Battle With Fire (Demon Days & Vampire Nights)

“What the fuck?” Mince took two quick steps backward. “Reagan…what the fuck?” He squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them up as wide as they went, rubbing them and trying again. Lucifer’s image rolled back into that of a human, with his white button-up and jeans. “Nope.” Mince shook his head, clearly not quite able to turn away just yet. “Nope!” Finally, he turned and ran.

“I’ll see ya later,” Mikey said, walking the other direction. “This shit is not my forte.”

“And that’s Smokey.” I nodded at Smokey, who was gleefully watching Lucifer, probably hoping he’d do some other magical trick. A light burn marred his bald head, and his face looked sunburnt. Suddenly I wondered what had happened earlier. Whatever it was, it clearly hadn’t dampened Smokey’s mood. “He’s not magical either, but he doesn’t mind it like the others.”

“Fantastic to meet you, sir,” Smokey said. “It’s an honor.”

“Out of curiosity, why didn’t you choose a magical neighborhood?” Lucifer asked, offering Smokey a small bow.

“I’ve had to hide my magic, and it’s easier with people who don’t know magic exists.” I led the way up the stairs. “I’ll introduce the others inside.”

“You’ve had to hide your magic,” Lucifer repeated softly, following me. “Why is that?”

I turned the key and opened the door before stopping. “We have a very strong ward. I’ll need a blood offering to let you through.”

Lucifer’s gaze trailed to the frame of the door. “If you insist, though I can get through this if you’d prefer.”

I stepped into the house. “You can see the magic?”

“I can feel it because of its power. It’s expertly wrought, I can tell. By a mage, yes?” He turned and looked at the grim faces of Penny and Emery. “Those mages, I would assume? The angelic magic thrums within it.”

“Would you wreck the spell to get through?” I asked.

Lucifer thought for a moment. “Most probably. I don’t think I could pass without disrupting it. I could try…”

I furrowed my brow. “So you wouldn’t need to tear the spell down first?”

“My power trumps theirs. I’ve pushed through a lot of wards in my time. I’m good at getting around or through them.”

“I guess I won’t have much protection if the elves decide to come calling,” I murmured as I pulled a knife from the holster on the side of my leg and nicked his finger. He didn’t flinch.

“Only the most powerful of them, and they wouldn’t bother doing the dirty work themselves. Are they here? In town? I can send up a host and clear them up easily if you’d like. It would be my great pleasure.”

I let his blood drip onto the tripwire for the spell and had him pass through. “Not the elves specifically. They’ve sent spies, I’ve heard. They aren’t actively engaging yet, though Roger—the alpha shifter I’m working with—doesn’t think that’ll last.”

“Probably not, no.” He entered my house and his gaze traveled over the living room and then down the hall. He followed me into the kitchen, noticing the table, the countertops, and then the pantry.

“Have a seat.” I motioned to the table, figuring I’d treat him like anyone else. When it was time for whiskey, we usually sat at the table to drink it and shoot the shit. I pulled down glasses as the others filed in, the latest remodel making that possible. Penny took a seat opposite Lucifer, her eyes hard. Dizzy took a chair next to Lucifer, and Callie settled in next to Penny.

“No drink for me, Reagan,” Emery said, drifting to the counter and hoisting himself up on it. He clearly planned to treat Lucifer as he would a new vampire.

Darius lowered into the chair on the other side of Lucifer, leaving the seat at the end for me. Wariness swirled within him, and I knew he was intentionally putting himself as a buffer between my dad and me. On the surface, though, he couldn’t look more confident.

“The mage scowling at you is Penny,” I said as I put the glasses down before retreating to get the bottles of alcohol.

“I seem to have two mages staring at me.” Lucifer glanced between Penny and Callie. “I am getting the impression that I am not very popular among your friends.”

“Not really, no.” I poured two fingers of whiskey for Lucifer and then the same for myself. Callie tapped her glass, and I poured for her and then Penny.

“Wine for me, Reagan, thanks,” Dizzy said, his customary smile absent.

After pouring Darius’s cognac, I grabbed a bottle of red from the pantry.

“The younger one staring at you is Penny,” I said, finally sitting down. Usually Darius would help prepare the refreshments, but he clearly wasn’t comfortable enough to move freely around the space. It seemed I was the only one who felt zero wariness in Lucifer’s company.

“Hello.” He tilted his head at Penny. “You were the mage that laid waste to the entrance of my kingdom, correct?”