Natural Mage (Magical Mayhem #2)(36)

17





The street lamp behind Reagan outlined the curve of her hips, interrupted by the bulge of her fanny pack. Leather covered her legs, leading down into thick-soled boots. Only a tank top covered her upper body, but she didn’t hug her arms against the chill.

I’d never been so glad to see someone.

“Red, where are you running off to? Aren’t you glad to see me?” she asked, watching him skitter to the back.

Her gaze swung to the two guys at the end of the bar, both larger than her, and both ready for battle.

She didn’t even flinch. “What are you two lug nuts looking at? Sit down before you hurt yourselves. Hey, have any of you— Oh, Penny. There you are.” She sauntered in like she belonged, when she most certainly, without even a question, did not.

Hipster Lumberjack stepped in front of me like we were besties. “We know the vampires did something to her,” he said, refusing to move. “The last thing she needs is help from your kind.”

“Oh yeah?” Reagan said as Broad Face filled the doorway behind her. He wiped blood off his chin, but didn’t advance. He probably didn’t want to be thrown again. “And. What. Kind. Is. That?” Each word was its own threat.

“Blood junkie.”

The bartender reached under the bar for something.

“Trixie, no need to jump to conclusions. I’m just here to pick up my friend,” Reagan said, giving a thumbs-up to the bartender.

“I’m not tryin’ to hate on you, Reagan, but I gotta do my job,” Trixie said. “We both know you have a reputation for ruining bars.”

“That was one time, and it wasn’t even my fault. A Mages’ Guild wannabe started it.” Reagan didn’t elaborate as she turned back to Hipster Lumberjack. “Blood junkie is a derogatory term for a vampire, actually. I’m not the one after the blood, so therefore, I am not a junkie.”

“Trixie, do you need someone to take out the trash?” one of the guys from the corner asked.

“He means me, Trix.” Reagan raised her hand. “I am the trash in this scenario.”

“You’ve got five minutes to settle down, Reagan, and then I gotta throw you out,” Trixie said, shaking her head with a small smile still on her lips.

Reagan nodded. “Sounds good to me. Like I said, I’m just here to pick up my friend. And hopefully have a little libation as I do so.”

“We know the vampires did something to her,” Hipster Lumberjack said, refusing to back off.

“Five minutes, you said?” Reagan asked Trixie.

“Four, now,” Trixie answered.

“Right.” Reagan leveled her gaze at Hipster Lumberjack. “You know what the vampires did to her, do you?”

“Yeah. Look at her.”

“Yes, look at her. Look at the untrained mage who killed four newbie vampires, scared the fifth so badly it cowered from her, and protected a mid-level vamp from one of the oldest vampires who walks the earth. A vampire so old and powerful that she very nearly killed my boyfriend—who is a blood junkie, by the way—and the higher mid-level vampire fighting by his side. If I hadn’t given him my blood just now—which is legal, since I’m magical and also willing—he would’ve perished, I would’ve gone crazy, and you’d all likely be dead. All because no one has ever documented what happens when you force an untrained natural into a life-or-death situation.”

“If she did all that,” Broad Face said, his hands on his hips and his expression sour, “then how come she is in here looking for help?”

“I said she was extremely talented and powerful.” Reagan stepped closer to Hipster Lumberjack, their faces now a foot apart and neither one backing down. “I didn’t say anything about her intelligence level. I mean, seriously. Who runs for their lives in this day and age without at least taking their phone? Wallet-schmallet, you can steal what you need. But a phone? Yeah. You need that. Or, at the very least, a good set of running shoes. Penny, you fail that test, I don’t mind telling you.”

“You got one minute left,” Trixie warned her, pulling out her shotgun.

“I just called Roger,” Red said, emerging from the back. He stayed on that side of the bar. “He’s not too far away. He’s thinking about paying us a visit.”

Reagan stiffened and turned her head, her focus no longer on Hipster Lumberjack. She narrowed her eyes at Red, who flinched before lifting his phone up like a shield.

“I can’t tell if he’s bluffing,” Reagan said softly.

Trixie lowered the gun to the bar, her eyes on Red, too.

Reagan noticed and took a step back. “Come on, Penny, let’s get moving.”

“Afraid of a little muscle, are ya?” someone from the corner table said.

Another one of them snickered. “That’s right, run away, little vamp maggot.”

Reagan swung her gaze in that direction and the taunting cut off.

“Tell Roger that Darius took a beating to keep Penny alive,” Reagan said, and it was clear she was talking to Red. “He’s in this all the way. I’ll be taking over Penny’s training for now, but that means I can’t keep my eye on the city. The Guild is already slipping in. If we don’t start hunting them down soon, we’ll be overrun. The blood junkies have the nights mostly covered, but we could sure use some help during the day.”