Shadow Born: A Joseph Hunter Novel: Book 1 (Joseph Hunter Series)

a liquid darkness. Thankfully, Xander had moved his car across the street from the propped door. Not so thankfully, three more Ravens loitered around the vehicle. They had shredded the car’s tires to strips of rubber, broken the glass, and scraped the body to ribbons.
I halted, standing in the pouring rain, staring across the street at them. Water plastered my hair to my face and poured off my nose and chin. Magic coursed through my entire body, riding the wave of my anger and panic, threatening to burst through my skin and into the world.
I reached for the untapped power storming within me. Mel was in danger, so I didn’t care who caught a whiff of my usage—even if it was Hephaestus. If someone wanted to hunt me down, they could deal with my wrath, too.
The Ravens across the street had schemed in kidnapping my girl, they had tried to murder me, and as a last resort, they had torn apart my only means of travel. I barked laughter at their misfortune. Speaking the language of the Nephil, I called upon fire, and flames ignited in my palms. The rain steamed and hissed over my hands.
The Ravens stalked toward me, seemingly unaware of the power I held.
I threw both of the flames like a baseball, one after the other, at the creatures out of hell. Both pitches missed wildly. One hit Xander’s company car, exploding what remained of it. The other landed on the sidewalk, shooting flames in every direction, but not catching anything on fire.
I cursed my magical rustiness.
To help with my next assault, though, the Ravens had narrowed the distance between us, making my throws a little easier. I created two more projectiles, hurled them both, and two Ravens exploded into flame. I felt another burning sensation as a new ball of fire formed in my hand, replacing that which I had lost a second ago. I shivered with anticipation and power. For a breath, I entertained the idea of allowing the remaining Raven to run, to escape, to warn its friends and its Nephil about me. But it was so close that I could have reached out and touched it. Besides, I didn’t have the patience to speak. I underhand lobbed the third ball of fire at the Raven, and the ugly creature smoked out of existence. Not even the driving rain could save it.
“What the hell?” Xander shouted from behind me.
I broke into a wild grin, soaking in the flaming chaos I had created. “You asking about the car or my magic?” I shook my head. “The answer to both of those questions is more Ravens.” I swallowed, trying to harness the high that coursed through my body. “We have to get to Mel.” I turned to face him. The last Raven from the basement level of the garage stood in front of Xander, its monstrous talons cuffed behind its back.
“Where is she?” I asked it, shoving my nose right up to its face.
“Not now,” Xander said, removing his cell phone from his pocket and turning the Raven from me. He put his phone to his ear and glared in my direction. “Davis,” he said, “I need a car on my position five minutes ago.” Ending the call, Xander regarded me with wide eyes. His lips parted, as if he might say something, then they shut again.
“What the fuck is this?” I asked, pointing at the detained Raven. “This is my daughter we’re talking about. Not your fucking monster-crusading job.”
“Before you smoke him,” Xander said, his tone calm, “know that he’s our witness to this night.”
“He? Fuck that. It. Don’t humanize that piece of shit.”
Xander frowned. “It’s our only connection to Mel. We keep it alive. You understand that?”
I did, but I wanted nothing more than to slaughter it, to reach back into myself and burn the Raven to ash. That’s the thing about using magic, it’s addicting as hell. The Nephil will often choose their Acolytes based self-control as well as raw power.
Gripping my wedding ring, turning it around my finger to help me focus my thoughts, I asked, “What happened to her?”
“More Ravens,” Xander said.
I swallowed and gripped the prisoner’s arm and squeezed. “Is she okay?” My magic pressed against my palm, ready to incinerate it. “Is she fucking okay?”
Xander wiped rain from his face. “Easy,” he said. “Just breathe, Joey.”
I ignored him and tightened my grip on the Raven’s leathery arm, allowing the heat to radiate from my hand and burn its skin. It squirmed at my touch. “Is she okay?” I asked again slowly, so its idiotic mind could understand me.
“They took her alive,” the Raven said in a voice filled with gravel and shards of glass—a rough, low-baritone whisper.
My entire body felt weightless, like the next strong gust would blow me into oblivion, like the rain would pound me into the cement, and I would wash into the sewers and out of existence.
“Took her where?”
The Raven stared at me with black eyes. It said nothing, even as its skin steamed into the night from my grip and the smell of burning flesh caught the wind.
Looking up at Xander, I said, “Where did they take my daughter? Why did your men not follow them?”
He shook his head. “Reinforcements called me. They told me everyone was dead. All my men. Derek and Marie. I hung up to meet you in the garage and told you what I know.”
Headlights burned through the rain and glared off the storefront windows. I turned, hoping a horde of Ravens would leap out of the car. I needed to kill something. The vehicle sped along the slick asphalt, skidding to a stop before us.
I shook my head. “I’ll get what I need from the Raven,” I said, pulling on its arm. “You go back to the house if you want, but I’m not wasting my time when it can tell me where she is.”
Xander ran a hand over his head and sighed. “Joey, listen to me.”
“She’s my daughter,”