Page 2 of Light Magic

I pulled the hood of my leather jacket up, shoved my hands in the pockets, and crossed the street. Three blocks from the club, I hopped on a bus, sat in the back row, and stared at the night outside the windows.

All the while, I watched everyone who got on and off the bus. I couldn’t help it, knowing the angels were still after me and had issued a reward for any supernatural who captured me.

The bus ride to the edge of town, where I had been renting a room at a shady motel, was about twenty minutes, but it felt like four hours. I had been filled with so much anxiety since I had gotten my wings back.

I could have hidden in a dark alley near the fighting club, sprung my wings, and flown to the motel, but I had done that in another town before stopping in Phoenix, and supernaturals had easily spotted me.

Now, I avoided flying.

The more human I looked, the better.

That was why I had dyed my silver-blond hair dark brown—the color didn’t take well, and it now looked like a dark, faded blond. But at least now my hair didn’t advertise what I was.

After the ordeal with Levi, I had gone back to Houston to pack some of my things and get rid of my apartment. For a split second, I almost stopped by Sylvie's to say goodbye to her, but I knew she would tattle on me to an annoying demon.

Halfway through the ride, two tall men entered the bus. I tensed. One was wearing a loose tank, and his big biceps were covered in tattoos. The other wore a sleeveless hoodie and kept his head low.

They glanced at me, then sat in the middle of the bus.

Oh, shit.

Since I had lost my magic, I couldn’t recognize all supernaturals, and lately it seemed I was either paranoid, or the ability was leaving me altogether, because I couldn’t tell anymore.

I would only be sure the moment they attacked me.

As the bus rolled down the street, I wondered if I should exit at the next stop. Better to have them follow me now than near the motel.

Either way, if I had been found, I would have to move, but I needed my things from the motel, especially the potions that muted my aura from the angels. I had gone through a whole ordeal to get those and I couldn’t lose them now.

Next stop was a busy one, near a school and an open shopping center, so it wasn’t the best one to get off to fight supernaturals. The bus stopped, the men glanced at me, as if watching to see if I would get off. Instead, three teenagers and an elderly couple got on. They sat in the back of the bus, on the opposite side of me. They smiled while playing with their phones and two of them seemed to be sharing the same pair of earbuds. The older couple sat with difficulty a little farther back than the two men, and like me, they watched the outside as the bus started moving again.

The two men looked my way again.

The next stop was also not a good one, right by a hospital and a busy intersection.

Nearing the third stop, I got up and headed to the middle of the bus where the exit door was located. The bus slowed down, and I dared glance at the men—they were staring intently at me.

Shit.

The bus stopped, I hopped off, and started walking fast to the left, away from the hospital and into a more residential neighborhood. I glanced at the bus as it drove past me—and the two men were still inside and looking at me.

What?

I was about to run, but it seemed I didn’t need to.

“Oh, angel,” a voice called from behind me.

A cold shiver rolled down my spine and I tensed.

Slowly, I turned and saw the two girls and the boy who had been seated at the back with me.

Oh, shit, they were supernaturals.

Not wanting to find out what kind, I turned and ran—only to skid to a stop three seconds later.

The elderly couple stood in my path, only four feet from me.

“Where do you think you’re going?” the man asked. Right before my eyes, they changed into younger versions of themselves with long, brown hair and pointed ears.