Bewitched & Betrayed snippet

It's Monday, the start of another work week, and time for another Bewitched & Betrayed snippet. Enjoy!

The air moved, brushing the skin on the back of my neck.

We weren't alone.

Just because I couldn't see, hear, or smell him didn't mean he wasn't there, watching us -- and had been the entire time. He was; I could feel it.

"A veil," I sent the thought to Tam. "A good one." Recently some demons had used veils to hide themselves. Thanks to the boost my magic had picked up from the Saghred, I'd been able to see them just fine. It was night, the sniper was probably wearing black, but he shouldn't be invisible, at least not to me.

A prickling of magic was all the warning we got.

Tam fired a bolt that blazed red like a comet at the spot where the man had to be. Something batted it harmlessly aside with no more effort than swatting a fly.

Then came a laugh, taunting and confident.

And familiar.

Banan Ryce had always been a cocky bastard.

The Nightshade commander dropped the veil and with a tug and dramatic flourish pulled off the hood covering his head. The streetlamps gave me enough light to know it was Banan. I didn't need any more light to remember what he looked like: dark hair, tanned skin, pale green eyes, crooked smile, and the morals of a horny demon with an hour to live.

He had an absurdly large crossbow leveled on yours truly. "Consorting with goblins again, Raine?"

I indicated the bow. "Compensating for something, Banan?"