Free The Last Slayer by Nadia Lee

immensely strong one that would take at least twenty warding specialists.”
    Which meant it was only theoretically possible. Cooperation among hunters and supernatural experts isn’t unheard of. But put twenty supersized egos together and see if you can get them to agree on an exact warding design and the kind of magic signature to use and how much power to imbue it with.
    That was why the firm sent out small teams for warding jobs, no more than five each. And those had generally worked together for years.
    Valerie tapped the pen on other parts of the design. “All of these have different dragon wardings on them, in addition to the supernaturals I originally warded against.”
    “Why dragons?” I traced the sketches on the cool paper with an index finger. “They never attack human homes.” It was part of the long-ago treaty signed between dragonlords and mortals. As far as we knew, it was still in effect.
    “Exactly.” She peered at me, a speculative gleam in her eyes. “Have you formed an alliance with some benevolent supernatural?”
    Benevolent supernatural. What an oxymoron.
    “No.” I dumped some books off the desk so I could perch on it and tried to think. “Can these wardings turn into something else that can be used for black magic?”
    “I’m not sure. I’ve never seen anything like them before.” She shook her head. “Look, let me replace the old wardings.” That made sense. Even though the new ones were more powerful, leaving them would be like having someone break into your home and then keeping the new locks he’d installed.
    “And then maybe you should stay home today,” she continued. “Or just go to the office, whichever makes you feel safer. I’ll send someone else to lead the team on the Andersen job.”
    “No.” Something wasn’t right, and I couldn’t help but think that I was missing a bigger picture. Call it professional pride. Call it curiosity. I wanted to be there myself.

Four
     
    The TriMedica building stood tall near the I-66 exit in Arlington. Slender and cylindrical, it looked like a stack of enormous gold coins. Ostentatious cars of European origin sparkled in the parking lot. Private security had quarantined the premises to keep dragon groupies out. If traffic was any indication, the metropolitan-area population had doubled overnight.
    At the entrance I showed my ID to a uniformed guard who bore a striking resemblance to a Doberman. He checked his list and waved me through.
    Andersen and Co. were already at the “Command Center,” which was an office on the first floor of the main building. Yes, someone had actually put up a hand-lettered sign that said “Command Center” on the door. Despite the early hour, the place sizzled with anticipation and caffeinated energy. Valerie had already warded the sparsely decorated room. She was hunched over a pile of papers and talking on her cell phone, but glanced up at me as I walked in.
    On the other side of the office, four men and women in black suits sat at small desks with their laptops. Andersen scowled in greeting. I wanted to ask him how he’d slept, but Valerie was coming and she frowns on baiting the clientele.
    “Hey,” she said. “Take this before you have coffee.”
    I stared at the bottle of high quality Sex. “Ew.”
    “No whining. Everyone from the firm gets it.”
    “Uh…I don’t really need it.” I already had more than enough, thanks to “Ramiel.” The memory of what he’d done without even touching me made my skin hot and tight. Oh you have it bad, Ashera. You’re in trouble. My sympathy for my incubus clients had suddenly increased exponentially. Incubus sex was like crack.
    “Yes, you do. People are watching. Lead by example.”
    Sure enough, the hunters’ gazes had zoomed in on our little exchange. “Ah hell.” I took the bottle and swigged it, taking care not to gag or make a face. Sometimes being a partner sucked. A lot.
    The bitter liquid went down my throat and hit me like a