Crunching footsteps approached us. I was desperately hoping it was Goulding with the promised magical pain relief—each gust of wind felt like a thousand bee stings at once—but it was Shane. He carried a brown paper bag that looked about the right size to hold a pair of women’s shoes. At least he wasn’t stroking them anymore.
Weirdo.
“Mr. Davila,” Blythe greeted. “I trust you’ve made some headway here.”
What a nice way to imply that he’d better have made himself useful in the house since his gutless ass hadn’t made a single appearance during our life and death battle.
He gave a thin smile. “I think I have everything I need.”
Blythe nodded. “I’ll call the helicopter. It’s time we returned to the city.”
She strode away, steadier than before. I allowed one tiny, near-silent whimper as a fresh gust of winter wind stung my burns. Lienna inched closer, her face drawn with concern. Maybe I’d keep the burns for a bit longer. Go back home, let her tenderly bandage my wounds. Maybe she’d shed a heartbroken tear over my suffering, bravely earned in the course of—
Shane’s intent stare broke into my happy fantasy. I met his eyes behind those round glasses, wondering what he was thinking—and what “headway” he’d made. Was he investigating this case too, or was he seeking a different prize?
Turning away from the bounty hunter, I asked Lienna, “Do you think there’s another way to get back to the city from here?”
Her brows furrowed. “Another way?”
“Yeah, like another mode of transportation? Maybe a hovercraft? Or a hang glider? Crossing two things off my bucket list in one day is also on my bucket list.”
Ah, the eye roll. I’d needed that. Flashing her my most charming smile—impressive considering the amount of pain I was in—I invited her to join me with a tilt of my head. Together, we started toward the house and wherever Goulding was dawdling with her alchemic bag of healing potions.
However I got home, I wasn’t too worried. This new case promised to be an interesting one, mysterious in a way that made my fingertips tingle with a mixture of anticipation and unfiltered dread. Maybe my travel ambitions would be realized with something crazy like a hot-air balloon or one of those glass balls from Jurassic World, but even if I ended up on something lame—like a canoe or, worse, a tandem bicycle—it’d be a new adventure with Lienna.
And I couldn’t complain about that.
The mystery continues in
DRUID VICES AND A VODKA
The Guild Codex: Spellbound / Six
- Pre-order now on Amazon -
Coming January 3, 2020
And introducing an all-new series
featuring unlikely MagiPol agent Kit Morris:
THE GUILD CODEX: WARPED
By Rob Jacobsen & Annette Marie
Coming 2020
Reading Order
The Guild Codex
The Guild Codex includes three series—Spellbound, Demonized, and Warped (coming 2020)—which can be read independently or as one epic, interconnected saga. For maximum awesomeness, here’s my recommended reading order. More books to come in all series!
Three Mages and a Margarita
Spellbound #1
Dark Arts and a Daiquiri
Spellbound #2
Two Witches and a Whiskey
Spellbound #3
Four Shifters and a Stranger
Spellbound Short Story
A Damsel and a Demigod
Spellbound Novella
Demon Magic and a Martini
Spellbound #4
Taming Demons for Beginners
Demonized #1
The Alchemist and an Amaretto
Spellbound #5
A Little Warped
Spellbound / Warped Short Story
Slaying Monsters for the Feeble
Demonized #2
Druid Vices and a Vodka
Spellbound #6
(Are you missing anything from this list? Visit the reading order page on my website for info on the bonus stories.)
DRUID VICES AND A VODKA
The Guild Codex: Spellbound / Six
I’ve said it before, but sometimes I’m a bad person. I cheated on my twelfth grade math final, I’ve run countless yellow lights, and I gossip about how hot my kickass best friends are.
But there’s bad, and then there’s bad. And I’m not sure which applies to a certain dark druid/wanted criminal/reluctant friend of mine. His transgressions include black-magic dealings, kidnapping, and murder, and he’s about to add “revenge-fueled” killing spree" to his resume—if I don’t stop him.
Should I stop him?
He and his nemesis are gearing up to tear each other apart, rogues and vultures are converging with their sights on the spoils, and the guilds that would normally stomp them into the ground are under attack. We’re on the brink of an all-out criminal turf war, and my time to decide is almost up.
Who’s the real bad guy ... and do I dare stand in his way?
- Pre-order now on Amazon -
Coming January 3, 2020