Page 27 of That Mafioso Magic
I opened my mouth to respond, then closed it, because I didn’t have an answer to that question. I hadn’t taken into account that the murder weapons would most likely end up with her tiny fingerprints all over them. That her tiny footprints were in the house soaked in blood and no one else’s as they led their way to the front door. All evidence from what I saw pointed to Lacey as the killer. Sage was right, if I did manage to bring her back, she would be locked away and studied for God knows how long. I had to figure something out, because I didn’t feel right not giving her a chance at life. It was too late to do anything about her parents. But maybe… just maybe Lacey would be different.
“I still have to try to help her. If nothing else, I can’t let the demon that’s taken over her body run free,” I said.
Sage balled up the wrapper his burger came in and tossed it in the garbage can with perfect aim. “Then I guess it’s time you studied this book.”
“Will you help me?” I asked him.
“You might not need my help if it’s a spell you can do on your own.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Again, Sage cocked his head as he looked at me. His expression curious and surprised at the same time. “You don’t like to fail, do you?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“That maybe you won’t be able to find this demon or save this girl.”
“Will you help me try?” I asked, ignoring his comment. Based on his answer, it would tell me exactly what kind of man Sage was.
He sighed. “Of course, I’ll help you. I just don’t want you to get your hopes up. Best you stay grounded in what is most likely the outcome. Demons are nasty fuckers and don’t leave easily. Even when they do, there’s no telling what condition that body will be in.”
“That book brought us together for a reason. Maybe the spells inside of it can’t be found anywhere else and we’re the only two people in the entire world that can work that kind of magic, Sage.” I ran my hands through my hair. “Now is not the time to be doubtful.”
He nodded. “You’re right. I’m with you.”
That was a relief.
“I’m going to see if there’s been any news about the killing,” Xavier said, leaving the office.
He, Shi, and Nadia had been so quiet while Sage and I had our exchange that I’d forgotten they were also in the office. “So, what did you learn from the book?” I pointed to it.
He cocked both eyebrows. “A whole hell of a lot. For one thing, I can do this now,” he said, then held his palm up and I watched in stunned belief as a ball of fire materialized out of nowhere in his hand.
“Holy shit! How?” I asked. “What can it do?”
He closed his hand and the fire ball was extinguished. “That,” he said, pointing to something behind me.
I turned to see that my coatrack and all of my coats that were on it were gone and in its place was a pile of ash. “My coats,” I muttered in shock.
“Yeah… sorry about that. I didn’t know what to expect when I first did it and shook my hand. The ball flew in that direction and completely obliterated your coats. Don’t worry, I’ll pay for it.”
“Hell yes, you will,” I fussed. I was surprised that I couldn’t smell the burnt wood and fabric. That was interesting, maybe because it was magical fire. Or maybe Sage had done something to get rid of the smell.
“That is fucking awesome!” Nadia said, walking over to the charred remains and examining it. Shi joined her to also check out the results of Sage’s newest power.
“This kind of ability will scare the shit out of any vampire or shifter,” Shi said.
Sage winked and nodded. “Best believe I’m going to master it.”
I sighed. “My belongings destroyed notwithstanding, I think that ability is pretty cool. I’m just glad you didn’t burn the whole place down. Did you open a window or something to get rid of the smell?”
“Nope. It smelled like fire burning for about thirty minutes and then it began to fade away.”
“I guess that’s convenient. And you could never do anything like that before?” I asked him.
He shook his head. “Not even close. I could feel magic around me, all mages draw from the ethos, the atmosphere, but what I feel now is on another level.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I know what you mean.” I then told him about the sleeping spell I’d used on the police earlier.
