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“I got caught up. You ready?”
“No shit. I’ve been ready.”
Elio walks past me looking annoyed, his mouth pressed into a hard line, and heads for the nearest building. It’s wide and squat with a caved-in roof, but it’s the most structurally sound of the bunch, which makes it the best place to open a portal.
At least, that’s what Elio says.
Like every time he makes the connection between realms, he places one hand on the wall and closes his eyes to focus. Under his breath he mutters an ancient incantation, one taught to him by his warlock grandfather, and the black hole springs to life a second later. He steps back while the portal swells, swallowing the side of the building.
“Do you ever get tired of doing that?” I ask, pointing to the gaping hole.
He nods, rolling his eyes. “All the time.”
When we first met several years ago, I envied Elio’s magic. Most monsters that are descended from warlocks can’t harvest enough power to wield it successfully. Others don’t bother to try because having power is dangerous.
People like Rafe seek to control those with magic, or destroy them, which is why Elio ended up working for him. Employed is better than dead.
While it would be convenient to open portals myself and do other cool magic shit, I don’t have any warlock blood in me. I don’t envy Elio anymore either—magic is one hell of a burden to bear—but I’m glad he’s on our side.
Having a portal bitch handy whenever I feel like traveling to Earth isn’t too bad.
“I thought so,” I say before we step into the void.
A few moments later, we emerge into a familiar alleyway. It’s the one we always use when we travel to Atlanta. The same one Devyn followed us down.
Not only is it one of the longest, most secluded alleyways I’ve come across in the city, it’s right next to The Château, which is run by monsters. They help keep the alley clear of humans and are close by if anything should ever go wrong with the portal.
It works out nicely.
Elio pulls out his cell phone, turning it on with the press of a button, and we make our way down the alley while it powers up. While technology doesn’t work in the monster realm, it survives the journey just fine and works when we bring it back through. We figured that out on accident years ago when we hurriedly jumped through the portal to avoid a nasty fight between rival monster gangs in Florida.
“Where’s the meeting?” I ask.
Elio’s pulling up his Uber app to arrange a ride. “A restaurant called Parisi’s. We’re meeting with Ross again.”
I snap my head in his direction. “Why?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know. He asked to talk to us. Rafe thinks he’ll ask for more land. Or money.”
“Or both.” I roll my eyes. I hated dealing with him the last time, so I’m not looking forward to seeing him again. “Are we going to give it to him?”
“It depends on his offer. We’ll see I guess.”
The brightly lit sidewalk is a stark difference from the shadow-filled alley, and it takes my eyes a moment to adjust to the brightness. People bustle around, paying us no mind. Cars streak by on the street ahead. It’s all so different from the monster realm where everything is still and silent most of the time.
“Fucking great,” I mutter, staring down the sidewalk as people continue to pass us by. “And you can’t meet him by yourself?”
“So you can go to your girlfriend’s house and play with her stuff?” Elio’s voice is unexpectedly sharp. “Fuck no.”
“She’s not my girlfriend.” I wheel around to face him, and my eyebrows climb my forehead. “And no. It’s because he’s a fucking assbag. What is your problem?”
“Yourmatethen. Whatever. I don’t have a problem.” He huffs and shoulders past me, heading up the sidewalk.
For a second, I consider letting him go so he can blow off some steam, but I know it’s best if we stick together.
I groan and hurry after him.
“I claimed her to save her,” I explain, keeping my voice low.
