Read 0.5-The Asylum Interviews: Bronx: An Asylum Tales Short Story for Free Online

in weight broke the spell. I crashed to the ground, landing on my ass only after I nearly jerked my arms out of their sockets. Pushing the pain aside as it stole through my arms and back, I rolled away from Gideon and came up in a crouch with a magic blue shield around me.
    The warlock never moved. Hell, I doubt he even flinched. Arching one eyebrow at me, he waited until I dropped the shield and stood. Gideon lunged at me, closing the distance in the blink of an eye, pummeling me in the face and stomach with his fists before I could even raise my hands to defend myself.
    Gideon leaned in close as I slouched against the wall, gasping for air and wincing against the pain of each labored breath. “I don’t need magic to kill you—you’re not worth losing one year of my life. But don’t doubt me, I will kill you. Now, what’s the purpose of the wards? I’d like to give a full report to the council.” He never raised his voice, but he didn’t need to. His tone was cold and hard. His decision was already made.
    “It’s just protection wards. Go look at them!” I wheezed in a ragged breath.
    “I saw them. They’re somewhat generic and could be used for many things.”
    “It’s just protection. An incubus is getting a bad reaction to a tattoo. I said I would take a look and help, but I have to protect myself against the effects.”
    For the first time since I had met Gideon, he looked surprised. The warlock stepped away from me, his expression slightly twisted in confusion. “What kind of reaction?”
    “Everyone in his vicinity becomes highly sexed.”
    “An outbreak of mass fornication?” To my utter shock, he didn’t sound particularly skeptical of my situation.
    “Whenever he’s near people,” I confirmed. “It even leaks through walls—brick and concrete don’t even slow it down. That’s the reason for the wards. I’m hoping it’ll contain the effects until I can re-tattoo him.”
    “Interesting,” Gideon murmured, scratching his chin as he wandered to the other side of the room. I could practically hear the steady click of wheels turning in his mind and I was more afraid than when he was attacking. Parker couldn’t fall into the control of the Ivory Towers. I wasn’t sure what interest they might have in him beyond idle curiosity, but I was sure it would eventually lead to lab rat–type experiments.
    “Of course, there is a second course you could choose besides another tattoo,” Gideon said, drawing me away from my thoughts. “You could kill him and have done with it.”
    “No!”
    “We really don’t need all the races breeding more than they already do.”
    “Not an option.”
    “And, really, who is going to miss one less incubus in the world? All those races don’t need help in the bedroom.”
    “Drop it, Gideon! I’m not killing him and neither are you,” I snarled, pushing off from the wall. “It shouldn’t be a hard fix and I’ll handle it.”
    The warlock smirked at me. “Really?”
    It was a dare. Luckily, I wasn’t so far gone to walk into the trap that he was setting for me. Taking a deep breath, I held my ground but got control of my tone. “Please. I would like a chance to help him before the Towers move in.”
    Gideon’s smirk transformed into an evil grin. “Very good. I’ll hold off on killing you and him, if you can refrain from using any other magic to fix this mishap.”
    “I’ll just use the wards,” I reassured him.
    He pulled open the door, but paused, staring at the doorjamb and the symbols in black chalk. “I wonder if you can work without your wards. It would be interesting to watch.”
    I held my breath, waiting for him to decide. There wasn’t a chance in hell I’d be able to think clearly while I examined Parke’s tattoo, let alone re-tattoo him with no problems. The wards were an absolute necessity if I was going to succeed. Gideon glanced over his shoulder at me and his smile widened. I could imagine the fear and panic stretched across