Tempest was nervous.

  For a Succubus operative, I found that to be very out of character. They could release a pheromone that would relax people, which they tended to use the moment they needed something. The fact that I wasn’t feeling her charm let me know she either didn’t think she needed to use it or that it wouldn’t work.

  “Thank you.” The blonde woman gave a slight bow. She cast a glance over at the wagon that was blocking our view of the Goblin. “Did you kill him?”

  “He’s still alive.” I peeked under the wagon. “George was it?”

  The boy nodded as he crawled out from under the wagon..

  “Grab what horses you can and get them hooked up to the wagons.” I looked at the mess. Tempest was an air mage, and Starna specialized in ice, so the wagons were mostly intact. If they’d been fire, electric, or one of the other more destructive specialties, most of the wagons would have been destroyed.

  I looked at the Succubus. “There’s a bounty out for you too?’

  The woman looked down at Starna’s hand, then back at me. Her golden eyes threatened to swallow me as she hit me with the most powerful blast of lust that I’d ever felt. I slapped my hand on the rump of the horse that George walked up with and dumped all of the magic into the stallion.

  The horse bolted, giving chase to the other horses. George flinched and gave me a worried look, but I just shook my head.

  “It’s okay. Miss Temptress was just showing me what she could do.” I motioned at the running horse. “Could you cancel it please, so George can do what I asked.”

  The older woman’s shoulders sagged and she waved her hand in the direction of the stallion. It staggered like a drunk as it tried to come to terms with the sudden missing libido.

  “You can’t fault a young woman for trying…” The blonde smirked as she hugged herself.

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  “You!” Starna turned a dark blue and lifted her hand, then looked at me, confusion all over her face. Her blush got deeper as she turned back to the other woman. “I can’t believe you tried that!”

  The slap wasn’t that impressive. I knew Starna could have put more force in it, but what got my attention was the golden tattoo around her ring finger. A tattoo that hadn’t been there this morning.

  “A baby could tell that’s just a promise.” The older woman rubbed the green color that was filling her pale cheek. She chuckled. “A quick defense against my kind, but it only protects the mage.” The blonde looked at me. “Sineaters are as strong as they say.” She held up her hands. “No hard feelings?”

  I shook my head and turned to my brother, who had just arrived with the Centaur over his shoulders. “Vin, put the tamer on the wagon and…” I turned to the Succubus. “Bite her.”

  Vin’s eyes lit up as he tossed the unconscious man-horse onto the wagon. “All RIGHT!”

  “WAIT!” The blonde tried to conjure a spell, but the moment Vin’s hand grabbed her arm, the magic in her died. “Please! No! It was just a test! I don’t want to die!”

  I shook my head. “If you hadn’t attacked me, then we could have been allies, but now, I can’t trust you.” I nodded at my brother. “Do it.”

  “NO!!!” She shrieked and thrashed as my brother bit into her shoulder. He made sure to dig his nails into her skin, leaving twenty small holes in her arms.

  Vin licked the wound on her left shoulder, then switched to her right and bit down again. He held her in his mouth longer than he had to for effect, then released her. She fell to the ground sobbing.

  I knelt down next to her and touched her hand, using my ability to scab over the wounds so she’d stop bleeding, but mainly so that my brother’s saliva would stay inside the wound for a little while.

  There was a rumor that a Camadt’s bite would kill a mage outright. What it really did was neutralize their ability to use magic. A powerless mage didn’t live long, so the few who did survive after being bitten hyped up the story. Mana depletion was also very disorienting and most mages would be completely useless while under its effects.

  I grabbed the back of her head and laid her down on the grass, then rolled her over and tied her hands. Once the unconscious woman was restrained, I picked her up and put her on the wagon next to the unconscious Centaur.

  I turned around and saw Vin pointing at Starna’s left hand. Thankfully he wasn’t touching her, but the amusement that was plastered on his face promised mischief.

  “I was gone for two minutes!” My brother smirked. “When did you get engaged?”

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