Whiskey Witches, F.J. Blooding [ap literature book list .TXT] 📗

the earth and left the gates unguarded? Nope, but I’m guessing it’s not good.”

He paced away. “Shit.”

“Right. And—because we needed things to be more exciting—Sven has all the guardians. All of the Lucius’ brethren. They’re all trapped in the part of the key he has.”

Dexx’s face paled as he turned toward her. “You’re kidding me.”

“I wish. He seems to think that with Lucius as the final soul, he can complete the blood spell necessary to empower the key so he can open the gate.”

“Tell me that’s not possible.”

“How the hell would I know?” She ducked into the bathroom and closed the door. She’d been holding high pee since the police station. She’d needed to get out of there, to go somewhere she felt safe. Not the inn, but with Dexx. He made her feel safe.

He made her feel safe, but how safe could he be when his traps didn’t work?

Finished, she dried off her hands and reentered the bedroom.

Dexx sat in the window seat, his phone in his hands. He waved it. “My ink came in. We’re going to—”

“No.”

“Yes. You have a knot-work of spells branded into your bones that allow demons to come in. We have to counter that somehow.”

“With a tattoo?”

“They used a knife. I’ve got ink.”

She rolled her eyes, but couldn’t deny she needed to be able to do her job. She couldn’t stop being a summoner. What was she going to say every time a demon popped up? Go away? Nicely? No. Her world, or at least the parts she knew of it, weren’t going to disappear simply because she was broken. She needed to get fixed.

“What if we cut the symbols?”

“You sent the witch who could do that away.”

Paige winced. “Fine. What did you have in mind?”

Dexx laid out a couple of ideas. They decided on two after a great deal of debate. He retrieved his box from the front desk and got to work.

Paige did everything she could think to keep her mind off of what Dexx was doing, but that was somewhat hard, considering the fact he was sticking a needle into her skin repeatedly. It hurt like hell.

With her two tattoos in place and her skin an angry red around them, Dexx declared her done. “Let’s see if they work. Summon Balnore.”

Bracing herself, Paige reached inside and whispered, “Balnore, I need you.”

Nothing happened.

Paige turned to Dexx.

He shrugged. “Try using the mirror. The first time you summoned him, you used a candle and the mirror, and there were things. You know, other, scary things. With fire.”

“But I don’t need to. The mirror just helps sometimes.”

Someone knocked on the door.

Dexx frowned at her. “Did you order a pizza?”

She quirked her lips, but dug her gun out of the table drawer.

One hand on the Glock shoved in the back of his pants, Dexx opened the door a crack. He jerked back, shaking his head, then widened the door.

“You called?” Balnore asked, looking a little disheveled.

Paige frowned at him. “You felt the need to knock?”

“Because when you call me, you never throw up protections.” He rubbed the dark stubble lacing his chin. “It’s safer this way.”

“I didn’t think you could—” Paige stopped herself. “I mean, when you’re summoned—”

“I need to show up where you tell me to? No. What’s up?”

How much did she know about Balnore? He played things safe. Didn’t rock the boat. He guided her when she needed it. But what did she know about him? Really? “I need to know if the protections worked.”

“What protections?”

“The ones Dexx laid on me. The tattoos.”

Balnore shook his head.

She spun on Dexx. “You made this permanent.”

He opened his mouth, closed it, held up a finger and promptly fell back to his notes. “It should’ve worked.”

Balnore narrowed his eyes at Paige. “Huh.” He took two steps closer to her, remaining just out of arms reach. “It did work. A little. It’s easier to control the temptation. I don’t feel as though you’re pulling me into you.”

“Ha!” Dexx snapped his fingers and pointed to her. “I told you it would work. Can you summon another to see if it worked?”

“No!” Balnore held up both hands, his eye wide. “No.”

“But if it worked,” Paige said, “there shouldn’t be an issue.”

“I feel as though you’re not pulling me into you. I didn’t say I didn’t feel the need to possess you. I simply have better control over it. The brands are still whole. They’re still working.”

Paige pinched the bridge of her nose. “How do I fix that?”

“I don’t know, Peanut.”

“Well,” Dexx said, gesturing to the demon with one had. “What have you been doing?”

“Gathering information. Since the globe doesn’t work right now, I decided this would be the best use of my skills.”

Feeling useless wasn’t something Paige was used to. “What did you learn? Is everyone still here? Or have they left?”

“They’re still here. If anything, there are more of them now. Angels and demons. And talking to them didn’t help. Everyone’s confused. They don’t know why there’s a surge in power, who the major players are, or what’s going on.”

“Then why are they here?” Paige asked.

“Because this is where they were summoned to.”

Paige blinked. “Summoned?”

Balnore raised a hand, dipping his head to the side.

“I didn’t summon them.”

“Someone else did.”

“There’s someone else like Paige?” Dexx asked.

“No.” Balnore folded his hands in front of him and leaned against the door. “At least, not likely. There is only one like her in every generation.”

Dexx’s closed his eyes and shook his head. “I’m getting really bad Buffy flashbacks. What if she dies? Is another awakened? What if she’s possessed, thrown into the back of her own mind? Is that enough to bring another demon summoner into play?”

“Dexx. Sometimes, your mind gives me a headache.”

“Sometimes, it gives me one, too.”

“I got Jones to confess,” Paige said. “But they wouldn’t give Sven up. I don’t know where the key is. I don’t know where he is. I only know they were able to shove all the guardians into the fragment they have.”

“The guardians?” Balnore asked, his expression stone. “Where is Lucius?”

“He was in jail, but he walked right out.”

“How?”

Paige licked her lips then bit down on them as she struggled to find the words to explain what had happened. “He has earth magick from me, so the demon traps don’t work.”

“Do you think he summoned everyone?” Dexx asked.

“They’ve been gathering for a while,” Balnore said, his eyes narrowed on Paige.

She shriveled under his gaze. “What about Malika or Jones?”

“Anyone can summon. But, no, I don’t think they’re the ones. Whoever it is, can summon almost as well as Paige.”

“Almost as well as I used to.”

Dexx ran his hands over his head. “Who are the players? This is so frustrating.”

Paige massaged her temple. “Jones is connected to angels, but he’s not a Nephilim.”

“He would not be,” Balnore said. “No. We keep a close eye on all Nephilim.”

Dexx paced three steps, turned and paced back. “How do you figure out he was attached to angels?”

“He said that he wanted to open the Gate to Heaven.” She winced. “But he can also track the movements of demons? Who can do that besides summoners?”

“Other demons,” Dexx said.

“Angels,” Balnore added.

“Great.” She clipped her gun onto her belt. “I need some air.”

“And what about tonight?” Dexx stepped into her path, meeting her gaze. “They’re going to try and kill you tonight.”

“When they spring the trap, we’ll be ready.”

Dexx raised his face to the ceiling. “Really? How? We don’t have a plan. We don’t have anything laid down. We have nothing.”

“Fine. When they spring the trap, we’ll have a plan.” Which was her way of saying they were fucked. She had no idea what they could do and no clue what they should be preparing for.

All she knew was that if that was her last night, she wanted to breathe some fresh air before she died.

Go team. Rawr.