Red Tattoos swiveled toward us, moving surprisingly gracefully for such a large man. “And what do we have here?”

“Here to save the day?” One of the other half-demons smirked as his gaze raked up and down Prisha and me.

“More like end it,” I taunted, but a rush of apprehension flowed into me. While I wasn’t one to run from a fight, I also wasn’t stupid. We didn’t know the extent of their magic, or if they had backup somewhere, so anything could happen.

Red Tattoos took a step toward us, malice gleaming in his eyes as the beat-up dude straightened against the wall.

Prisha widened her stance, drawing her blade over her head as a line of blue fire erupted across its sharp edge.

I swirled my hands together, magic crackling between my palms, as I readied a telekinetic spell. “Let him go. Last chance,” I called.

Red Tattoos tipped his head back and laughed. I was about to let my spell fly loose when a sudden wave of dark energy hit me with the force of a battering ram. I faltered, staggering back. My offensive magic receded, no longer at the tips of my fingers.

“Tala?” Prisha whispered, her blade lowering.

Dark magic pummeled me again, trying to fill my insides. What the fuck? I staggered back farther, some instinct telling me to run.

Like me, Red Tattoos had doubled over. His face twisted into a grimace as he glanced at his hands, but then he abruptly straightened at the same time as I forced myself upright.

“Want to play, pretty girl?” he rasped, although his expression looked pained.

“You’re seriously going after two chicks?” the dude called who was still being held against the wall.

My gaze connected with Beaten-up Dude, and for the merest second, a wave of heat, magic, and intense earth-shattering power barreled into me. A zap as strong as lightning followed, and I doubled over again.

WTF?!

But then it was gone.

Gasping, I bolted upright, but the swagger in my step faltered even though my magic hummed back to life. Still . . .

“Okay, I don’t know what the hell is going on with you,” Prisha whispered, “but we’re leaving.” She sheathed her blade and clamped a hand around my arm before dragging me back. “On second thought,” she called loudly to Beaten-up Dude, “these chicks are outta here, so he’s not going after anyone!”

She whipped me around the corner and back toward the Underbelly’s front door so fast that my head spun. “Tala, are you okay?”

I panted, trying not to let what had just happened get to me, but what the fuck was going on with my magic?

“I’m okay,” I finally managed.

“What was that?”

“Nothing. I don’t know.” I gritted my teeth, hating that we’d just left that poor dude to his fate, but Prisha had been right to pull me back. If my magic was on the fritz and wasn’t being reliable, I could very well get both of us killed. What perfect timing. “Let’s just get inside and find the Fire Wolf.”

I stole another glance around the corner just as Red Tattoos’ fist connected with Beaten-up Dude’s jaw. The poor guy’s head whipped back, more blood flying from his lip.

I winced. That one looked like it really hurt.

“All right, let’s go.” Prisha pulled me back to the Black Underbelly’s entrance, and the pulsing music closed in around us like a thumping cocoon.

The second we stepped inside, a large male body rammed into us.

Prisha clutched my arm, and we both ducked when two supernaturals’ fists flew inches from our faces. I pulled both of us out of the way just as one of the supernaturals picked the other up and threw him. Airborne, the guy went sailing before smashing into a wall.

A chuckle rose from his opponent before he descended upon the guy and began pummeling him to unconsciousness.

A tall female vamp carrying a tray full of drinks stepped over the unconscious dude and the one beating him to death. As if such a thing were the norm and to be expected. Welcome to the Black Underbelly.

A long bar was positioned off to the left, most of the stools filled. Prisha tugged me toward it, then surveyed the packed room. Several fights were currently occurring against walls and in dark corners, and I was pretty sure a threesome was happening in a booth for everyone to witness. Combine all of that with the DJ on the stage doing his best to make us all go deaf, and it definitely made for an interesting place.

“You wanna drink?” The tall female vamp who had sidestepped the brawling duo near the entrance surveyed us. Her gaze trailed up and down our bodies, her lips curving up when she reached Prisha’s face. “You look good enough to eat.” A flash of fangs appeared behind her full lips. “Haven’t seen you here before. What brings you?”

Prisha ignored the waitress’s come-on as I said briskly, “We’re here to find the Fire Wolf. Has he been in tonight?”

The vamp cocked her hip and placed a hand on it. Her other hand, still holding the full tray of drinks, didn’t even falter, the move so practiced and skilled that she’d obviously been a waitress for a while. “No. Haven’t seen him tonight. But when he does come in, he sits over there.” She nodded toward an empty large booth near the far wall. It was the only booth not occupied.

“Perfect,” I replied. “We’ll wait there for him.”

The vamp glided in front of me before I could move farther. “Look, it’s obvious that you’re new here, so I’m going to give you a piece of advice. You don’t sit in the Fire Wolf’s booth. Ever. You do that, and you can kiss any plans with him goodbye.”

She gave Prisha another sultry stare. “My shift ends in a few hours if you want to stick around.” She winked.

Prisha gave a mock smile. “Thanks for the offer, but we won’t be here.”

The vamp leaned closer to my friend, her pupils expanding and contracting. I yanked Prisha out of the way before the vamp’s compulsion could take hold.

“New plan,” I said under my breath, as I pulled her away. “We’re going to sit at the bar and wait for the Fire Wolf to appear, and we’re going to stay far away from any compelling vamps, brawls, or threesomes. Deal?”

“Deal.” Prisha glanced toward the corner booth where a female fairy was currently riding a guy’s dick like a pogo stick. Another supernatural, perhaps a female werewolf or witch—I couldn’t be sure—was topless. She rubbed her bare breasts in the guy’s face as he fingered her.

The guy abruptly stopped sucking one peak and arched his head back, his mouth hinged open. A second later, he gripped the fairy’s hip with his free hand before slamming her down onto his cock and roaring his release.

Prisha made a face. “Gross. I mean, don’t get me wrong, feel free to do what floats your boat, but seriously, couldn’t they at least get a room? Like anybody wants to see that.”

I glanced at the dozen supernaturals who were all leaning against nearby walls or turned in their seats to watch the show. Most were men but there were a few women too. “I can’t say that all of them would agree with you.”

“Whatever. This place is disturbing.”

Prisha and I made a beeline for the end of the bar and hopped onto two of the remaining barstools. Within seconds, we were approached by four different species of supernaturals all asking us how much we charged for hookups. The threesome had obviously been inspiring.

“Girl, you owe me so much for coming here with you.” Prisha elbowed a guy who was currently trying to grope her ass, and when he didn’t respond to the first shove, I joined her.

Bolts of magic from both of us hit him simultaneously. He flew back, but the second he was on his feet, he snarled and advanced, revealing a flash of canines as his eyes began to glow gold.

“Shit. A werewolf on the verge of shifting, and who knows if he’s a rogue or not.” I gathered my magic into a tight ball inside me, growing it and readying its release. Thankfully, nothing weird happened this time.