Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 109477 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 438(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109477 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 438(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
Murmured voices drifted down the hall. She paused at the door to listen. The window stayed open behind her. Zorn stood at it, waiting to make sure the breaking-and-entering portion of their plan went off correctly.
A man was speaking. Another burst out laughing. Finally came the sultry voice of a female. Bingo.
Down the other way, a light glowed from under one of the doors. The bathroom, if she wasn’t mistaken.
A light splash caught her attention. Then the movement of water.
Yes, the bathroom, and someone was relaxing and taking a bath. Hopefully they wouldn’t get the urge to get out just yet. She’d deal with that person later.
She glanced back at Zorn again. He drifted from the window like a phantom, still on the ledge. He’d peer in through the living room window, ready to help if she needed it.
She hoped to fuck she wouldn’t need it. She’d looked up their magic and knew how to quickly combat it—none of them were anything special. But she never knew. Not in the magical world. One wrong move, a bad decision, a mis-thrown knife—and she’d be vulnerable. She could never afford to take any chances.
She slinked through the hallway, her switchblade in her hand. They were such a romantic sort of knife, switchblades. Close and personable and cool as all hell. Definite style points when used for grisly (though righteous) murders.
More laughter.
“When is he supposed to pick it up?” one of the guys asked.
“An hour, give or take,” the other answered, sounding bored. “He doesn’t tend to be punctual.”
“I’ll wait all night,” the woman purred. Daisy gritted her teeth against the rush of anger. “He is…” She made an appreciative sound.
“Is that why you showed up?” the first guy asked.
The other guffawed. “What’s that, Max? You thought she came for you?”
Daisy’s fingers tightened. She edged closer to the corner at the end of the hallway. The room opened up beyond. She could just make out a pair of run-down sneakers. The owner was stretched out on the couch right around this corner. The others were on the other side of the room.
“You were fun, don’t get me wrong,” a woman, probably Ava, told Max, “but I’m kind of over it.”
The other guy guffawed again.
Daisy burst into action. She recognized the two guys from the pictures easily, one near the window and the second belonging to those run-down sneakers. Green light for night-night.
She slapped the light switch and doused the room in darkness. The woman screamed. One of the guys said, “Ohhh whoa ahh.” Very strange reaction.
Moonlight fell over him, but she’d already memorized his location and lined up her body. She pulled a throwing knife from the holster on her thigh and flung it. It lodged in his throat. Perfect shot. No one in this room had a Demigod’s blood magic—except her—or fast healing like a shifter. That dude would bleed out sooner rather than later.
But the blood loss wouldn’t kill him.
Acid spit gurgled out of his mouth and over his chin. It rolled into the wound and seeped in.
He had terrible genetics. Usually acid spit didn’t affect the spitter. Not with this guy. Getting it on his skin was fine, but if it went into his bloodstream, it would kill him. He couldn’t tolerate his own magic, something very unusual for magical people.
The guy on the couch started, his eyes wide. Daisy was on him in a moment, peppering him with knife strikes and quickly ending his flailing.
Low-hanging fruit, these characters. This was beneath her and Zorn in every way. It was good practice for her, though. A nice, easy steppingstone for her first semi-solo job.
She slowed, walking toward the woman. Ava. Very pretty, this lady. A knockout by anyone’s standards. Mordecai had surely stopped thinking the moment she smiled at him.
She wasn’t smiling now.
“I know who you are,” she said, her voice quivering. “What do you want?”
Zorn pushed the window open and climbed in gracefully, nearly invisible despite the moonlight.
Ava let out a surprised sound, hurrying away from him and into the corner.
“Who’s the guy in the tub?” Daisy asked her.
Zorn started moving toward the hallway immediately. He’d make sure the guy in the tub stayed put until they were ready to deal with him or her. They weren’t implicated in all this. Yet.
Ava’s body started to shake and then her voice changed octaves. A wave of sadness washed over Daisy. Ava was a magical mood changer.
Yawn.
“This is the last time I’m going to ask nicely.” Daisy took a step toward the woman.
“He wants to meet the buyer,” Ava said quickly, flinching toward the wall. “He works for Randall. He’s higher up on the chain of command and wants to make sure the buyer feels comfortable.”
The emotion changed to rage.
Daisy laughed. “Really? You want me to show you rage?”
Ava’s face paled. The magical emotion she was pushing switched to depression. Her fear was messing with her control.