Love and Other Crisis | Season 1

Bonus Episode #1

Katerina stepped out of the taxi and surveyed her surroundings. She was in a dingy part of town, far from her usual haunts of trendy cafes and upscale shops. Her body hummed with tension like a string pulled too tight on the verge of snapping. Danger lurked in all the dim corners of the deserted area.

Of all the places they'd choose to meet.

So off the beaten path, she supposed no one would stumble across them by accident. Most of her dealings didn't require stringent measures, but once in a while, her trade called for questionable associations.

She entered the dark alley, her heels echoing off the brick walls. Ahead awaited her contacts—the intermediaries of her transaction. They were standing near a dumpster, smoking cigarettes and looking impatient. She straightened her posture, approaching the men with confident strides.

One of the two, a burly, bearded brute with a thick build, broad shoulders, and muscular arms that suggested he was used to physical labor, dropped his cigarette and crushed it under his boot. He tugged on his leather jacket as he positioned himself in the center of the alley. The other man, taller and leaner, with a gaunt, angular face, pale, almost sickly skin, his eyes sunken and dark, held his stance by the dumpster. His long, greasy hair hung in straggly locks around his face.

Humans. They came in all shapes and sizes.

Katerina pulled a small velvet pouch from her purse. "Here it is." She held out the bag once she neared the first man, not wanting to get too close. She wasn't afraid of them; she was a charm mage. But breathing the same air as these cretins made her skin crawl. Their boss was the problem. He'd make trouble for her if anything went sideways.

The burly man claimed the pouch. Opened it. He poured the content into his palm. The orange gem gleamed in the muted lights. The fertility stone's value as a fashion piece dimmed compared to its black-market uses. Crushed and mixed with the right ingredients, it created powerful hallucinogens and aphrodisiacs.

Burly Man examined the stone as if able to discern a bauble from the real thing, then skimmed his leering gaze over Katerina. "Nice doing business."

"My money."

The gaunt-faced man took out a phone. Dialed a number.

"Yeah, boss. She delivered."

He hung up, and a minute later, Katerina's phone chimed. A message notified her of a deposit in her account. She turned, not bidding the men farewell, and stopped when Burly Man shrieked.

Black vapors rose from the man's palm. Katerina stumbled a step, recognizing the foul smell of a hex—a curse.

Franziska. She boobytrapped the stone.

Two pairs of cold, hard eyes bore into Katerina.

"What the fuck bitch? Are you trying to double-cross us?" Burly Man brandished a gun.

Gaunt-Face Man reached for his cell phone. If he called his boss...

"Don't move."

The gaunt-faced man obeyed, puzzled by his obedience. Manipulating humans was a cinch. A tiny nudge and they were putties in her hands. Regardless, Katerina liked to leave a slight gap in their consciousness where they could witness their actions, incapable of doing anything about it. Their shock always amused her.

Burly Man glared at his partner. "What the fuck are you doing? Call the boss." He made a threatening step for Katerina, recognizing his partner was no longer in control of his faculties. "What did you do to him?"

The corners of Katerina's lips curled upward, but the rest of her face remained impassive. Her pulse raced like a panicked animal trying to escape its cage. Stealing from the Falgors wasn't her first con. She understood the risks of crossing Franziska, a Grand Magus. But overconfident in her years of triumphant schemes, she missed the hex. She'd stolen something that wasn't meant to be stolen, and now everything she'd built all these years hung in the balance—her life on a razor's edge.