CHAPTER TEN
I stood in a pile of burnt rubble on a familiar street. In full battle leathers. Oh yeah, this was my street and my pile of rubble. My house burned down. That’s how I got to the demon realm in the first place. Funny how I’d forgotten that. Priorities shift when you’ve got the fate of five realms on your shoulders.
I extricated myself from the middle of the pile and stood on the sidewalk, the less precarious, less weird place to stand if anyone happened to notice me shimmer in out of fucking nowhere.
Okay, first things first. Why the fuck was I here?
The last time I shimmered without meaning to, it was my magic protecting me. I guess this time the salt flats were still too close. It had to take me all the way to my own realm.
Seemed logical. Right?
I toed a pile of charred beams and siding, a small part of me wishing to find some keepsake, some memento untouched by the fire, however unlikely. I sifted through what I could easily reach, finding nothing but ashes and splinters before finally dusting my hands off and stepping away.
That was my old life.
“Ms. McCaine.”
I tensed at the nasally drawl I’d recognize anywhere. Strega. Figures my landlord would be peeking out his window the moment I teleport in from another fucking plane of existence.
“I was wondering if you or Ms. Dobbs would be back to rummage through the wreckage or, you know, pay your rent.” The man smiled at me through a greasy mustache. His ill-fitting T-shirt stained with last night’s dinner, rode high above the drooping waistline of his pants, letting me see his pasty, doughy middle.
“Not paying rent, Strega, since we’re not living here, and can’t for the foreseeable future. Consider our lease agreement and that other little agreement terminated.”
Strega’s eyes bulged so much I feared they’d fall right out of his head. “You can’t just—we have signed, legal paperwork—I...I...I’ll sue!”
I met the man’s eyes, a man who once seemed like the only viable option, who tried to force me into selling cheap, plastic crystals, and upcharging my loyal clients. A man, who for all intents and purposes was just trying to get ahead any way he could.
A full, wide grin, maybe just this side of too big pulled at my lips. “What are you going to sue me for? Huh? I don’t have any money or assets. I don’t even have any marketable skills with which to acquire money and assets. I’m breaking my lease, Strega, and there’s nothing you can do about it.” I aimed myself down the street but turned back as another idea struck me. “Mind if I give you a little advice?”
Strega’s mouth gaped in the unfortunate impression of a fish.
I barreled ahead anyway. “You’ve got a pretty sweet deal here. You might not think so but with this lot and location, and if you spend your insurance payout well, you could have a great rental, one you could lease for top dollar. Then you wouldn’t have to eke a side-hustle out of your tenants.” I gave the man a hard clap on the shoulder. “Just think about it,” I said and strolled down the sidewalk.
I walked a few blocks down the familiar, tree-lined street, my street, no plan, no wondering about my next move, just enjoying the sunshine on my face and the wind in my hair.
Sticking it to Strega had put a little pep in my step.
I earned a few hard stares, what with the head-to-toe leather outfit, but no one bothered me. Not even when I stopped in the park and plopped into my favorite bench under my favorite cypress tree. Overlooking a duck pond, this end of the park attracted the active elderly. Power-walking around the pond or feeding the ducks, there was always at least one silver-haired retiree about.
Today, I had the place to myself.
I’d come here when I needed to think, needed perspective on a situation. Last time I sat here I was worried about paying the light bill. Things were a lot simpler then.
It had been one catastrophe after another since learning of the demon plane. I’d barely had time to adjust to my new situation, let alone assimilate everything that happened.
Once we defeated the Blood King I’d take some time to myself.
I meandered around the pond, enjoying the sun and air and the respite, and eventually headed down the street toward a favorite cafe. The cute French-style bistro with fancy coffees and warm pastries had been a rare indulgence. Even now, I couldn’t buy anything, I didn’t have a wallet or any money on me, but I could drool through the window. I aimed myself at that bit of yeasty nostalgia and comfort, daydreaming of fresh croissants.
I hadn’t walked far, a few blocks perhaps, when the biggest, reddest, most aggressively over-wheeled Escalade in the world screeched around the corner and pulled to a jerking stop right beside me. I swear to Lillth herself the wheels were the size of actual coffee tables.
The passenger window rolled down and Verrill’s smiling, star-studded eyes greeted me. “Need a ride?”
“What the—how did you find me? And where did you get this monstrosity?”
Verrill smirked and jerked a thumb toward the demon at the wheel. “Callum conjured it. And we followed your shimmer wake.”
“Callum! Why would you conjure the most noticeable car on the planet?”
“I panicked. And I may have watched too many rap videos while I was up here.”
I climbed in as inconspicuously as possible—which is to say, everyone on the block noticed the pink-haired girl getting into a rap mogul’s ride—and settled into the back seat between Raksha and Magda. “The gang’s all here, and it seems you’ve all found your senses again. But I think you two,” I glared at Jadzeera and Sorin in the middle captain’s chairs, “have some explaining to do. What the hell was that all about?”
Sorin set his jaw and Jadzeera turned away, facing front.
“Not in a sharing mood, are we? Well tough shit. I didn’t just have an entire hold’s worth of magic rammed into my body for the two of you to play coy. You’d better explain what this Shifter and Arcane Realm drama is so I know what I’m in for if we lose our connection again.”
A low rumble reverberated in Sorin’s throat.
Callum caught my eye in the rearview, the warning in his cobalt gaze as clear as if he’d spoken.
Don’t press this. Not now.
“Since you’re in such a sharing mood, Zurie, why don’t you do some sharing? Why don’t you tell everyone what you’ve been hiding?” Sorin didn’t look at me as he spoke but his words thickened the air like the threat they were.
“Don’t,” I warned.
The demon turned, slow and with intention, meeting my hard gaze. “It’s no fun picking at wounds, is it?”