Marked For Death: A Dark Urban Fantasy Novel Becca Blake (fiction novels to read .txt) 📖

wasn’t directed at me this time, the anger on Jacob’s face reminded me of the day we first met, when he slammed me against the wall and tore into me for saving his life.

The sudden reminder chilled any warmth I’d been feeling toward him.

“You should get to sleep,” I said, nodding toward the couch. “We’ve got a big day tomorrow.”

I hurried away before he had a chance to respond. On my way back upstairs, my phone buzzed in the pocket of my pajamas, and I pulled it out.

Enchantment done. Meet me tomorrow at the lab.

Chapter Twenty-Three

The next day, our protective detail tailed us through town as Jacob and I stopped at the cafe for breakfast. After we ate, we headed to the training center for a sparring session. It helped to pretend it was a normal morning, and not just for the sake of the men following us around. Staying busy was a good distraction, one I needed badly.

Though Orion should have made it to Omaha hours ago, I hadn’t heard anything from him. I tried to tell myself that if hunters had found him, Marcus would have stopped by to gloat by now. Still, I couldn’t help but worry that his silence meant something was wrong, and I hoped he would reach out soon.

I also couldn’t stop thinking about how empty my bed felt after Jacob and I parted ways for the evening. His body had been so warm against mine in the brief time we’d lain beside each other, and I didn’t want to admit to myself how much I had wanted to invite him back upstairs.

There were a million reasons why that was a terrible idea, but that didn’t stop me from spending the rest of the night staring at the ceiling as I thought about him.

“Are you alright?” Jacob asked after he landed another hit on my arm.

Realizing I’d let my thoughts wander yet again, I rubbed the spot where he hit me with the training sword.

“I’m fine,” I muttered. “Just thinking about last night.”

He lowered his voice and turned his back on the guards, who were still watching us from across the gym. “If it’s about us climbing into bed together, don’t worry about it. I know you were only doing what needed to be done. It was a good idea.”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

Thinking about last night could have meant a lot of things, and I wasn’t sure how he knew exactly which part of the evening I had on my mind. Maybe he’d been thinking about it, too.

“I don’t think this training session has been very productive.” I readjusted my ponytail and wiped the sweat from my brow. “We should call it here. I have another stop to make before we head back to my place.”

“Whatever you say.”

We left our training swords in the weapon rack and grabbed our bags. Our next stop was the alchemy lab, and I’d been dreading it all morning. The enchantment was the last thing keeping us in town. Daunting as it was to leave Haygrove behind, delaying the inevitable would only make things worse.

The guards followed us inside the alchemy lab, as they had at every other stop we’d made. Jacob sat down in the waiting room while I checked in with Judy at the front counter. As she buzzed the door open for me, one of the guards moved to follow.

“Hold it,” Judy said. “Do you have an appointment?”

“No,” he said. “But I can’t let her out of my sight.”

“Sorry—only one person can go back at a time.” Judy pulled up a game on her screen and leaned back in her chair.

“Orders from Marcus Thorne—” the guard began, but Judy cut him off.

“I don’t care who the orders are from. Dr. Moran takes his work very seriously, and he doesn’t tolerate distractions. The rules apply to everyone,” she said. “I got in enough trouble last time I let someone back when I wasn’t supposed to. You stay out here.”

I hadn’t liked Judy much the first time I came to the alchemy lab, but I had to admit—she was growing on me.

“I won’t be long,” I assured him. “Just picking up a dagger, so I’ll be right back out.”

He opened his mouth as though he might argue, but after another sharp, no-nonsense look from Judy, he slunk off into the waiting room with Jacob.

Judy buzzed the door shut behind me, and I walked down the hall to Ed’s study. He opened the door before my knuckles touched the wood.

“Riley Collins!” The alchemist greeted me with a huge smile, like I was an old friend he was thrilled to see after a long time away. He took my hand and pulled me into the cluttered study. “Come in, come in.”

I stepped around piles of papers and supplies and made my way to the table at the center of the room. He scurried around me and pulled out a box from a shelf below.

He opened it up and carefully pulled out a necklace. Its thick, clunky chain held a gold sphere with an emerald the size of a walnut set in the center. It was such a small piece of the emerald I’d given him, but the bright green was unmistakable.

“I had to do a ton of research for this,” he said, his words pouring out almost too quickly for me to follow. “Haven’t slept in days. I found a similar enchantment that was made in the past. Hardly functional, not optimal. But I was able to make adjustments to the formula and put it on this amulet for you.”

I ran a finger along the gold edges on the necklace. It reacted immediately to my touch, emitting a green glow that scorched my fingers. I gasped as I yanked my hand away, embarrassed that I’d forgotten one of the most important rules of demon hunting: don’t touch the mysterious magic thing.

“Careful!” Ed snatched the necklace away from me, gripping it by the chain. “Don’t touch the emerald until you’re ready to