Page 48 of Outlaw Witch

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Roscoe is like a giddykid as he grabs my hand and leads me out of the building.

“This is gonna be fun.”

“Focus, man,” Zeph snipes. “We’re not just on another trip to a bar to get you laid.”

“I know that.” Roscoe shrugs off his friend’s words, but I can see a hint of something pained beyond his grin. “And quit making me sound like some barfly or pervert.”

“All I’m saying is I won’t hold my breath, that you’re not gonna get distracted and we’ll find you cozied up in a corner, macking on some blonde chick.”

“Macking on?” Roscoe snorts. “Fuck you, dude. And I’m gonna be all focus tonight. Don’t you worry about it.”

We head deep into the heart of the Nexus District, to a club that sits right in the middle of a disused subway tunnel. Graffiti mars the walls all over the place, and I briefly wonder what Ember would think of it.

There’s absolutely no way I would have found this place without the guys leading me here, or without incredibly detailed instructions. As it is, there’s heavy bass music thumping through the subway tunnel and a line snakes along at least a hundred people deep.

I groan internally and glance over at Roscoe. “I’m hoping one of you has got a way for us to skip the line?”

“Sure do, sweetheart.” Roscoe beams at me before slipping an arm around my waist.

I stiffen at the casual way he’s touching me again and tip my head up to ask him what the fuck he’s doing. But he keeps his arm where it is, holding me solidly against his body.

“I can make it seem like we melt into the darkness,” he murmurs into my ear, pulling up his sleeve and showing me one of the hundreds of runes covering his body. Each of them is its own spell and he must be crazy powerful to have that many. “But I need to be touching you for it to work.”

I could use my glamor to do much the same thing, but I won’t show any of my tricks unless I can help it. If I demonstrate I can do more than just blood magic, that’ll only raise questions that I’m not going to answer.

Instead, I just let Roscoe pull me along. I can feel his magic surging out of him as he mutters words I can’t hear, touching the rune at the base of his wrist. The sponge inside me rises up, its interest piqued at this new display of magic, and I stiffen as I try to keep a lid on it.

Not. Now.

I can’t risk it doing its thing and sucking up Roscoe’s magic.

It took me a long time to be able to have any sort of control over this side of my magic. Years and years of absorbing anything and everything that went on around me, no matter how unwilling I was to draw it into my body. These days, my control is a lot stronger. My magic is no longer a starved beast, its gaping maw wide open, absorbing everything that it comes into contact with.

Nope. I’m in control.

Ihavecontrol.

That’s what I tell myself as Roscoe makes us fade into the darkness, leading me inside the door of the club, past the surly bouncers. I’m stiff as a board beside him, walking like we’re in a three-legged race together or like I desperately need to pee and am trying to hold it in.

Thankfully, he drops the illusion almost as soon as we’re clear of the door. He then grins over his shoulder as he tugs me through the crowds of people standing around. I twist around to check that no one noticed our sudden appearance and see that we don’t have a surly shadow behind us. In fact, I can’t see Zeph at all.

It’s loud as hell in here. People shouting over each other and the music to be heard. When I shout into Roscoe’s ear, asking where the grouchy mage is, he just grins at me.

“I figured we could get a head start. Have some fun together before he comes in and wrecks the mood,” he shouts back with a little wiggle of his ass.

Then, leaning in close with his arm still wrapped around my waist, he murmurs, “Plus, I wanted to see your expression when you first saw this place.” His face is so close to mine, I can feel his breath on my lips. His gaze is fixed on my eyes as he smiles broadly. “Welcome toSecond Circle.”

I remove his arm from my person, ignoring the pout he gives me in return, and take a look around this place. There’s all the usual club features, a couple of bars, one on either side of the room. Flashing lights. A thumping bass that’s already giving me a headache. People writhing around on the dance floor or tucked up in the booths that line the walls.

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