Page 97 of The Magic of Revenge
"Fine. I apologize. I know you are a professional of the highest caliber. Go on then," Kai lowered his hand and Napoleon scampered off, disappearing through a crack that an animal of his size should never have been able to squeeze through.
"I have questions, but I'm not going to ask them right now," Faris said to Kai and then spun on his heel, heading for the kitchen.
We all trailed after him, ready to hear whatever Sloane had to tell us.
"Ah fuck, those WISP agents will be here soon," Bram reminded us and Sloane shook his head.
"That won't be necessary anymore."
He told us everything that had happened while we were gone and I was positive the kitchen sounded like a pit of vipers, rabid wolves, and monsters from your worst nightmares. I slipped my phone out and sent a message to the agent I’d spoken with at the fire telling her of the escape. She responded that they’d send people out to canvas the area.
"She stabbed him in the dick with a rock?" Faris smiled creepily, holding a hand to his heart.
"Oh yeah. She fought like hell. She was so fiercely beautiful," Sloane replied before schooling his lovey-dovey expression to something that resembled the asshole I knew and loved.
“But he didn’t– I mean, you got there before—” Fish stumbled over his words but his question was clear.
“No.” Sloane’s face darkened. “And he’ll never get the chance to try again.”
"He threw her off a cliff?" Bram gritted out and I had to clap a hand to his shoulder as he tried to rise from his seat.
"He's dead, man. Sit down."
"Gonna go find a necromancer to reanimate his body for me so I can keep my vow to her and fucking kill him again..."
Now Faris was staring at Bram with heart eyes and I figured we all really needed a good night's sleep.
“Yeah. He did and I didn’t know she’d been hit with a fucking magic tranquilizer so I went after him, assuming she’d just flutter back up,” Sloane said, and literally, every jaw dropped as the ramifications of that situation hit home.
Kai lost his shit. A growl that sounded more like a hellhound than a panther erupted from him as he began pacing. I could picture Bagheera’s tail swishing and cutting through the air like a bullwhip.
My own fists were clenched so tightly that my knuckles cracked from the pressure.
“So, pray tell, how is she still alive?” Faris asked. I’d almost expected him to rage at Sloane, but he seemed genuinely curious.
“She told me when she was falling that out of nowhere an older demon caught her, told her she was safe, and brought her back. I had my back turned so I didn’t see him. Then he was gone, vanished. I don’t know who the fuck he was, but I’m glad he was there.” Sloane’s shoulders bunched with tension and I knew he was blaming himself for all of the shit. It spoke volumes that he was standing here with us now, having this conversation. Before, he would’ve turned to some self-destructive behavior and shut down completely.
“Hey, Scorch,” Bram said to Sloane, using his old nickname that I hadn’t heard since he’d shown up in Emerald Lakes as Johnny. “You did good, man.” Bram stared intensely at Sloane until the latter gave a nod of acknowledgment.
“He’s right. She was lucky to have you tonight, brother,” I assured him. When I saw him fidgeting with his hands, I knew he was uncomfortable with the attention so I tossed him an out, redirecting the conversation to the mysterious savior. Nobody knew what to make of it, but we decided to talk to Bette about setting up some wards, similar to the ones she and Saige had implemented when Saige had been astral projecting. Any extra protection would be welcomed at this point.
“So, what else happened out there?” Fischer questioned, after chugging half of his water bottle.
Sloane continued his story, explaining the dragon development and we were all shocked as shit at that news. He seemed excited about it, though. Fucker.Yes, stars, let's give the asshole hothead some dragon powers now. Sounds like a solid plan.
"My dad died." Sloane threw the words out and everyone froze. The noisy atmosphere died so fast, you could've heard Napoleon fart from the next room.
"What did you just say?" Kai whispered.
"My dad... The prison called. He's dead," Sloane repeated and Kai launched himself across the table, knocking Sloane backward in his chair.
"Oh my gods, Sloaney Baloney. That's great news, right? I mean, that's what he deserves. I only wish I’d had the chance to do it like I promised," Kai said, nuzzling Sloane's armpit with his nose and purring.
"Get off me, you freaky feline. That purring gives me the creeps," Sloane grumbled, pushing Kai away.
It was Fischer who offered Sloane a hand and pulled him upright.
"You okay?" Fish tilted his head and studied Sloane. Something passed between them and Sloane released an oomph when Fish rushed him and wrapped him in a tight hug.
