Jocelynn Drake - [Asylum Tales 02] by Dead Mans Deal

problem.”
    Trixie slid her arms around my waist and laid her head against my spine. I flinched. I hadn’t even heard her move from her seat she was so quiet. “And sell out your morals and beliefs in the process. Things like that damage the soul.”
    “Who says that I’ve got any soul left to damage?” I teased, but dark truth underlay that comment. I was already missing a piece of my soul. Simon had stolen it and I failed to get it back before killing him. After all the decisions I had made, I was beginning to wonder if I wasn’t missing more than that one piece.
    “Your soul is beautiful, Gage, if a little tarnished.” I didn’t say anything. I wanted her to believe this if only so that she would keep her arms around me for a little longer. “This Reave deserves to die for what he’s done to the pixies and everyone else he’s hurt. I won’t mourn him if you decide to get rid of him. Just don’t kill him with magic. You’ve already lost one year.”
    I closed my eyes against that horrible reminder. That little fact woke me up from a deep sleep on more than one occasion, scaring the shit out of Trixie during the few times I had slept over at her place.
    Magic had some strange rules. There had to be a little give for everything you got—particularly for the big things like killing someone. For the most part, you simply moved energy that already existed in the air, directing it to do your bidding. But killing someone with magic was another matter. You were ending a life, removing a big source of that energy from the earth, and that unbalanced things. The price was that you lost one year of your own life for each person you killed with magic. And it wasn’t one of those crappy years off the end. No, you could be twenty-five, healthy and happy in the prime of life, and fall dead while walking down the middle of the street with no warning. You’d be dead for exactly 365 days and then wake up as if nothing had happened; assuming that those around you were nice enough to preserve the body so that it could start up again.
    I had killed Simon with magic. He was dead and I owed magic one year of my life. I didn’t know when it was going to happen, but I was terrified that it would happen before I could help Trixie solve her problem with the Summer Court. I was terrified it would happen before I could get Bronx free of Reave. I was terrified that it would happen and the Towers would discover my body helpless and unprotected. I was terrified of Lilith, who was waiting for me with a chunk of my soul on the other side.
    Forcing my eyes open, I drew in a slow, steadying breath before dropping my hands down to cover Trixie’s where they rested on my waist. “It’ll be fine. I’ll find a way to deal with Reave before he even thinks about bothering you.”
    “It’s not me that I’m worried about,” she said against my back.
    Turning, I smiled at her. “I’ll deal with Reave before he even thinks about bothering Bronx again.”
    Trixie made a sound of disgust as she shoved away from me and returned to her workstation. It wasn’t what she meant and we both knew it, but at least my comment succeeded in removing the concern from her eyes.
    “Do you have any appointments?” I asked, redirecting her thoughts.
    She glanced up at the clock on the wall and shook her head. “Not for another hour and I’ve already done the prep work.”
    “You mind keeping an eye on things for a little while? I’ve got a couple things I want to check on downstairs.”
    Trixie gave a little wave of her hand as she sat back on her stool, leaning against the counter behind her. “Go for it.”
    “Thanks.” I flashed her a quick smile before I turned to look down at Sofie. “You care to join me in the dungeon?”
    “Fine with me,” the cat replied, jumping off the chair to follow me. “I’ve been waiting to see your stash of goodies for a while now.”
    I gave a soft chuckle as she trailed me down the narrow hallway to the back