Demons (Darkness #4)(6)

I groaned. “That didn’t need to be said…”

We backed out to the center of the quiet street, the shape changers all waiting for us.

Tim’s gaze touched mine, tight and serious, before finding Jack. “It was Dom in there. He didn’t make it to his fox form. He was a fast and fearless fighter. No chains or manacles to secure him.”

“How did he get taken so easily? Do your people get manipulated like humans do?” I asked, because that would be a good explanation.

Tim shook his head solemnly.

“I found Phillip,” Ann said quietly. “Killed with a sword. Apparently he was just in the way.”

“The person that called this thing didn’t need two sacrifices—one was enough,” Jonas growled, gaze skewering the decrepit and hulking warehouse in front of us. “Seal this place off, Sasha.”

Him using my name straightened my back and sent tingles down my spine. His eyes, a dark shade of brown with specks of gold, were intense and serious, a spark of fear deep within their depths. That thing in the warehouse had shaken him. Shaken Jonas, the meanest, most fearsome badass in Stefan’s clan.

Not good.

Survival mode washed over me, that glimmer of fear peeking out of Jonas’ stare infusing my courage. I had to stop that thing from getting out. Only seriously bad news could scare Jonas, and only I had the ability to cut it off.

It was not shaping into a good day.

I opened up and let the elements rush in, filling me to capacity, then taking just a bit more. For me, unlike for others, magic shock was a very real issue every single time I used my magic. I couldn’t draw too heavily, or the dam would burst, the elements blasting into my body until my body became overloaded and shut down. So far, that shut down was just for a few hours, or even a day or so. I’d been lucky. Worst case, however, meant that the shutdown would be forever. I had to be careful.

I envisioned placing a huge blanket over that warehouse, draping it in suffocating power. No holes. The weave was water tight. I used mass quantities of earth for the lock, keeping that spell put.

I’d learned a thing or two from Toa. It had given me stress wrinkles, but I was getting somewhere.

As the billowing cloud of magic enveloped the building, I could feel my energy sucking out of my body. I had limitless magic, yes, but like running or lifting something heavy, it took energy. I did not have limitless energy. It was another way things could go wrong.

For all the things I had going for me in the magic world, I had just as many that would result in death if I wasn’t careful. I was forever walking on that razor’s edge.

I reached through my link with Stefan, tugging, needing his special power. The distance softened the connection, lessening his help, but he was with me immediately, balancing the flow. Distributing it.

He was also growing concerned. This was supposed to be a routine stop along his—our—territory. I shouldn’t need his help. That I did would alert him something was wrong.

Gaining a burst of energy, I sprinkled an invisibility charm that would have the eye glancing off of the building should someone wander by. I also tied off this spell, keeping the magic in place. I stepped back, panting with fatigue.

Jonas’ brow had furrowed. “You did more than just disguise it, right?”

I continued my eye-rolling marathon as Tim stalked up, having left with Ann around the building when I started my spell. “Obviously.”

“There’s nothing obvious when you do magic…”

“He was taken down cleanly,” Tim said, glancing around the area.

“What were they doing here?” Jonas asked suspiciously.

“We had notice of a wilder in this location. They came to check it out.”

Jonas and Tim stared at each other for a moment, before Jonas took one more glance at the building and headed back to the car. “C’mon, we gotta let the Boss know.”

A thrill ran through my stomach at the mention of Stefan. As always, I couldn’t wait to get back to him. It was like an extended honeymoon period with him—part of me wanted to just hang out in the same room and stare at him while drool dribbled down my chin.

At the moment, however, unease ate away my longing to touch him. He knew something was wrong, and he wanted me away from whatever it was. Like any alpha male, he was protective and possessive to a fault, wanting to wrap me up in bubble wrap and stow me away from harm. Obviously that was as harebrained as it was impossible, but it didn’t prevent his agitation when he couldn’t protect me.

Scared Jonas on one hand, partially irrational clan leader struggling for control on the other. The day was not getting any better.

As I turned toward the car, Tim said, “We’ll hang on—I want to see to Phillip’s remains.”

Jonas nodded and motioned for me to hurry up and get in the car.

“Alright, this is your time to assert yourself,” Jonas coached as he started driving. “This is an important and valid discovery that you made.”

“We did it together—”

“You are the Black Mage, which means you technically led this expedition. You are in charge—”

“Which no one can tell since you constantly bully me.”

“—and you need to demonstrate that if the Boss has people around him. You need to start showing that you pull rank with everyone but the Boss. Got it?”