Straightening my shirt, I pulled away from Ethan, shivering when his fingers trailed along my waist. Damn Mikey for interrupting. I knew we had a lot to worry about, but sex was a good way to relieve stress. Plus, I liked knowing I was wanted even when I felt like such a failure. With Carlos looking down on me for my decisions, I had started to feel like maybe I wasn’t cut out for this job. Maybe I had failed my people before I could really get started.
Pushing away the thoughts, I motioned Mikey to follow us into the kitchen. Hearing some strange noises on the TV in the living room, I went to investigate, finding Taco watching porn. I remembered Mary mentioned that he could turn into a human, but I had yet to see it. Maybe the little beast needed to get out more? Grossed out by the images assaulting my thoughts, I walked to the TV and turned it off.
“Watch that in your room. We have company.” I glared at him and he glared right back, still lounging on his side. Shaking my head, I walked back into the kitchen.
I saw Mikey bent over, his head in the fridge. I was surprised to find it was completely stocked. When I looked at Ethan questioningly, he shrugged.
“I think Maggie did it at some point.”
“Speaking of Maggie, I went to her house, but she wasn’t there. There was a note from the delivery company that said they were sorry they missed her.” Mikey straightened and opened some red Jell-O, reaching into my silverware drawer for a spoon.
“Why would you go to her house?” I asked, though I was more concerned over her not being home and missing the delivery of her stove. She had seemed excited over that, so where the hell was she?
Mikey swallowed a spoonful and sighed. “To ask her out. She left before I could.”
“Is this your attempt to move on?” I asked. “Don’t try to use her for an easy lay, Mikey. I will cut you.”
“I’m not!” he insisted. He scowled into his Jell-O. “I have respect for women, you know.”
I sighed. “We’d better go to her house and figure out what’s going on. I’ll call first, just to see if she answers.”
I looked around, finding my purse on the floor of the kitchen. I dug out the phone, finding seven missed calls from Maggie.
Finding no voicemails, I began to worry. “We have to go to her house to see what’s going on.”
“There’s nothing there, Sophie. I looked.” Mikey tossed his empty container into the garbage as he licked the spoon.
“What the hell am I supposed to do now?” I demanded. “Was there any magical signature there? Did you sense anything?”
Shaking his head, he frowned. “Nothing. Not even her own magic.”
“I bet Drake took her. Or one of the demons.” I clenched my fists. “We have to find her.”
My phone rang. When I glanced down at the screen, I blew out a breath. “Maggie?”
“Hey! I’ve been trying to call everyone for help, but no one’s answering. My car broke down. I don’t want to call a tow truck because of the demons running around. What if one of them shows up?”
“We were so worried! We thought something happened to you.”
“No–”
The phone went dead. I frowned, not liking the direction this was going.
“Something’s wrong.” I ran to find my shoes. “We have to go help her.”
“Where is she?” Ethan asked, following me around.
I stopped. “I have no idea. We’ll just take the route to her house and see if we find anything.”
Pounding on my front door had me growling. Ethan answered it, letting the two Mages in.
“We are ready for the next part of the Trials,” they said.
“We have to put that on hold until I find Maggie. What does the next part have to do with me anyway?” I asked, pushing past them to leave the house.
Ethan looked at his brothers as they followed me. “I told you Sophie wasn’t to be harmed.”
“Her blood is the only thing that can do it,” Eric replied.
As I came around the corner to my car, I screeched in surprise. A body lay on the lawn. “What the fuck?!”
Ethan came up behind me and frowned at his brothers. “I told you Sophie will not do this! Find another magical being.”
“You’ve read the book, Ethan. You know her blood is the only thing that can revive the victim.”
“Is this who I think it is?” I asked, grimacing, bending over to look at the shriveled body.
“Heather,” Ethan confirmed.
“Where did you get her body?” I paused, taking a deep breath. “You know what? I don’t care. This has to wait until I find Maggie. Someone just took her.”
“We need to do the next Trial! That demon is almost ready to open the gates of Hell, yet you want to worry about some random Witch?” Dan shook his head in disbelief. “Carlos was right. Your priorities are fucked up.”
Ethan swung, smashing his fist right in the face. He had put so much power behind it, they both fell to the ground. Ethan scrambled to his feet, kicking Dan in the ribs. “I’ve had enough of your shit! You’re a disrespecting asshole.”
Eric just watched, letting the two fight it out. I sighed loudly, shaking my head. I didn’t have time for this. Walking around them to get to my car, I climbed in and started it, backing out of the driveway. Looking in the rearview mirror, I saw Ethan still towering over Dan. They didn’t even realize I’d left.
It wasn’t long before I was out on the main road, searching both sides for Maggie’s car. As I stopped at a stop sign, I turned my head to the right, just in time to see something black fly in my direction. The car lurched to the side and
