Elemental Assassin 05 - Spider's Revenge

there and thought about them. The dwarf was right—and wrong too. Yeah, I’d finally embraced my power, finally used it the way that it had always been intended to be used, finally dueled and defeated Mab with it. But it wasn’t just my magic that had helped me win—it had been Fletcher too. The old man’s training, all the years of his molding me into the Spider, shaping me into a weapon—that was what had ultimately let me kill Mab. My magic had just been the means to the end. Fletcher was the one who’d prepared me to face the Fire elemental all along.
    I told Jo-Jo as much, and she smiled again.
    “Fletcher might have given you the tools, darling, but you’re the one who used them. Don’t ever forget that.”
    Something in her tone made me look a little closer at her. “What do you mean, Jo-Jo? It’s over now. Done. Finished. Mab is dead. And if she somehow manages to crawl out of her grave, I’ll put her right back down in it again.”
    The dwarf stared at me. “But your life isn’t over, Gin. You’re not through being an elemental just because you killed Mab. You’re still growing, as a person, as an elemental, which means that your magic will keep on getting stronger.”
    My mouth fell open, and I struggled to come up with the right words. I’d never given much thought to what would happen after I killed Mab—mainly because I hadn’t figured that I’d be around afterward.
    “You mean—you mean that I’ll have even more magic in the future? Even more than I did in the courtyard?”
    My voice fell to a whisper. I’d been so busy just being grateful I’d survived, that everyone I loved was in one piece, that I hadn’t thought about the future—certainly not about my magic, what it might do, or what I might be able to do with it.
    Jo-Jo nodded. “You will. You’re a very special person, Gin, in more ways than one. Your magic is strong, but so are you with that iron will of yours. It’s served you well, and it will continue to do so.”
    I just sat there, digesting her words.
    She hesitated. “But I have to tell you that I still see darkness ahead for you, darling, some dark days, some tough times.”
    I shrugged. “I figured as much. Because now, I’m not only the Spider, but I’m the woman who killed Mab Monroe too. Every elemental who wants to prove herself will be looking to track me down and take me out. In a way, it’ll be even worse than the bounty hunters. They only wanted to turn me in—they didn’t particularly care if I was dead or not.”
    “Yes,” Jo-Jo said. “I suppose that it will be worse. But it’s not just elementals looking to prove themselves. There are a lot of bad people out there with a lot of bad powers. And, darling, you seem to attract that sort of trouble like honey does flies. But we both know that you’ll be readyfor them—no matter what. And that I’ll be here to help you, every step of the way. Me and Sophia and all the others.”
    I reached over and squeezed the dwarf’s hand. “You’d better believe it.”

I spent the next week recovering at Jo-Jo’s. My friends all dropped by at one time or another to see how I was doing, and Owen spent more time at the dwarf’s house than he did at his own. Finn was there too every single day, giving me updates about what was going on in the Ashland underworld.
    Mab Monroe’s unexpected but not unwelcome death had thrown the city’s entire underworld into a feeding frenzy, as everyone sought to establish themselves as the new big bad on the block. Bria and Xavier told me some of it—all the murders, drive-by shootings, and other violence that soaked the city streets in blood. But there was nothing I could do to stem the tide or help the two cops—not when I was still so weak.
    Jo-Jo made me spend two more days in bed before I convinced the dwarf that it was time for me to get back on my feet. I might have killed Mab, but that didn’t meanthat trouble wouldn’t come looking for me sooner rather than later—and bite me on the ass when I least expected it.
    Like right now.
    The sword zipped by my head, close enough to part my hair, before I managed to duck at the last second. He raised the weapon for another blow, but I was already moving forward. I snapped my hand up and blocked his attack with my own sword before pivoting and slashing my blade at my opponent.
    Clang!
    Owen’s sword met mine, smashing against my blade so hard that he almost ripped the weapon out of my hand. I growled with