Chapter 16

16

ROMAN

J az dodged the bullet, the woman letting out a string of expletives.

"Who the fuck are you?" she yelled at me, pumping the shotgun.

"I—"

She didn't wait for my answer, pulling the trigger again.

Thank God for being incorporeal. I'd have felt that in the morning.

"Why ask a question if you don't wait for the answer?" I spat.

Her mouth drooped in surprise, giving Jaz the opportunity to scarper down the garden.

The woman frowned. "You're not real?"

"Bingo."

"Ghost?"

I went with it, highlighting the dagger in my chest. "Poor me, right?"

"Looks painful." Her stare hardened. "Did Jaz kill you?"

Footsteps echoed in the alleyway beyond the broken gate. "Penny?"

That voice belonged to the shouty guy wanting Jaz's head on a spike or whatever. The warlock in question had already left the garden.

"If you'll excuse me," I said, jogging down the wet grass.

"Wait!" Penny called. "Was it Jaz?"

I ignored her, running through the tall fence at the end into another garden. Jaz was already climbing over a gate into an alley on the opposite side. I picked up speed, the voices of Penny and that guy popping off behind me. They both seemed as fun as being buried alive.

I caught up to Jaz in a parallel street, the guy running east with some serious haste.

For fuck's sake. My energy levels were desperately low here. I couldn't keep on running without a proper recharge. And why was I even chasing him? Because he knew Darcy? Because our paths crossing was too much of a coincidence?

Jaz glanced over his shoulder, then put the pedal to the metal.

I stopped, completely out of breath with a stitch in my side.

Damnfuckshitballs.

Ugh.

What a shame being like this didn't grant me the power to float or even teleport.

Headlights appeared before me. I quickly moved off the road, crouching behind a car.

Fuck Jaz. Fuck all of this.

Mightily pissed off, again, I stood up and started walking in the rain and dust.

Screeching tires brought me to a halt, a car mounting the pavement.

What now?

The passenger door of the black car flung open, Penny getting out. "Oi!"

I glowered at her. "Fuck off."

The driver's door opened, and an extremely tall guy with a bald head got out.

How the hell did he fit in that small car? I mean, he'd tower over the most giant of basketball players.

"Answer the question," he demanded, swatting dust from the shoulders of his long black coat.

"No idea," I said, walking away.

"Oi!" Penny bellowed. "Don't be so rude!"

"Right. Because ‘Oi' is the epitome of manners," I returned.

She grunted something inaudible at me.

"Did Jaz kill you?" the guy asked.

I picked up my pace. We weren't doing this. All I wanted was a bit of respite before carrying on. Not this drama.

"Answer me!" the guy boomed behind me.

I spun, flipping him the bird.

"Did he kill you?"

"No," I answered. "Now leave me alone."

"Not until you give us the piss ant," Penny countered.

I stopped, wishing my Synth spells were in place still, just to fling something at them.

Both of them bore witch marks on their foreheads, so that said a lot about their hate for Jaz.

I walked on, done with them.

Penny ran into my path. I walked through her, making her gasp.

The man came up to my side, holding a pistol. "Where is he? The warlock shit stain owes us money."

Bingo! There it was. "I don't know him."

"Then why were you running after him?"

"None of your business."

The guy chuckled. "I think it is. Any cunt who hangs around with him is my business. You're just lucky you seem to be dead."

I stopped, the prick contributing to my irritation. "You're lucky, too."

"Is that a?—"

I cut him off before he could say ‘threat.' "It's a promise. I won't be like this for long, and I might come looking for you to test out my return. A really gory test."

If I was solid, I'd paint the pavement with his brains. My anger craved every possible second of ending his life, as hungry and thirsty as the rest of me.

"Now fuck off," I said.

"You're not dead?" Penny asked, examining my forehead.

Screw her questions. "I have stuff to do."

"Like what?" they both asked at the same time.

"Like none of your business." I started to leave.

The guy grabbed for me, his hand passing through my left arm. I laughed, his face purple with fury.

"Don't mock me! I'll?—"

A series of agonized screams tore through the night, shutting him down.

Shit. What now?

A winged demon landed on a roof, coming out of nowhere. Its huge talons gouged the roof tiles, sending pieces crashing to the ground. The demon resembled a crow, its body covered in silvery fish scales rather than feathers. But its wings were wide, covered in thick, black plumage.

Was that a human body in its beak?