Page 32 of Filthy Fae

The big guy held out a hand. “Name’s Rick. I’m the Mage Union Rep under the California Witch and Wizard Assembly, Local eight-thirty-six. Which pack are you here for, Six Rivers or the pack you’re an alpha of?”

Shaking his hand, I cocked an eyebrow. “Do you want me to be impressed, Rick? You had four hours to figure that out after I registered my name.”

If it was possible, the wizard’s smile only broadened. “How about this?” His hand slashed through the air, and the drawing I held duplicated, the second copy appearing in his pinched fingers. He gave an exaggerated wink. “Everyone is impressed with the magic copy-machine trick.”

The happy expression on his face dimmed as his gaze fell on the paper.

“You know what that is.” I said it as a fact because it was clear that he did.

He hummed, and the paper vanished from his hand. “Let’s take a walk.” He gestured out toward the Eureka neighborhood. “I’ve got something I want to show you.”

The decade of storms had hit this neighborhood more than most. Half of the houses were little more than rubble. A few industrial buildings like the one we’d just exited had been rebuilt, but even the standing residences in the area might be considered unfit by squatters. Lumberjack Rick didn’t say a word until we were two buildings down, and then what he said shocked the fuck out of me.

“You’re not going to like this. Unfortunately, it looks like you’ve got an incubus on your hands.”

“What the fuck?” I said, spinning toward the man so fast I almost lost my balance for the first time in my life. “A fucking what?”

“A lower level sex demon.” Rick sighed and rubbed his beard. “And you said this was last night?”

“Yes. Why?”

“A necromancer didn’t show up to work this morning, and when we sent someone by their house… Let me just say they could have been dabbling in demonology. Union members aren’t supposed to take side-jobs or under the table work, but if it’s not harming anyone, we look the other way. Witches and wizards need to feed their families.”

“By raising fucking demons to go after my mate?” Fangs elongated from my mouth and claws sharpened from my fingers.

Rick held up his hands, but his expression didn’t change. “The Union would never approve of a job like that. We might fly under the radar from the pack here, but that’s because of the old alpha Jacob Knight—presumably your relation?”

My jaw clenched.

Rick cleared his throat and nodded. “That’s what I thought. Well, he demanded steep kickbacks for every single job we took in the area. Witches and wizards in this locality were working sixty-hour weeks reinforcing buildings and roads and barely able to pay their medical bills. This city would fall apart without us working tirelessly to keep it together. The new alpha hasn’t contacted us yet, but we’re assuming he or she will, and when this alpha does, we’ll figure what kind of percentages—”

“The alpha of Six Rivers wants you to stop summoning demons to roam around her city. She couldn’t give a fuck about your kickbacks,” I growled through my fangs. “She works a sixty-hour week herself cleaning fucking drains and fixing pipes to support her pack and won’t take assistance even when it’s shoved in her direction. That’s the alpha your necromancer tried to kill, and trust me, if the NALC sends in someone to replace her—which they would love to do—they’ll be the same brand of asshole my brother was.”

Surprise sparked in the wizard’s eyes, but he still didn’t look scared that I was a hair-breadths away from shifting. Nodding slowly, he sighed. “The Mage Union doesn’t take demon jobs in any of our California locations. It’s a blanket policy. We don’t have training or any kind of licensing for it. What I can do for you is this. Our office will make finding our necromancer first priority—”

I lowered my head and growled, “Give me their name.”

He sighed and rubbed his beard. “No can do. But I can do one thing for you.” He headed for a building that was little more than rubble. When I stalked after him, he turned and lifted a hand. A card appeared between his thumb and forefinger. “The best demon hunter north of Mexico just happens to live in Blue Lake. She’s non-union, so I could lose my job for giving you this. Please do me the favor of not mentioning this to anyone.”

I didn’t take the card. “The demon is dead. It exploded into acid after I clawed its throat.”

Rick shook his head. “Sorry, man, but no. That incubus took the equivalent of a demon dump on your chest. He’s not dead.”

I rounded on him, my claws extending. “What?”

Rick shrugged. “Demons are not that easy to kill. He was summoned here for a purpose, and his summoner is forcing the demon to fulfill that purpose.”

“What purpose?” I asked, wanting to clench my fists but unable with my claws extended. This asshole was testing my patience with his drawn-out explanations. Lance was the man for this job. I preferred people who got straight to the point.

“It’s usually ordered to seduce a target,” Rick said. “What you saw there was an incubus between forms. The demon will head to places where he can feed off sexual energy, and as he does, he’ll be able to form himself into whoever he’s licked.”

My stomach dropped. “Whoever he’s licked?”

Rick scratched his bushy white beard, studying my face. “He got you, didn’t he? I’m sorry, man. That means it could turn into you. Do you have a partner or admirer? The incubus will choose to look like someone close to the target, someone they’ll want to have sex with. Did the demon seem more like he was trying to hurt you or to touch you?”

Motherfucker.

My whole body shook. “It was messing with my girlfriend. I came to defend her, and it licked my face before exploding.” The thought of that thing getting anywhere near Scarlet sent terror surging through me. “Do you think he’s after my mate?”