Storm and Fury (The Harbinger 1)

Giving Bambi wide berth, I scooted into the booth opposite Faye, and Roth sat down next to me. A second later, Bambi flopped across Roth’s lap, and I scooted as far as I could go as the snake stared up at me with unholy red eyes.

“What can I help you with, Roth?” Faye asked, glancing at me curiously.

“We’re in need of information,” he answered as he idly rubbed the top of Bambi’s head.

“That much I figured.” She tucked a short strand of hair back from her ear. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to sound rude, but who are you?”

“A friend of Roth’s,” I said, thinking that was a sentence I’d never thought I’d say before, and based on the way the demon was smirking, he thoroughly enjoyed that statement. “I’m looking for a friend. A Warden who was taken by a demon.”

“A demon who’s suddenly become very active in the city,” Roth added. “His name is Bael.”

“You know that we rarely...consort with demons.” She reached for her glass of red wine, her hand trembling slightly.

Faye was nervous.

“I know you consort with demons and all kinds of things when it benefits the coven,” he replied smoothly. “So, let’s cut the political blessed-be bullshit about how you guys are good witches who worship trees and hold hands, singing ‘Kumbaya.’”

My brows rose.

“You and I both know differently,” he said, the teasing grin gone from his lips. “A large posse of humans attacked a Warden settlement. They were working with Bael, and there is no way he possessed all of them.”

“Which begs the question of how one demon could amass a small army of humans willing to die for him,” I chimed in. “I think I know the answer.”

Faye stiffened.

“As do I.” Roth tipped forward. “Has your coven, perhaps, aided a certain demon with an enchantment spell? Possibly one that allows you to control humans? And let’s not pretend that such a spell does not exist.”

Her lips pursed. “There is such an...enchantment—a spell. One not often used and typically forbidden.”

I was momentarily distracted by the sound of a little engine running next to me. I glanced down at Bambi. Was that snake...purring?

Bambi looked at me, showing its forked tongue.

Alrighty, then.

“But you guys like to do what’s forbidden,” Roth countered. “Did you help Bael with such a spell?”

Taking a drink of her wine, she then shook her head as she swallowed hard. “You’re not a Warden,” she said to me.

“No, I’m not.”

“So why would you care about an attack on a Warden settlement?” she asked Roth.

“Did I say I care?”

I shot him a withering look.

“Did your coven help Bael with this enchantment?” he asked.

“If we did, and that’s a big if, we’re not responsible for what he did with the spell,” she said.

My brows snapped together. “Not responsible? That’s like setting fire to a bush and walking away from it and then that fire spreads to an apartment building and takes out the whole thing. You didn’t intend for it to happen, but you’re still responsible. What did you think he was going to do with such an enchantment? Use it to convince a group of humans to do charity work?”

Roth snorted.

The witch’s grip tightened on the wineglass.

“I’m growing bored with this conversation, Faye.” Roth leaned back. “Did your coven have contact with Bael?”

She was quiet for a long moment. “You do realize how much this could blow back on us if it gets out we were divulging...others’ activities?”

Roth continued petting Bambi’s head as he looked over to me and smiled. “And you do realize I don’t give a flying crap about what blows back on you? You should be more worried about getting on my bad side.”

“Well, of course, but—”

“But what you don’t realize is that you really do not want to get on her bad side,” he continued, and I lifted a hand, wiggling my fingers. “Answer the damn question.”

Faye eyed me for a long moment and then she shuddered. “Just so you know, I advised the coven against aiding anyone with such a spell, but I was outvoted. It wasn’t a demon who came to us two months ago.”

Hope had sparked and then died in my chest. “It wasn’t a demon?”

She shook her head. “It was a human who came and asked for that spell.”

I looked at Roth, wondering if she was telling the truth or not.

“Who was the human?”

Faye pressed her lips together as she gave a little shake of her head. “It was... His name is Josh Fisher.”

That name meant nothing to me.

“Josh Fisher?” Roth repeated. “Do you happen to mean Senator Josh Fisher, the Senate Majority Leader? That Josh Fisher?”

I felt my heart skip a beat as Faye nodded. “That would be him.”

“Why in the world would a senator want that kind of enchantment?” I asked, dumbfounded. “And not use it to, I don’t know, sway votes or something?”

“I don’t know why he needed it—”

“Do you get people looking for that enchantment a lot?” Roth demanded.

Faye stiffened. “Well, no. This was the first—”

“So we can safely assume that this enchantment was used to virtually turn humans into cannon fodder.”

“Bael was seen with someone two nights ago. We don’t know who it was or if the person was human or not,” I told Roth. “But the senator would have to know demons to know that witches could do something like this, right?”

“Right.” Roth eyed Faye. “Unless he was a witch, but I’m going to go out on a limb here and say he wasn’t a witch, right?”

“Right,” Faye muttered.

I tipped forward, resting my arms on the table. “Do you know why he wanted the spell?”

“We didn’t ask.” She finished off her wine. “Some things are better not known. He offered a rather large sum of money.”

“How convenient,” Roth murmured. “You cannot tell me that not one of you was a wee bit concerned about what a goddamn senator would do with such a spell? Was money that desperately needed?”

“Money isn’t the only thing he offered,” she said, crossing her arms. “He offered something else that’s highly coveted—something none of us have.”

“And that is?”

“A nephilim,” she whispered.

I stilled as I stared back at the witch. “And why would you want a nephilim?” I asked even though there was a part of me that already knew.

“There are many spells that need...parts of a nephilim,” she answered. “Bones. Tissues. Hairs.”

Anger flared as I glared at the woman who was talking about my parts like they were seasonings for a pie.

“And why do you think a senator would have access to a creature that was wiped out a millennium ago?” Roth asked.

That creature was currently getting nudged in the thigh by a giant freaking snake. I glanced down and Bambi stared at me with big, hopeful red eyes.

Faye looked around before saying, “Because he said he knew one was alive and that he knew how to get it.”

“How?” I asked.

“He said he had the nephilim’s Protector.”

My skin pricked with the need to reach across the table and punch the witch in the face. “Did he happen to tell you where he had this...Protector?”

She shook her head. “Only thing that he told us is that he expected to have this nephilim by the end of the solstice.”

“The solstice is in a few days,” I said as Bambi nudged me again.

“It is,” she said with a shrug. “So we’ll find out shortly if he’s able to hold up his end of the bargain.”

“He won’t be able to.” I reached down, barely touching the top of Bambi’s head. The scales were rough and cool to the touch. “That you can count on, so I hope that money was worth those innocent human lives.”

A muscle flexed in her jaw.

“You’ve only interacted with this senator?” he asked. “Not Bael?”

She shook her head. “Correct.”

“You can find out where they have this Protector, can’t you?” I asked. “Can’t witches do...scrying spells?”

“Not on Wardens or demons,” she answered. “It only works on humans.”

“We don’t need that to find the senator,” Roth advised.

Bambi pressed up against my palm, obviously not pleased with my lack of effort. I grimaced as I put a little pressure on the snake’s head. She hummed in response.

“Is there anything else you can tell us?” Roth asked.

Faye sat her empty glass on the table. “I know he wasn’t working alone. When he came to us, he was on the phone constantly with someone who appeared to be giving him the orders,” she explained. “That’s all I know.”

That was news and not great news. One Upper Level demon to deal with was bad enough, and if there was a possibility of more?

I sank back against the booth.

“Thank you for being so helpful,” Roth said with a hint of sarcasm. “I think it’s time that we leave.” Tapping the snake, he leaned back as he lifted her head from my leg and withdrew from the booth, allowing both of us to stand.

“I’ll see you soon.” Roth patted Bambi’s head and then gestured at Faye with his chin. “Go back to her.”

The familiar wiggled and then let out a very human-sounding sigh before breaking apart into the dots that formed a thick shadow. The mass drifted back to Faye, inking itself on the witch’s arm.

“Roth,” Faye called out as we stepped away from the booth. “We’ll be leaving soon. You should be doing the same.”

A chill swept down my spine as the prince turned back to her.