Trial by Fae (Dragon's Gift The Dark Fae #1) - Linsey Hall

1

My blade sank into the demon’s chest like a fork through a perfect piece of cheesecake. Except grosser.

I crouched over his collapsed body and twisted the dagger, grinning into his sneering face. “And that’s what you get for trying to eat children in my neighborhood.”

The dagger tore up his heart as it moved. His mouth slackened and his eyes went dark. The big body beneath mine went totally limp. Dead.

Good.

I climbed off of him and left the blade in his chest. “You can keep that.”

It was his, after all. The way I saw it, there was poetry in killing demons with their own blades. And I’d been a demon slayer for a while now, so I needed a challenge to keep things interesting.

The city street was silent as I made quick work of checking his body for charms or weapons. Demons often carried valuable loot, and I wouldn’t leave it behind. I patted down pockets and even flipped him over, wincing at the pain in my shoulder. He’d landed a good blow earlier, but it would heal by morning.

My hand landed on a small lump in his pocket, and I pulled out the little stone.

“Bingo.” I shoved the transportation charm into my pocket and hopped up.

I put a hard butterscotch candy into my mouth and sucked. My sister called them my old-lady candies, but I didn’t care. I’d quit smoking, and they kept me sane.

“You get him?” Aeri, my sister, called from the other side of the street.

I turned, spotting her stepping out from a shadowed alley, her white ghost suit speckled with blood. The ghost suit was just sturdy white tactical trousers and a top, but it had the ability to make her invisible. Totally badass.

Aeri’s pale hair whipped in the wind, and her blue eyes met mine from across the street. This part of Magic’s Bend was called Darklane—named for the dark magic practitioners who lived here. Aeri and I had made it our home ever since we’d escaped Grimrealm as kids.

I gestured to the demon at my feet with both hands and said wryly, “Ta-da. Dead and dusted. You get yours?”

“Nabbed the bastard at the end of the alley.” She strode across the street to join me. “I got what info I could out of him. I think they were the only two stalking the city.”

“Good. Nothing like a job well done.” I’d report to the Council of Demon Slayers that we’d finished the job they’d given us. I swung an arm around her shoulder. “Now I need a drink. The sun is coming up, and it’s just about my bedtime.”

A grin tugged at her mouth. “Let’s do it. Fates know we earned it.”

I gave the demon at my feet one last look. His body was already starting to disappear. If anyone else had killed him, he’d return to the underworld from which he’d come. Eventually he’d probably try to get back to earth.

But not this mean bastard. He was dead and gone forever, because I was a demon slayer, granted special powers by the Council.

Aeri and I walked toward our house, which was only a few blocks down from where we’d finally found the demons. The houses were quiet and dark as we passed, the Oliver Twistian street lamps flickering golden in the darkness. Most Darklaners were in bed, tucked behind the grimy facades of the ornate Victorian row houses that this neighborhood was famous for.

We reached our place, a grime-covered, once-purple Victorian structure that looked almost haunted. In our defense, we weren’t slobs. Dark magic gave off a sooty substance over time, and it coated every building on the historic street, giving it a haunted Olde England feel. The buildings were all squished so close together that most of them shared walls. In the sun, you could see hints of the colors that the houses had once been, but that was rare.

It suited Aeri and me.

I led the way, climbing the short flight of stairs to the front door and disengaging the protection charms. I stepped into the elaborately decorated foyer of the main house. This was where we greeted visitors and did our Blood Sorcery business—a little side gig to the demon slaying—and the black velvet floral wallpaper suited the look. In reality, Aeri and I each had secret apartments on either side of the main house. Almost no one knew about them, not even our friends.

To say that we were secretive was an understatement, but we had good reason. We were Dragon Bloods—rare supernaturals