Though the mall was practically empty, the people inside had scattered far away from the scene. Mall security hadn't arrived yet. I ran back through the hallways and followed the debris back to the store -- thrown benches, cracked floors, turned cameras. Finally, I came upon the shoe store. 

   It was pretty damn obvious that something had gone down. Every shelf had fallen over. Boxes were scattered across the store. Shoe racks were thrown around the room like crumpled paper balls. Not to mention there were scorch marks from where the fae had exploded.

   Tate stood upright. My dad was sitting on an upturned bench, holding his shoulder. My eyes snapped to Tate. "Why isn't he in a hospital?"

   "Because your dad's a smart guy," said Tate. His face broke into the first genuine grin I'd ever seen on him. His eyes lifted and his teeth flashed. "He found a hunting vest at one of the stores."

   Dad looked up and he lifted up his hand. There was only a little bit of blood. "Yup. It didn't do its job perfectly, but I'm lucky the knife was dull. It only got about half an inch through the vest. Definitely worth the hundred bucks I spent off that debit card."

   Relief hit me like a tidal wave. I blew out a breath while Tate stared. "I never even saw you buy it."

   "I'm a sneaky son-of-a-gun. How do you think I know about how much trouble Roxie would get into during high school?"

   My cheeks darkened and I grabbed his arm. He can't mean that. "Okay, that's enough. We're heading back to Tate's house and then to Death Valley."

   "No-no," interrupted Tate. "I want to hear this."

   "No, you really don't." I dragged Dad forward and into the hall. I could sense the nearest nex tunnel was about a hundred feet away, just outside the building. Dad chuckled as he put his hand back to his shoulder. Tate set up a shelf while I looked across the way and my eyes caught sight of that same leather jacket.

   "Oh, screw it." A hook of scarlet pulled it off its hanger and launched it my way. I caught the jacket in one hand. Dad looked at me accusingly. "Isn't that stealing?"

   "And spending a hundred dollars wasn't?"

   "He offered us the card!"

   "I highly doubt my father will mind," snorted Tate.

   "Not helping my point," I muttered at him. Tate held open the door as we went outside. Security guards were just starting to arrive to the shoe store. I glanced around, saw no nearby humans, and grabbed Tate's arm. My foot stepped into the nex tunnel and our surroundings vanished.

   Seconds later and the pressure around my body vanished as we landed on Tate's lawn. The front door was cracked open. Tate swore. I groaned and let go of my father to snatch my staff, hands lighting up with magic in preparation for another fight. "Jeez, won't these idiots leave us alone for five minutes?"

   Tate stalked to the front door. I kept my father behind me as Tate examined the inside critically before he swept in silently. His back was arched in a prowl. Several knives materialized in my hand as I moved after him, much less careful. I kicked open the door and it shook on its hinges.

   All I could see of Tate was his outline. The sun peered through the windows in the living room, but the hallway was pitch black. Tate must've heard something because he twisted to the side. A shape launched at him. Tate disappeared and a cat bounced off of the wall, darting in the narrow space. The moment that Tate was out of the way, I flung all five scarlet blades at the intruder.

   He blurred with speed and somehow all five blades missed. The intruder surged forward. I set the butt of my staff against the floor, unimpressed, as the man slammed into a crimson wall. It spanned the whole hall. It was pretty effective at keeping the guy out of my way. I cocked my head as he backed up. "Really?"

   Tate shifted back into his human form and his arms caught the man's throat. The man bucked and Tate flew over him, but he never hit the ground. A cat hit the wall and leaped off of it. Seconds later, a viper landed on the man's arm. His fangs sank into his bicep and the man yelled, grabbing Tate's throat and yanking him off. Tate's snake form hit the wall and transformed rapidly into himself. He spat out some blood. "Dad?"

   My eyes narrowed. The man paused, wiping blood off of his arm. "Tate?"

   Tate sagged against the wall. "Dear lord, Dad, why were you attacking me?"

   "I can't see anything," grunted his father. I lowered the scarlet wall and frowned at him. "What happened?"

   "Two people broke into the house. One was a mage and one was a shifter. Your mother beat the shifter into pieces but that mage got a blinding spell on me. I haven't been able to see for about fifteen minutes."

   I made an impressed noise. "And you still managed to beat Tate's ass."

   "I'm glad I realized it was you," said Tate, blowing out a breath. "I was about to put a lethal amount of venom into your blood."

   "How did you figure it out? You were pretty bent on taking me down."

   "It's too dark to see much, but I've been able to smell your blood since I was born. I know that scent." Tate wiped at his gums, irritated. "You nearly took out my teeth."

   "You recognized him by scent?" I gaped at him.

   Tate's Dad straightened up and his face turned my way. "You clearly don't know much of shapeshifters. And you were followed here."

   Indignation rose. "What? I ditched any tails a long while ago."

   His father rubbed his arm, where Tate had bitten him. "You ditched any tails when you went to Memphis. Then you Linewalked straight here in your urgency to get us to Death Valley. There were guards on your father's building when you arrived, and you knew that they had been there for some time. A mage followed you here when you didn't bother to try and lose any followers in the nex line because you assumed no one knew you were at Memphis. Yet you knew there were followers in Memphis." 

   His tone was getting hard. "You're too rash, Roxie Reilly. You keep making these reckless decisions. You were followed here, and once you left, they went after me and my wife. I can assume from the smell of blood and sweat that you were attacked, too. This fight isn't just about you. Any magick fight can expose us to humans. Exposure to humans is a thousand times more important than taking down Dani Darhk. Do you understand?"

   My eyes narrowed in on him. My temper ruffled automatically at his condescending tone. It was worse because he had a point. I'd been stupid to think I wasn't being followed. My jaw clenched. However, there was one thing this old man was forgetting. "I don't know who you think you are, Mr. Leon--"

   "He's a retired Enforcer Informant," said Tate, tiredly. "Roxie, he has a point. Besides, his job is literally to figure things out and prevent problems. He knows this kind of thing."

   My eyes bored into Mr. Leon's, even though he was still blinded. "I don't care. You keep assuming that I care about details like that. I appreciate the concern, Mr. Leon, but you're missing one massive bit of information."

   "And what would that be?" His own temper was ruffling up at my tone. Maybe it wasn't smart to piss off a retired Enforcer, but I didn't care. Like he said; I was reckless.

   "I don't care about your rules," I said darkly. "I never wanted anything to do with this world. The only reason I'm involved is because Dani Darhk killed my master. She's a power-hungry coward and I'm going to kill her for it. I don't care about some magic law. I couldn't care less if humans saw me. It won't bother me. And no one is going to stop me. Not you, not the Council. I don't care if I have to expose the magick community to kill her. So watch your mouth before you chastise me."

   Mr. Leon kept his face aimed at me. His eyes, though blinded, flicked slightly as his thoughts raced. Tate was studying me, his face tight. Dad was still behind me so I couldn't see what he was thinking.

   Mr. Leon finally spoke. "You are . . . dangerous, Roxie."

   "Damn right I am."

   He kept his voice even. "You are so close to your magic that you're unpredictable . . . Surely you know of that fact. Any magick close to their power starts to become it. And magic is uncontrollable, unpredictable, and unstoppable. That is why Alexie Albers was such an anomaly. He was more powerful than any other mage in history, and he was perfectly sane."

   Surprise made me snap my trap and listen. What? Mr. Leon continued. "Alexie was powerful and uncontrollable, but he was calm. Collected. Calculating. That is why he was so infamous. He broke magic rules by being that way."

   He was right. Magic dictated behavior. It was why there were brights and dusks. Magic ruled over the beings that used it. But I was a neutral. Magic didn't rule me. I shook my head. "I've always been unpredictable, Mr. Leon. Just ask my father."

   "She's not wrong," said Dad. "This kid has always been crazy."

   Mr. Leon grimaced. "You want to know why Dani was after you, Roxie? I have a pretty damn good feeling that this . . . this is why. You are the perfect source. Powerful by personality. That makes you capable of being just as dangerous as her."

   My knuckles whitened on my staff. It felt like an insult, even though he didn't mean it that way. He meant it as a warning. "Then be glad I'm not on her side, Mr. Leon." Even if he was right, there was still information we were missing. Dani hadn't known what I was like when we met. There might have been some accuracy to his statement, but it wasn't completely correct.

   Regardless of whether or not he was right, my point was made. I was going after Dani and nothing was going to stop me. And even though I wasn't on her side, I wasn't on anyone else's. The only side I took was my own.

   "Now, get your bags. We're leaving." I wasn't going to waste any more time.