from below before Shade and Miles pounded up the stairs, alerting the enemy of our arrival. I held in a groan.

"You couldn't have waited five minutes?" Shade drew two knives from his harness.

"You couldn't have gotten here any faster?" I held my sword in both hands, gathering fire in the core of my being and sending the flames up the blade to illuminate the dark hallway.

"Where's Mayhem?" Miles asked.

"I vanquished him." I crept forward, my arms tensing, ready to swing at the first snap of the beastie's pincers. "Which way, Ash?"

"Wait. Seriously?" Shade laid a hand on my shoulder.

I shrugged him off. "Which way?"

"We'll explain later," Ash said before taking a deep breath. "To the left. Dammit, he's in the Salem history room. Those volumes are priceless."

My sister marched ahead, her hands fisted at her sides, and I smiled. The only time Ash Holland ever threw caution to the wind was when books were in danger.

I extinguished my sword and walked next to her, matching her determined pace. We flanked either side of the entry, and Chaos joined her, while Miles and Shade stood on my side.

One of the double doors stood ajar, and I peeked inside. Destroyed books littered the floor, their pages ripped out and shredded into hundreds-of-years-old confetti. I was never a bookish gal, but seeing our city's history torn to shreds hurt my heart.

"Someone digitized all these books, right?" I asked.

Ash's brows slammed down. "Not yet…"

Tearing paper sounded from inside, and the thud of a tome dropping to the floor followed. My sister's eyes widened.

I turned to the guys. "We have sigil protection, so we'll go in first. You two follow."

Shade opened his mouth to argue, but Ash threw the doors open and stepped into the room. "Oh, hell no," she said.

I focused my intent on recognizing the fae shimmer and followed her in to find a giant roach-man flipping through a book of historic property deeds. Of course they'd send a scout to gather information, but… "Why doesn't he show up on cameras?"

"Must be something in his DNA." Chaos gathered hellfire in his palms.

"No fire." Ash clutched his arm. "We can't risk any more damage."

Roach-man snapped his butt-ugly head toward us and hissed.

Ash held a hand toward him. "Standing tall or on?—"

The fae rushed her, knocking her to the ground and chomping on her shoulder. Her sigils fought back. His teeth barely grazed her thickened skin, and her body expelled the venom in seconds.

Chaos kicked Roachman in the head, exposing his unprotected neck, and I jabbed a dagger into the soft spot beneath his ear hole. He screeched, flapping his papery wings and jetting to the ceiling before yanking out the blade. "How did you do it?"

I made a stabbing motion with my hand. "It's not hard."

He peeled back his thin lips to expose jagged teeth. "The soldier. How did you kill her?"

I laughed dryly. "Which one?"

Ash rose to her feet, the flesh wound on her shoulder already healing. "You won't find the answer in here." She grabbed Chaos's hand and nodded at Roachman.

"You will come down and allow us to kill you." He splayed his fingers, and hellfire licked down to their tips before returning inside him.

"The hell I will." He fluttered his disgusting wings, the sound making my skin crawl. "The world will be ours."

I shook my head. "You giant buggers keep saying that, but we keep taking you out. As long as witches exist, this world will never belong to the fae."

He hurled the dagger at me, the blade barely nicking my arm before it hit the ground. Yay for protection sigils.

Roachman roared and flew at me like a witch-seeking missile, slamming into my chest before pinning me against the wall. He opened his revolting mouth, venomous saliva dripping from pointy teeth, and I pressed my lips together, rolling them inward. No way in hell was I tasting that shit again.

Miles hit him with an energy ball, but it ricocheted off his exoskeleton and hit Shade in the stomach. His body convulsed, and he doubled over, clutching his gut. "Goddess, that hurts."

"Sorry." Miles touched his shoulder.

Roachman reared back, ready to chomp my face, but I pulled the same trick on him as I had on Mayhem. Grabbing a knife from my thigh holster, I shoved it upward, beneath one of his armored plates. Sadly, I missed his heart.

He recoiled, glaring at me like I was the vilest, most insolent creature he'd ever seen. I started to tell him the feeling was mutual, but he shoved Shade aside and darted out the door before I could open my mouth.

I gave chase, barreling down the stairs after him and setting my sword ablaze. When I reached the ground floor, I swung. Fiery enchanted silver sliced into his wing, making him howl. He flapped, bits of char raining onto the floor, but he couldn't take flight.

My team closed in behind us, the guys with their weapons drawn and Ash holding three potion bottles. Roachman screeched and chittered, speaking a language that didn't even sound like words.

Ash recited a perimeter-locating spell and blew powder into the air. It collected around a two-foot rift, revealing four sets of talons trying to rip it open wider. The claws shimmered and disappeared.

"Effing soldiers. Seal it before they get through." I swung my sword at Roachman, but he feinted left and lashed out a clawed hand, cutting into Ash's arm and knocking the second potion bottle out of her hand.

It shattered on the floor, liquid spilling around her feet, sizzling and turning into purple smoke.

"Crappity crap! That's a nerve hex." She tensed, drawing her shoulders toward her ears, her face contorting with pain.

Chaos threw a punch, hitting Roachman in the jaw. The fae careened backward, falling on his ass before hissing and darting through the rift.

An oblong shimmer protruded from the tear, and I brought my blade down, slicing through it. The cloak disintegrated, revealing a soldier's insect-like arm, and Ash wheezed, collapsing against Chaos.

"Is this the sealing spell?" I pried the last bottle from her rigid fist, and she nodded.

I tossed the bottle to Miles and let the guys take care of the rift before turning back to my sister. "Do you have the antidote?"

She nodded, patting her bag. Her knees buckled, her legs swelling, turning purple beneath her fishnets, and Chaos lowered her to the floor. I rummaged through her bag while Chaos removed her boots and tore off her tights.

"Those protection sigils don't last long enough." There must've been thirty bottles in her satchel, some individual ingredients, some premixed spells…none of them labeled. "Which one is it?"

"Red jar," she said through clenched teeth. Sweat poured down her face, and her body seized, every muscle tensing before she passed out from the pain. Nerve hexes were the worst. I knew that from experience.

"Help her," Chaos demanded, not hiding the menace in his voice.

"I am." I twisted off the lid and smeared the semi-gelatinous liquid over her swollen legs. Sparkles gathered on her skin, the purple fading to her normal pale complexion, the swelling receding instantly.

Her eyes flew open, and she sucked in a massive breath before bolting upright. "Where'd the bastard go?"

"Through the rift. He got away." I found a towel in her bag o' magic and wiped my hands.

"It's sealed." Miles handed me the empty bottle.

I returned it and the jar to the satchel. "Since when do you play with nerve hexes?"

"Shade's was so effective on us, I thought it might work on the fae." She put on her boots. "I didn't plan on dropping it."

"You should use capsules like the witches in New Orleans." Chaos helped her to her feet.

"As soon as I have a moment to breathe, I'll figure out how to make them." She rotated her ankles and shook out her legs. "All better."

"Be more careful with those." I sheathed my sword and tucked my hair behind my ears. "If the smoke had spread to all of us, we'd be dead."

She laughed. "But you said being too careful would get us killed. Make up your mind."

"You know what I mean." I jerked my head toward the exit. "Let's get out of here so Higgins can concoct his story and deal with the mess."

The Chief arched a brow as we filed past him, expecting a detailed report but not using his words like a big boy. When I didn't give him what he wanted, he grabbed my arm. "Well?"

I looked at his hand before glaring into his eyes. "I suggest you let me go before I?—"

"Ember…" Ash's voice dripped with warning, and yeah, okay… Threatening to decapitate a police officer wasn't in my best interest, but I was so goddess-damned tired of his disrespect.

"Will you please let me go?" I forced a smile, trying my best not to sneer.

He dropped my arm, and I stepped back out of his reach. "Did you kill the ghost?"

Hecate, please give me the strength to answer him without sounding like a snarky bitch. "Even if it were a ghost in the library, you can't kill something that's already dead." I crossed my arms. "The creature inside was a fae scout looking for information, and no, we did not kill him. He went back to his own realm, and we sealed the rift. Call it whatever floats your boat. The library is empty now."

That sounded okay, right?

He narrowed his eyes. "What kind of information?"

"He wanted to know how we killed his friends. Of course he didn't find what he was looking for. We keep the books about real witchcraft in our coven library."

"You'll have to show me that library."

"Not a chance." I turned on my heel and descended the steps.

The sun peeked over the horizon as we made our way back home, but it wasn't yet high enough to warm the bitter wind. My hair whipped into my face as we entered the alley behind our building, and I brushed it out of my eyes, stopping short on the back porch.

"Something feels off." I closed my eyes, opening my senses to the magic surrounding the building. Only remnants remained. "Someone broke our ward."

"Hold on." Ash cast her magic-revealing spell, and sure enough, only a few sparkles clung to the door frame. Someone had dissolved the magic meant to keep out those with ill intent.