Page 36 of Failed State

“Dude, what the fuck?” I say as I look at the rich moron.

He can’t speak yet, so he holds a finger up, and continues working through the injuries our girl gave him without a second thought. When he’s finally able to blow out a slow, even breath, he croaks, “We don’t need air, and I have no idea what the motherfuckingshitthat bitch just did to me.”

Elias smirks, crossing his arms over his chest. “I believe she just showed you what happens when you fuck around with her, blood sucker.”

“Well, that’s for sure, scaly man, buthowdid she do that little demo, mm?” Huck pushes his cowboy hat back, his face full ofconfusion. “Sweet pea’s never been able to do a thing in class, and bless your heart, you seem to have awakened a beast.”

The dragon shrugs. “I’m not sure how I knew what to say, or that she’d be able to understand, demon. It just came out of my mouth. As for ‘how’, I couldn’t tell you; I still don’t have a read on her type, which is weird as fuck.”

Sydney holds her hand up, shaking her head. “We can’t deal with this here; too many witnesses, both seen and unseen. Discussion will have to be later; we have extremely unpleasant bullshit to deal with first.”

She’s not wrong, but what happens if someone pisses her off during our sessions?

“I don’t like this shit,” I mutter to Huck as the mass crowd of supes head out of the atrium back across the courtyard we used to come to our building last night. They’re taking us in the back way again and Syd is keeping her distance from all of us. Probably a good plan considering, but I’m using the time to catch my other best friend alone. “How did the stupid prince know what to do? How did she do that at all? Why would the vampire admit it shouldn’t have worked? There’s too many unanswered questions.”

The demon shrugs, his eyes darting around before he replies, “Change is seldom comfortable, my friend, nor does it come when it’s convenient. You and I have had this conversation many times since I arrived in these parts; I’ve always believed our girl was holdin’ cards we couldn’t see. Obviously, I wasn’t far off the mark.”

“She wasn’t doing it purposefully, man. You saw the surprise in her eyes at first—before it faded to happily psychotic glee, I mean.”

He laughs, looking more than a little intrigued by the thought. “An attitude I find even more attractive than her normal prickly behavior, I’m afraid. The pure evil in her eyes while the vamp was trying not to die was enough to make my entire body light up like a holiday festival.”

She’s going to kill him, too, if he gets too aggressive with his appreciation.

“Huck, if she’s coming into the suppressed power of a species we have no clue about… You might consider treading lightly with the come-ons, man.” I scratch my chin as we follow the group into the building, keeping close enough to Sydney to get to her if need be. “You know how… anti-intimacy… she is.”

His laugh surprises me and I arch a brow. “Oh, naive little bear. Sydney Jolie isnotasexual in the slightest—though I would adore her regardless. She’s simply terrified of being left alone again. Mommy abandonment, Daddy abandonment—even due to death—has made her create a hard shell around herself to keep from being hurt again. How can you not realize that?”

I frown, holding the door for him as we enter. “I never delved too deep out of respect, Huck. It’s not my place to force her to confront shit; I’m not a fucking shrink.”

The fear demon shakes his head ruefully. “I fear you’ve done both of you, and now me, a great disservice.”

“How?”

Huck grins, his eyes swirling with the swirls of his actual magic. “Because what we fear defines who we are, and overcoming it can open many, many doors, Thaddeus. Our mind will seek to overcome them when emotions are extreme—like today. However, when there’s no adrenaline forcing your hand, you are owned by them.”

Groaning, I give him a frustrated look. “Explain better.”

“Thad, I believe that she unintentionally used what little magic she had developed to put a shell around her that’s only grown stronger over the years—especially the past four in the sector.” His smug expression irritates me, but I let him go on. “I didn’t notice because she kept me farther away until now. However, her true powers may be… leaking out of that shell.”

“It’s cracked?” I ask as we line up where the guides show everyone to stand. “What did that?”

“Fuck if I know,” he says. “But I believe it has and now she’s coming into her own. What I don’t know is how she’s able to exhibit thelevelof power she did earlier. The Marker should have prevented it.”

We fall silent for a few moments, and it comes to me. “We all saw doctors separately, Huck.”

“Well, I’ll be a daisy, Thad. You’re right.” His dark features furrow into a thoughtful look and he glances at our girl quickly. “She has to know, if that’s the case. Why didn’t she tell us?”

That bothers me, too.

“I don’t know, but it might be because we haven’t really had ‘alone time’ with her. The others are always around. I can’t imagine she’d share something that treasonous in front of people we don’t know yet.”

Huck scratches his head as he looks at our three additional team members. “I find myself puzzled by them, to be truthful. I don’t get bad vibes from them, but the dragon and vamp are closed off to my abilities for now. I intend to work on the mage first. He’s far too open for his own good.”

I snort. “Hopefully, that’s not a trap, man.”

“I’ve never met a single spell sucker in my long existence who could entrap me. Don’t worry your big paws about me,” he says with a wink.

“Are you two done gossiping like old maids?” We look up to see Sydney standing with her arms crossed as she looks at us in consternation. “I’d prefer to have you along when we go into this… wonderful…branding exercise.”

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