Munro (Immortals After Dark #18) by Kresley Cole

            She fought the urge, determined to remain on guard. She was in the company of two Loreans, in the lair of one, and an archwarlock had declared Ren his primary target.

            “Loa, do you have a protection spell for her?” Munro asked.

            “The House of Witches usually sell an elegant little charm for mortals, but the ingredients recently dried up. Hashtag: globalwarming.” Hashtag? “I’ll be on the lookout for them.” She tilted her head at Munro. “I s’pose you should have a T-shirt, though the spirits are in a chorus against that.” She crossed to a rack and selected a black short-sleeved shirt, handing it to him.

            Only once he’d pulled on the garment did Loa turn her full attention to Ren, giving her an assessing glance. “The spirits tell me you’re a monster huntress. Should I be worried?” She didn’t look worried. In fact, her hair had begun to swirl around her head, as if spirits surrounded her protectively.

            Feigning fearlessness, Ren said, “Depends. Do you hurt humans?”

            “You’re still standin’, no?”

            She got the sense that Loa was testing her. “As are you.” Ren patted her holster and added in a menacing murmur, “By my leave.”

            Loa’s face split into a grin. She turned to Munro and said, “She’ll do for you just fine.” Then she leveled that stunning smile at Ren, and it was genuine, all of her pretenses gone. “Welcome to the Lore, young mortal.”

            Ren must’ve passed the priestess’s test. Does Loa pass mine? Like most carnies, Ren was an excellent judge of character, and the priestess struck her as a decent person, whatever her species might be. “Thank you, but I won’t be staying long.”

            Loa laughed. “Oh, lamb, that’s what we all say.”





TWENTY-THREE





            Munro had much to accomplish and no time to do it all. Every second here was a risk. He asked Loa, “If the warlocks surround this place, how will we get out?”

            “Once I’ve drained your pockets, I’ll call you two a Luber.” At Kereny and Munro’s blank looks, Loa explained, “Lore Uber.”

            Kereny sighed. “I still don’t know what that means.”

            “It’s a demon teleportation service.” The priestess gestured to a flyer behind her counter. Luber promised “Lore-wide travel in less than a nanosecond. Confidentiality is our vow to the Lore!”

            Like most Lykae, Munro both mistrusted and resented teleportation, or tracing. Whenever his clan had warred unsuccessfully with the Vampire Horde or evil demonarchies, tracing had been the sole factor in their defeat. “Who runs the service?”

            “Deshazior the storm demon. He started it in addition to his other businesses. Luber has proudly announced that it’s gone two days without a single accident, ambush, or melee on the job.”

            Two whole days? “I know Desh. He’s a good bloke.” The storm demon was a former pirate with a salty accent, huge horns, and no filter. Back in the day, they’d fought the Horde together.

            Loa took a phone from her dress pocket. “I’ll send him your details and ask him to be on standby.” As Kereny watched with fascination, the priestess’s fingers flew over the screen. Beep went the text message. “Done. With my brokerage commission added, of course.”

            “Aye, then. Where’s my brother?” Munro needed Will to help him defeat Jels.

            “Will and Chloe are offplane. He called this morning for an update and said they would check back in the next couple of weeks.”

            Ballocks. Munro would have to field the warlock threat and an immortality quest on his own. “They’re together? How are they?” Nine hundred years of history told him to expect the worst. And Will had never gone unsupervised this long.

            “They’re fantastic. All drama put to bed.”

            “Uh-huh.” No’ buying it. But maybe Loa didn’t want to reveal the whole truth in front of Kereny. He refrained from asking more about their personal lives. “Why are they offplane?”

            “They’re bent on rescuing you, which means they’re on the hunt for Nïx.”