Free Not Just Another Fae (Vegas Fae Stories Book 4) by Tom Keller Page B

Siegfried hadn’t shown up when he did, I
doubt I'd be here to talk about it. These bastards are fighters, and the way
they kept fading in and out made fighting them difficult. It was like cutting
through smoke. Fortunately, I was able to keep them in check until Siegfried
arrived with a more powerful weapon and killed the other one."
    "How'd you capture this one?" I asked.
    "A containment spell," Siegfried replied, nodding
his head at the other man. "We kept this one busy until Christopher could
arrive. He is our Master Mage and was on property when Michael found them."
    "How do you do?" he said with a bow. "Christopher
Cox, at your service. I was able to bind the creature and then contain it in
this field. Of course, it won't hold it much longer. The creature has already
drained some of the field's magic. Soon it will find a weakness it can exploit."
    "What do you mean?"
    "As has already been said, this is no ordinary Mare. Observe,"
he said as he walked up to the field. He stood close and then moved from one
end to the other. The creature followed his movement, its head turning ever so
slightly as he went from one end to the other. When he returned to where he had
first started, the creature struck out, recoiling again when it touched the
field of magic that bound it.
    "See how it senses the magic," he said as he
backed away. "And it never strikes at the same point. But each time it
touches it, the field weakens just a bit."
    "So it's feeding on it," I said.
    "Exactly," he replied, walking back to the desk. "Which
is why it seems drawn to the Fae. It's feeding on their magic."
    "So what do you think it is then?" I asked, still
watching the creature move about the tank.
    "Siegfried mentioned that you had fought a Babylonian
Demon," he replied, pointing to a page in the book that sat on the desk. "I
believe this to be one as well. A particularly dangerous kind, known as an Edimmu,
a type of Succubus. This one is different, more powerful. Perhaps because it is
feeding on Fae, rather than humans. Never the less that is what I believe it to
be. "Which begs the question, what are Babylonian Demons doing here?"
    I heard a noise from the door at the same time that Michael
called out.
    "Swords!"
    Mine materialized and I felt the magic kick in just as the
door opened and Meredith stepped through. At the same time there was a surge of
energy in the room and the containment field that held the Demon flared out of
existence. The creature had seemed to be getting ready to fly at Meredith, but
the moment my sword blazed, it hesitated. That was long enough.
    I rushed forward and brought my sword up in an arc at the
same moment as Siegfried and Michael, all three blades intersecting near the
neck of the creature. With a hiss like water on a hot surface, the thing burst
into mist and dissipated before it could fall to the floor. We stared at each
other as we watched it evaporate.
    "Did I come at a bad time," Meredith asked as she
stepped into the room. "Or were you trying to impress me?"
    "Marvelous, just marvelous," Christopher exclaimed,
rubbing his hands together. "Did you see that?"
    "See what," Michael asked with a smile as he
sheathed his blade. "Other than the perfect timing, that is."
    "Yes, please enlighten us, Mr. Cox," Meredith said
as she closed the door.
    "It hesitated," he explained.
    "So it was afraid," Michael pointed out. "But
most creatures exhibit fear in some manner. How does that help us?"
    "No, no," the Mage clarified. "Let me
explain. When Meredith entered the room, the creature sensed her magic. The
fact that the cage was destroyed at the same time may or may not be
significant. But what is, is that it did not sense the Dryad's magic until he
wielded his sword. Only then was it drawn to it. Its hesitation was not from
fear, but from the appearance of a more... enticing target, as it were. Now do
you understand?"
    "An interesting observation," Meredith granted.
    "Of course!" I said, suddenly realizing what