Steal the Light (Thieves #1)(46)

“Hey—” Dev looked slightly offended at his relegation to nine volt status. “Nobody asked me if I wanted to be the power source for a demon calling.”

I gave him my best “army sergeant” look. “Do you want to be a member of this crew or not?”

“Member of the crew?” Righteous indignation filled Daniel’s voice. “Who the hell brought him into the crew?”

“Anything you say, boss.” Dev gave me a little salute. He turned to Christine. “I’m at your service. You just tell me what to do, and I’ll make it happen.”

“He is not a member of this crew,” Daniel stated, as though stating a thing made it true.

“Zoey, you can’t seriously be thinking about doing this without me.” Sarah stared at me, her voice rising over all the other voices.

She looked shocked and hurt, but I couldn’t consider her feelings. I hated the fact that I was hurting people I cared about and endangering everyone, but I had to steel myself and get this done. There would be time for guilt later. This was one of those times when it sucked to be a leader.

“I’m doing this, Sarah. You can’t talk me out of it. I’ll understand if you want to leave.”

The boys continued their debate, seemingly oblivious to anything else.

“I’m going to be working with you, Dan.” Dev had that face I was starting to understand he got when he realized he’d done something wrong and needed to make it right. “You should get used to it. Look, man, I’m really sorry I’ve been kind of a dick tonight, but I just got defensive when you walked in and looked at Zoey like you owned her.” He put out his hand in a friendly gesture. “We got along really well last night. I hope we can put tonight aside.”

Sarah looked at Neil who was suspiciously quiet throughout the exchange. He sat on the couch, watching the drama unfold with rapt attention. “Neil, tell Zoey she can’t do this.”

“Oh, I wish I could, princess.” Neil didn’t take his eyes off the men. “But I’m far too busy waiting to see if Daniel is about to kill Dev. I’m thinking yes, but it could go a whole different way. Is there any popcorn?”

“Stop it!” I was sick of the arguing. I was ready to call the damn demon myself if it meant an end to the chatter. “Dev, stop baiting Daniel. Daniel, stop looking at Dev like he’s a late-night snack. Christine, go and get ready. It’s getting close to midnight, and we need to get a move on. Neil, make yourself useful. We still need that chair from the living room. Sarah, I’m sorry you’re upset, but I have to do this with you or without you. I’m not exactly sure if your soul is on the line, but I know mine is. I need to do anything I can to give us the best shot at pulling off this job.”

Sarah turned to Daniel. “You have to stop this. You have to tell her she can’t do it.”

Daniel laughed and it was a good sound, an almost human sound. “I know I might pretend like I have some control, but nobody tells Z what to do. She’s going to do it, and I’m going to do what I always do—stand by and hope it doesn’t all go to hell. Besides, I’m with her on this one. My soul, if I have one, is on the line, too.”

Neil stood beside Daniel. He looked very young as he stood his ground, and I was reminded that he was barely twenty years old. “I’m sorry Sarah, but they’re our friends. We have to help. I know I don’t bring that much to the table, but if they’re here fighting for their lives, I’m gonna be here, too. I’d do the same thing for you. You guys are my family.”

I knew what I was doing was wrong even as I did it but a certain ruthless practicality had come over me. The boys stood behind me forming a sort of wall, and Sarah was on the wrong side of that wall. I needed her with us even if it meant she did something she didn’t believe in. Those of us who lead a particular type of life know that there are times to throw out your morals and beliefs in favor of saving the people you love. Someone tried to kill me last night. This morning they came after my father and Neil. It was only a matter of time before they got around to Daniel and Sarah and maybe even Dev. If I sat on my ass because I didn’t want to do black magic and someone got killed, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.

“Look, Sarah,” I said with all the empathy I could muster. “I realize that you don’t want to do this, and that’s all right. You don’t do black magic. I get it. I understand we’ll probably fail, but I don’t want you to feel guilty if it goes wrong. You did everything you could. You tried your best to warn us.”

There were angry tears in her eyes as she looked at me. She glanced back at Neil and Daniel, and I saw the minute she realized I had trapped her and there was no escape.

“You can really be a bitch sometimes, Z,” she said bitterly.

Yeah, I was definitely getting there. At the rate I was going, I might just lose my soul all on my own.





Chapter Thirteen





Magic, when done properly, has something for every sense.

There’s a certain smell that comes with each spell. I’m not sure if the experience is the same for each person, so I can only speak from my own encounters. Love spells end up leaving a faint smell of vanilla in the room. Prosperity spells smell a little like freshly mown grass.

There’s also a feeling that washes across your skin. Usually it’s a pleasant tingle, like someone brushed your arm gently with their nails. You shiver slightly with the pleasure. There’s a light crackle or pop when a spell goes right and some people swear they can taste the air around them. You can also see the remnants of a spell, whether its smoke or the faintest glow around an object.