Page 36 of V for Vengeance

Cash had one hand on his hip while he checked the nails of the other for breaks. It should be noted that in this case, I was the brawn. Other than the usual magical theatrics, he’d barely lifted a finger. I didn’t have time to make a comment about it, though, because our hostage was literally bawling like he’d been tortured. He hadn’t. I’d grabbed him by the arm and barely squeezed before he collapsed onto the ground, a fountain of pretty-boy tears, proclaiming I’d abused him.

It didn’t take long to figure out that whoever this boy toy was, he was useless in a fight. You’d think Harmony would choose someone based on their abilities, but it appeared she only wanted them pretty and submissive. One thing was clear: The Wicked Witch of the West had a thing for gorgeous blondes with celebrity vibes.

I didn’t get the sense he was human, so I had to wonder what sort of beastie was lurking under all that eyeshadow and glitter. Still, I learned never to underestimate an opponent. He couldn’t do anything I wouldn’t rebuke with the fires of Hell, but the last thing I wanted was a reason for Phillip to lecture me.

“I think you know why I’m here, Magnus,” Cash finally said when he’d finished preening. “Tell us what we want to know, and I’ll make sure she never finds you after this.”

The inconsolable boy toy cried harder, and I rolled my eyes. “For someone who literally talks for a living, you really don’t know how to phrase things properly, Cash.”

The Dark Fae seemed confused I’d say so.

Ignoring him, I crouched down and leveled a serious stare on our captive. “What my associate here means to say is we have the means to keep you safe if you tell us where she is. We’re going to find her one way or another, Magnus. So, are you going to be someone we use to get to her, or are you going to be someone we take out alongside her? Up to you, my dude. But I’d say the better bet is to tell us and live another day.”

The glitzy pretty boy in a fishnet top and tight pair of glitter-painted white pants cut his eyes from me to Cash, then back to me. The tears stopped in an instant. Getting to his feet, he crossed his arms over his chest. That flamboyant flair of conceit Cash wore so well had manifested on our captive’s face.

Yeesh, this witch definitely has a type.

I didn’t know what I was most upset about—the fact that I’d thought for asecondhe was anything but a villain, or thata psychopath was dressed like a butterfly. Quite literally the definition of a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and I had to wonder how many had fallen under his spell.

“I like you.” Cash couldn’t hide his disgust, but Magnus didn’t appear to care enough to address it. “You’d make one hell of a queen if you were ever interested.”

“I’m not,” I clapped back, already tired.

Cash erupted out of nowhere. “Steady on, you masochistic fairy. Get that sleazy look off your face. She’s mine.”

Really? Of all the ways this night could go, that was where we landed? Fuck my life.

“Are you in or out? I’m not going to ask again. If the next word out of your mouth isn’t an agreement, it’ll be your last,” I threatened, nearly blinded by the damn shine on this evil butterfly.

Guess I’d turned into Phillip tonight. I didn’t have much patience for the cutesy act, not after he’d flipped the switch from abused pup to two-faced psycho.

Okay, so it was mostly because I knew what was waiting for me when we got back to the safe house. If I didn’t get something of value out here to prove to Phillip that I was a damn good Hunter and a contributing member of the group, then I’d sure as hell get my frustration out before we left.

Whatever Magnus saw in my eyes, it put him on guard. Not enough to smother his sassy little attitude, though. “You’ll keep me safe? That’s rich. Her web reaches everywhere. The once-feared Monster of the Realm without his power and a little beast girl isn’t going to cut it. She’ll eat you two alive.”

The once-feared Monster of the Realm without his power?

I kept my eyes trained to our captive. I’d ask Cash about the monster comment later, but I couldn’t lose our edge. We didn’t have time to talk around the subject. The Organization had eyeseverywhere, and at a club like this, it was only a matter of time before our party got crashed.

“Funny you should say that, Magnus,” Cash whispered in a voice that would haunt my very dreams. It didn’t sound anything like him. The violent growl came from deep inside his chest, a reverberating rumble that hit my body in an odd way. The Dark Fae’s penetrating tone was saturated with murderous intentions, and as much as I hated to admit it, the sound startled me.

That was twice in one night Cash turned into something he wasn’t.

My companion’s magic crackled and exploded after he snapped his fingers. Magnus was suddenly pinned to the brick wall with his body covered in shadows. The translucent black mist seemed to crawl and writhe around the startled boy toy. Magnus’s face sunk in. The shape of his skull became terrifyingly clear as his skin stretched and thinned, pulling away from his eyes and mouth and mummifying in seconds.

It didn’t end there.

Underneath the very little Magnus wore, his body looked like something straight out of an Egyptian coffin. The state of our captive continued to deteriorate the longer the black mass crawled over him.

I tossed Cash a questioning look, but the platinum-blonde menace just smiled and winked like we were sharing a cute moment and he wasn’t in the middle of mummifying a stranger.

What the actual fuck?

“It can’t…you can’t,” the boy toy murmured before gasping as if it’d become impossible to breathe. “Okay! I’ll tell you. Stop!”

I still didn’t know what I’d just witnessed, but the second the black shadow around Magnus’s body receded, his cheeks filled in, his ribs disappeared under thickening skin, and his body seemed to return to its original state.

Taking out his phone, Magnus rushed to type something in it. I snatched it before he could finish, and his answering groan would’ve put every whiny girl I went to high school with to shame. “Do you want the location or not? I’d much rather give it to you here than…well, with my life.”

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