Tio jerked back in offense. “I would never do that to someone.”
“I know, little bro, chill,” Basil said. “He’s just a paranoid fuck.”
Tio’s eyes jerked back and forth between us before he leaned close to Basil and whispered, “Are you in trouble?”
Basil sighed. “No, I’m fine. Grim’s my… friend. I’m helping him out with something.”
Tio didn’t look convinced, but he straightened and nodded, then turned to me again. “Don’t fuck with my brother.”
“For fuck’s sake, the poor guy was already threatened by Delaro and his guys, you don’t need to threaten him, too, Tio.”
Tio turned to Basil and shrugged. “It wasn’t a threat. It was a warning. He should know if he messes with one Ellwood, the rest will come after him.” The guy turned a smile on me. “Hope you liked your meal.” He patted Basil’s head—making Basil smack his hand off—then turned and walked back into the kitchen.
Basil sighed. “Sorry my family is insane.”
“They care about you,” I said slowly. That was… different than what I’d seen in the past from witches. Back home, witches were only about number one: themselves. They didn’t give two shits about anyone else, not even the other witches in their coven. I felt like I was watching aliens interact together.
“Are you okay, Grim?”
I blinked at the witch in front of me, then took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “Yeah, fine. You about ready for our check?”
He waved me off. “Oh, they don’t charge me here.”
“Because your brother’s the head chef?”
“And because my other brother Delaro and his viramores—those two other guys that looked like Del’s guard dogs—they all own the place.” He grinned. “They own the whole block.”
I tilted my head. “Even the shoe store run by dwarves at the other end?”
He nodded. “Yeah, and the flower shop run by a succubus. Why does that matter?”
I shook my head, a little amazed and dazed by this entire day. I’d never seen witches working in harmony with other creatures. Although… for all I knew they were slave workers, forcing these people to work for them. As I scanned the restaurant and observed the waiters and waitresses, I had a feeling they weren’t being forced to work here at all. They seemed genuinely happy for the most part. Did I enter some kind of alternate universe or something?
“Grim?”
“Yeah, let’s go. Are you sure I don’t need to pay for my food?”
He waved me off. “My brothers would kick my ass if I even asked if we could pay. Trust me, it’s easier this way. Del might be small, but he’s formidable, and Tio would be sneaky about it so I’d never see it coming until I tasted a pickle in my ice cream or something equally as gross.”
I couldn’t help but snort. “He’d put a pickle in your ice cream?”
He wrinkled his nose. “He’s done worse, many many times.”
A smile quirked up on my lips as I followed the witch out of the restaurant.
“So I didn’t drive down here, so can I catch a ride to this jinn?”
“How did you get here, then?” I asked as I led the way to my car.
“I flew.”
I stopped in my tracks. “You can fly?”
He laughed—and it hit me in the gut again, but I tamped that shit down—and he said, “I wish. No, my Bonded is a dragon, so Blaze brought me and dropped me off in the alley around the back, then I walked around to the front.”
“You’re Bonded to a dragon?”
“Yep. Hold on.” He fell silent for a second, and before I could ask what the hell he was doing, a bearded dragon popped out of nowhere, right on Basil’s shoulder and chest.
Startled, I said, “What the hell.”
Basil snorted. “This is Blaze, my Bonded. I’m sure you saw him a few times before, but I don’t think you ever asked his name.”
I hadn’t. I’d seen a weird lizard on Basil’s shoulder before, but I didn’t ask because I didn’t want to know anything else about the witch. “I thought you said he was a dragon, not a lizard.”
“Bonded animals can change form. Blaze’s natural form is a huge, black dragon, but he can change to a bearded dragon like this or any other reptile easily. He likes being in lizard form so he can be lazy and catch a ride on my shoulder.” He kissed the lizard’s head when it made a weird noise in his direction. “Like it isn’t true,” Basil whispered to Blaze, and I shook my head at them.
I knew about Bonded Ones, but I’d never been close enough to one without it trying to kill me, so I wasn’t all that familiar with them. “Gotcha. Is he coming to help with the jinn, too?”
“Sure. A dragon’s hide is pretty good at repelling certain magics, so having him with us could be beneficial. He can act as a shield if mine don’t hold up against it. I’ve never gone up against a jinn before, to be honest.”
“Right.” We reached my shitty truck, so I waved at it. “Here we are.”
Basil nodded and hopped into the passenger seat without comment. I kinda expected some mean commentary, but it didn’t happen. This witch wasn’t following any of the normal witch behavior I was used to, and it was putting me through the wringer. I didn’t know how to handle a witch that was seemingly nice because it went against every single thing I knew about them. But witches were tricksters, so maybe he was attempting to lure me in to get into my good graces before he struck. Although, that made little sense considering how strong his magic was. He’d caught me with his magic many times, held me back away from himself or my target, but never once had he hurt me. In fact, he’d been keeping me safe wherever we ran into each other. It really made no sense at all. What in the world did this witch want from me?
With a sigh, I put my car in drive and headed back toward the jinn. Hopefully my mark hadn’t moved far from where I’d left it, but I guess we’d see when we got there.
He was quiet until I was parking the car again, and he said, “I’m glad you came to me. Let me put my number in your phone so you can call me yourself next time.” My initial reaction was to argue, but instead of doing that, I pulled out my phone and passed it over. Basil entered his number, dialed his own so he’d have mine as well, then passed me back the phone and said, “Thanks for going to lunch with me.” He got out of the car before I could respond. What the hell had that been about? It wasn’t like I took him out on a date or somethin’. We didn’t even pay for the damn food.
I sighed and got out, too, then silently led the way to the jinn. Hopefully it hadn’t killed anyone else in the hours I’d been gone. I’d feel terrible if it had.
When we reached a good recon spot and had eyes on our target, I asked, “Can you trap him in a shield?”
“I can try, but I won’t know until we try it. As soon as my magic hits his, he’ll know we’re here, so we have to be ready for it.”
I pulled out my dagger and my chakram—a circular blade that could be thrown or used in close combat. Basil eyed my weapons, but didn’t comment, so I said, “I’m ready when you are.”