pale color and his hands trembled. Oh well. I gave Slav the pass phrase. He moved to the far side of the counter, the furthest he could get from us and pointed at the back curtain.

“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.”

Slav was petrified and it was kinda funny. In the past, Slav always escorted me to the Dark Side’s entrance. I was shocked that he refused to do it now just to avoid a devil dog.

Lochlan looked at me questioningly, but wisely stayed silent. Slav controlled the only way to get in and out of the Dark Side. It was hidden behind a curtain in the rear of the store, so he needed to buck up and put on his big boy panties and let us in.

“Just go in,” said Slav.

Muffin ignored him, completely unaware of the fear the ogre was struggling through. He really was a weird dog. I still think his sense of people was off and was clueless about people’s emotions. I’d always thought dogs were more intuitive based on the phrase “dogs sense evil.” Shouldn’t he have some reaction to the ogre’s obvious fear?

“You sure don’t treat your contacts very well. First that guy you almost beat up in the alley and now you’ve managed to terrify an ogre.”

“You’ve heard the saying, “I put the fear of god into him.” Well, I put the fear of dog into him.”

“Real funny Marty. You’re lucky he didn’t have a heart attack on the spot. That’s literally the only time I’ve seen an ogre scared.”

“Guess I have a knack for bringing out things in people.”

“You’ve definitely got something, although, I wouldn’t call it a knack. Maybe beguiling? Beautifully head-strong? An earth-bound goddess?”

“Sure.”

“In all seriousness, your methods might not be illegal, but they tread on the edge of what is morally okay. If we stayed partners, it would be easier to help you avoid crossing illegal lines.”

“Lochlan, you’re only with me now because I have no choice. My stance on having a partner hasn’t changed. I work better alone and don’t want a partner.”

“Sterling would put me on more of these cases with you, if I wasn’t otherwise engaged with the djinn and my own cases. You know that right? If it wasn’t for all of that, it wouldn’t be so easy to get rid of me.”

So, Sterling was a traitor and had jumped aboard the we love Lochlan express? What happened to looking after me and having my best interests in mind? I didn’t need him forcing the fae on me.

I was trying to stay professional and being around Lochlan made that difficult to say the least.

19

We descended the stairs and were spit out into the Dark Side. Lochlan blinked a few times to catch his bearings and smiled.

“Aren’t you full of surprises? I knew you weren’t at a pawn shop to buy something,” said Lochlan, whose head swiveled around, taking in the city.

The first time in Dark Side was always jarring. It’s magic was the dark, dangerous, and intoxicating kind that tried to seduce you. It filled you with a giddy energy that begged to be rolled around in until there was no end and no beginning –just the beautiful darkness.

My own magic danced under the surface in response to the energies here. Did Lochlan feel it too? What did he think about the run down shops and dwellings that were clustered next to and even on top of the others? Does he think differently of me for being so well-acquainted with such a place?

This was a refuge for magic users that society deemed were threats and those who practiced dark magic. Most people wrongly assume dark magic was bad and light magic was good. I’d seen plenty of evil users of light magic and good users of dark magic. Magic is what you made it. But not your own, said a small voice in my mind, yours is the darkest there is.

We made silent progress. Lochlan was absorbed in the shops we passed – the voodoo priestesses shops and a necromancer dwelling. Some of the other ones were too horrific to do more than peek at and walk past faster.

“So where exactly are we heading? You seem to have a destination in mind.”

“I actually do. We’re visiting Garen, a rune mage first and then to Livinia’s shop. I’m hoping he has details about some special runes and Livinia, well, you’ll see about her. There’s really no explaining that woman.”

“Very well, lead the way.”

It Won’t Hurt Much, was the tattoo parlor run by Garen. It was conveniently located next to Livinia’s shop.

During my last visit to the Dark Side, I was kidnapped on my way back to the Top Side. Sterling even hired a tracker mage to find me and it failed because I was magically hidden. Garen found me bleeding on the streets just after I’d escaped from my kidnappers. He saved my life. Unfortunately, Sterling accused him of having some involvement in my disappearance. Yeah, not awkward at all. I’m not sure how he’ll react to seeing me now, especially since I’m here with a guy and Garen has a crush on me.

After The True One meeting, I knew where my kidnappers had held me and could follow-up on it. Not knowing who your enemies were is a risky thing and I didn’t believe in taking unnecessary risks. I had more than enough adversaries and didn’t need another one.

I knocked on Garen’s door. He opened it and gasped with surprise, which was quickly followed up by a wide and happy smile.

“Marty.”

My name came out like a sigh. I felt Lochlan step closer to me and Garen’s face changed. All the previous warmth was gone and replaced with a closed off and reserved expression. Muffin barked. Garen stooped down and held out a hand for the devil dog to sniff. To my surprise, not only did he smell the rune mage, but he even rubbed against him.

“Well, look at that. My dog is a traitor,” I

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