Cold Burn of Magic(11)

Felix winked at me, then wandered on, continuing with his aimless browsing. I wondered what Devon had done to get him to come here. Birthday present shopping for your friend’s mom wasn’t exactly a big male bonding ritual. Or maybe they were going to go flirt with the tourist girls over at the Midway after this. Yeah, I could totally see Felix doing that.

Ashley gave me another suspicious look. “Come on. I saw some antique perfume bottles. Maybe your mom would like one of those.”

Devon nodded at me again, then moved off with her. I wondered if he realized that Ashley was doing the smart thing and steering him away from me, a total, and perhaps dangerous, stranger. I stayed where I was and watched them, but they continued with their browsing, so I looked out through the windows at the front of the store.

People moved back and forth, in and out of my line of sight, as they roamed from shop to shop, through the park, past the food carts, and from one side of the square to the other. In the distance, the fountain kept spewing water. A few of the tourists were taking photos of it. Of course they were. I rolled my eyes.

Everything was perfectly normal—until a guy stopped at the windows and peered into the shop.

At first, I thought he was examining the wooden pixie houses that Mo had set up in the windows like birdfeeders. Then I realized the guy was looking past the houses and deeper into the store. Nothing unusual about that—except he was staring straight at Devon.

I straightened up, dropped my hand to my belt, and rubbed my fingers over one of the stars hooked to the leather. The throwing star was small and thin, but it was made out of bloodiron, and it would cut through anything—or anyone.

I didn’t have to use my Talent for sight to know I didn’t like the look of the guy outside. But I didn’t pull out one of my throwing stars. I had no desire to get into a fight with Ashley, the bodyguard, because she mistakenly thought I was a threat to her charges.

The guy watched Devon for several seconds before his gaze moved over the rest of the shop. Whatever he saw must have satisfied him, because he stepped out of sight of the windows.

In the store, Felix kept right on with his relentless rambling. Ashley was still standing next to Devon, but she was staring down at a perfume bottle on top of the counter instead of keeping an eye out for trouble. I stayed where I was, my hand on my belt, watching the windows and wondering what the guy outside was up to.

A second later, he reappeared, pulled open the front door, and strode inside.

But he wasn’t alone.

Four other guys stormed into the shop behind him—all armed with swords.





CHAPTER FOUR


The mystery man reached Felix first, since he was the closest to the door. He rammed his fist into Felix’s face, and Felix dropped like a stone to the floor, unconscious. My eyes narrowed. The guy had to have some serious training to swat at Felix like he was a fly and get that kind of immediate result.

“Felix!” Ashley screamed, drawing her sword.

She charged at the mystery man, who pointed his finger at her, a clear signal that he wanted her out of the way. Two of the other men rushed past him to engage her.

Ashley raised her sword and whirled first one way, then the other, lashing out at the men with smooth, precise strikes and holding them at bay.

Devon’s eyes widened with surprise for a second before his gaze sharpened, coolly assessing the situation—and the danger. He glanced down at the counter, as if he was thinking about picking up one of the perfume bottles and using it as a weapon. After a few seconds, he glared at the glass, as though the bottles had disappointed him by being too delicate and fragile to hurt someone with. A determined look settled on his face, and Devon stepped forward and opened his mouth—

A third man came up on his blind side and wrapped his hand around Devon’s throat, squeezing tight and cutting off whatever he’d been about to say. I thought the man might go ahead and choke Devon to death, or snap his neck, but he stood there and maintained his grip.

Devon punched and punched the man, driving his fists into his attacker’s stomach over and over again, but the hard blows didn’t seem to bother the other man, and the guy kept his death grip on Devon’s throat. He must have had some sort of strength Talent that let him ignore punches like that, any one of which would have made another man let go and gasp for air.

Me? I stayed where I was. Not because I was shocked, frozen, or scared by what was happening, but because I had absolutely no plans to get involved. None. Zip. Zilch. Zero.

This seemed to be a dispute between the Families, an ambush assassination attempt that was probably in retaliation for something that someone else higher up on the food chain had done. Devon and Felix were just unlucky enough to have gotten caught in the middle of some Family feud, with Ashley along as collateral damage. It happened all the time in Cloudburst Falls. Folks like the Draconis were always plotting against the other Families, especially the ones they perceived as threats, or worse, competition for magic, money, and power.

Oh no. I didn’t want any part of this. My mom had been the bodyguard—not me. Time and time again, she had risked herself for some rich Family schmuck and had gotten little in return. And when she’d had problems, when she’d been the one in danger, when she’d needed protection, no one had helped her. No one had given a damn about her, despite all the times she had saved their miserable lives.

So, no, I wasn’t going to risk myself for these strangers—no way.