Page 24 of Hexes From Exes

“See? There’s your answer, she’s probably at the museum for that sort of work.”

Rick took a big, final swig of his seltzer, feeling that same buzzing feeling he felt after the mojitos. It was now compounded by the noise in his head as he puzzled over Cass. The sound of Stephanie snapping her laptop shut made him jump.

“Do you have another one of these seltzers?”

Stephanie passed him another, watching as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Do you mind…” he started, then stopped, unsure of himself. “Do you mind if I take off my human glamor? It’s very uncomfortable.”

“Is it easy to put it on and off?” Stephanie asked, curious. She had so many questions about the magic of the demon realm, but she’d never really asked. She watched as Rick closed his eyes and suddenly grew nearly a foot. He shook his head as if to clear it, his horns and scales on full display. Stephanie reached out to touch his arm, to feel one of those scales under her fingers.

Rick held very still, his gaze pinned to her fingers as she ran them over the edges of the scale. It sent a shiver down his spine and made his stomach lurch. He had to stop this. It was bad enough that he was drinking a seltzer in Stephanie’s condo. Now she was touching him…and he liked it.

“Hmm,” she said, pulling her hand away at last. “So how does it work, this magic?”

Rick cleared his throat, glad to focus on something other than himself. “Demons need magic to live. It’s an intrinsic part of our life force. Many centuries ago, magic was abundant in Anathamea, but as time wore on, it dissipated. We get most of our magic from deals with humans, and it’s put into a community pot to supply us all.”

“You need it to live, but you’re not born with it?” Stephanie asked, tilting her head.

“We are, we just share it,” Rick said.

“Share it? With who?”

“It’s extracted and spread through the community,” Rick explained.

“But there’s a shortage,” Stephanie pressed.

Rick nodded. “Yes. Demons used to live for centuries. Now we don’t. The demons born lately don’t live long if they survive to leave the womb at all. Carrying a demon child is a big drain of magic, and most demons aren’t comfortable with the idea of a carrier dying.”

“Wow,” Stephanie said. “And you can’t just like…create it?”

“No, we must harvest it. The human realm has potent magic made from deals with humans. They offer their souls, and we break the soul down and turn it into magical components.”

“Who determines who gets the magic?” Stephanie asked.

“The council,” Rick said, matter-of-fact.

“The same council that you don’t trust as much as your ex?”

Rick narrowed his eyes, taking a bigger swig of his drink. “You are very distrusting of them,” he said.

She shrugged. “Well, you’re saying that magic is a hot commodity, and that they get to take it all and distribute it as they see fit. Demon babies don’t live long, but the council is thousands of years old. It just seems…odd.”

“The council is thousands of years old because they hold knowledge well outside of what we young demons know!” His voice was raising a bit, he felt his pulse race. To her credit Stephanie didn’t look cowed by his words, she just looked more skeptical.

“Huh. Well, at least they’re up front about being demons in charge of the government.” She raised her wine glass to Rick, to which he toasted automatically, though he didn’t understand what she was saying.

Hours later, Stephanie pulled a blanket over Rick’s prone body, which was spread over her sofa. He didn’t fit, his horns projecting dangerously into the walkway, his legs hanging off the other end of the sofa. The seltzers hit him hard, and after a few hours of talking, he collapsed onto the couch and quickly fell asleep.

Stephanie tucked the blanket around his sides, smoothing parts of it. Her fingers lingered on one of his scales, feeling the warmth of it under her fingers. She blinked because for a moment, she thought the scale her finger lingered on was glowing gold.

It must have been her imagination, she thought as she crawled into bed.

Chapter Ten

Rick could feel his pulse in his brain as he walked. The seltzers were no better than the mojitos when it came to the day after. He’d also remembered, with a cringe, that he’d removed his magic glamor in the middle of the night. Stephanie, to her credit, didn’t even flinch. It was the third time she’d seen him in his demon form. He usually reserved it for instilling fear and dominance when dealing with humans. He’d never just…walked around with it. There was no real reason to.

The eternal fires were burning especially bright that day. Rick shaded his eyes as he headed to the office from his condo. He needed to give Herschel an update on how things were going with Stephanie. The old demon let him do his own thing, but at the end of the day he was still his boss. It was better to head him off on an update instead of sitting back and waiting to be summoned.

He saw Cass exiting the grocery as he rounded the corner. It physically pained him, but he jogged across the street, waving to her. “Cass!” he said. She froze, her gaze meeting his. He saw a flash of something unpleasant across her face. Whatever, I need to talk to her, he thought, annoyed.