Page 137 of Bones

It was equally flawless and graceful in a badass way.

Deke tried that guy.

“What’re you doing?” I asked as I ducked the fireballs.

Ones that were traveling less distance and flaming smaller.

We’re tiring them out. We just need to keep this up for three to four… business years.

“My humanity,” Deke said.

I didn’t know what that meant, but it wasn’t time for him to draw me a diagram.

“It’s not enough. Lace your fingers with mine and hold tight.”

I did as he said, and his magicks changed. The green twisted with gold, separate but connected.

Complete.

The man stopped mid-punch and fell to the ground, but not in pain.

Not physical at least.

“Why?” he cried, holding his head. “Why did I do that? I just wanted a better life.”

We moved on to the next target, but he didn’t react as he created a fireball and launched it at the man sobbing on the floor.

Thinning their own herd.

Hopefully, none of these assholes are so brain-dead, they take out a warded one.

“Blond hair about to get Juno,” Lilith rushed out before adding a shouted warning. “Juno, behind you!”

Juno ducked from where she was using her magicks to restrain anyone she could touch, but Stellan was already there. His demeanor and body language looked slow and calm, but he was movingfast.

Deke sent the green and gold magicks to the man, but that one didn’t fall to the ground crying. He grabbed the Absolve guy next to me. “You said we’d be powerful. That women would be throwing themselves at us. I just wanted to drink beer and play video games, but you dragged me into this with lies and empty promises.” As he yelled, he punched him. Over and over and over until his face was mush.

“Beard,” Lilith said next before gagging.

I looked over to see that Lennon had his hand wrapped around the forearm of an Absolve that’d been reaching for Lilith.

The man wasn’t dead from Lennon’s hand on his bare skin. That was too dangerous when we didn’t know who was a bomb waiting for their fuse to be lit. But his green-tinged skin hung from his bones. Puss oozed from his eyes, nose, ears… Basically every orifice. He fell to a weak pile but still breathed.

“Which beard?” Deke asked.

“The patchy pube hair one,” Lilith said.

Another shot of green smoke. The guy—who couldn’t be older than me—stopped. His eyes widened.

He pulled a knife from his back pocket and ended his own life in a gruesome way that belonged in a horror movie.

Abannedhorror movie.

“Close your eyes,” Deke ordered, but I shook my head.

“Keep going.”

We continued, his humanity mixing with my light to wake them up. It wasn’t everyone. But combined with those that Juno had subdued in her red nets, Lennon had rotted to just a fewporch steps from death’s door, and Nate… well, him being actual Death, we were able to dwindle their numbers.