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“Whatever.” I’m being peevish but I don’t care. “Let’s get back to business. It seems we have a bunch of demons selling drugs to humans, which in turn creates more demons. And some scary black magic motherfucker—you didn’t happen to get a glimpse of that thing, did you?”
“You have such a dirty mouth,” Ryder says, shaking his head and grinning.
I don’t like the way he’s looking at me. At all. “Well, did you? See the thing that came in the room after us?”
He shakes his head. “No. But agreed, the magic coming off it was… intense.” He frowns. “And unfamiliar.”
“Do you make a habit of cataloguing all the bad guys in Costa Rica?” It’s mostly rhetorical. I just need to keep talking until the remnants of his damn magic fade away. I’m still shivering in a delicate place.
“Pretty much,” he says, making a gesture with those long, clever fingers of his. “It comes in handy.”
The more my thoughts clear, the more serious I realize this situation is. Not that Luciana going missing isn’t enough of a challenge. “So, is it usual for demons to try to make new demons? That seems fairly alarming if you ask me.”
Ryder shrugs. “Demons are always trying to take over the human race. But yeah, new methodology this time. Interesting approach.”
“And what about the lust demons? Is your kind bent on world domination, too?”
I say it flippantly, because he’s acting like taking over humanity is no big deal. But his expression hardens, and he crosses his arms over his chest.
“That’s us. Taking over the world one orgasm at a time.”
I ignore his cold tone. What’s he all bent out of shape about all the sudden? “Can you please be serious? My friend is still missing.” I sigh. “Do you think she just she stumbled upon these guys, wrong place wrong time, and they took her so she couldn’t reveal their plan?”
“Maybe.” Another shrug. He’s gone from making jokes to being distant and removed in two seconds flat.
Abruptly, I’ve had enough of my cocky partner. I’m tired as hell and I don’t have energy for his bullshit. “We’d better call it a night,” I say. “Get some rest, pick this up again tomorrow. At least we have a possible lead.”
“Possible? I think my gut instinct was more than confirmed.”
“We’re onto something big, that’s for sure.” I nod. “But I still need to figure out how this all ties in with Luciana’s disappearance.”
His jaw tightens and those teal eyes narrow. “Why did you seek me out if you weren’t going to trust my expertise?”
“Listen.” I fix him in a hard gaze. “It’s late. I’m exhausted. I don’t need some arrogant prick with a fragile ego giving me a hard time.”
Without waiting for a response, I spin on my heels and march down the shore. For approximately two feet, at which point I smack into something rock solid, and a flash of white light propels me onto my ass in the sand at Ryder’s feet.
I stare up at him, shock etched on my face. “Did you do that?” I shriek.
He rolls his eyes. “As if I want to spend another second with a stuck-up control freak witch.”
He turns and stalks off in the other direction, only to bounce off something same as I did. Same flash of white light, same unceremonious landing in the sand.
We watch each other warily as we climb to our feet. Tentatively, I step forward, arms outstretched before me. Within a couple feet, I hit something solid. I can’t see anything, but it’s unsurpassable. Looking over my shoulder, I see that Ryder is experiencing the same thing.
Slowly, I feel my way along the invisible line. It feels like heated metal beneath my fingers and gives off a glimmer where I touch it. I turn as it curves back toward Ryder, and he steps to the side as I move past. Before long, I’ve made a full circle back to where I started.
We’re trapped inside an invisible orb of magic no more than four feet across.
Together.
