Sin & Spirit (Demigod of San Francisco #4)(12)

Magnus could hear the lust ringing through her words. Not to mention she sounded like a cheerleader.

So she hadn’t gotten Kieran in bed yet, but she was well and truly charmed. In only half a day. The child was good. He clearly had gifts aplenty from his slippery, fork-tongued father. That was annoying. It would’ve been so much easier had he been incompetent, leaving that little Spirit Walker wide open for the taking.

“Kieran is looking for training for the girl,” Nancy went on. “She has come quite far, as you can imagine, but she doesn’t know anything about walking in the spirit world. She only knows as much as a Necromancer could teach her, plus what she’s figured out for herself. He asked if I had someone on staff that would take that honored role…”

Magnus nearly laughed. Honored role? Oh yes, the little upstart had a decided way with women. That must’ve been how he’d gotten the nuisance from Sydney to help him with his father.

“I told him I didn’t have the resources with me on this trip,” Nancy continued, “but that I would think about it. He offered a trade, although he wasn’t specific. I got the feeling it was a future favor, and that could be…useful, given his father’s placement in the order of Demigods.”

Magnus shook his head and looked at the ceiling. The kid didn’t have a platform or any alliances. He was stepping into the Demigod arena with a stolen territory. At this moment, he was nothing. It was the girl everyone wanted, but anyone with half a brain knew either Magnus or Aaron had sired her. They wouldn’t stick their noses in until it was clear who they’d make an enemy of, basically, when they moved in to snatch her. That was the only thing giving Magnus a little time to figure out his next move.

It was amazing Nancy had been able to hold her territory for this long. She was as dumb as rocks.

“Give the child someone with a rudimentary knowledge of spirit. Someone that can help just enough to maintain their position, but not so much that they further weaponize her.”

“And the trade?”

He did laugh this time. “Trade for sex, if it pleases you. Otherwise, do this in good faith. A Demigod that puts a mark on his mistress for love is as naive as they come. He’ll think you’re maneuvering for a future alliance.” The gullible made his life so much easier.

In the meantime, he’d send in one of his best, but not in the spirit realm. No, no. He would manage the girl by himself. He needed someone to infiltrate the upstart’s camp. His operation. The very men who were sent to guard him. He needed someone who could move around undetected by even the Spirit Walker. And when the time came, he needed someone good enough to take out the child upstart when he least expected it so Magnus could have full access to the girl.

“There’s one more thing,” Nancy said. She paused.

“Go on,” he barked.

“It wasn’t just her magic I felt in that room. Within my chest, yes, but not swelling around me. She had traces of his magic mixed in with hers, I’m almost positive. They say she took his blood offering, but I’ve never heard of it affecting a person’s magic in such a way. Is that something particular to Hades magic?”

He tapped his fingers against his knee. “No. And you’re sure about this?”

“Yes. Almost positive.”

He paused as his annoyance returned. “Thank you for the information. Send me your choices of tutors. That’ll be all.”

He hung up as she bleated out a question.

Mixing magic was something to do with her type of magic, yes. Something to do with Hades and spirit. But it had nothing to do with sharing blood. No, it came from the sharing of souls.

Memories swirled around him, of a time when he’d been as naive as the upstart. When he’d felt the first sting of love and thought it meant forever. He’d forged a soul connection with the woman, almost by accident. Their magics had entwined, and they’d reveled in sharing each other from within.

Then his greedy son from an ex-lover had set out to tear him down. Tried to take everything that was his, including his lover. When his soul mate had refused the boy’s advances, he’d killed her and her unborn child.

The fires of hell had raged that day, and they’d never been quelled. Not fully. Not even when Magnus had encountered the second sting of love some hundreds of years later. That wild, natural beauty who’d surprised him by quickening his frozen heart. But try as he might, he still couldn’t forget what had happened to him. He’d sworn it would never happen again.

And now here he was.

If we don’t learn from our pasts, what are we?





4





Alexis





Something metallic thunked down on the kitchen island beneath Bria’s cupped hand. Her focus on me was intense as she leaned forward, invading my space. “You heard Nancy—she doesn’t have anyone she can spare. You’re on your own.”

Oh, she was pushing the pocket watch on me again.

I pushed back from the island, still wearing Kieran’s necklace and daydreaming like a lovesick teenager about how I would thank him. So far the options were seduction followed by fervent suction.

Unfortunately, the shadows were just starting to elongate in the afternoon sun—I had a few hours before I’d even get to see him. After I’d reduced the Demigod’s people to mild hysteria, Kieran had given everyone a much-needed break. He’d walked me out to my car, kissed me warmly, told me he loved me, and asked me to wish him luck. It meant he was going to try to get one over on his visitor. I had complete faith in him. One thing he’d inherited from his father was the ability to manipulate. But while everyone had suspected it of Valens, Kieran was still an unknown. None of the experienced Demigods expected him to be smarter than them. It was easier for him to get away with things.