The Problem With Black Magic by Karen Mead Read Free Book Online Page A

produce lots of magic."
    Sam took a gulp of his coffee and looked at her. It gave her a strange feeling, like he was really looking at her for the first time. "Cassie, when I try to get the magic out of humans it's like...it's like trying to drink out of a clogged water fountain. Just a little trickle bubbles to the surface. With you, I was prepared for that, only to get hit in the face with the force of a fire hose," he said.
    Cassie put her hands around her tea to warm herself; she wasn't thirsty at all, but suddenly she felt cold. "So could you tell that from the moment you met me?"
    "No," he said, frowning. "I had no idea. I just choose you first because virgin girls usually have the most magic, comparatively speaking."
    Cassie's eyes widened. "H-hey!” she sputtered. What did that have to do with anything?
    Sam shrugged. "There are a lot of theories as to why that is, but it’s not my area of expertise.”
    “But how did you know I was- -“
    Sam coughed. “Let’s gloss over that, shall we?” he sai d, taking another sip of his drink.
    Cassie looked around at Dwight and Khalil to see them both pointedly avoid her eyes; Khalil seemed to be barely holding back laughter, his temporary mirth fighting with his anger. Jay just looked wide-eyed, confused, and absolutely thrilled. Annoyed, she crossed her arms and sat back in her chair with a harrumph.
    “How did those…I can’t believe I’m saying this…vampires know to come after her?” asked Dwight. “I guess they knew the time-skip happened here, but I don’t follow after that.”
    “Magic on that scale doesn’t happen very often. Um, at the risk of sounding arrogant, most demons couldn’t freeze time in a ten-mile radius,” s aid Sam, looking down at his mug. Cassie found it interesting that talking about his demonic powers was the only thing that seemed to make him genuinely uncomfortable. “Either multiple demons were involved-- which they knew wasn’t likely since I’m the only one in this general area-- or there was a powerful human involved. It wasn’t a huge deductive leap.
    “So they sent vampires to go hunting for the human with an abundance of magic,” he said, and Cassie noted that he talked about vampires in the same tone that racist people reserved for ethnic slurs. “I know you probabl y think of vampires as cool, but they’re usually as subservient to demons as humans are to vampires-- more, even. And they’re so primitive they can only feed on magic through blood…it’s disgusting.”
    “And you came back to save me from them in just the nick of time,” Cassie said, not even sure if she should sound sarcastic or not. Sam winced briefly.
    “Not really; I didn’t just happen to get here before they took you. I came because I sensed your fear.” He looked at the surface of his coffee studiously, like the answers to life’s most mysterious questions could be found at the bottom of his cup.
    Taking a page from Khalil’s book, Cassie stood up. Maybe it was stupid, but she felt better looking down at him right then . “You…did…what?” she said.
    Sam main tained his death grip on his ceramic mug. “We have a bond now, alright? I didn’t mean for it to happen, but when you do a power transfer on that scale, it’s unavoidable. Technically now you’re my…familiar.”
    Cassie pursed her lips and crossed her arms beneath her breasts. “What is that,” she said, asking the question with no question mark. She didn’t know what her face looked like, but it must have been scary, because Jay started scooting his chair away from her before he even realized he was doing it.
    “Someone a demon shares magic with…a, uh, servant I guess,” he said, very deliberately not meeting her eyes. He jumped almost imperceptibly when she slammed her palms on the table.
    “So, let me get this straight. You used my magic, because you ran out, and in the process, you made me your servant, and now you can “sense my fear” and stuff. Can you