Battle With Fire (Demon Days & Vampire Nights)

“Yeah, bad choice in accosting me. I’m Lucifer’s daughter—a very big deal, I must say. I’d offer you a business card, or more proof, but he basically tried to trap me down there and force me to follow his will. Not a great father-daughter relationship, I’m afraid. I’m now wanted by two worlds in a very bad way. So…now we know about each other’s lives. Tell me, do you blast that horny feeling to bring all the girls to the yard? Then you try to bang them and eventually find the right fit, right? Also, is your human cock that big?”

“Our mating is private.” He ripped at me, his arms like thick bands of steel. His thoughts poured into my head. What is holding me? What magic is this? “It is only for our kind to witness.”

“Except you’re in public waters. Have you never heard the expression get a room? This is hardly my fault. Though I can understand wanting to keep it private, what with the rejection… Her body basically cock-blocked you. That’s intense.”

As we neared the boat, I chanced a look at his face, something I hadn’t paid much attention to when watching the almost-fornication earlier. Strong cheekbones, straight nose, defined jaw, and deep-set eyes with thick black lashes. Quite the looker. He could’ve graced the big screens.

“You can at least bang ladies topside, right? You surely have no problem there?” I asked.

Penny caught my progress out of the corner of her eye and turned, face red and screwed up in frustration. “Reagan, stop messing around with that merman. The captain says this is a shared kill, but I was the one who did all the work. I didn’t ask for any help!”

“Let me free.” He thrashed against my magic, his power ballooning out and eroding at my air. Not enough to break it, but enough to hint at the strength of his magic. Maybe that was why the woman had been so disappointed by the mismatch—he was probably a catch in the mer-world, what with his looks and his power level. “Let me down or I will send out a request for aid.”

I huffed in annoyance. “Fine.” I released the air, so many questions left unanswered, and flung him away. He bent and arched at the last moment, diving into the water instead of flopping like I would’ve. In a moment, he was gone.

My feet touched down on the standing area at the back of the boat.

“What took you so long?” Penny demanded. “I could’ve used your help.”

“Any other time, I would be sorry, but boy have I got an earful for you!” I pushed my wet hair out of my face and stepped closer to the MLE captain’s boat. The other boats drifted some distance away, waiting for instruction.

The jengu lay on the captain’s boat without a net, its arms pale green and its lower half an enormous fin, similar to the merpeople. A thick mop of hair covered its face and what had to be sightless eyes.

“What happened?” I asked the captain, standing behind Garret with a clipboard.

“I’ll tell you what happened—”

“I didn’t ask you,” I told Garret, spearing him with a glare. His mouth clicked shut, and his pinched, weaselly face glowered at me. They’d all heard what I truly was. Most of them had gawked but said nothing, the captain had nodded thoughtfully, and Garret had raised his chin and said, “That doesn’t stop you from being second best.”

Man, I hated Garret.

“I closed in on the jengu,” Penny said as the captain stepped closer, his black rain suit slick and the expression on his aging face placid. Garret and I had fought over many a victory. He was no stranger to waiting until someone got punched in the face. “I worked a spell to ensnare it—no small feat, because the creature had some sort of ability to resist magic clinging to it.”

The captain frowned, his brows lowering. “That isn’t typical of these creatures.”

“She’s just compensating for shoddy spell work,” Garret said.

“Shoddy spell work?” Penny screeched. She still wasn’t totally right in the head since leaving the Underworld two months before. She was getting back to normal but not quite there yet. “I am a natural dual-mage of the highest order in the newly defined Mages’ Guild—”

“A guild you control. Cheat to win, huh?” Garret smirked.

“Why, you little ape’s dingleberry,” she said.

“Okay, okay.” I put a hand on her shoulder, trying desperately not to laugh. For once it wasn’t me fighting with Garret, which was the only reason it was comical. “Captain?”

He looked down at the creature, his dark brown skin creased in concentration. “It looks like one of their kind, but its actions certainly don’t fit their mold. I’ve never heard of them resisting mages’ spells.” He threaded his pencil behind his ear and put the backs of his hands on his hips. “We’ve brought in a few creatures with unexplained characteristics over the last few months, some with unexplained behavior and some far from home. This is just another occurrence in a growing list.”