Free Lost Girl: Hidden Book One by Colleen Vanderlinden Page A

demon, or my body, or whatever the hell it was, responded to his touch.
    The fight between the Normals still raged on. Shouts, screams filled the night air, and I could see rocks and bottles being thrown.
    “Time to do your thing,” Nain said, nodding toward the crowd. “I’ll watch your back.”
    I nodded, headed into the heart of the crowd. Rocks and bottles whizzed past my head. I was jostled, and one woman tried to hit me, but a look had her turning to find an easier victim.
    I stood up on a bench and shouted. The crowd ignored me, kept fighting. I watched them go on pummeling each other, not even knowing why they were doing it, but totally invested in the fight nonetheless. I was still pissed, raw from whatever was happening with the imps. I could feel my power rise again in response to my anger. I shouted again. A few people, closest to me, turned and looked at me. The rest kept fighting.
    “Hey, assholes,” I roared, and the air seemed to vibrate, and everyone stopped moving and stared at me. I glanced at Nain. He was watching me intently.
    “You are going to stop fighting.” My voice thundered into the plaza. I felt the ground shake beneath me. “You are going to clean up your fucking mess. And you are going to peacefully go home and knock this shit off,” I demanded. The night had gone silent around us, and the air crackled with my power. “It will be done.” I focused, and with the words, the power fulfilled its duty. The people started milling around, picking up the garbage they’d been throwing, and slowly, mechanically, making their way from the plaza to cars and bus stops.
    Once I was satisfied that I had them all under control, I jumped down and headed over to Nain. He was watching me, an unreadable expression on his face.
    “What?” I asked, glaring up at him.
    “You are one scary bitch,” he said, and I felt just a twinge, a hint of pride coming from him.
    “You say the sweetest things,” I said, rolling my eyes. Then I glanced over at the imps. “To me, my imp-men,” I said.
    Nain laughed. “That was terrible.”
    I shrugged, and headed toward the truck. The imps followed.  I seethed during the ride back to the loft. The imps rode in the bed of the truck, and stared at me through the back window the entire time.
    “Are they going to spend all of their time staring at me?” I asked as Nain pulled the truck into his parking spot. He just shrugged.
    We headed into the loft, and the gaggle of imps followed. “Imps, roof. Stay there,” I said, feeling like an ass for ordering around beings that only came up to my thighs. They nodded, thumped their fists to their chests, and climbed the stairs that led to the roof.
    When we got into the loft, Nain disappeared into his room. Brennan came out of his room. Ada and Stone waved me over to the dining room table where they were going over maps of the city, planning the team’s next move.
    “What’s up with the big man?” Ada asked me.
    “He’s an asshole,” I said, sitting down.
    “Isn’t he always?” Brennan asked, joining us.
    Stone laughed. The three of them kept talking. George and Veronica sat in the living room watching TV., and I stared at Nain’s bedroom door, willing him to come out. After a few minutes, he did.
    Brennan glanced between us. “Uh, Molly. I’m going up to the roof for a while. Wanna come?” he asked.
    I shook my head. “No thanks.” He shrugged and headed up the stairway. “Just don’t hurt the imps.”
    Brennan stopped still, turned, and came back down the stairs. “Imps? What the hell are imps doing here?”
    “They’re hers,” Nain said, pointing at me.
    “Oooooh,” Ada said knowingly, winking at me.
    “What?” I asked.
    “That’s why he’s got a stick up his ass.”
    “I do not—” Nain started.
    “Molly’s stronger than Nain, Molly’s stronger than Nain,” Ada sang, laughing. Brennan joined her.
    “I already knew she was stronger than me,” Nain said quietly, and I could feel the