High Voltage by Angelique Voisen Page A

He still had trouble processing the words coming from Volt’s mouth.
“I’ll hold you to those words, master.”
    “I’ve always liked how you called
me master.” Volt nipped at his ear.
    Heath shuddered, but managed to get
enough of his wits to press a hand on Volt’s chest. “We have to settle the
score with the demon first, master.”
    Volt glowered at him, but then
muttered a curse. “Fine. That what Havoc said?”
    “Havoc said something about the
city council ordering us to banish Felor, but you interrupted whatever he was
about to say.” Heath’s breathing hitched when Volt’s hand rose, but the rough
pads of his fingers only thumbed his left cheekbone.
    “Mouthy, aren’t you? Fine. We’ll finish the fucker then I can have you in peace.”
    ****
    In minutes, Heath and Volt had
showered, dressed, and equipped themselves with the spare demon hunting kits
Volt kept in his weapons storeroom. Why his master kept an emergency kit
specifically targeted at demons, he didn’t know, but he had every intention of
asking. Heath wasn’t blind or stupid.
    There was some complicated
connection, some sordid past, between Volt and Felor. By summoning the demon,
Volt had broken one of the magic laws all wizards had to follow. Felor’s
mention of a blood sacrifice also bothered him immensely. It was one thing for
Volt to break the laws of magic, but it was another thing for him to murder
another human being.
    Havoc didn’t need to spell it out
for him. Every member of the supernatural community in Lyon City fell under the
jurisdiction of the City Council, and the council always knew every little
thing that happened in the city. Given how they’d just destroyed one of the
city’s main power plants, it wasn’t surprising they were on to Volt and him.
His master was in really deep shit.
    If Volt really intended to include
him as part of his life, then Heath had every right to know. It occurred to him
that Volt was still a stranger in some ways, but he intended to know more about
the man underneath the temperamental shell. He’s
not always temperamental in bed.
    Remembering Volt’s fine control the
night before wasn’t going to help them on their case. Heath screwed his head
back in place. They had a demon to banish. Their relationship problems could
wait.
    “Volt? What happened between you and Felor?” Heath asked when they settled inside his
car.
    He thought his master would tell
him to shut up and mind his own business as usual, or some sort of variation,
but Volt grew alarmingly quiet. When he finally spoke, his voice was rough and
unlike him.
    “It happened before in the time
Havoc picked me up. I was young, stupid, and power hungry. I was arrogant
enough to think I could gain more knowledge and power by summoning Felor and
commanding him to do my bidding. I lost control and things went to hell.”
    “Kids do stupid things.”
    “Not this level of stupid.” These
few words came out harsh, and Heath could see years of long buried pain
resurfacing. His stomach clenched at seeing Volt look so vulnerable. “Before
Havoc, I was passed from one foster home to the next. There was another boy in
the last foster home I’d been in. Kevin. Summoning Felor was a way out for us.
I thought by getting more power, some crews in the city would pick us up.”
    “Kevin was special to you?” Heath
asked softly.
    “Yeah. He
was the first mortal boy I loved. I didn’t know Felor demanded a blood
sacrifice.” Volt let out a shaky breath. “I thought I was going to be sentenced
to death by the City Council, but it was Havoc who found me instead. He argued
for my case.”
    It wasn’t hard to piece together what
happened next. “Felor was still out there though, and eventually found you.”
    Volt laughed bitterly. “I thought I
could be free from my past, but the past always catches up with you, eh?”
    The silence was heavy between them.
Volt spoke again. “Kevin’s death fucked me up bad, Heath. It left me damaged.