“Nanette Bakersfield.”
“The technomancer?” Clay rested an elbow on the table, and it tilted toward him. “What about her?”
As a technomancer, Nan cast spells using technology, resulting in her status as an elite hacker.
The Toussaint coven hired her to erase their involvement in stealing corpses from New Orleans morgues to feed a sea monster they planned to sacrifice to grant a young witch the power of resurrection.
Which, yeah, might sound even crazier than the whole vengeful spirit mom thing.
(Did I mention my life is a lot right now?)
“Nan hacked the Kellies to gain access to us, and Colby returned the favor. She’s been tracking Nan since New Orleans. While there’s no guarantee Luca is nearby, their credit card statements indicate they often travel together.” I pitied the fool who underestimated my little moth girl. “So, really, Nan is our target.”
“Find Nan,” Marita hummed with approval, “we find Luca.”
“Coming in hot,” Krish called as he backed through the kitchen door into the dining room.
The poor thing carried three trays balanced up one slender arm and a plate in his opposite hand.
A tug on my magic unraveled the spell, and I pretended not to catch the whiff of rot accompanying it.
As Krish extended a plate toward Clay, a burst of pale light strobed throughout the dining room.
Asa cupped the back of my head, shoving me down, but the earth-shattering boom that shook the floor toppled everyone from their chairs. Food spattered my cheek in a fragrant burst of garlic, a vicious snarl rent the air, and the world went dark and hot and silent.
CHAPTER TWO
A persistent whine in my left ear annoyed me enough I pried my eyes open and found myself staring at a blue sky with fluffy white clouds rather than a drop tile restaurant ceiling. I sucked in air to comment but couldn’t inflate my lungs. Probably the fault of the hulking crimson daemon flattening me into a pancake with Marita spread-eagle across his back like a cherry on a sundae. The metal beam across her shoulders, pinning her in place, didn’t help. Neither did the golem crushing my right arm under his hip, also stuck in the fetal position beneath debris from…an explosion?
“Blay?” I wiggled my hips, but I couldn’t budge. “Marita?” I tugged on my numb arm, hissing. “Clay?”
With Colby tucked in Clay’s soundproof pocket, she wouldn’t hear me if I called out to her.
“I…can’t believe…” the rubble shifted above me as Marita stirred, “…I got blown up…on the first…day.”
“Yeah.” Oxygen whistled through my parted lips. “Sorry about that.”
“Are you…kidding me?” Her laughter was wild and eerie in the silence. “Best first day…ever.”
A low groan vibrated through my bones when Blay roused himself. “Rue?”
“I’m here, big guy.” I stroked his silky hair with my free hand. “Thanks for protecting me.”
Flames engulfed him before he could respond, leaving a battered Asa in his place.
The rubble shifted at his decrease in mass, causing metal to groan before settling again.
“Hey.” I cupped Asa’s dusty cheek. “You two okay?”
“That daemon is a genius.” Marita shimmied up Asa until our eyes met over his head, and she grinned at me. “Shifting into Asa gave me an extra foot of wiggle room.” She squirmed through the gap. “Hold on.”
With space to maneuver, she flipped herself over our heads, landing in a crouch with her back to us.
“Check on Clay first.” I sucked in greedy gulps of oxygen. “Colby’s in his left suit pocket.”
Metal clinked and broken tile crunched under her boots as she dug him out.
“He can’t die, right?” She wiped a hand over her mouth. “His head is dented like a soda can.”
“We can fix that.” I relaxed a fraction. “Any movement?”
“None.” She crouched beside him. “He’s not breathing.”
“His shem must have been smudged.” I could handle that too. “That means he’s inanimate.”
Good thing too, or else he would be screaming at the sky over the incineration of his wig.
The poor thing resembled bad hair plugs across the visible side of his scalp, the hair burnt to nubs.
“He’s curled pretty tight.” She grew a fingernail into a claw. “I’ll have to cut her out.”
“Be careful,” I rushed out, unable to stop myself.
“I will be,” she promised then gently began slicing through the material. “Moment of truth.”
Careful of the charred fabric, Marita peeled the pocket open like a banana to reveal one shivering moth.
“Hey, cutie.” Marita scooped her up and inspected her. “You look good. How do you feel?”
“Okay.” Her antennae twitched as she surveyed the damage. “What happened?”
“We’ll figure that out later.” Marita carried her to a clear spot under the open sky. “Sit right here.”
Wobbly on her feet, Colby plunked down on what used to be the hostess stand, kicking up plaster dust.
“Asa, you’re next.” Marita clomped over and reached for him. “This might hurt.”
“Rue—”
“—is trapped under you and can’t go anywhere until you do.” Her jaw set. “Your safety is my priority.”
Hooking her hands under his armpits, she gingerly hauled him over me into a clear space on the floor.
Only when her watch snagged on loose strands of his hair did my sluggish brain register the danger.
“Marita.” I lurched into a crawl then swayed onto my hands and knees. “Watch out.”
An impressive snarl curling her lips, she scanned the area for threats, frowning when she saw none.
“Are you sure you don’t have naan in your eye?” She sniffed the air. “I’m not picking up on anything.”
“You touched Asa’s hair.” I groaned as my ribs protested my movements. “The y’nai…”
“Those hand-chopper-offer things?” Her eyes flashed with a golden sheen. “I’d like to see them try it.”
That was the thing about y’nai that made them so dangerous. You didn’t see them coming. You touched Asa’s hair, your hand popped off your wrist, and you were left gaping as your arm stump spurted blood.
“Asa?” I cut my palms on debris but kept going. “Can you sense them?”
“No.” He leveraged himself into a seated position. “As far as I can tell…we’re alone.”
“You’re no longer Stavros’s heir.” I put it together. “The usual rules must no longer apply.”
Hard to believe, even with Asa’s status revoked, that Stavros would pull them off spy detail out of spite.
Then again, he had to cheat to have a hope in Hael of beating Blay, so maybe his pride was that blinding.
The wail of sirens announced the arrival of the human fire and police departments, as well as EMTs.
“Activate hair bow protocol,” I ordered Colby. “Now.”
Gliding a zigzag path to me, she hit me in the forehead then scrambled up into my hair to burrow.