Anna’s smile brightened her whole face. “You love him then.”
She blinked, then remembered just who Anna was. A Celtic demi-goddess of love. “I’ve always loved him. From the moment I first saw him,” she answered truthfully.
Anna patted her knee. “All will be well. You’ll see.”
Juliana didn’t ask if that was a prophecy or a prediction. She preferred not to know.
Her friend moved to go back in the house, pausing when she opened the sliding door. “I’ll send Jeremiah out when he’s ready. You’ve got a lot of work to do.” She stepped inside leaving Juliana with the uneasy feeling she wasn’t talking about demon hunting.
Half an hour later, Juliana’s phone buzzed while she stood beside Jeremiah’s car, waiting for him to unlock the door. James. Maybe the Gathering had information on the book.
“What’s up?”
“I need you. Now.” His voice was sharp, hurried.
Fear straightened her spine. “What’s going on?”
“I’ve got an inkmage spiking spells off in a dozen different directions. He’s already knocked three of my best off the playing field.” He sighed. “That’s not all. I know this kid. I know his family. They play with forbidden magics. I’d have eliminated them long ago but I’ve never had any proof. I’m getting it today.”
“Where are you?”
She snapped her phone shut and rattled off the address to Jeremiah. It was smack dab in the middle of mage territory, the area surrounding the Apocryphan. The Apocryphan was the Gathering’s center of power for the entire region. And right at the top of all of it sat James. Because of various laws, regulations and treaties, the Agency couldn’t get involved in any mage business in that area unless asked for help or there was a threat to the general populace. And knowing James he had that place locked down tighter than a dragon’s horde. Which meant no portals in or out. As Jeremiah peeled away from the curb she filled him in on the details. “If James can’t stop him, what does he expect you to do?” he asked.
“He’s hoping the mage won’t be able to sense me since I’m not one. Not a practicing one anyway. Then he’ll distract the bastard while I put a bullet through his brain.”
Jeremiah’s mouth sat in a grim line. “Your rifle’s in the trunk.”
“It usually is.” She hadn’t worried about it because James would have one waiting for her. When her own weapon was available she preferred to use it, but she wasn’t picky.
Thomas awaited them as they pulled up to the perimeter set by James and his men. She wasn’t even surprised to see him. In fact, she was grateful he was here. She needed someone she could trust to watch her back. Not that Jeremiah couldn’t be trusted, but she spent as much time worrying about him as she did completing the assignment when he was with her. Thomas could take care of himself.
A misty green glow hovered in the air, a visual representation of the containment spell set by the Gathering. She pulled out her phone and dialed James. “Yeah?” The ragged voice that answered didn’t belong to her best friend’s husband.
“It’s Juliana. Who’s this?”
“Rickert.” One of James’s personal guard. “Boss is keeping him busy. Shield will let you through. Vampire, too.”
Rickert never wasted words. “Kendrick?”
A grunt was the reply.
“I’ve got a fire elemental with me, too.”
“Didn’t know about him. Can’t fix it now, no time. Leave him there.” After that pronouncement, he hung up.
She put her phone away and looked at Jeremiah. “Pop the trunk. You’re going to have to stay here. The shield will fry you. It’s only set to accept me and Thomas.”
Jeremiah didn’t look pleased but he merely nodded.
“How large is the perimeter?” she asked.
“About two square miles. Agency’s taking up position around it as we speak.”
James rarely shut down that much area at once. Things must be bad. She grabbed the rifle out of the trunk, loaded it and handed the extra ammunition to Thomas. “Let’s go.”
They stepped through the green and into the unknown beyond.
Thomas glanced at his bride. This was taking some getting used to, the idea that he didn’t have to protect her from every danger. That instead he could head into battle with her by his side. He’d seen her fight, and knew she was more than competent. It didn’t mean he wasn’t going crazy with fear at the thought that something could happen to her. But he knew her, knew if he insisted on keeping her locked up safe from the world, he’d lose her.
So he fell into step beside her, and let her take the lead. He kept his hands behind his back as they strode through the streets to help curb the desire to take the weapon from her. They approached an intersection and a mage stepped out of the shadows by a fire escape and gestured upward.
Juliana nodded once and headed up, keeping her footfalls as soft as possible. He stayed right behind her. She crouched low when she reached the top and hurried to the far side of the roof. After a peek over the wall, she glanced at him. “You’re being unusually quiet,” she said in a low voice as she prepared her weapon.
He watched the movement for a moment. “It is because I am afraid if I open my mouth the only words that will come out are ‘stop,’ ‘don’t,’ or ‘go home.’”
The corner of her mouth curved into a smile. “Guess it’s a good thing you’re not talking then, huh?”
He grunted but couldn’t help returning the smile.
“All right,” she said, rising to her knees. “Let’s just hope he never knows we’re here.”
She should really know better than to say things like that. As soon as they both looked over the wall to the scene below, the demon turned his head and locked eyes with Juliana. A feral smile split the man’s face and Thomas felt her shiver beside him. “Hello, Hound.”
She huffed out a breath. “It would appear our demon has taken over an inkmage.”
Thomas eyed the mage. Dark tattoos covered much of his visible skin. They shimmered with the unmistakable glimmer of magic. Another mage attempted to approach from behind and the demon muttered a word and gestured over his shoulder, casting the spell without even looking at the target. The would-be hero froze into a solid block of ice.
“Damn fool. I told everyone to stay back,” James said as he came up behind them. He placed a hand on each of their shoulders. “Glad you two are here. None of our spells are working. We’ve tried just about everything.”
Thomas glanced at his brother-in-law. Like most inkmages, tattoos covered the majority of his body. He even shaved his head to accommodate the tail of a massive dragon tattoo that covered his back. The same ice blue as his eyes, it was also a powerful protective ward. He was a good man to have on your side in a fight. “I would guess that’s because he’s not human. Not entirely anyway.”
“Demon,” Juliana added to clear up any confusion.
“You can’t be serious,” James said.
“Juliana Norris, come down and play with me,” the demon yelled from below them. The blood turned to ice in Thomas’s veins. Not only did it threaten his mate, it called her by name. He’d noticed it when they faced it before, but he’d thought in an aberration. A way for the demon to taunt them before the forthcoming battle. But here there were many targets, many places it could set its sights, and still it called to her. The situation was more dangerous than he’d originally thought.
A grimace flashed across her face and was just as quickly replaced with a cool mask of calm. She took aim, steadied the gun on the wall and fired. The shot pierced the demon through the shoulder.