Waver in the Air
Lisette, as it turned out, was every bit the mastermind her brother was, and had significantly less patience for other people’s bullshit.
“Knew I taught her right,” Rao said proudly as he pulled their jeep up in front of a massive warehouse that was suspiciously on fire and was showing the particular signs of a Tor’s handiwork. “Lis is still here somewhere. I can sense her.”
Cora, who had been concerned about meeting the only member of her boyfriends’ family that they actually cared about, was suddenly much less worried.
Any woman who got herself out of a kidnapping and immediately set everything on fire was someone she was going to like.
The warehouse groaned ominously and began to collapse. Cora took a precautionary step behind Rao, who was completely unbothered by the heat rolling off the towering flames.
“Does Lisette have magic?” she questioned as they began to circle the burning building, following Rao’s inner sense for the Tor family bloodline. “Callen does.”
“Cal got magic in exchange for half his soul,” Rao said, mostly focused on his task. “When we drew the pact. He offered me half his soul in exchange for the ability to do any kind of magic he wanted.”
“What?”
“It was mostly unplanned, alright? I didn’t know what I was and we were about to die. That time was Breton’s fault too, if you’re wondering. He cut his hand on a nail and drew the pact-rune, and I accepted his terms. We didn’t know what we were doing at the time.”
“I’m starting to think his real magic is his obscenely good luck.”
“Not even gonna disagree, Boots. Lis is this way. No, Lis doesn’t have magic, but she’s a hell of a shot.”
“Well, if that’s not an intro line, I don’t know what is.”
Lisette Tor was a stunning woman who shared her brother’s sharp features, blue eyes, and wicked intelligence. She was scraped up, both her knees were bloody, and her designer dress was torn.
She also had a gun in her hand and another tucked into the belt of her dress. Her feet were bare, and her hair was tied back into a messy bun.
In short, she looked like a woman who had been kidnapped, and then fought her way back out. Rao brightened upon seeing her and opened his arms. She shoved her other gun into her wasteband and came in with a relieved sigh.
Cora turned away to let them have a moment, and also to make sure no one was sneaking up on them. A waver in the air caught her attention, and she reached out, her null-magic already rippling around her hand.
The shockwave was so powerful it flattened the collapsing building and sent them all flying. Rao managed to cushion Lisette, and Cora cursed herself for a fool even as she tucked and rolled. When she came back up to her feet, it was to the sight of a towering, monstrous form.
“Ah hell,” Rao muttered somewhere behind her as Cora faced off with the creature. “Boots, you might need to take a step back. Maybe two.”
“If I move,” Cora said steadily, eyes locked with the creature as it weaved, snakelike, back and forth, “It’s going to strike at me.”
The creature watched her, and Cora watched it right back. Cold metal slid into her hand, and she didn’t have to look to recognize the handle of her own gun. It took more focus, but a few Nulls could push their anti-magic into their weapon. Cora was glad her mentor taught her the trick.
When the creature lunged at her, striking range much much farther than she expected, she brought the gun up and fired it straight into that gaping, fanged maw.
A roar echoed off the nearby buildings, and Rao powered past her, already growing as his demon-side took over. He hit the creature like a freight train and took it to the ground, before he began to burn, hotter and hotter until Cora and Lisette had to step back or risk igniting themselves.
The creature, faced with an angry half-demon, was consumed in flames.
When it was nothing but smoking ash, Rao stood and dusted off his hands.
“Well,” he said, shrinking down into his human form with a wince. “That happened. What was it?”
“Nothing I’ve ever seen,” Cora said slowly, still feeling the blast of magic on her skin. “And a sign that whatever this is, it’s a hell of a lot worse than we thought it was.”
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Secondhand Souls:
Solving a murder is rarely easy, but a sorcerer with a vendetta and his half-demon best friend complicate things.
Cora still hasn’t decided whether or not to shoot them both and blame it on whoever happens to be handy.
Partnership of Flames
Barroom Brawl
Lox of Trouble
Attack on Blue
Busted Engine
Dragon Curry
Territory Negotiations (Free on Patreon)
Word Salad
Rumble and Roll (Subscriber-Only!)
Prophesy Burning
Fly Out (Subscriber Only!)
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