“I sort of pride myself on not giving out clients’ information, but I do have the name of someone I know will give you what you want. She’s at Hecate’s House.”

  He moved aside some of the clutter on the coffee table and grabbed a sticky note and pen. He jotted down the info and, of course, handed it to Clare, his hand lingering as their fingers touched. Aria rolled her eyes. What was he going to do next, write her a poem on another sticky note?

  “We appreciate this, Vano. What do we owe you?” Clare asked, blushing.

  Ugh, Aria thought, please don’t say a dinner date.

  Vano’s gaze met Clare’s. “I haven’t come across a hedge witch as strong as you in quite a while, and I was wondering if you could do an Infusion for this tattoo.” He flexed his right bicep where an inked dragon’s head adorned his skin.

  Clare’s eyes widened, and she sat up straight. “Me? Really?”

  An Infusion meant that Clare would “fill” the tattoo with an imprint of her magic. Patrin would nurture and build the magic within the tattoo until he could wield it. It was the equivalent of panhandling for money, except the currency was magic. However, some tattooed wizards would take more than just an imprint from an unsuspecting giver. The unease in Aria’s stomach made her shift in her seat.

  “Is this the only payment you take?” Aria scanned his tattoos, each unique, most imprinted with magic, yet many still empty.

  Vano nodded at Clare. “From her, yes. I won’t take more than is fair. I’ve held up my end of the deal. I like sin eaters, and they did right by my grandfather when he died...but you don’t want to start shit with me, Aria. That is my price.”

  She pressed her lips into a thin line, forcing herself not to react or retort. She glanced at her mother. Her jaw dropped when Clare reached out, her fingers grazing the dragon’s head tattoo.

  “Mom?”

  “It’s okay, Aria.”

  A rush of magical power filled the living room. Aria felt it emanate from her mother, sweep through her like a robust breeze, and then funnel into Vano’s tattoo. He gasped, holding his arm steady as the dragon’s head shimmered with life.

  Suddenly, a cold trickle ran down Aria’s spine. A sour taste filled her mouth, and her tongue went dry. A current of dark magic had woven its way in.

  “Stop!” Aria snatched her mother’s hand and pulled it away, breaking contact with Vano’s skin. Clare looked up at her with a frightened expression. She also sensed the presence of corrupt magic.

  Aria immediately called forth the flame in her S-shaped birthmark, her hand aglow with fire. She would’ve hurled it at Vano, except he looked like he was high...or drunk. He was still reeling from the effects of absorbing some of Clare’s magical energy.

  “Vano!” Clare shouted. She then tugged at Aria’s arm. “It’s not him. It’s your sister.”

  A deafening roar rocked the entire house, and every light inside was extinguished. Aria flew forward and landed on top of Vano, who now looked groggy and waking from a deep sleep.

  Aria smacked his cheek. “Hey! Your house is under attack. Do you have wards?”

  Vano lifted his head and sniffed, then let the back of his head hit the hardwood floor. “What?”

  Clare formed an intricate gesture with her hands, her middle fingers and thumbs touching, her other fingers bent at specific angles, as she called forth her power. “Mira just broke through his wards. They weren’t that strong―to begin with.”

  Another roar and crash hit the house. Clare tumbled to the floor. Aria and Vano slid even further toward the wall. She felt as if she were at the epicenter of an earthquake.

  “What’s going on?” Vano asked.

  Aria dug her manicured nails into his arm. “My sister just broke through your wards. She’s looking for the sin eaters, too. Help us fight her off.”

  Vano sat up, hissing and rubbing his head. “Look, it’s your sister, your problem.”

  “She’ll kill you all the same,” Clare said. “It’s the Soul Eater!”

  “Holy shit,” Vano slurred, rising to his feet. “I thought Grandad was just trying to scare me when he talked about that.”

  “Quiet!” Clare extended her hands. Streams of white light, as slender as threads, poured from her palms and hit the entryways. Aria saw a shadow figure flitting from the kitchen area and into the living room just before her mother’s wards had settled.

  “She’s in here.” Aria exhaled a nervous breath as unnatural darkness filled the room like smoke.

  “Mira, no!” Clare desperately clawed at the Soul Eater’s hands as she dug her nails into her neck. Mira stood behind her, pulling her closer, opening her mouth in anticipation of stealing the breath of life from her mother.

  Aria, though trembling from adrenaline, extended her hand and shot out a brilliant flame from her S-shaped birthmark. It arched and came down right onto Mira, who shrieked and threw Clare to the floor. Mira spun around and shielded herself behind the couch, then commanded the dark, swirling smoke hanging in the room to surround Aria. The black smoke blinded her, and then it felt as if she were trapped in a box or underwater. Her heart pounded in her chest as she realized that her ability to receive air was being cut off. Mira was suffocating her.

  Steadying her breathing, she remained still. She relinquished the flame in her hand and then concentrated on the other power latent in her birthmark. She reached down past the foundations of the house, the soil, calling out to any hellhounds nearby. Usually they manifested themselves near the newly deceased, but right now she needed to directly call upon them. After a few seconds, she felt one. It seemed to magically reach out toward her with its own power, and slowly, as if a predator stalking its prey, approached the house. She hoped she had enough willpower to control it and keep it from devouring anyone but Mira.

  She gasped again for air and thought she was going to faint when suddenly the black “box” became fluid and transparent. The dark smoke that had encapsulated her retreated, and she fell to her knees, taking in deep breaths. She saw Vano standing in front of her, both hands raised and his infused tattoos pulsing and shimmering with magic. A violent wind swept through the house, pushing both Mira and the couch she hid behind toward the opposite wall. Aria ignored her wobbly knees and made it over to Clare, crouching over her protectively.

  An eerie red aura emanated from Mira, and a lightning bolt struck Vano in the shoulder. He yelled out and fell to his knees, a hand going to his wound. Mira advanced again, calling forth her black smoke. The hellhound Aria lured came bursting through Clare’s ward and went for the nearest person—Mira―eyes glowing and its cavernous mouth opening.

  Mira quickly directed her black smoke toward herself and used it to form a shield just in time to block the hellhound as it lurched toward her. It let out a howl as it crashed twice more against her magical blockade.

  Mira growled in frustration, then used her black smoke to cover her escape through the front entrance. When the hellhound turned its malevolent gaze toward Aria and Clare, Aria quickly tapped into the power in her birthmark, holding her open palm toward the beast as it approached.

  Vano stood as still as a statue. He knew better than to make any sudden movements. “Uh...can you control that thing?”

  Aria let out a sob as the hellhound zoomed toward her, but she stood her ground and kept her hand extended, the magical force in her sin eater birthmark throbbing with power. The hellhound halted just as it reached her, sniffing her hand and inspecting it. After what seemed an eternity, the hellhound backed away, then ran through the front door. Hopefully, it decided it was better to pursue Mira.

  Clare wrapped her arms around Aria. “Oh my God, are you okay? That was dangerous to try.”

  “I had no choice,” Aria said, slowly lowering her hand. “But did you see? I controlled it.”

  Vano shook his head. “No, you didn’t. Don’t confuse it with controlling a hellhound. You simply diverted its attention.”

  “Go to hell, Vano. I just saved us.”

  “From a hellhound that you called in the first place. Thanks.”

  “Listen, you—” Aria screamed.

  “Aria,” Clare interjected. “Let’s just get to Hecate’s House. We have work to do.” She patted the pocket where she had slipped the sticky note with their contact’s name.

  Begrudgingly, Aria rose to her feet with Clare. “Okay. I’m ready to get out of here anyway.”

  “Nice doing business with you.” Vano’s tone was less than enthusiastic.

  Aria flipped him off as she followed Clare toward the front exit. She looked over her shoulder, expecting to see Vano wearing a scowl. Instead, he wore a smirk, and the magical tattoos—including the dragon’s head—shimmered with magic.

  5

  Jacob

  Margot reached for the shiny dagger with a gloved hand, arching an eyebrow at Jacob. He stood across from her at the long rectangular table where an extensive collection of enchanted items and weapons lay.

  “Go ahead and put it into that box.” Jacob gestured toward the large, warded container with the letter “B” marked on a sheet of paper hanging onto it. “Let’s just put all the pointy things into Box B.”

  “You got it,” she said, twirling the hilt in her hand. A subtle blue glow emanated from the dagger as she placed it into the box.

  “Now this is what I’m talking about…” Bruno blew a low whistle as he carefully pulled a metallic gray pistol from the pile. It shimmered with a faint orange aura. “Those Guardians really know how to party, huh?”

  “Careful,” Amanda said, adjusting her crisp, white collar and looking as if she’d rather be anywhere else but in a room full of magical items. “Everything in here is enchanted.”

  Bruno gave a crooked smile and scratched his salt-and-pepper goatee. “Are you sure we can’t keep any of these?” He checked the chamber for any rounds.

  Jacob shook his head as he scooped up five rings with a black cloth and hauled them over to Box A. “Everything’s been cataloged by my task force. Some of this stuff is stolen and needs to go back to their owners. Then there are some items here that will never be claimed because no one’s going to be dumb enough to do it. I’ll probably end up shipping half this stuff to the Albertus Magnus Academy.”

  Bruno reluctantly placed the pistol into Box C. “Well, if no one claims that gun, I’m taking it.”

  Margot ran a hand through her bright blue pixie cut. “Dad, seriously, some of these things are not to be trifled with.” She made sure to use her gloved hand—which carried a powerful ward—to pick up a miniature human skeleton. “I bet some of this is cursed.”

  Which made Jacob all the more grateful that these items were out of the hands of the Guardians. He would’ve respected them if they had peacefully aired their grievances. Instead, the organization took up magic and weapons, joining the chaos and fighting, creating even more danger for the city of Miracle Falls. Jacob had the dual task of bringing them down, as well as their enemy group of extremist humans, the Watchers. Both groups could go to hell, as far as he was concerned. They both made it so that citizens couldn’t safely walk down the street.

  “You look stressed.” Amanda finally decided to help sort through the confiscated weapons by picking up a velvet hex bag. She definitely made sure to use a warded glove for that one.

  Jacob sighed. “I didn’t necessarily choose to be mayor. I’m not even sure how I’m going to start bringing this city back together after everything that’s happened.”

  Amanda turned and tossed the hex bag into Box D. “That’s gonna be the freaky cursed items box.”

  He chuckled. “Duly noted.”

  She grabbed another item from the table. “You can fix this. I know you will. And you have us to help, Mr. Wolfe.”

  “Thanks, Amanda.” He wished she’d just call him by his first name. It always felt like she was so formal and stiff when she called him Mr. Wolfe.

  “Hey Boss,” Margot said, leaning forward and handing him an emerald amulet. “What’s this one?”

  Jacob took it and examined it, letting it dangle from its thin gold chain. It hummed with a familiar energy, and he recognized it. “A traveling amulet, but we don’t have any Gorgios in this city.”

  Bruno scratched his goatee. “Probably brought in from outside or purchased from the black market.”

  “I know a couple of Gorgios here in California. I can ask around to make sure they weren’t robbed recently.” Jacob placed the amulet into his pocket. He’d find its owner, assuming there was one. But first, he would use it to get to L.A. in a flash to see Aria, instead of wasting hours in traffic.

  Bruno wrinkled his nose. “So, I can’t keep that pistol, but you get to have that rock?”

  Jacob crossed his arms. “In the wrong hands, it could be more dangerous than that gun. I’ll take care of it.”

  Bruno opened his mouth to respond but halted when his cell phone rang. He answered and cradled the phone between his ear and shoulder as he placed a collection of throwing daggers into Box B. “Yeah, this is Bruno. What do you need?”

  Margot’s expression fell when she saw her father’s face turn white. “Dad? What is it?”

  Bruno’s eyes squinted, and his lower lip trembled. “Who the hell do you think you are? Coward. Say it to my face!”

  “Dad? Who is that?”

  Bruno ended the call. His nostrils flared, and his jaw tightened. “Some asshole trying to threaten me, calling me a traitor to the Watchers.”

  Amanda approached him and placed a firm hand on his shoulder. “You did the right thing leaving them. You actually care about this city, not them. Don’t let them get to you.”

  He patted her hand. His crooked smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I know, Ms. Lewis, but whoever this is...he says he’s going after Margot. And I can’t have that.”

  Margot’s eyes widened, though her facial expression showed defiance. “We’ll get them, Dad. Don’t worry.”

  Jacob’s stomach tightened with anger at the thought of anything happening to Margot. Not only was she Aria’s best friend, but she was also among the few people Jacob felt like he could trust nowadays. She didn’t deserve to be dragged into the nasty side of all this.

  “I’ll let Captain Lewis know to up your security detail,” Jacob said. “It’ll be a cold day in hell before anyone lays a hand on Margot...or you, Bruno.”

  The older man acknowledged Jacob’s words with a nod. “Why haven’t we made a move yet on the Watchers? Threatening people, especially city officials, is illegal, last time I heard.”

  “I know,” Jacob said, “but we don’t know if this is the same guy who called earlier …possibly working with the Watchers or just a lone wolf.”

  Bruno leaned forward. “What if I were to get you proof that they’re the ones doing this? Hell, I’m even willing to go in and get them on tape.”

  Amanda shook her head. “That’s too dangerous.”

  “Sitting around hoping they won’t act on their promises is too dangerous, Ms. Lewis. Your father’s the police captain, I’m sure you’ve dealt with threats from criminals before.”

  Amanda seemed to concede the point, then looked at Jacob as if asking him what he wanted to do.

  Jacob frowned. “At least work with Detective Rosito on this, Bruno. He’s the lead on this, understand?”

  Bruno nodded. “It’ll be better this way. We need to take out both the Watchers and the Guardians before there’s blood in the streets.”

  “Agreed,” Amanda said in a firm voice.

  “I don’t want to see you hurt, Dad,” Margot said as her gaze met his.

  “Don’t worry, sweetheart. We’re the ones who are going to be doing the hurting—” he turned to look at Jacob “eh, within the parameters of the law, that is.”

  Jacob went over and grabbed the metallic gray pistol from Box C. He handed it to Bruno. “Consider it on loan. Temporarily, of course.”

  “Thanks,” he said. “Hopefully, I won’t have to use this.”

  Andy had the night off, which Jacob felt was probably for the best. He had asked Andy to drop his own car off at City Hall earlier so he could drive himself. After another threat toward Bruno, he didn’t have much hope that things would turn around for the better. He scratched the stubble on his chin as he made a left-hand turn onto Winston Street. Besides a few cars passing in the opposite direction and a few diners eating on the patio at Sal’s Restaurant, things actually looked calm, normal even. Still, something in his gut told him that he needed to look out for danger and be vigilant. He hoped he was wrong, that it would stay this way, but he knew otherwise.

  “Amanda, you live off of Lexington, right?” He glanced over at her. She sat in the passenger seat, staring off through the window. The soft light from the streetlights up above emphasized the yellow-gold undertones of her brown skin.

  “Yeah, it’s coming up.” She snorted a laugh.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “I don’t know why, but I expected you to whip out some sort of spell to guide you to my house so you wouldn’t have to ask for directions.”

  He smirked. “There actually is a spell for that, but it doesn’t mean I have to use it. Besides, I know where Lexington is. Mostly.”

  “Just like a man. You don’t want to ask for directions, even from a spell. Ha!”

  “Oh, we’re going there now?”

  She chuckled and nodded. “Okay then, let’s see who’s right.”

  He was just about to deliver a playful retort when the hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and the temperature in the car fell to an unnatural low. Someone was casting magic. And it was directed at him and Amanda.

  “Hold tight!” His body tensed and his jaw clenched as a red light engulfed the car, and an invisible force sent the vehicle into a tailspin.