Master of Shadows Read Free Page A

in the Mageverse; both the Magekind and their werewolf cousins, the Direkind, drew on its energies to power their magic. Travel between the two Earths could only be accomplished with a magical gate, which meant Tristan needed Belle’s help. Otherwise he’d probably still be avoiding her, the bastard.
    Tristan ducked through the gate before it was even finished expanding. Belle followed, trying not to admire his ass as she went. Like the rest of him, it was a very nice ass.
    Too bad his personality wasn’t as pleasant as the view.
    They emerged in a neighborhood straight out of a fifties sitcom. Middle-class tract homes, all very similar, nestled in small yards surrounded by azaleas and oak trees. A startled black cat crouched and hissed at them, before darting away to vanish under a wax myrtle hedge. William Justice must be the guy pacing the sidewalk. Lean as a fencer, dark haired, and starkly handsome, he wore chinos and a navy blue polo shirt. He carried a pump-action shotgun tucked under one muscular arm.
    Justice wasn’t fooling around.
    “Clock’s ticking here,” he told them after a quick round of introductions. “I need you to check the scene so we can get the boy to the funeral home before some human cop shows up and starts asking questions. Or before there’s a riot.” His mouth tightened into a grim, flat line. “Could go either way.”
    “Tell us about this kid.” Tristan frowned down the length of the sidewalk as though he’d heard something that worried him. Belle, whose Maja senses were less acute, heard nothing.
    Justice swung the shotgun up across one shoulder. “Vic is seventeen years old. Name’s Jimmy Sheridan. Just got through his transition successfully, so his mom and dad thought they were in the clear.”
    “In the clear?” Belle asked. “Of what?”
    “A fifth of our kids don’t survive their first transformation. The magic runs rogue and burns them alive. Just incinerates them to ash.”
    She stared at him, having never heard that particular horrific detail about the Direkind. “My God.”
    “Why do you think we call it ‘Merlin’s Curse’? It’s hell on our families. Which is why we’re a little nuts when it comes to our kids.”
    “Everybody’s nuts when it comes to their kids.” Belle cast a quick spell, opening a telepathic link to Tristan. “This is going to get really, really ugly.”
    “Yeah, I picked up on that.”
    “You are quick.” Smart-ass. Belle curled her lip at him before turning to Justice.
    “The Sheridans took their oldest son, Steve, out to dinner,” the Wolf sheriff continued. “They left Jimmy at home because he had a term paper for summer school he’d been putting off writing. Paper was due tomorrow, so he was cutting it pretty close. Apparently, they had a little fight about that.”
    “And the parents are now suffering the agonies of the damned, wishing they’d taken the kid with them.” Belle had been a parent once, a couple of hundred years ago. Never again. She had to deal with enough loss and grief as it was.
    Genevieve had been her light and her pride, but like all Magekind children, she’d also been born mortal. The Majae’s Council had ruled the girl wouldn’t be able to withstand the Gift without going mad. Watching her die of old age had almost been more than Belle could take.
    “Yeah, well, unfortunately, the family left Jimmy at home,” Justice said. “They headed to Outback Steakhouse at 5:40 P.M. When they got back at 8:20, they found the den sprayed with blood splatter. Boy’s body was sitting in an armchair with his Xbox controller in his lap. They found his head under the coffee table. Looked like he didn’t even hear his killer walk up behind him. Sure as shit didn’t put up a fight. He was just executed.”
    “Fuck.” Tristan scrubbed a hand over his face.
    “You haven’t heard the worst of it yet. The weapon was obviously a sword, and the room stinks of magic.” Justice eyed them, his face utterly