I told them about Aaron and his collar. About how his master was hunting us as well. About how I felt like shit for killing him.
“Man, that sucks,” Del said. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Cass. It was just a shitty situation. It sounds like he was happy in the end.”
“He felt happy. At peace,” I said.
“He’d have to be, after what he lived through,” Nix said. “How awful, being enslaved by a guy who puts a collar on you that will kill you if removed.”
“I think it was worse than that,” I said. “Aaron had powers that weren’t his own. He was born a Lightning Mage, but he wasn’t born with power over fire or telepathy. He’d killed for those. But his soul was so pure once I’d taken the collar off him, I don’t think he would have done it willingly.”
“So his master is making super FireSouls? To like, fight or something?” Del shuddered. “Monster.”
“I don’t know what his goal is. But he’s hunting us.”
“But he doesn’t know where we are, right?” Nix asked.
“I don’t think so. There was no one left alive to tell him where we are. I killed every demon who saw us. And Aaron.” I rubbed my upper arms, suddenly chilled. “I feel like a monster.”
“You did what he wanted,” Nix said. “He gave you his power. Willingly. He taught you how to take it. Don’t dwell on the bad. Use it to get even. Because the monster is coming for us.”
She was right. Logically, I knew it. But I’d killed a man tonight and taken his power. I just didn’t know how to process what I’d done. I’d spent my whole life resisting this.
Now my options were to keep ignoring my gifts and disrespect Aaron’s last wish—that I use his power to defeat the monster who hunted us—or to embrace them and eventually be discovered and thrown in the Prison for Magical Miscreants.
They were bad options.
But at least they were options.
And like Nix had said—the monster was coming for us.
I had to decide, I just didn’t know how.
The door to Ancient Magic opened. I tensed, still on edge, but it was just Claire and Connor.
Connor held up a brown paper sack. “Brought the promised pasties!”
Claire raised a tray of paper coffee cups. “And lattes!”
At the sight of my friends, warmth and gratitude filled me. It’d been a bad night and bad shit was on the horizon. But today was good. My friends and deirfiúr were here.
Aidan would live. I wouldn’t see him again—at least not past assuring him that the scroll really was destroyed—but at least he was safe.
At least we all were safe.
For now.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Two nights later, I sat in the corner at P & P with Nix and Del after another long day cleaning up Ancient Magic. We’d lost about half our stock—months of hunting work for me—but I couldn’t be mad at Aaron over the damage. That was all on his master, the man we now called The Monster.
But I was trying not to think of that tonight. We’d swept up the last broken replica and shard of glass, and new windows had been installed that morning. So tomorrow we’d be back to normal. That was worth celebrating. In the morning, I’d set out in search of another youth charm for Mr. S. Del had found reference to an amulet hidden in a temple in Prague.
Connor and Claire had joined us once their only staff member had shown up. Bridget manned the counter some evenings when Connor wanted a break.
“All right,” Connor said as he held up his glass of whiskey. “To Ancient Magic. Back on its feet!”
I touched my glass to his, then clinked my way around the circle, careful not to miss anyone. I was so damned glad to be back with my friends, the threat temporarily averted.
“One more,” I said after a sip. I raised my glass. “Health and happiness. Because we have them, and we want to keep them.”
“Cheers to that,” a deep voice said as we clinked our glasses.
I turned. Aidan stood in the doorway, his hands tucked into his pockets. It was suddenly a bit harder to breathe. His dark hair was shiny instead of singed, and his skin was no longer deathly pale. In his t-shirt and jeans, he looked back to normal. Which was to say, damned good.
And also a pain in my ass.
“Hey, Aidan!” Connor said. “Good to see you, man!”
“You’re looking better,” Nix said. Though she and Del liked Aidan, after the events at the cathedral, we were all on our guard. Because of my memory, someone hunting us had always been at the periphery of our thoughts. But after what had just happened, the threat had become more real. We were all wary.
They still thought he might be able to help us, but he made me nervous. I’d experienced how powerful he was. Aidan was the freaking Origin, not to mention a full Elemental Mage and a healer. He was too powerful. Eventually he was going to sense what I was, especially now that I had Aaron’s lightning gift.
“You look like you’re feeling better,” Nix said. “Not nearly as crispy.”
Aidan grinned. He looked so damned handsome that I wanted to curse him. I settled for cursing myself.