Page 46 of Hexes From Exes

Cass grabbed her arm. “Listen, Alice. Can you keep this quiet for a little longer? I know you want to run more tests, but just wait for a bit? I need to look into some other things.”

“Like your old research?” Alice asked hopefully.

Cass gave a small smile. “It would involve a lot of breaking and entering but yeah, like my old research.”

Alice’s eyes lit up at the mention of that. “Man, that sounds like something out of a sci-fi thriller. If you do it, you have to give me a play by play.”

There’s no way Cass could tell her everything about breaking into the old research files in Anathamea, so she just smiled what she hoped was a devilish grin. To her surprise Alice frowned and tilted her head, then rubbed her eyes.

“What is it?” Cass asked.

Alice shook her head quickly. “Nothing, sorry…just for a moment I thought…” She laughed and shook her head again. “I’m thinking too much about demons and horns and…I need a break. Anyway, tell me how it goes, but don’t be a stranger!”

Cass raised her hand to her head, feeling for her horns. Just like always, the magic kept them disguised. When she turned to go, she caught her reflection, which looked very, very human.

* * *

The sensation of a hand on Cass’s arm made her jump and turn around quickly, ready to make a break for it and run. She was close enough to her apartment, but since she’d left the human realm and passed by Dread, her head wasn’t in the right place. She kept going over the translated text – over and over – wondering what it meant. What was the power to make and undo? Did a faction of demons ever succeed in trying to take over the human realm?

The hand on her arm was a reminder that she needed to be careful.

To her relief it was just Zed.

“You scared me, Zed,” she sighed. Then she paused, because Zed looked awful. He wasn’t the cleanest or most well-kept demon normally, but he’d never looked like this before. There were bags under his eyes, and his kilt was wrinkled with a stain that looked like blood. He also smelled like he hadn’t showered in days.

“Where have you been?” he whispered loudly, his gaze darting around.

“Busy, what’s going on?” she asked. Why was Zed looking for her?

“Rick’s been arrested,” he said, stepping closer to her.

She tried not to shrink away at the smell of him, which was now overpowering. “What?!” Cass asked loudly.

“Shh!” Zed said, lunging at her with his hand extended like he was going to cover her mouth. She evaded him easily, grabbing his wrists to stop him. No way was he putting his grubby hands on her no matter what was happening with Rick.

“Come on, we’ll go to my apartment and talk…”

“Not safe,” Zed hissed.

“Fine,” Cass relented, turning back in the direction she came, back toward the slums and the hidden warehouses. Zed followed her closely, never letting her get more than a few steps ahead of him. She was too focused to notice the flyers pinned up on the walls of various buildings, which fluttered as they passed by. At last, they were deep enough into the slums for Cass to turn on him, putting her hand out to keep distance.

“Okay, what is this about Rick?” She must have misheard him. Rick arrested? Never. Rick followed rules a T. That’s why he was a revenge demon. They weren’t known for being rule breakers.

“Rick got arrested because of that human woman,” Zed said quickly. “They arrested him in broad daylight, said he was having interactions with her.” Zed took to pacing now, hugging himself and running his hands along his arms.

“What does that even mean?” Cass asked. A feeling of dread settled in her stomach as she remembered their conversation a few weeks ago, when Rick saw her leaving the Museum of Antiquities.

“It means he broke the law, so they’re going to execute him,” Zed practically yelled, his hands flying up in the air. “Look!” he added, ripping the nearest poster off the wall and thrusting it at her. There was a mug shot of Rick on it, with some bastardized version of his name above it. Below listed his crimes, including fornicating with a human, and the punishment of death by public execution in a few days’ time.

Cass dropped the flyer in shock. She watched it float to the ground before an errant breeze carried it across the empty street.

“Do they have proof?” she whispered.

Zed shrugged. He’d resumed his pacing with fervor, no longer looking at her. “They must! They’re going to kill him! We need to see him. We need to get him out! There’s no way this…I mean, death, Cass?”

If Rick was getting death for this, what did it mean for Cass? Using illegal portals, bartering with stolen magic. Sure, she hadn’t slept with Alice or Eric, but they were certainly friends. If Rick saw her leaving the museum, any other demon could have too. If she’d made a wrong step, would the positions be reversed, with her in a prison cell, about to be executed?

“Look, let me talk to my contacts at Magical Investigations. I’ll see if we can get an audience with the council. We need to try to help him. Is there an agent assigned to his case? Who’s representing him? When did they decree this?” Cass’s mind was moving fast, apparently too fast for Zed.