Page 2 of Bitter Spirits

In Isa’s ear, Des thundered down the stairs.

“What the hell, Kelly?” Relief, irritation, and the weird letdown that chased an adrenaline rush left Isa both pissed and shaky. She hit the switch, and the office filled with light.

Behind the battered desk stood Kelly, one of Wonderland’s servers. She was dressed in a gorgeous goth clubbing outfit, her hands held high, her pale face blotched and covered in smears of tear-smudged mascara as well as more ominous shadings that indicated the rise of fresh bruises. There was a small, raw cut on her lower lip, and the hands near her tangled, sweat-matted hair carried streaks of what Isa thought might be dried blood.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Kelly babbled, her tone sliding along the edge of hysteria. “I didn’t know where else to go.” She started to lower her hands and motioned toward the floor. “I was calling you beca⁠—”

The slam of the door to the back area reverberated down the hall. Kelly flinched as a half-strangled screech escaped her. The fast-approaching heavy tread that followed belonged to Des.

Isa kept her voice soothing. “It’s okay, Kelly. Shh, it’s okay.”

Kelly scrambled back, almost tripping on the overturned chair behind her, and gave a panicked sob. Her eyes widened, and her hands flew forward as if to ward off an imminent attack. “No, he’s here! He’s goin⁠—”

“Kelly! It’s just Des!” Isa said in the stern tone that never failed to lower the drama level when shit went south with the serving staff. “Look at me!”

Kelley’s gaze jumped to Isa as Des pulled up short in the doorway.

“It’s just Des,” she said, softer now, trying not to lose her mind at the sight of long, deep scratches marring Kelly’s arms. “Take a breath with me. Come on.” She drew in a lungful of air and waited until Kelly did the same before letting it out.

When Kelly pulled in another broken inhalation, her eyes darted to Des, but they came back to Isa on her shaky exhalation. Isa inhaled again, silently encouraging Kelly to keep it up, as she slowly set her Taser on the arm of the sofa. Then she exhaled as she cautiously moved toward the shaken young woman. When she got close, she saw that Kelly’s pupils were so big they almost erased the whites, and there was a concerning reddened knot coming up on her forehead.

Worry about a possible concussion was drowned under a simmering protective fury as Isa took in the other signs of violence—tears near the neck of the black lace shirt. Singe marks on the short red skirt that wrapped around black hot pants. A scattered collection of what looked like small cuts in the exposed skin of her thighs and the deep red coloring her knees above thick-soled lace-up boots. Isa looped a careful arm around Kelly’s waist and guided her to the sofa, biting back a slew of curses as she spotted a ring of red that looked scarily like finger marks high on Kelly’s scratched arms.

“Come, let’s sit over here.” With effort, Isa kept her temper out of her voice.

Kelly gingerly sat on the sofa and wrapped her arms around her middle. When her shoulders curled inward, Isa grabbed a nearby throw and settled it around the shaking girl. A hint of smoke and alcohol rose from Kelly’s clothes.

A low growl from the doorway had Isa turning to Des. Based on his thunderous expression, he had come to the same conclusion as Isa. The shadows behind him deepened with a weighty sense of a menace.

This could be bad. Very bad.

Hoping to head off the explosion, she said, “Des, why don’t you get Kelly some water?”

The storm building around Des retreated as he shot her a quizzical look, complete with raised brows. She canted her head and looked pointedly at his hands, which were fisted at his sides. Those hands flexed open, causing the intricate ink on his skin to shift as he shook out his arms. The oppressive air around him lightened as he blew out a silent breath and then turned on his heel and left.

Isa crouched in front of Kelly and fought the urge to growl when she caught sight of the marks on the girl’s neck. “First things first—how hurt are you? Do we need to go to emergency?”

Kelly shook her head. “No, no, I’m okay.”

She wasn’t, not by a long shot, but this was not the time to argue. “Okay,” Isa said calmly. “Can you tell me what happened?”

Kelly started to nod then winced, her hand going to the knot on her forehead. “It was a farewell thing, you know? Leo wanted to go out one last time before I left town, so we met up with some friends at the Obsidian Club.”

That explained the Goth-inspired outfit.

“It was absolutely bussin’. Everyone was having a blast. Then just before the club closed, Leo crashed out.”

“He freaked?” Isa asked, and Kelly nodded. “How so?”

“He was getting paranoid—thought someone was watching him.”

“Did you pick up on that vibe too?” Isa asked. Kelly wasn’t the flighty type—she couldn’t be if she wanted to work at Wonderland—and wouldn’t detect a vibe unless it was really there.

Kelly bit her torn lip, flinched, then stopped. “No, but he was off, way off, being cringe to Em and Olie. Saying how they treat him like shit because he’s a muni.”

Isa tried not to wince. The derogatory term referred to those who held little to no magical ability in a world that was all about Arcane power. “So he’s a Traditionalist?”

She shrugged. “Yeah. His magic is, like, small, you know? He can try to turn lights on and off, juice up a minor charm, but it’s always a crapshoot. I didn’t think it bothered him much. I mean, we laugh about it all the time, but tonight, he… he… just…” She closed her eyes and pressed her lips together as a single tear rolled down her face.