Natural Mage (Magical Mayhem #2)(84)

“It’s not you, it’s his recovering roommate.” Reagan took another sip of her whiskey. “That old vamp is not just healing; Darius thinks she’s headed back into the thick of vampire politics, and based on what he’s read about her—what he thinks is her, anyway, which is what he’s pieced together from myths, legends, and so forth—she was a doozie of a player back in the day. Something he should have figured out before plying her for information and getting buddy-buddy with her. He claims he couldn’t have known it was her in those myths and legends because he’d never seen that side of her.” She made a face. “I’m not sure if I believe him. He hates being wrong. And now look what he’s done.”

“Created an enemy?” Steve asked.

“No. Woken up a vicious mastermind who orchestrated as well as fought in several history-changing cultural movements. He thinks that old broad was a chief instigator in the witch burnings, which took out a lot of her competitors.”

“What does that have to do with me?” I clutched my hoodie, my legs trembling as I thought about Ja, how she’d stalked to the top of the stairs after getting through my magic and two powerful vampires.

“In the future?” Reagan sipped her whiskey. “Nothing at all. She will be Darius’s problem. Well, Darius, Vlad, and all the other powerful elders. She won’t trouble the minions directly. But a vampire who’s been woken up is similar to a newbie. She needs lots of blood and can go a little crazy. He doesn’t want her crazy igniting your crazy and destroying the whole town. We’ve got enough issues. So, for right now, you two need to stay in your respective corners until you level out.”

“Roger won’t like that much at all, either.” Steve narrowed his eyes at Reagan, albeit playfully. “You sure know a lot about vampires.”

“And you are sure slow to pick up on what everyone else already knows.” Reagan nodded toward the door. “Get gone, you two.”

“This is why I don’t like dealing with you,” Red said loudly to Reagan as he skulked into the bar, his fists balled. “We are supposed to be watching and waiting. Not shaking up the whole town!”

“You are supposed to be waiting and watching,” Reagan said, sitting on a stool. “I’m supposed to cause trouble. And look, we each carried out our duties. Cheers to us. Want a drink? I’m buying.”

“I don’t drink, you know that.” Red pulled out his cell phone.

“He’s going to tell on you.” Steve laughed and paid for his beer.

“What else is new?” Reagan watched Red walk to the back. “He probably won’t give me the credit for telling him about one of the super elders being back in action, either.” She shook her head. “Ungrateful.”

“Yeah, he did stand there and soak that right up.” Steve nodded, unconcerned. “I best not tell him any of my secrets.”

“Let’s go,” Emery said, steering me toward the door.

“Why did we agree to come here?” I asked quietly.

“Hindsight,” he answered as we pushed open the door and stepped out into the evening air.





36





Emery monitored their surroundings as best he could, keeping his hand on the small of Penny’s back. She was fucking amazing in the heat of battle, and in the future she’d be unstoppable, but right now she was extremely unpredictable.

Thankfully, Darius had showed his genius in pairing Penny with Reagan. Reagan was just crazy enough to make the situation work. She didn’t seem to want, or need, any sort of plan. She was fast on her feet and could handle close combat like a champ. She also didn’t need to own the show. When Penny had reacted in the bar, Reagan had held back and allowed her to handle it. That spoke of trust and teamwork.

He scanned the way ahead, ignoring the seemingly chaotic but actually quite organized cloud of magic hovering above them—something Penny seemed to collect and hold whenever she got into a situation that made her nervous—and headed toward a grassy area between the split in the road. People loitered in groups, standing and sitting, nowhere to go or maybe just in no hurry to get there. As far as he could tell, they didn’t present a problem to them.

Though…the surroundings looked familiar for some reason.

Adrenaline rolled through him when he spotted the tree from one of his visions about Penny. A patch of weeds rested under the hanging branches, blanketed in shadows.

Not just any foretelling. He’d sensed someone sitting under this tree, waiting for her—to take her back to the Mages’ Guild’s headquarters, probably—not a physical death sentence, but one that would crush her spirit. Based on what he’d heard from Callie, Dizzy, and Reagan, “proper” training would likely do that to her. And the Guild would do a lot more than “properly” train her.

They’d break her.

Was this a base camp of sorts? Close to the bars where magical people hung out, and tucked into a place where vagabonds loitered. It would be the perfect setup for someone who wanted to watch without getting noticed.

“Don’t come this way anymore,” Emery said with a rougher voice than he’d intended. It was his survival voice, the one he used when he was in the wilds, dealing with people who would skin him alive for his possessions if he so much as turned his back.