Free Cast in Hellfire: An Urban Fantasy Romance (The Mage Craft Series Book 2) by S.M. Reine Page B

sister.
    Maybe she was better off without the Canope.
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    “ Y ou look like you could use a drink,” Seth said once they hit the street. The Las Vegas night was warm and busy, illuminated by so many brilliant witchlights that it nearly seemed like daytime.
    “I’m only nineteen and you called me a kid earlier,” Marion said.
    “Yeah, well, I didn’t know how bad a day you were having earlier. Come on, I know a place you’ll love. It’s fancy. Big crystal chandeliers, classy wait staff, very clean.”
    Marion’s smile was still a little too hesitant. “That sounds wonderful.”
    They walked all the way down the Strip and through a labyrinthine casino in silence. Seth had a hard time remembering where to go. Lots had changed since he’d lived in Las Vegas after Genesis. Magic and technology had fused. There were as many witches at the blackjack tables as mundane dealers, and the air was thick with spells, flying decks of cards, and even sparkling chips.
    Many things hadn’t changed, though. That included the cocktail waitresses, most of whom wore skirts so skimpy that they verged on illegal. They were happy to give Seth directions in exchange for tips. Marion didn’t look surprised by the way that the cocktail waitresses dressed. They must not have impressed her after all the debauchery she’d seen in the Middle Worlds. Sidhe were far worse than Las Vegas.
    “Here we go,” Seth said, getting off at the top of an escalator. “It’s right down here—wait.”
    The bar he’d expected to find around the corner was a Cheesecake Factory now. A chain restaurant. Clean, yes, but not the bar he remembered. Not the one he’d gone to with Brianna Dimaria so many times, along with the other preternatural investigators in their company.
    “Can I help you?” asked the hostess with a too-bright smile.
    “How long has this been here?” Seth asked. “What happened to the bar?”
    Her cheer cracked. “I’ve only been working here for two years, but…I think this restaurant has been in this spot since like ’22?” Eight years earlier, during the time when Seth had been firmly entrenched at Mercy Hospital.
    “It’s fine,” Marion said, glancing uneasily at the crowd surrounding them. “I should get back to the Winter Court and address a few things before we go to Sheol.”
    Seth backed out of the restaurant, trying to shake the malaise that had settled over him. “No. No way. We’re getting drinks.”
    “My pick this time,” Marion said. “I promise to choose nothing called the Salty Anything.”
    They didn’t have to go too far to find something more palatable than a Cheesecake Factory. The next casino over was brand new, something called Valhalla, and it was nothing but dark décor and sparkling chandeliers that glimmered with pixie light.
    Marion was as good as her word. She selected a bar that was called the Endless Battle. It was packed that time of night by beautiful young people—all very fashionable, happy, and drunk. None of them held a candle to Marion. Even in jeans and a blouse, she managed to look like she was walking the runway on the way to the bartender.
    Seth slipped in between a couple and took the stools they’d vacated. He wiped off the one to his left with his sleeve. “There you go.”
    “Such a gentleman,” Marion said.
    “It had overpriced cocktail on it. Knowing you, those jeans are worth a few hundred dollars. Can’t get them wet.”
    He was rewarded with one of those dimpled smiles. “You’re still teasing me. Have you forgotten what a dreadful day I’m having?”
    “You don’t get out of anything that easily,” Seth said.
    “A demon has my memories in a jar. If that’s not an excuse for you to take it easy on me, then nothing is.” She perched on the stool, tucking her boots behind the footrest.
    “What can I get you guys?” the bartender asked. She was a busty vampire with a tiny waist and lips red as blood.
    Seth barely glanced at her. “Long Island Iced Tea