Free Feeding Frenzy (The Summoner Sisters Book 1) by Allison Hurd

the rings tells me that it is the oaken one that seems to be the most painful to him, meaning he is probably in the Greek pantheon.  This is confirmed as the arm I hold begins to blacken, and his eyes turn fluorescent blue.  With a small screech, he pulls away, hissing at me.
    “Is everything okay?” asks the bouncer Lia had flirted with previously.  The black arm and blue eyes fade instantly, leaving what appears to be a man, my dazed sister and my towel-shrouded self in a small, intimate space.
    “We’ll be fine,” I manage to say, not wanting some other poor civvy to become the monster’s thrall.
    “I’ll be close,” the bouncer says significantly, giving the creature a menacing look.
    The monster grabs for Lia when we’re alone again, obviously hoping for a human shield.  I slam my high heeled foot down on the part of the shoe I believe contains whatever sort of foot it’s hiding and am rewarded with another hiss.  It turns the table over on us, spilling drinks and breaking glass.  I move to intercept Lia before she smacks her head on the wall, making a sound to vent my frustration as the creature takes the opportunity to escape.
    “Fuck!” I mutter to myself as it bounds out the front door.  I turn my attention to my shivering baby sister.
    “Lia.  Hey, Lia.  Talk to me.  You okay?”
    Steve chooses that moment to come over.  “Summer, you’re late.  Break’s over.”
    I glare at him.  “Something’s happened to Lia!”
    He looks at her in confusion.  She’s sweating, slowly shaking her head to clear it.
    “Is she on something?  Is she drunk?  You know it’s against policy…”
    “No!  Please.  Just get us some water and a chair.”
    This is done, and Steve leaves us for a moment.
    “Lia, hey chica.  You with us?”  I press the oaken ring into the hand I’d seen the thing touch.  Her skin turns pink for a second, but her trembling slows down and her pupils contract a little.  It’s a start.
    “Summer?”  She finally becomes coherent.  I hug her, trying not to cry from the relief that washes over me.  “That was the weirdest feeling…”
    “How are you girls doing?  Can we go back to work?” Steve asks awkwardly.
    I look at Ophelia and she nods weakly.  Perhaps as an apology for having to be an asshole about sticking to the work schedule, he assigns us to the same tub.  Lia stands nearby and passes out Jell-O shots while I continue dancing.  I watch her carefully.  Aside from being a little drained, she appears to be okay, for which I offer another prayer of gratitude.  We only have a couple hours of our shift left, but talking is hard with the crowd growing as the night wanes.  Finally, it’s closing time and I practically carry my exhausted sister to our car.
    “How you holding up, girlie?” I ask.
    “It was so weird...it was like being on ‘E’ or something.  I could feel everything.  It was nice.  Also scary, though.”
    So, we were right.  It’s a monster with a contact high.  I skip over the question of how my little sister knows what the drug ecstasy feels like.  Some things don’t need to be shared.
    “And what the hell were you doing, talking to a guy when we know something is on the prowl?”
    She groans.  “I knew you’d yell at me.”
    “I’m not yelling.  I’m asking what was going on with you.”
    “Right.  Not mad, just disappointed.”
    “Lia…”
    “Can we do this later?  I have a headache.”  She sulks and refuses to talk to me the rest of the way to the motel.
    We get inside, still not speaking to each other.  Defeated, I change and sit on the bed, following Lia’s movements as I wait for her to thaw.
    “I’m sorry I said that,” I finally apologize.
    “No, you were probably right.  I was feelin’ overly confident, and he wasn’t dark at all.  By the time I got suspicious, I thought I could nab him myself.  I didn’t expect the drug effect to be that bad.  All the other victims had been drinking,