The Mage in Black

The Mage in Black by Jaye Wells Read Free Book Online Page B

Book: The Mage in Black by Jaye Wells Read Free Book Online
Authors: Jaye Wells
Tags: Horror & Ghost Stories
filled with the acrid scent of brimstone.
    Maisie gasped.
    “Good gods,” Orpheus said.
    I smiled and kept walking. When Giguhl switched forms, he always ended up naked. I won’t go into details, but a naked demon is a sight you don’t want to behold more than once. I was about to turn the corner when Rhea finally spoke.
    “Why is it forked?”

5

    T hus far, the food in New York left a lot to be desired. Granted, I’d only been in the city about four hours, but back in California, none of my meals ever bit back.
    “Ouch!” I reared back and checked to be sure my ear was still attached. My meal stared back with glittering eyes, black in the dim light. He had a few days’ worth of scruff, and a diamond stud glinted from beneath greasy black hair.
    “Fuck you, bitch.” His attitude—and his blood—left a bitter taste in my mouth. Frustrated and too tired to deal with this shit, I pushed him away. Instead of running like a normal person, he had the nerve to pull a gun on me.
    “Seriously?” I said. If I weren’t so annoyed, I probably would have laughed. “I think you better hand over the gun before you hurt yourself—or I do it for you.”
    He pulled the trigger. The bullet ripped through the flesh just below my right collarbone. I might have been immune to the damage, but it fucking hurt.
    “Godsdammit!” I yelled, pressing a hand to my chest. “Gimme that thing.” I jerked the gun out of his hands and threw it into a wooded area off the trail. His eyes widened and he stumbled back, mumbling prayers to the Virgin Mary.
    “She can’t help you now,” I said menacingly. He tripped over his feet and ran off into the night. I briefly considered giving chase but decided it wasn’t worth the effort.
    Despite the empty trails this time of night, Central Park still hummed with energy. In the tree line, dark shadows shifted in my peripheral vision. A screech came from overhead. I looked up to see Stryx flying in tight circles over me.
    “Go away,” I grumbled. Ignoring the owl, I trudged on through the trails, hoping to find another meal. Not an hour ago I was puking out my spleen, and now my body had to heal the gunshot wound. That meant blood had gone from a want to being a need.
    The chill October air held the promise of rain. Under that, the city scents of trash, exhaust, and humanity were muted and mixed with the smoky aroma of fallen leaves. I slowed my pace and took a deep lungful of air. Wincing, I pressed a hand against the chest wound. The hole was already closing, entombing the bullet lodged there—a morbid souvenir of my first visit to the Big Apple.
    Needing a minute, I sat on a bench near the intersection of three trails. The famous “Imagine” mosaic memorializing John Lennon lay a few feet away. Someone had left an offering of red roses in the center of the circle. All around me, trees reached up toward the inky night sky, and just beyond, the spires of New York’s cathedrals to the gods of commerce loomed.
    What the fuck was I doing here? I settled back into the bench and allowed myself to wallow. Self-pity wasn’t an emotion I indulged often. It was easier to avoid wallowing when I thought I was in control of my life. But now control was the last thing I had.
    When I’d agreed to come to New York with Adam, I’d been pissed off and ready to leave everything behind. My need to make my grandmother pay for betraying me was stronger than my worries over leaving everything behind. I knew mages were different from vampires, but I figured I’d adjust. I was half mage after all—how hard could it be?
    But now that I was here and had my first taste of mage life, I wasn’t so sure I’d made the right decision. Maisie was nice enough, but I couldn’t help distancing myself from her. I’d thought since we were twins we’d be more alike, but the reality was we couldn’t be more different. Hell, even my minion liked her better than he liked me. Stupid fickle demon.
    Plus, Adam’s departure

Similar Books

A Bitter Magic

Roderick Townley

Ride the Man Down

Luke; Short

The Eden Inheritance

Janet Tanner

Mummers' Curse

Gillian Roberts

Beautiful Ghosts

Eliot Pattison

Out of Bounds

Lauren Blakely