CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Myra
The fog that rolled in as I closed up the bar gave an ominous atmosphere to an already ominous evening—and it was far from over yet. “So, this witch,” I asked as I locked the door, “who is she?”
“You’ve never heard of Maimee?” he asked with genuine surprise.
“Wouldn’t be asking if I had.” I felt his sideward glance on my face but kept my eyes on the horizon as we walked eastward through the Playground.
“She’s rather notorious, for good reason—and an excellent cautionary tale about what too much power can do to the mind.
” Silence followed his sentiment for longer than seemed dramatically necessary, and I nearly ribbed him with my elbow to spur him on.
“Her questionable habits are what earned her spot in this neighborhood.”
“Those habits would need to be pretty questionable to make you notorious around these parts.”
“Cannibalism is taboo by both human and supernatural standards, love, but doing it to gain longevity is especially impermissible. Her coven tried to eliminate her and failed because she’d amassed too much power over those ill-gotten years to be taken out, but collectively, they were able to banish her to the Devil’s Playground.
Argo keeps her on a tight leash to avoid ‘problems’,” he explained while I just stood there gobsmacked.
“Do you… do you think she ate your sister?” I asked as the potential of that having happened made me gag.
“Jemma is too strong for her to have even tried.”
“But you said too much power fucks with your head. Maybe that’s exactly why she would have tried.”
“I would know if she was dead,” he said with such confidence that I almost believed him. But as strong as sibling bonds could be, I knew they were not absolute, and wishful thinking didn’t change that fact—though it seemed cruel to point that out when he clearly needed to believe she was alive.
Instead, I changed the subject. “Have you heard any rumblings about Damian?”
“No. Why?”
“Because I want to know it’s safe to even go into Demon’s Horn after what we did to Damian, and I don’t fully trust your arrogance in the matter.”
“You mean what you did to Damian?” he said, the corner of his mouth quirking upward as he corrected me. “It doesn't really matter if it’s safe or not. We’re going regardless because I need whatever information the witch has. Everything else is secondary to that.”
“Like my safety… my life…”
“No need to worry about those,” he said, as though they were trivial things. “They’ll be secure if you’re with me. Maimee wouldn’t dare challenge what’s mine.”
“What’s yours?” I repeated, letting every ounce of incredulity I felt bleed into my tone. He just looked at me like he didn’t see any problem with his statement. “Tell me something, Yael: what’s it like to have that level of audacity?”
He didn’t even pause for a beat to consider the question. “Normal. Why?”
I sighed heavily and kept walking. “Oh, to have a dick and a dream—”
“You’re welcome to mine if you need one.”
“Which? The dick or the dream?”
“The former. Or both.”
“You might want to be more specific about the terms before you offer it up like that,” I said as I shot him an incredulous look. “I thought the fae knew the importance of phrasing better than anyone.”
“Believe me, love, once you see it, there’s only one thing you’ll want to do with it.”
“Once I see it? I think you mean if, and let’s be honest, even that’s a stretch,” I countered as thoughts of what I imagined Yael would look like completely naked flashed reflexively through my mind.
It took a moment before I could see past them to my hatred for him and continue my rebuttal.
“And I highly doubt there’s only one thing I’d want to do with it.
I can think of several I’d enjoy just off the top of my head, none of which you would appreciate. I promise.”
He turned and grinned at me, a wicked sparkle in his eyes. “I guess we’ll have to see about that.”
“Make sure you save some of that unwarranted confidence for the witch,” I said in a flat tone. “We might need it.”
“My confidence isn’t unwarranted in any capacity,” he said, that annoying grin still firmly in place. “I promise.” Knowing any response would only fuel him further, I buried my hands in my jacket pockets and kept my mouth shut as we walked deeper into Demon’s Horn.
I hadn’t thought much about what had gone haywire with Damian the night before, mainly because it had taken hours to stop the images of his head exploding from looping in my brain.
But with nothing but silence and impending doom surrounding me as we neared our destination, I couldn’t help but consider what had gone so terribly wrong—and if it would again.
Nothing about the compulsion I’d pressed into him or my power in general should have made anything like that happen, which meant some kind of external force must have been at play, but what? And why? And how?
All excellent questions I had no way of answering.
“Penny for your thoughts, little mermaid.”
“Trust me, you don’t want them.”
“Fine, but you need to get your head on straight. We’re almost there.
” I looked up to see a shop on the corner at the end of the block, illuminated only by a few candles in the window.
There was no sign or identifying marker, but somehow I knew that was where we’d find our witch.
“I feel like this goes without saying, given what I told you, but you might want to make sure you keep some distance between you and Maimee until it’s time to use your gift. ”
“Um… you said I’d be safe with you.”
“And you will. But that doesn’t mean she won’t try to take a little bite.” Before I could begin the rant building up inside me, he opened the door to the creepy little shop and gestured for me to walk in uninvited. “After you.”
“Absolutely the fuck not,” I replied, digging in my heels. “You go first. I insist.”
His wicked smile returned as he stepped through the doorway into the dimly lit space. I followed close behind because pride be damned; I had no intention of getting mauled by the witch.
A quick scan of the place didn’t reveal much.
A small round table was tucked away in the corner with a crystal ball in the center of the black velvet tablecloth like a clichéd fortune teller setup.
There was a busted-up counter with an antique cash register in another corner, with three small terrariums next to it filled with plants that had clearly seen better days.
Thick dust coated the space, as though nobody had been there in years.
I opened my mouth to ask Yael if he was sure this was the right place, but a rustling sounded to my left just before what I’d thought was a closet door opened up.
Through it walked a beautiful older woman with flowing silver hair and a smile that beckoned me to her as she crossed the room to stand behind the counter.
“Yael Kristoris,” she said in a melodic voice, “what a pleasant surprise. Tell me, what brings you to my humble home?”
“My sister,” he said, unflinching. “I recently learned that she came to you the night she disappeared, and I want to know why that was.”
“Why she came to me or why she disappeared?” the witch asked, her keen gaze sharp as a blade as she stared him down.
“Do not test me, Maimee. I promise I will make you wish you hadn’t.”
Silence.
“Your sister’s movements and motives are not mine to know,” she said, doubling down on her insubordination.
“And yet I suspect you know them anyway,” he countered as he crossed the room. “Last chance for you to give me what I’ve asked for the easy way.”
“But you and I both know that the easy way is never easy here. The only path in the Playground is that of most resistance.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I grumbled, “does this bitch always talk in circles? Because it’s supremely annoying.”
As if realizing I was there for the first time, Maimee turned her eerily pale blue eyes to me and stared like she was trying to sever my soul from my body. “Who is this delicious creature you've brought me?” she asked as she came out from behind the counter. “Something to sweeten this exchange?”
I held steadfast as she walked toward me slowly, waiting for her to get within arm’s reach.
We’d only been there a couple minutes, and I was already over the whole thing; I wanted to get what we came for and get out.
She was creepy as hell, and I had zero interest in spending a second longer than necessary there.
“Come closer, dear girl,” she said with a warm smile that directly contrasted her intense gaze. “I won’t bite.”
I hesitated, considering Yael’s warning as I tried to figure out how I could touch her without issue. And in a blink, the old bitch shot toward me and sank her teeth into my flesh.
“Ow!” I screamed, trying to wrench myself free. Glass shattered as the dead plants sprang to life and shot toward Maimee, wrapping around every inch of her body. They ripped her away from me and pinned her against the wall behind the counter, her feet dangling beneath her.
“She is not for you.” Yael turned his angry eyes to me just long enough to steal a glance at the wound on my arm. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” I snapped in response as I clutched the wound, “no thanks to you.”
“She caught me off guard,” he said, as though that would make me feel better. “I forgot how quickly she can move when properly motivated.”
“Glad I could be an integral part of jogging your memory. Now, can we get this shit over with?”
“She’s not going anywhere,” he said, turning his menacing gaze to the witch against the wall. “Grab hold and force the answers from her as painfully as you wish.”
I walked over and seized her ankle where it peeked through the flora holding her prisoner, per Yael’s command. “Let’s try this again, shall we? Why did Jemma come to you that night?” Power welled up inside of me, fueled by the stinging in my arm, and I funneled it through my hand into her.