Page 101 of Demons and Debts
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Theo
I hearthe sirens long before they pull up to the driveway. The house is on fire, the whole back caved in.
‘It had to have been a bomb,’ Kor mutters as I stand, staring at the smoke pouring from the windows from the upper floors.
My ears are ringing, and I can barely hear him.
‘Blew just aftersheleft.’
‘You think it was Jane?’ I say, swiveling my neck to look at him.
‘I don’t believe in coincidences. I’ve been on to her from the start. So has Vic.’
‘What the hell are you talking about?’
‘He thinks she’s working for someone.’
‘Who?’
Kor shrugs. ‘Whoever’s been fucking with our shipments.’
I look at the ground. ‘I don’t believe that.’
Kor laughs and the sound is ugly. ‘Look around you, brother, and get your head out of your ass. She drew you in and you fell for it. Hell, she even started doing it to me. She’s good. I’ll give the treacherous little bitch that.’
The house is an inferno and I’m on my knees. I start coughing again. I tried to get back in to save Carrie and the other girls while Korban attempted to find a way down via the old steps from the gym, but we couldn’t get to them. There was too much smoke and the upper floor had collapsed into the kitchen, trapping them if they even survived the initial blast.
Kor is still shaking his head in anger as the fire crews pull up. They start fighting the flames, using a combination of old-fashioned water and even older-fashioned magick.
It doesn’t take long before the blaze is mostly out, but the house is basically a smoking, blackened skeleton of protruding beams.
When I feel well enough to stand up, I see that Korban has at least saved our bikes.
‘How could this happen? The wards were in place. Paris made sure everything was working after he patched the hole in the perimeter. Have you called Vic?’ I ask Korban.
‘He’s not picking up.’
He sounds worried. Kor doesn’tgetworried.
What the fuck is happening?
My phone rings. I turn up the volume and put it on speaker.
‘Is this Theodore Wright?’
‘Yes. Who is this?’
There’s a pause. ‘Do you know an Alexsandre Makenzie? You’re on his phone as the emergency contact.’
My stomach twists. ‘Yeah. Is everything ok?’
‘I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but your friend and a woman with him have been in a car accident.’
‘Are they … are they ok?’
‘The woman suffered some cuts and abrasions, but your friend was hurt pretty badly. They’re both being transferred to Metro Gen as we speak.’
