Page 32 of Witch's Fate

She held the door for Malcolm and his wolf as they unceremoniously dumped their baggage on the ground. When the door shut behind her, she could no longer see it.

Malcolm tapped his chest and his wolf approached, stopping briefly to nuzzle Kitty’s head, then blended seamlessly into Malcolm’s form until he disappeared entirely. Malcolm drew the charmed cuff off his wrist and leaned down to touch the temple of each demon, no doubt destroying their memories of the encounter.

“I’ll be right back,” he said, then crouched down and grabbed each demon by a wrist. He disappeared.

A moment later, he returned. He slipped the cuff back on and wiped the blood from his forehead. No one would be able to tell he’d just been in a fight.

“Where’d you take them?”

“Siberia. It’ll take them a while to get sorted out. We should be gone by then.”

“Good.” She glanced around at the creepy alley. “Let’s get out of here. Find somewhere else.”

He nodded and led the way down the alley. Sofia’s shoulders relaxed a bit when they reached the main street. It was still vaguely creepy, like all of Salem, but it was far nicer than where they’d just been. Even Kitty seemed less nervous as she stalked at Sofia’s side.

Sofia rubbed the back of her neck. Were they being watched? Or was it just creepy Salem? Full dark had fallen while they’d been in the cell, and clouds drifted in front of an orange moon. The leaves rustled on the trees overhead. Dim yellow light from shop windows and gas street lamps gleamed on the cobblestones.

Most of the shops were empty now, as was the street. Everyone had holed up to get out of the cold. If she had to guess, the temperature had dropped at least ten degrees. Miserable.

“Let’s find a place that’s not quite so hidden,” Sofia said. “I don’t exactly want to run into any more demon bouncers.”

“Agreed.” He pointed up the road. “What about there?”

The road curved left and Sofia could see the gleaming windows of a pub. The Spiked Potion. It bustled with people and didn’t look to have any hulking bouncers. “All right.”

They slipped inside a moment later and she heaved a sigh of relief when warmth from the crackling fire enveloped her. The pub was large with a low ceiling. The gleaming wood bar took up the back left corner, while trestle tables jutted out from the rest of the walls.

The space was about three quarters full. No one sat alone. About half could pass in the mortal world. The other half… not so much. Besides the wings and horns, there was fur, scales, and an assortment of skin tones that fell closer to rainbow than beige or brown.

They approached the bar.

“What’ll you have?” the bartender asked, wiping her hands on a towel. Her gaze lingered on Malcolm and Sofia had to stop herself from sneering.

Of course she didn’t care if the hot bartender gave Malcolm anI-would-bone-you-immediatelylook. Why would she?

“I’ll have a coke,” she said. “And tuna water for my familiar.”

The bartender nodded and looked at Malcolm.

“Pint of porter, if you have one on tap.”

“We do.”

She filled their orders and Malcolm paid her, then turned and headed toward a table in the back corner. Sofia grabbed her Coke and the saucer of tuna water and followed.

“You don’t drink?” he asked as they sat. They each took a chair in the corner. Kitty sat on a chair of her own, facing out toward the room so that she could watch the going’s on.

“I do. But I’m not as big as you. One beer can make me a little lightheaded, and since I don’t know what’s coming at us tonight…” But Malcolm clearly wouldn’t have that problem. It’d probably take a lot more than a few beers to dull his reflexes.

“Of course.”

They eyed the patrons. Sofia tried not to focus on how close Malcolm was to her. His arm was only a few inches from her own. If she really focused, she imagined she could feel his heat.

Oh, how she wanted to feel that.

She started and almost smacked herself. What a damned stupid thought. It didn’t matter how handsome he was, or how powerful he’d looked when taking care of those demons.

Or how skilled he’d been with his hands last night.

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