Magic Forged (Hall of Blood and Mercy #1)(57)

The vampire driver bowed to me as he pulled the side door open, revealing a leather interior, and Killian who was lounging on the bench seat, talking on his cellphone. “I want the Magic Committee to know about tonight. It will give them something new to think about and hopefully confuse them, which will give me the opportunity to finally pass that law further restricting the Unclaimed in our region.”

Yeah, no way was I sitting back there with a scheming Killian.

I pressed my lips together as I studied Killian, then risked a sneaky glance at the driver—whose face held the expression of a stone as he waited for me to climb in. It was a different driver—this one had darker hair and was wider through the shoulders. Hopefully my act would work on him as well.

“Oh, I think I’ll ride up front with you.” I smiled brightly and placed my hand that held the borrowed clutch over my heart. “I couldn’t possibly risk distracting the Eminence when he has such important work to do.”

The driver furrowed his eyebrows, and it looked like he was going to refuse me.

“Although,” I sighed mournfully and switched tactics. “I won’t be able to see him from the front seat very well, and he looks so handsome!”

That did it. The slight wrinkles on the driver’s forehead smoothed, and he slammed the door shut—probably thinking he was saving his leader from a vapid admirer. He opened the front door and held my clutch for me while I climbed in and balanced my chisa katana on my thighs before closing the door.

He was in the driver’s side, buckling his seatbelt and starting the car in the amount of time it took me to inhale.

The drive into Magiford was longer than I remembered, but it made sense given the massive amount of land Killian owned.

Magiford was the magic powerhouse of the Midwest. Located halfway between Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Chicago, Illinois, it was at a perfect location due to its proximity to the large cities and Lake Michigan. The magical community decided to set their headquarters in Magiford rather than a larger city because it already had a strong magical community present, but also because we didn’t want to step on any human toes or make them think we had plans to take over.

It was quite small—no skyscrapers to boast of, though there are big office buildings and lots of old architecture. But I loved it anyway, and I knew the city like the back of my hand.

Or I thought I did, until the driver pulled into the warehouse district.

“Yeah,” Killian said before abruptly hanging up.

I watched in the rear-view mirror and waited until he looked up from his phone before asking, “Where are we going?”

Killian frowned. “What are you doing up there?”

“Sitting?”

He pushed his eyebrows together, looking a bit like a model in an anguished pose. “Why didn’t you sit in the back?”

Because you’re in the back! “I didn’t want to bother you,” I modestly said.

He curled up his top lip, revealing a white fang.

Guess he didn’t buy that excuse!

“Where are we going?” I repeated, trying to distract him.

He leaned back, lounging sideways across the bench seat. “An exclusive restaurant—you have to be a member to get through the front doors.” He lost interest in me and gazed through the tinted windows.

“I’m surprised you didn’t want to take the limo today—wouldn’t that have been more eye catching?”

“I never ride in the limousine.”

I actually twisted awkwardly in my seat so I could peer back at him. “What? Then why is it always in front of your motorcade?”

“Image,” he said. “And it acts as a draw to bring enemies out of the woodwork. I find it useful to watch them.”

The SUV slowed to a crawl, then stopped directly outside a warehouse that bordered the business district.

I hopped out while the driver opened Killian’s door and squinted in the flickering light of the streetlight directly above me. I surveyed the cracked sidewalk and the graffitied metal warehouse. “This is totally not suspicious or sketchy at all,” I said.

“Given that Club Luminary is for the refined and influential, I didn’t imagine you would appreciate it.” Killian straightened his suitcoat. “And you cannot bring your sword inside.”

I clutched my sword to my chest. “Why not?”

“Club rules.”

“I’m just supposed to be defenseless?”

“That is the general idea, yes.” Killian smirked. “Though the no-weapon rule does little to hinder the truly powerful. We can be lethal without…tools.”

I grumbled under my breath as I set my katana in the passenger seat—now doubly thankful for my book-stuffed clutch. Though hopefully the staff wouldn’t search me, or they might ask me why I felt the need to carry a copy of The Abridged Dictionary of Useful Latin.

Killian exchanged a few murmured lines with the driver, then sauntered away, heading straight for the super sketchy warehouse. “Come on, Wizard.”

“This fancy place is seriously in a warehouse? That seems unsanitary.” Grit scratched the bottoms of my heels, and I switched my clutch to my right hand—my dominant hand which would make it easier to bludgeon with—as I hurried after him.

“Just wait,” Killian advised. He yanked a metal side door open—which squealed in protest—and stalked into the inky blackness.