Mercenary Magic Read Free Page A

talking about a completely different person. Unless…
    “He’s masking his aura,” she said.
    It was the only explanation. Of all the magical beings, only mages could do it—and only a handful of them at that. It took more power and control than most of them had. There was also the pesky little problem that the more magic you had, the more disciplined you needed to be to cover it up. Kai was gushing magic out of his pores. To mask that from everyone, his self-control must have been absolutely mind-boggling. And dangerous. Very, very dangerous.
    “Why would he cover it up?” Riley asked. “That doesn’t make sense. You’re being paranoid. He probably just handled a magic mushroom or winged cat or something at work today.”
    “What does he do?”
    “He’s a vet.”
    Right. Like there was any way a man with that body spent his days patching up wounded animals. Working security maybe. Or wrestling vampires naked. Yeah, she could totally picture that.
    A low chuckle drew her out of her own mind. “If you like him that much, I could arrange to be somewhere else tonight.”
    “Huh?”
    “You know, so you could take a closer look at ‘that body’.”
    Dear God, she hadn’t actually said that out loud, had she?
    “Though I have to admit that I’m kind of grossed out at the thought of you fantasizing about my friend naked.”
    Oh, yes, she had said it aloud. Sera swallowed hard, her cheeks burning.
    “But I suppose it’s better than tossing him out. Which is what you’re planning on doing, isn’t it?”
    She took a deep breath. “Do you remember the assassin who came for me and Alex eight years ago?”
    All life drained from Riley’s face, leaving him pale as a ghost. “Of course, I remember.” He cleared his throat. “The bastard killed Dad.”
    “That assassin was a first tier mage. Not only that, he was the most powerful first tier mage I’d ever met.” She shifted her gaze to the closed door. “Until today.”
    Riley didn’t say a thing. He just stared at the door.
    “You know I can sense these things. So trust me when I say that no magic mushroom or winged cat could make anyone’s magic feel like that. His magic is ancient and powerful, and he’s deadly. Most people are not killers. Sure, they may puff out their chests, throw up their arms, and make melodramatic threats to kill random strangers who bump their bar stool. But it’s all talk. You can see that when you look into their eyes.
    “When I look into Kai’s eyes, I see someone who wouldn’t hesitate to kill a person he felt deserved it. He’s cold and he’s calculating. And based on how effectively he’s masked his aura, he’s very likely the most disciplined person I’ve ever met. All of that together spells danger—and lots of it. We need to stay well away from him.”
    Sera angled toward the door. “Stay here. I’ll ask him to leave. If we’re lucky, he hasn’t yet figured out what I am.”
    What she didn’t tell Riley was that she didn’t hold out much hope for that possibility. Anyone that powerful would have felt her weird magic instantly, even though she was masking it too. But maybe he didn’t care. Or maybe she’d have to fight him. If that turned out to be the case, she preferred to do it without Riley in the room. She was a brutal fighter, and her little brother didn’t need to see that.
    Sera stepped into the living room, brushing the door shut behind her. Kai stood beside the coffee table, his cool blue eyes holding her gaze, tracking her progress across the room. She was nearly to him when the front door swung open. Proving that every bad day was just waiting to get worse, three vampires flooded inside, their red eyes gleaming with rage.

 
     
     
    CHAPTER THREE
    Vampires and Dragons

     
     
    THEY WERE COMMON vampires, not shapeshifters or demon-powered. Thank goodness for small favors. But they didn’t need powerful magic to tear her to bits. Vampires—even common ones—were no joke. They moved