killing two of my best hunters.”
“Easy, big guy.” I pushed the sword down. “You know, and I know, Rossi’s black
magic is way too powerful for us to take on alone. Even our grandmothers would have
trouble defeating him. We need to play it smart.”
Fabian shot me a hostile glare. “Smart? You went to work for him.”
84 | GAIL KOGER
Suppressing a groan, I nodded. “I did. My mistake was not checking in with
Grams before I took him on as a client.”
“Is that an apology for ruining my career?”
I gave Fabian my last piece of chocolate. “Yes. It was my bad. Can we move on?”
He nodded grudgingly.
“Rumor has it, Rossi sold his soul to Lucifer last year for a bigger penis and a fix
for his erectile dysfunction. He’s now hung like a bull elephant and was banging
anything that moved. Demon, imp, and human. You name it. Until last month.”
“Some woman castrate him?” There was an evil glint in Fabian’s eyes.
“No. The moron didn’t read the fine print in his contract, and he now has a whole
slew of demon STDs. Even using the blue pill, he can’t get it up anymore. So, he’s a tad
cranky. He needs the medallion you took to open a gate to hell. Lucifer has the antidote
to his problem.”
“He’s going to confront Lucifer?”
“Oh yeah. Rossi’s got an ego the size of New York. He thinks he can take on the
devil and win. He won’t stop chasing you until he has what he wants.”
Fabian stated darkly, “I can take his head. That’ll stop him.”
“Yeah, you can try, but even PMS has its limits. That nice killing rage can turn into
hysterical tears without any warning. You want to take that risk?”
“No.” Sullen didn’t even begin to describe Fabian.
“Good. Can you play the helpless female for now? Please?”
Fabian thrust his awesome breasts out and wiggled his butt. “Like this?”
I threw up my hands in disgust. “Jeez. Do you want Rossi to grope you?”
His sword disappeared. “No. I’ve been groped enough.”
“You poor, poor baby.”
He gave me the stink eye.
CATCHING DRAGOS | 85
Voices whispered in the wind, creating a wailing melody of death.
Xero trembled violently. “Scared.”
“I know. I need you to be very quiet.”
“‘Kay.”
More smoke billowed out of the ground. Rossi did like his big, theatrical
entrances. He wanted people to think he was the biggest badass on the planet. Ugh. I
hurriedly threw a “nobody’s there” illusion spell around Grams and Serafina.
Rafael Rossi, a little troll of a man with a bulbous nose and bad comb-over,
strolled out of the gaseous black fog. The wind lifted his hair, and it flapped like a flea-
ridden flag. The man was going bald. Did he really think the comb-over hid that fact?
His gaze slid over us with a sexual menace that was both frightening and
repellent. “Where is Fabian?”
I shrugged. “If you’re a smart man, you’ll leave now. Sorcerers aren’t welcome
here.”
Rossi laughed. He sounded like a braying donkey. “Neither Serafina nor Annalisa
is a match for me.”
I gritted my teeth. If the grannies were awake, they would be kicking his butt.
Fabian growled like a rabid pit bull.
“For God’s sake, knock it off. You know the creep likes to rape and beat women.”
“I want him dead.”
“We all do. Now calm down and think.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Grams! Shake it off. Now! We need you,” I yelled mentally and felt her wake up.
My groggy grandmother moaned, “What happened?”
“Rossi,” I lied. Hopefully, she’d never discover I was the one that zapped her.
Grams commanded tersely. “Stall.”
86 | GAIL KOGER
Rafael taunted, “Where is Annalisa? Surely the mighty witch isn’t afraid of me?”
“Afraid of you?” I laughed. “She’s gonna be so disappointed she missed the
chance to kick your ass. Why don’t you come back tomorrow?”
A savage rage contorted Rossi’s features. “I’m not leaving without my medallion
and Fabian.”
I gestured. “Go ahead, look around, but I don’t think you’re gonna find them
here.”
Sirens sounded in the distance.
Rossi gestured with his hand. Shadows twisted, contorted, and rippled. An instant
later, two heavily armed thugs stepped out of the thinning smoke and leveled their
assault rifles at us.
A smirk on his ugly face, Rossi strutted toward us like a little banty rooster.
“Sooner or later, you will tell me what I want to know.”
“I think you’ve been smokin’ way too much of that wacky tobacky. This here is
Vizzini territory. The Dragos clan and us have been at war for the last two hundred
years. Remember?” My hand closed around my last spell bottle.
“We tracked Fabian to the circus. He came for the Vizzini slayer, and there has
obviously been a battle.”
He had me there. “Guess he caught her.”
Rafael cocked his head. “Maybe. Maybe not. Why are you covered in demon guts
and blood?”
“Me? This isn’t demon guts. It’s spaghetti.”
“Spaghetti?” Fabian parroted.
“Shut up.”
Rossi arched his brow in disbelief. “That was a fib, and you don’t want to lie to
me. I find myself in need of a virgin.”
CATCHING DRAGOS | 87
Him and every other demon in the universe. “Let me guess. You’re gonna sacrifice
her?”
“I’m going to bathe in her blood.”
“I don’t think that’s going to help your thinning hairline.”
Rafael backhanded me.
I flew backward and crashed into Fabian.
“I thought we were playing it smart,” Fabian groused.
“Yeah, but when I’m running a bit low on chocolate, I tend to get grouchy.” I touched
my throbbing mouth.
Fabian snorted.
“Look, buddy, I’m a clown, and Tina here does tarot card readings. All we know is
things started blowing up and we hid here. If you want more information, you need to
talk to the boss.”
Rossi bared his rotting teeth. “I can feel your power. Slayer.”
Well, shit. “I’ve got a flash-bang spell left. Get ready.”
Fabian tensed beside me.
“Power? Oh. I did find this.” I tossed the red bottle to Rossi. “Here. You can have
it. Maybe Fabian left it behind.”
“What the fuck is it?” Rossi stared at the bottle.
“Something that will rock your world. Ibidem solus,” I muttered, dropping to the
ground.
Fabian threw himself over me.
Boom!
Even with my eyes tightly closed, I could still see the blinding flash of light. My
ears rang.
88 | GAIL KOGER
The hunter’s powerful hand closed over my arm, and he jerked me to my feet.
“Run.” Stumbling over the two unconscious thugs, I snagged one of their guns and
tried to ignore the funny black spots in my vision. “I think I put a little too much bang
in that spell.”
“No kidding,” Fabian said drolly.
Rafael howled in fury, shot to his feet, and started hurling black magical bolts.
Anything they hit was instantly incinerated. Trees, cars, and trailers were
disappearing like wedding dresses at a bridal sale.
I fired back. The bullets bounced off Rossi. Crap. He had one awesome protective
barrier.
A fire truck and two police cruisers barreled up the main drive.
One minute we were running for our lives, the next we were in Grams’s motor
home. “Get us out of here,” Grams croaked.
I slid into the driver’s seat, started the engine, and headed for the back gate.
“Maybe you should put some clothes on.” I didn’t like the way Fabian was eyeing her.
Xero inquired hopefully, “Safe now?”
I plucked her out of my pocket and set her on the dash. “Not yet. I need your help to
watch for the bad man.”
“Me watch.”
Serafina stumbled out of the bedroom wearing a glittery blue caftan and handed
Grams a ratty old bathrobe.
Grams took it from her. “This isn’t finished.”
“Enough!” Fabian bellowed. “We have more important issues to deal with now.
Your petty feud can wait.”
For a moment, I thought Serafina was going to blast him. Then she nodded.
“You’re right.” She gestured, and Fabian was a guy once again.
He cupped himself and let out a relieved breath.
CATCHING DRAGOS | 89
One look at Grams’s angry frown, and I warned her, “Don’t even think about it.
There have been enough transformations for one day.”
She grimaced. “You stink.”
“Demon guts usually do.”
“Watch out, Myee,” Xero called.
I glanced out the windshield. “Oh, shit!”
A police car was blocking the road.
Swerving around it, I crashed through the rotting fence and careened out onto the
highway.
Its horn blaring, a blue van whipped around us and missed the motor home’s rear
bumper by a good inch.
Xero bounced excitedly on the dash. “Whee. This fun.”
The cop car’s overhead lights flipped on and, sirens wailing, gave chase.
I whipped the motor home down a side street. Candles, skulls, and bottles of
potions fell out of the cabinets. Another sharp turn, and the refrigerator door popped