I slowed, one hand resting on a smoke bomb as I scanned the lot. “Justin, maybe you should—”
“Don’t tell me to wait in the car.”
“But you’re—”
“You’re limping too.”
I was? My left hip ached from the demon mage’s first blast of magic, but I hadn’t realized it was affecting my gait. Grimacing, I assessed the rows of parked cars, then angled around the corner of the building toward the back lot, my eyes darting for any signs of movement.
“According to other mythics I know, demon mages are the most powerful mythics out there,” I told Justin. “But Daniel was a wuss compared to—uh, compared to the stories I’ve heard.”
I’d almost said Ezra’s name. Smart, Tori. Very smart.
“And he still kicked our asses,” I added darkly.
“Was he a wuss?” Justin asked. “He fended off three mages, and you said mages tend to have the most destructive magic of all the classes.”
My brother was a fast learner. Despite myself, I was kinda proud.
“True,” I agreed, slowing to peer between two trucks. “But it wasn’t Daniel fending them off. It was the demon inside him. The demon took over at the end. That’s why I was yelling at everyone to run.”
Justin considered that as we moved to the next row of cars. “Ezra is a demon mage, isn’t he?”
I missed a step and almost fell. “What? You—how did you—”
“I guessed.”
Damn it. My brother was too swift on the uptake.
“The cult turned him into a demon mage when he was fourteen,” I explained tersely. “If anyone finds out, he’ll be executed. I’m trying to find a way to get the demon out of him.”
“You’re in love with a man who has a demon inside him?”
I scowled. “Butt out, Justin.”
“But—”
“He’s a normal guy ninety-eight percent of the time.”
Justin eyed me, then pointed. “There it is.”
A camo-painted jeep was parked under the bare branches of a large tree at the very back of the lot where it bordered the sunset-bathed sports field.
“Bingo!” I exclaimed.
I took an eager step toward the vehicle, and Justin grabbed my arm. Right. Caution. We circled wide, ensuring there was no one in or around the vehicle, then warily approached from the far side.
With a final check that Blake or anyone else wasn’t about to ambush us, I crouched beside one of the jeep’s big, deep-tread tires. My hip twinged painfully, but I ignored it as I unscrewed the cap from the air valve. I scrabbled around on the pavement, found a likely pebble, and stuffed one end into the cap. Then I jammed it against the air valve.
Air whooshed out of the tire, and I grinned in satisfaction.
Justin crouched beside me. “Why do I get the impression you’ve done this before?”
“I never let the air out of Dad’s tires when I was mad at him,” I lied breezily. “And I never did it to Mrs. Keswick either, even when she put me in detention for a month because I kept coming to school without a jacket. I didn’t have a jacket! How was punishing me supposed to change that? And that social worker who thought Dad was so charming and I was a big liar, I never—”
“Okay, okay.” He poked his head over the jeep’s hood to scan the lot, then ducked behind it again. “If it comes down to a fight with Blake, am I allowed to shoot to kill?”
A chill ran over me. “Uh …”
“To be clear, I’m only asking so I know how upset you’ll be. If it looks like he’s aiming to kill, I will shoot him.”
I nodded. He said nothing more, and I watched as he checked again for any suspicious activity in the abandoned parking lot.
“Justin,” I muttered as air hissed from the tire. “You shouldn’t kill anyone to protect me. You don’t need that on your conscience.”
“I already shot someone to protect you,” he reminded me. “And I’ll do it again if I have to. I just wish I was better equipped. When that demon mage had you, I couldn’t risk the shot. He was so fast. He moved like nothing I’ve ever seen before, and …” His hand drifted toward his hidden gun. “What can a human do against a mythic like that?”
My chest constricted. I watched the jeep’s nose slowly drop, hardly seeing it. What could a human do? Nothing. Just like I hadn’t been able to do anything useful since the Carapace of Valdurna had rendered all my artifacts useless.
The tire wheezed as the rim settled against the deflated rubber, and I replaced the valve cap. “Okay. Blake won’t be escaping in his jeep now, so let’s go find a spot to hide.”
Justin nodded and started to rise. His leg buckled, and he caught himself on the jeep.
“Just stiff,” he grunted as I reached for him. “I’m fine.”
“Okay, well, just wait there a moment while I pick a hiding spot.” I backed away from him. “Stay there.”
“I’ll stay here.”
Nodding, I crept to the jeep’s bumper, peeked out, then stepped onto the winter-brown grass. Ducking behind a large tree that would provide welcome shade for the parking lot in the summer, I skimmed my surroundings. Anxious energy infused my limbs, and my protective instincts had kicked into high gear. Justin’s leg might not hold out if we needed to flee, and us two against Blake would require a full commitment to running like hell.
As I scanned for a likely hiding spot—aside from a few more thick-trunked trees, none—a different nervousness twanged through me. How long had it been since Aaron and Kai had set off to scout the property? It wasn’t that large. Had they found Blake and that’s why they hadn’t returned?
Should I have heard something by now? Were Aaron and Kai all right?
Just as I was about to panic, I spotted a dark figure slinking alongside the building. That smooth gait and those fitted leather clothes were recognizable even in the poor lighting, and I relaxed.
“Kai,” I whisper-called as he drew nearer. “What’s happening? Did you find Blake?”
He drew closer, eyebrows furrowing as his dark eyes scanned my face. He halted a lot nearer to me than he usually would, and I took a surprised step away, my back hitting the tree behind me.
“Tori …” he murmured. “Don’t be afraid.”
“Huh? I’m not …”
My voice died as he shifted closer—which put him really, really close. Mind spinning, I tried to peek sideways to see if we were being watched or something. Was he putting on an act?
“Tori, I’ve been wanting to tell you …”
His voice dropped from a murmur to a whisper, and as my gaze darted back to him, his hands touched my shoulders. I tensed, waiting for a signal—for some indication of what I was supposed to do.
“I missed you, Tori.”
Eh?
While I stared at him, his hands tightened on my shoulders. He leaned in.
And he kissed me.
As his warm mouth pressed against mine, my brain flew into overdrive. Why was he kissing me? Was this a diversion? What the actual hell?
I made a small, questioning noise against his lips, and his fingers dug into my shoulders. All the hair on my body stood on end. A strange, tight feeling stretched my skin, and my nerves buzzed with a sensation somewhere between adrenaline and excitement.