Raised in Fire (Page 28)

The empty staircase beckoned, closed in by walls. If someone at the top started throwing down spells, this would be a bad situation for me.

I waved Darius back, knowing he’d be in my way if I had to retreat. Also knowing that, in his current state, he’d be more likely to put himself in harm’s way in a futile attempt to protect me.

He probably hated this strange situation in which he found himself.

A loud pop made me flinch. I clutched my sword tighter, ready. A few more pops burst forth like gunfire, followed by a painful groan. Just the house shifting.

Breath now coming in fast pants, I increased my pace lest I suffer cardiac arrest. Nearly to the top, and the roar of a Harley thundered past the house and up the street. I paused, wondering if someone would pop out under the cover of the noise. I would’ve.

All was still.

I was starting to suspect he wasn’t home.

I stepped onto the top step and paused. Four doors awaited me on the second floor, two standing open. One of the closed doors was narrower than the others, denoting a hall closet or something similar. Being that I saw the edge of a toilet through one of the open doors, I suspected this place was a two-bedroom.

Ignoring the bathroom, I walked slowly toward the other open room. I needed to keep my calm and not blast his face with fire. Given that my split-second reactions were always incredibly violent, which had kept me alive so far, my goal of composure was easier made than kept.

I brushed my fingers against the wood, pushing the door open slowly. It swung on well-oiled hinges. A bed came into view, neatly made. A dresser stood against the wall, its top bare. The nightstand next to the bed had a bare top as well. This was a guest room, and clearly not lived in.

The last door awaited me. So did the vampire standing next to it, looking at me like I was going into the snake pit and he did not approve.

“Shoo,” I mouthed, and motioned for him to get away. I had enough to worry about without his vampiric protective malfunction tripping me up. “Go!” I waved at him again until he grudgingly moved to the side.

The deep breath I took didn’t still my raging heart. Adrenaline surged within me, preparing me for a showdown. Making me want to kick the door open with guns blazing, ready to take the O.K. Corral. I was not a subtle person.

I wrapped my fingers around the doorknob and held my breath as I turned it. The latch clicked and I froze. No sound issued from within. I slowly pushed open the door. The bottom rubbed against something. A rug.

That sound would be heard.

I threw the door open the rest of the way and jumped into the room, my sword drawn in front of me, ready to cut through a hex. Something leapt out from the right, streaking through the air. A wall of fire roared in front of me. I hadn’t meant to summon it. A spire of flame shot out, raking across the back of something small and headed straight for me. I hadn’t meant to summon that, either. The thing screeched and darted away, its tail on fire. I cut out all the flame, getting a grip, just in time to see the creature disappear under the bed.

Chapter Eighteen

I stalked forward and swept my gaze across the room. The rumpled covers indicated someone had slept there last night, but it was currently empty. Small artifacts littered the dresser and one of two nightstands. He was single and often slept alone. Somewhat neat, but not anal about it.

My boots creaked as I sank down onto my haunches, trying to see whatever had darted under the bed.

As if hearing my unspoken question, Darius said, “It was a cat.”

I pulled in a breath. “That thing jumping at me was a cat?”

“Yes. You firebombed a kitty.”

“Crap. What kind of a monster sets fire to a cat?” I grimaced and got on my hands and knees. “Are you sure? I don’t want some creature that you mistakenly thought was a cat to dart out at my face.”

“I am sure, yes. It was a black cat.”

I crawled a little closer, searching for it. The smell of burned hair tickled my nose, making me potentially feel worse. Potentially, because I wasn’t fully convinced it was an actual cat, and not some vile thing with three rows of teeth that the mage had found lurking in the wilds of the Realm. I’d seen some crazy things in my life.

A lump much too close to my face shuddered and hissed. Something flung out at me. I jerked back. Flame roared in front of my face again, blocking anything from advancing.

“Of all the things to fear, a cat gets you jumpy?” Darius asked with humor ringing in his voice.

I sighed and ripped down the wall of fire. “Are you positive it’s a cat? I think it threw something at me.”

Darius was hunched behind me, looking under the bed. “It struck out with its paw. When you first opened the door, it was trying to get out of the room. You stopped it handily. And now it is afraid of you. Rightly so.”

“At least it’s alive.” I took a deep breath and sat back. “Well, this makes me an asshole.”

“Yes. Get out of the way. I’ll bring it out.”

I scooted to the side. “Vampires aren’t afraid of cats?”

“Why would my kind fear a defenseless animal?”

“Well, when you put it like that…” I stood as he somehow coaxed the animal out from under the bed. He cuddled it in his arms, stroking its black head. “So, you actually like cats. Huh. The things you learn.”

“I like ordinary cats, yes.”

“As opposed to?”

“Cat shifters.”

“Right.” I peered closer, trying to see if I should doctor its butt. Its hiss had me backing up again.

“This animal will likely never trust you again.” Darius took it toward the door, looking it over. “The burns are mild. Had she been a human, you would’ve done very little damage.”

“That was the point. I wasn’t trying to kill him, remember? I bet he would’ve pissed his pants, though.” I took a deep breath and rubbed my chest where my heart was slowing. “The fire treated the cat like I’d meant to treat the guy, so that’s good. But I didn’t mean to do that. I thought I was better at controlling my fire, but clearly I’m not great when it comes to blind reactions.”

“You are on the doorstep of mastery. More practice and you’ll be able to control your power in both situations.” Darius stepped through the door. “Since the mage is clearly not home, I will doctor this animal while you figure out what other poor, defenseless creature to bully next.”

“It jumped at me! That is hardly my fault.” I frowned as Darius moved away. I doubted I’d live that one down anytime soon.

I fired off a quick text to Callie, asking if they had anything. As I waited for a reply, I approached the mage’s dresser, looking through the items on top. Loose change, a wadded-up tissue (which I didn’t touch), and a tube of lip balm. His nightstand had a bottle of water, a book with a bunch of dog-eared pages, and an alarm clock. The first drawer held supplies for alone time, including a bottle of lotion. The other drawers were filled with all street clothes.

His closet was divided into two sections. The first was what I’d suspect—hanging clothes, including some robes, all black except for a red one. The other half of the closet was taken up by plastic shelving.

A grin pulled at my lips.

Each shelf was stacked with several small tubs, all labeled with various kinds of spells or ingredients. I glanced over the ingredients first, finding a couple of rare ones that Callie and Dizzy would love to have. Those I pulled out and placed on the ground.

Next I pored over the spell casings, grinning harder when I saw the powerful ones at the bottom were labeled with the Latin incantations needed to unleash them. Oh, mages and their elitist use of Latin. It made using stolen spells so easy. Had it been French, or German, I would’ve been lost.

I pulled out all the tubs of spells. I’d be relieving him of his hard work. Assuming he was guilty, of course. If he wasn’t guilty…well, I’d only steal a little off the top. Old habits died hard.

“The kitten will be okay,” Darius said, re-entering the room sans cat. He looked down at the items I was collecting. “He is organized. Did he make all of those?”

“There are one or two that feel a little off compared to the others, but I’d say he made most of them. He might be a disgusting murderer, but he seems highly experienced. He’s been at the mage trade for a while.”

“Is there anything to suggest he is the one calling the demons?”

“Not yet. But I’ve only searched one room. I have a whole house to go.” Excitement ran through me. “I love rifling through people’s things. It’s a personality flaw I don’t apologize for.”

“You should.” Darius bent over the spells, reading the labels. He took a few of each, tucking them into the hyper-organized satchel he wore whenever we were on the job.

I quickly rifled through the spare room, but my original assessment had been right. It was barren of interesting things. The bathroom wasn’t intriguing, either.

Back downstairs, I was just starting to look around when my phone buzzed. Callie. We’re getting a lot of shifty eyes. Most people seem to know something, but no one wants to talk. It reeks of the guild. They have their corrupt paws all over this town, the filthy bastards.

Keep at it, I texted back. Just remember—low profile.