Chapter 3
“Ace!” Hasan grabs my hand and pulls it to his side. “What are you doing?”
“Trying to get its attention.”
“By drawing attention to yourself in front of everyone?”
I swallow hard and ball my fingers into my palm. “You’re right.”
“I’ve got a better plan,” Gilbert says, watching the golem walk right into a large glass window. It reaches up, and suddenly I can feel Jacques’s presence. He’s on top of the building.
Get inside, I mentally tell him. I’m able to summon the guys when I’m in trouble, but I’ve never tried to send a message like this before.
“It’s going in,” Hasan says, and darts forward. “We need to get everybody out. If we can trap it inside, we’ll have a better chance at killing it.”
“You guys get the people out,” I tell the twins. “I’ll distract the golem.”
The golem is still at the windows, almost as if it’s confused by the clear glass. It walks forward, and it’ll only be a matter of seconds—maybe a minute or two if we’re lucky—before the glass shatters.
Thomas and Gilbert run to the doors of the building, which is a hipster coffee bar that’s surprisingly full. A few people are standing in front of the window with their phones out. Fucking idiots. They’d do anything for a viral video, including putting their lives at risk.
Others are gathered in the back, hiding under tables. A few are edging near the door, not sure if they’ll be able to make it out the front or not.
“There has to be a back door,” I tell the guys. I outstretch my hands again, preparing to summon the fire at a moment’s notice. “Take them out that way and over into another building or something. The police will be here soon and we could use the distraction of needing an escort to buy some time.”
“We got this,” Thomas promises me. He leans in, kissing me quickly on the lips, and then takes off, running right through the front door.
The golem turns, eyes zeroing in on the twins.
It might be able to sense the magic surrounding the guys, but they look normal.
If someone is looking through the golem’s eyes, they won’t be able to tell they’re gargoyles at least.
“Hey!” Hasan yells, and marches right up to the golem. He punches it in the face, and little pieces of clay crumble and fall to the ground. The golem bellows, rounding on Hasan.
Hasan’s eyes light up like a kid on Christmas morning. He throws another punch square in the golem’s jaw. The golem swipes its large hands at Hasan, who easily ducks out of the way. The golem is bigger than Hasan, but due to its large size, it’s much slower.
Thank goodness.
I steal a glance into the coffee bar. Most of the people have cleared out, and I see Gilbert standing near the front door ushering the rest back.
My heart is pounding in my chest. We need to get the golem inside and out of the public eye right away.
Hasan is faster, but we can only keep the golem for so long before it goes back into destruction mode and starts throwing shit again.
Inching closer to the front door, I hold my hands out in front of me. One guy remains inside the coffee shop, filming Hasan beating up the golem. Gil calls for him to follow him into the back, but the guy keeps recording.
I ball my fists, fingers smoking. I can’t contain the fire for much longer, and something tells me the golem isn’t going to keep playing cat-and-mouse with Hasan. Mostly because he’s the mouse.
“This way!” I shout to Hasan, who doubles back, meeting me by the door.
The guy with the phone steps back as the golem comes lumbering toward us.
I throw open the door, kicking the door stopper down.
I’m not entirely sure the golem will actually fit through the door, but it beats smashing in through the windows. The less destruction the better.
I have no idea how this is going to be explained, but right now I shouldn’t even worry about it.
I should worry about myself, because my fingers are sparking, and now the golem has his eyes set on me and he’s coming at me with more and more speed.
I push my shoulders back, wiggling my fingers. The sparks turn into little flames.
Come on…come on…just come in here so I can kill you.
The golem’s eyes latch onto me, and it inhales deep, as if it’s breathing in my scent just like a dog tracking a rabbit or something. It slows and tips its head down to me, becoming very still. Its large mouth opens and a deep gargling sound comes from its throat.
“Acelina,” it croaks, making me freeze. It knows who I am. Its mouth opens again, but it’s not the golem talking. He’s a conduit for whatever is controlling it. “I’ve been looking for you.”
“Why?” I ask, even though I know better than to fall into this trap. I need to kill the golem, not interrogate it. I’m not going to get answers, and every second I waste puts us at risk for being exposed.
The golem straightens up and then barrels forward, crashing into the glass windows. Metal from the window frame twists and comes crashing down, raining pieces of broken glass along with it. Hasan grabs me, pulling me to his chest and turning away to shield me from the glass with his wings.
Only, he’s still wearing the concealment charm. Glass cuts into his back but he hardly even winces as he holds me close, keeping me safe.
“Oh shit,” the guy with the phone says, stumbling back. The phone falls from his hands, clattering to the ground. He makes a dive for it, but the golem is faster. It swings one of its paw-sized hands at him and knocks the guy in the head. He falls to the ground, unmoving.
“Hasan!” I step out of his arms, eyes wide. “You’re bleeding!”
“I’m fine,” he tells me, straightening up. He really does seem fine, though I know the cuts and scrapes on his back have to hurt like a motherfucker.
Red and blue lights flash outside and the chopper gets closer and closer.
“We don’t have much time!” I exclaim, extending my fingers. I summon the fire and the golem rounds on me. I rush forward, hands out in front of me.
“Ace!” Hasan yells, trying to stop me.
“The police will be here any second!” They can’t see the golem and they can’t see me.
I’ve already pushed the truth and covered up facts.
I had to do it, but it still weighs on me.
Not only because I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before I’m caught in a lie, but because for my whole life, becoming a cop was the only thing that kept me going.
Then I became one, got promoted, and being Detective Bisset was pretty much my only sense of identity. I kept myself guarded and closed off. I lived but wasn’t really alive.
Now things are different.
I have friends. Boyfriends. A house we all share together like a family.
I’m happy…but I’m starting to realize that being both a witch and a cop isn’t possible.
Because I will get caught. I’ll kill a bad guy and not be able to explain why his corpse is just a charred pile of ash, or why the corpse isn’t a corpse at all and is a demon.
Fire burns hot around me, and I can feel the heat on my face.
It doesn’t hurt me, and the warmth is comforting.
The golem jerks away from the fire and I push forward, grabbing its arm.
The clay is cool beneath my grasp and hisses from the fire.
I squeeze my hand tighter and the clay begins to harden.
The golem, realizing he’s doomed, panics and swipes his arm out, knocking right into me. I step back, catching myself, and go after him again. This time, he barrels deeper inside the cafe, hitting the counter hard. Bits of clay tumble to the ground.
That’s it, keep running. Bang into more things and help me with the work.
Hasan and I are right behind it when the golem suddenly whips around, going berserk. It wildly swings both arms, and Hasan uses himself as a shield. He gets hit in the head, and blood starts to drip from his nose.
My eyes widen, and anger pulses through me, causing the magical fire around my hands to get bigger. The magical fire can’t hurt me, but I’m pretty sure if I catch the building on fire I’ll go down with the flames.
And so will everyone in here.
“Ace,” Hasan says, straightening up and wiping blood from his nose.
“I know.” I curl my fingers in, trying to control the fire. My heart is racing and the logical part of my brain is yelling at me to get away from the flames. The golem roars and the flashing lights from the police cars are right outside the cafe.
Shit, shit, shit.
I squeeze my eyes shut and let go of the mental shields I was forcing up, holding back my magic.
Fire shoots from my hands, flames already over a foot long.
I’ve never had the fire erupt like that before, and it takes me by surprise.
The flames fly out in front of me, setting the display of overpriced coffee mugs on fire.
Hasan knocks it to the ground, trying to smother the flames.
The small distraction is all the golem needs.
He barrels forward, grabbing a barstool, and throws it at Hasan.
It knocks him back, and before I can make sure he’s okay, the golem comes at me and tries to grab me by the throat.
I duck out of the way and flick my hands.
After I become a human flame thrower, the fire dies down, and now I feel depleted of magical energy.
Now’s not the time.
I know what to do, but I’m not sure I can. If I close my eyes and concentrate, I can pull in energy from all around me. Eventually, I’ll figure this out and it’ll come naturally to me. Or at least Jacques thinks so.
I jump over the counter, trying to buy myself some time.
“Come on,” I say, heart beating faster and faster. Hasan is slowly getting to his feet, one hand on his forehead. I hold my hands up in front of me, staring at my fingers. “Come on.”
Voices echo out on the street. I don’t have time for this. I need to take out the golem now.
“Fuck it,” I whisper, and close my eyes, letting my hands drop to the side. I splay my fingers, feeling for the raw energy that floats in the surrounding air. One…two…three…four…five…
I feel it buzzing, and I pull it in, opening my eyes to see Hasan throw a table at the golem. It hits it in the back of its head, causing it to whirl away from me with a roar.
“Hold him steady!” I shout to Hasan, knowing he’s going to have a difficult time even though he’s solid muscle. If he rips the charm off and uses his wings to fly forward, he’d have no issue pinning this fucker against the wall.
Hasan grabs one of the golem’s arms and pushes him back. I jump over the counter, summoning the fire. I go for its head, but I only get so far as searing its cheeks before it hits me hard enough that I’m seeing stars.
“Ace!”
“I’m fine.” I blink, ignoring the ringing in my ears. “It’s now or never!”
As soon as I say the words, I know it’s going to be never. The golem is too strong for just the two of us. It’s going to get away, and the police will come in, shoot at it, and then feel the wrath of the golem. How many will die before they find a way to end it?
“Ace! Hasan!”
I don’t have to turn to know who that voice belongs to.
Jacques races forward, grabbing the golem’s other arm.
Together, he and Hasan hold the golem, and I go toward it again, feeling the flames grow stronger and stronger.
I press one hand to the golem’s chest and aim my other at its face.
Fire pours from my fingers, and the golem struggles to get away.
Made of clay, I don’t think it can feel pain, but I’m sure whoever is controlling it wants it to get away. Not today, asshole. I give it all I’ve got, and the golem’s movements start to slow. The clay bakes and hardens, burning Hasan’s and Jac’s hands, but they don’t let go.
I feel the golem start to crack under my palm, but I don’t want to stop yet in case it’s too soon. But the magic is zapping my energy, and I’m suddenly feeling pretty damn weak. I falter, hand slipping off the golem.
“Ace,” Jacques says, letting go of the golem. He wraps one arm around me, helping me stand. I blink, trying to get my eyes to focus. The golem is before us, but now it looks like some terrifying art project made out of clay.
Jacques helps me take a few steps back, and Hasan looks at the golem, tipping his head. Then he punches it, and it cracks into pieces.
“Smash it as best you can,” Jacques tells him, right as several police officers burst in, guns drawn. I inhale, turning around to see Jacques. I don’t remember if he has the charm back on or not.
He does, thank God.
“Are you all right?” one of the officers asks.
“Yeah,” I pant, and point to the guy on the ground. “But he’s not.”
The officers move in, and one of them stops short.
“Detective Bisset?”
Shit. It’s Nick Beasley from work. So much for slipping out of here without giving a statement.