Cursed: An Urban Fantasy Novel (The Thrice Cursed Mage Book 1) by J. A. Cipriano

I never wanted.” He shot me a wry smile that revealed a flash of fang. It was weird because I sort of got the feeling he approved of me, and while I wasn’t sure why, that made me strangely happy.
    “Why does the cult want her?” I asked, trying to decide how long they’d known each other. Something told me it was a while.
    “Who knows? I try to stay out of supernatural politics. Normal politics aren’t fun and people have the attention span of gnats. Most entities I know count time in millennia. They’re like elephants who never forget and never forgive.” Jack smacked his steering wheel with his fingers, banging out a sad tune I didn’t quite recognize. “Besides, Ricky should get put down a notch or two. I think you can do that.”
    “Why is that? For all I know, I’m some two bit hustler in over my head.” Even as I said the words, I got the feeling it wasn’t quite true. I may have been in over my head, but something told me the demon I’d contracted with wouldn’t have done it if I was some nobody. At least, I hoped that was the case. If it wasn’t, well, I was probably going to be dead within the hour.
    “Oh, I have no doubt of that. You’re definitely in over your head, but that doesn’t make your demon any less territorial,” Jack said, turning onto a narrow street lined with office buildings. “It’s what I’m counting on.”
    “My demon has territory?” That sort of made sense. Hadn’t Jack said Vassago was the prince of like twenty-four realms?
    “Not in the way you’re thinking about it. See, most demons are like those Siamese fighting fish.” Jack’s eyes went distant as he spoke like he was remembering a particularly disturbing memory.
    “The ones that kill each other when you put them together?” I asked, pictured the colorful fish destined to live out their lives in tiny plastic cups. I’d never seen them fight before, but I could hardly imagine it being a traumatic experience.
    “Yeah, the very same. When one catches sight of another, Hell tends to break loose, figuratively speaking.” He smirked. “I’m counting on your inner demon to go ape shit on that other Cursed and save Sera. If that doesn’t happen, well, I’ll figure something out.”
    “So your plan is to hope, I, the guy with no memory, can control a demon I’ve never met, to save Sera?” I asked, feeling slightly stupid because that had been my plan. Yet, as I said it, the realization of how absolutely insane it was filled me. Still, as I thought about it, I knew I needed to try. It wasn’t because I was some heroic jackass either. Deep inside me, I knew the demon who had cursed me wanted me to save Sera, if only to prove a point to Vassago. Something told me that if I succeeded, I’d collect some major brownie points with my own demon, and I was pretty sure I needed all the points I could get.
    “I didn’t say it was a good plan,” Jack said, throwing the truck into park outside a nondescript office building with the type of landscape that screamed professional service that wasn’t too expensive. You know the kind, cheap colorful flowers and freshly-mowed grass. “I just said it was a plan. Now get out, Ricky will be on the top floor. The wolves own this building.”
     

Chapter 12
    We’d been waiting in the lobby for about ten minutes when a short black woman in her mid-twenties wearing a conservative blue suit stepped out of the elevator and fixed Jack with a look that made me want to run for cover. It was the a look that said, “I’ve seen you naked and wasn’t impressed.” She flipped her blonde ponytail in annoyance and gestured for us to approach with one long-nailed finger while clutching a clipboard to her chest with her other hand.
    “You might think that’s a dye job,” Jack said, not bothering to lower his voice as he made his way toward the elevator, a smirk painted across his lips. “But I can assure you, the carpet does match the drapes.” He glanced at me and raised his