The Bone Coven Chronicles: The Complete Series Page 26

  “Turns out a dead body is bad for business.” Laura sighed and slouched against the bar top. Not even a single drink sat on top of the worn surface, a first for Blue Moon Tavern. Even on a quiet night, back before word got out about the two witches who worked here, there’d always been a cluster of regulars who would pop by.

  Tonight, not a single human soul had walked through the door.

  “This is bad,” I said, glancing at the empty tip jar. While the Enforcer salary was enough to cover rent, I needed the extra income from the bar to cover all the other bills. Boston wasn’t exactly a cheap place to live. “Rent is coming up next week, and I was counting on tips to help cover it.”

  “We’ll figure something out,” Laura said.

  Overhead, another howl split through the night, and I closed my eyes against the sound. “Right. There’s no reason for both of us to be here. I’m going to go train with Dorian before I take care of Juno’s demon problem. Maybe if I convince her the demon isn’t real, she’ll get that dog to stop howling. Feel free to close up shop when you see fit. And Anastasia? Don’t you dare fuck with my friend.”

  Dorian’s basement apartment was warded tight against everyone except for me. Because the magic worked better than locks, he kept the place open at all times in case I ever needed somewhere to hide. And tonight, it meant I slipped inside unnoticed. He sat in his desk chair, leaning back with his eyes closed, shadows playing across his strong jaw. Even like this, Dorian had a presence about him, strong and powerful. Invincible.

  “You’re early,” he said without opening his eyes. “To be honest, I wasn’t even sure you’d show tonight.”

  “The bar was empty. No one wants to go drinking where someone allegedly got murdered.” I moved to his side, perching on the edge of his desk. All across the surface, books and papers fought for space, and a worn leather journal caught my eye. Was that Dorian’s? If so, what had he scrawled across the lines to put him in such a thoughtful trance? I reached for the book, but his hand shot out to stop me.

  “That’s not for your eyes.” He sat up and closed the book, slipping it into the bottom drawer of his desk. “Are the cops not convinced by the prank story?”

  “They were. Bought it hook, line, and sinker,” I said. “But you know how rumors are. Hard to cut off the head of a snake when it keeps growing back even bigger and badder. To be honest with you, I’m a little worried. We can’t afford to lose the money.”

  “I’m sure it will be fine once things die down.” He stood and stretched, and my gaze caught on the hard planes of his stomach. Swallowing hard, I tried to pull my eyes away, but it was as if they’d been glued to his abs.

  Dorian grabbed his dagger and twirled it in his fingers. “So, what would you like to work on today? A bone spell or some physical combat?”

  I raised my eyebrows. “What happened to your insistence on practicing shadow magic?”

  “I think it’s a waste of time to work on that when you’re resisting it so much,” he said. “So, we’ll focus on something else until you’re ready.”

  “I’m never going to be ready, Dorian,” I said, repeating the words I’d said at least a dozen times. “It scares me, Dorian. You know I don't want to give into that side of me.”

  “I know, and I appreciate that,” he said. “But there are going to be times when we're up against something that you can't handle without it. Better safe than sorry.”

  Better safe than sorry. His words echoed in my ears. Little did he know that they meant the opposite to me than they did to him. In my world, better safe than sorry meant never using my shadow magic. For anything. Doing so brought out the worst in me, causing dangerous thoughts and feelings to flicker inside my soul. The last time I’d given into my magic, I’d killed a warlock. Granted, he’d been murdering people and trying to destroy the veil as we know it, but still. I wasn’t a killer, and I never wanted to come close to doing anything like that ever again.

  That meant not using my magic. Because every time I did, it invited the darkness inside of me to rise up like a snake about to strike.

  Dorian must have seen the look on my face because he tucked his finger underneath my chin, his face softening. “Don’t look so worried. You’re in control of your magic. Not the other way around, remember?”

  Easy for you to say, I thought, though deep down I knew that wasn’t the case at all. Dorian knew what it felt like to wrestle with the demons within rather than the demons without. I couldn’t imagine how hard it was for him to stay in control of his cravings. The animal blood bags he used for food could never fully satisfy him, but he refused to ever feed on anything more.

  “Besides, as Enforcers, sometimes we have to do the difficult thing,” Dorian continued. “He was destroying the veil. He had demons bound to him, following his every command. Did it ever occur to you that killing Vincent was the right thing to do?”

  “Maybe it was.” I shrugged. “Maybe it wasn’t. The problem is that it wasn’t my choice. I didn’t decide to kill him. My shadow magic did.”

  “The thing is, Zoe.” Dorian stepped close and wrapped a hand around the back of my neck. His thumb swept circles along the fake mark on my collarbone, sending shockwaves of pleasure through my core. “If anyone can master that kind of magic, it’s you. But I won’t push you anymore. When you decide you’re ready, just let me know.”

  With that, he pulled away and left me reeling with a need I didn’t know I had. A need to feel his cool hand on my skin. A need to feel his embrace once again. My head was dizzy, and my throat felt raw. Hell, I wasn’t entirely sure I could even breathe.

  But Dorian didn’t give me a chance to test my lungs. He whipped out his dagger and began moving with a frightening speed. All I could do was react, letting all these months of training take over my body. I blocked his attack and responded with one of my own, my leg kicking out at his knee. We went on like that for an hour, and by the end of our session, sweat coated every inch of me but not for the reason I really wanted.

  “Again?” Dorian asked after I’d taken a long gulp of water.

  “Not tonight,” I said, glancing at my watch. Juno would be heading to her shop to meet me right about now, and I couldn’t let her down. “I have somewhere I need to be.”

  “Where are you going?” Dorian asked with a frown. “It’s midnight.”

  I took another swig of water to give me time to think. A few months ago, I would have made up an excuse, a lie to hide the reality of my life. Because I knew how Dorian would react when he found out where I was headed. He’d think two things. One: that I was back to my old ways, conning an innocent human for a wad of cash. Two: that this was far too dangerous, in the off-chance the demon was real.

  But I was done lying to Dorian, to my grandmother, and to Laura. Sometimes the truth was scary to spit out, but it was far past time to stop being a fucking coward.

  “Don’t freak out,” I said, holding up my hands.

  His lips quirked. “When you say something like that, it doesn’t exactly inspire a lot of confidence, Zoe.”

  “Well, just hear me out before you go conjuring up worst case scenarios here. The girl who lives above the bar asked me to look into a potential demon situation where she works. She said there’s been a couple of attacks. No one has died, but a man got sent to the hospital.”

  Dorian’s face clouded over. With a harsh laugh, he shook his head and backed away from me, his lips twisted into a scowl. “I can’t believe it. The second you smell money trouble, and you’re off conning people again. You couldn’t even wait to see how this thing shakes out? Just because you had one bad night at the bar doesn’t mean that everything is going to go belly up. Not to mention the fact you still have your Enforcer salary.”

  I curled my hands into fists. “For once, I wish you wouldn’t expect the worst from me.”

  “Tell me I’m wrong, Zoe.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Tell me you’re not worried about money.”

  “Of course I’m wor
ried about money. I’ve always been worried.” Sighing, I shook my head. While I wasn’t surprised by his reaction, it didn’t change the fact that it hurt. I’d thought we’d gotten past this, him and me. “Not to mention the fact that the Enforcer salary is a bit of a joke.”

  He flinched, as if I’d slapped him. “I can’t believe you would say that. After everything I’ve done to help you, you’d just dismiss the job like it means nothing to you.”

  Dorian turned and began to stalk away, his muscles tense and his spine straight. My heart lurched in my chest, and I reached out to stop him, my fingers barely grazing his skin. His arm felt cold and hard to the touch, a stark reminder that he was far more than met the eye. He was a vampire, but he was still one of the best people in the world I’d ever met.

  And I hated that he still didn’t trust me.

  “Wait,” I said, my voice barely a whisper. “Come with me. See for yourself. I’m not conning anyone.”

  He paused and turned on his heels, his eyes focused hard on the wall behind me. “How will that prove anything?”

  “You followed me around for months. You know what my cons look like,” I said, recalling the way I’d passed him time after time when I’d been out doing my cases. At first, I’d thought our random encounters had been just that. Random coincidences. But, in fact, he’d been following me the entire time, on the orders of the Lead Enforcer who had turned out to be seeking a way to bind demons to his soul.

  “Maybe so. I did follow you for a long-ass time,” he said grudgingly as his eyes flicked to my face. A flash of pain went across his rugged features before he finally gave me a nod. “I’m sorry, Zoe. For leading Vincent to you. If I could go back in time and reverse it, I would.”

  “I wouldn’t,” I said. “It led me to…well, this new life, I guess you could say. And I happen to like my new life.”

  I’d almost said, it led me to you. But not only did that sound impossibly cheesy, it sounded like I was falling for the guy. And I couldn’t very well let Dorian Kostas think that. He was my partner and my trainer, and that was that. Sure, we’d shared some fairly close calls in the intimacy department, but they’d always been due to some intervening circumstances. Like the time I had a sip of the vampire elixir. And when I drank his blood to heal. Both times, I’d felt an intense charge between us, but I knew it hadn’t been real.

  I couldn’t have feelings for Dorian Kostas. None whatsoever. Because he didn’t have feelings for me.

  And I refused to entertain any thoughts otherwise.

  “If you like this life, then show me you want to actually keep it,” Dorian said. Even though his tone was harsh, there was a light in his eye I recognized. Inviting him to come along must have been evidence enough that I wasn’t planning to con Juno. “Where does this girl work?”

  “At a mechanic’s shop downtown near the bridge.” I hefted my bag onto my shoulder and patted my ever-present dagger hidden underneath my black shirt. “Let’s go.”

  Chapter 7

  Juno stood outside of the auto repair shop waiting for us, arms hugging her chest as the winter wind whipped her red hair around her uniform-clad shoulders. As we approached her, I scanned her pale face, searching for the signs that Dorian had been teaching me. First, her eyes. They were wide and slightly dilated. That was the first check in the demon column. Then, her forehead. Even though she shivered in her short-sleeved mechanic shirt, she had a slight sheen of sweat glistening on her skin. Another demon column check. And then there were the hairs on her arms, all standing to attention like soldiers preparing for battle.

  I glanced at Dorian. His lips were set in a grim line, and he slid the bone chalk from his pocket. So, he’d come to the same conclusion I had. Juno showed all the signs of a recent encounter with a demon. That didn’t necessarily confirm anything, but the fear displays were enough to suggest we should approach this with caution.

  “Is this the vampire partner?” Juno asked, her voice hitching on the last word as she stared up at Dorian’s tall and bulky frame. So, Nathan really had been sharing information with her. A lot of information. I wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about that. While I didn’t mind her knowing about my own connection to the coven, I didn’t want too much attention directed toward Dorian’s vampire nature. The council knew but most of the coven members didn’t. If word got out, life could get extremely difficult for him.

  People tended to jump to the worst conclusion about vampires. I knew that from first-hand experience.

  “This is Dorian Kostas,” I said. “He’s my partner and one of the best warlocks I’ve met.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dorian lift his chin at my words.

  “Well, thanks for coming, Zoe,” Juno shifted on her feet, still frowning at Dorian. “I’m getting to the point where I don’t want to be in there anymore. I came by earlier to get some work done on a car, but the thing lunged at me.”

  “How did you get away?” Dorian pulled a notepad from his back pocket and jotted down a comment, something I’d noticed he liked to do, even though he rarely consulted what he wrote later.

  “I ran my ass off.” Juno’s back went stiff as she glanced at the steel building behind her, the garage shuttered by thick metal doors. “I actually thought it would follow me outside, and that I would accidentally let loose a demon on the entire population. But I think it’s still in there?”

  I nodded. “Demons are confined to the buildings where they’re summoned. The four walls act as barriers in a way. Are you sure you haven’t seen a rune anywhere inside the shop?”

  “That drawing thing you showed me?” She shook her head. “All I’ve seen is a dark winged shadow. It’s like the Smoke Monster on Lost, only this one is a hell of a lot scarier.”

  “Wait.” Dorian snapped the notebook shut. “You can see it?”

  “Yeah, why?” Juno glanced from me to Dorian, her eyes widening. “Is that bad?”

  “It’s…unusual.” While a demon’s physical form was always visible to supernaturals, like Dorian and I, they stayed cloaked and hidden to humans and most animals. So, the fact that this one was visible to Juno? Well, it was strange, to say the least.

  “Have you come into any contact with vampires recently?” Dorian asked, his voice edged in unease. I knew what he was asking, and the same thought had popped into my head as well. For Juno to see a demon, perhaps something had happened to her, something she didn’t quite understand yet. While Daywalkers couldn’t turn a human into a vampire, Nosferatu could. And while none currently lived in the States, that we knew of, there was a first time for everything.

  Juno shivered as the wind continued to whip around us. She held a wrench tight in her fists, clinging on to the steel like it was a lifeline. “You’re the first vampire I’ve ever met. As far as I know, anyway. After talking to Nathan, I’m starting to think there’s a lot more going on in the world than I ever realized.”

  “So, you haven’t met anyone odd lately? Someone who might have bit you?” I asked. “Any strange encounters? Hours that might be missing from your memory?”

  “The strangest encounters I’ve had lately have been with you guys who work at the bar. Laura, Nathan, you. And the demon, of course. Sometimes, I kind of wish I’d never moved into that damn apartment.”

  “Great, thanks,” I said, though I knew I shouldn’t take her words to heart. Three months ago, Juno had been living a fairly normal life. She hadn’t been aware of the supernatural world, and she didn’t have demons attacking people in her shop. I couldn’t blame her for wanting to go back to the way things used to be, to when she was still blissfully unaware of the magical underbelly of the world.

  Because if we didn’t get rid of this demon, that underbelly could rise up and kill her.

  “We can worry about the how after we’ve completed the banishment,” Dorian said after a moment’s silence. “Where in the shop is it?”

  Juno twisted the wrench in her hands. “I’ll show you.”

  “Not so f
ast. You need to stay out here.” Dorian dropped his hand on her shoulder to stop her from going inside the building, and she jumped back with a loud gasp. Flinching, Dorian removed his hand and pressed his lips together. Clearly, Juno wasn’t comfortable with Dorian’s presence, even though his vampire nature had been a curse and nothing more. As a human, she probably didn’t understand the difference.

  “It’s alright.” With a soft smile, I edged between them. “This demon is very dangerous. We need you to stay out here while we take care of it.”

  “I have to admit, that’s a massive relief,” she said with a tight laugh. “After the way it lunged at me earlier, I’ve been terrified to go back inside.”

  “Totally understandable,” I said with a nod. “Now, where did you last see it?”

  “Just inside the garage here. That’s where I’ve always seen it,” she said, jerking her thumb toward the thick metal doors. “Are you sure you don’t want me to pay you?”

  “No, like I said before, this one is on me.”

  I expected Dorian to roll his eyes, but he wrapped his hand around my arm and squeezed. Something about his touch made my belly warm, like a soothing heat had filled my soul. I wanted to lean into him, turn to meet his eyes, feel his touch deepen even more. But his fingers fell from my skin, leaving me as cold as the winter wind.

  “Alright.” I cleared my throat and pulled the dagger from my sheath. “We’ll be back in a few minutes. This shouldn’t take very long.”

  Juno widened her eyes at the sight of the blade, but I figured she’d seen scarier things by this point. And even though my dagger did little to a demon on its own, holding it in my palm strengthened my power. It was an extension of my magic, and it intensified any spell I cast. Not to mention, I always felt a hell of a lot more capable when I had the weapon in my hands. As long as I kept it close, I could take on anything and anyone, especially since Dorian and I had worked for hours on hand-to-hand combat.

  When we reached the building, Dorian leaned down to grab the door. He lifted it from the ground, rolling up the rattling metal. It screeched when it slid to a stop, and the two of us peered into the shop. Inside the bay, various vehicles sat on lifts and ramps. Hoses dangled from the ceiling and workbenches lined the walls. Spare auto parts decorated the oil-stained ground while an oscillating fan spun in lazy circles overhead, shooting across a cool breeze that carried the scent of gasoline, metal, and rust.