by Raven Steele
“We’re at your mom’s house. Remember? You’re going to stick it to the bitch?”
She looked out the window, her face paling. “We can’t go in there! Don’t you know what tonight is?”
“Wednesday?”
“It’s a full moon!”
“Of course it is. So what?”
“Shit,” Roma muttered, shaking her head.
“It means all of my family will be here. Aunts, uncles, cousins. Every month they get together to practice magic. This is literally the worst time we could come.”
“Well, it’s the best time for me. Full moons are my specialty. Feel free to stay in the car.” I threw open the door. All I had to do was make a deal. Shouldn’t be too difficult. Everyone wanted something.
I walked toward the mansion. Behind me, I heard, “Stop!”
Lynx hurried after me.
I held up my hands to stop her. “It’s okay, really. I didn’t mean to force this on you. I just thought it would be good for you to finally stand up to your mother.”
“And it would be, if it was another time.”
“I get it. Go back to the car.”
“I’m coming with you.”
I shrugged. “Okay, but let me do the talking.”
“I’m coming too,” Roma said as she walked toward us.
“Really? Why?”
“Because I’m worried about you two yahoos. These are powerful people, and one of you is drunk and the other one is an idiot.”
“Hey!” I said, though I wasn’t sure I could disagree.
“I’m stone-cold sober now,” Lynx said while she stared at the huge house.
I took my time walking up the stairs, thinking of anything I could offer Cassandra. The best one I could come up with was offering to be her bodyguard for a time now that she’s on the Ministry. If what Dominic told me was true, then there would be people always trying to kill Cassandra to take her place. Having me as a bodyguard would greatly reduce those chances. I hoped it worked.
I swallowed hard and proceeded up the steps. “Let’s go then.”
Roma and Lynx walked along side me, each of us staring up at the towering house with trepidation. I wiped the sweat on my palms across my jeans.
When we reached the front door, I asked Lynx, “Do I knock and wait for a butler or do we just walk in?”
“Come on,” she whispered as if someone were listening. She opened the door slowly and peeked inside. “It’s clear.”
She opened the door wider and let us in. I stepped into a great room with polished wooden floors and Italian rugs. A statue of a Roman goddess stood in the center. It reflected into a large mirror running along the side wall.
“They’re probably in the study.” Lynx tiptoed across the shiny floor. “This way.”
The lights on the chandelier above us had been turned low, casting eerie shadows all around us. I swore I even saw some of them move. “This place is creepy.”
Roma followed behind us. “This place is so nice I’m afraid my breath will stain the walls.”
“Stop.” A loud, commanding voice filled the room. The chandelier above us suddenly jumped from dim to incandescent, bathing us in bright light. All of us froze.
“Well, look who it is,” a familiar voice said.
I slowly turned around. Standing at the top of a sweeping staircase was Lilith wearing a short black dress and high-heeled shoes. She held what looked like a blue snow cone in a tall, skinny glass. I cringed. I’d hoped to avoid her.
“Hi, Lilith,” Lynx said, trying to make her voice strong but failing at it miserably.
Lilith gracefully strolled down a few steps. “What do you think you’re doing here with my lover’s killer and a hobo?”
“Hobo?” Roma said, rearing back. “Who you calling a hobo?”
Lilith turned her nose down at her. “Have you looked in the mirror lately? You look like you crawled out my cat’s asshole.”
“How about I shove your head up said asshole?” Roma lunged to go after her, but I held her back.
“What’s going on?” a voice said from the balcony above us.
I glanced up. Maera was leaning over, her long blond, almost white hair, falling to each side of her face. When she spotted us, me specifically, she groaned. “Lynx, you shouldn’t have brought her here.”
“She didn’t bring me here,” I said. “I came on my own, but Lynx followed me.”
“And the homeless person?” Maera asked.
“I’m not homeless!” Roma said.
Lilith slowly walked down the stairs. “Now that you’re here, Briar, in my home, with no pack to protect you, I think I’ll finish what I started.”
Without warning, invisible pressure slammed into my head, dropping me to my knees. I clutched at the continuous pain and ground my teeth together.
“Stop it,” Lynx cried. She knelt next to me, her hand on my back. It was warm, and the pain softened.
“You asked for it,” Roma said. She lifted her hand in a claw-like motion.
Lilith’s body began to tighten, while the pain in my head subsided.
“What are you doing to me?” Lilith cried. She attempted to move, but it was as if her whole body had become encased in concrete.
“Winter!” Maera cried over her shoulder before hurrying down the stairs to her sister.
“Listen,” I said, trying to diffuse the situation quickly. The last thing I wanted was all of Lynx’s family, including extending family, to show up. “I just want to talk to Cassandra.”
“Not until you pay,” Lilith growled.
“What do you want me to do with her?” Roma asked. Her hand had begun to shake.
I glanced back at Lilith and Maera. “Have you had enough?”
All of a sudden, a woman appeared next to the sisters. Just materialized out of thin air. She had hair the same color and shared the same vibrant blue eyes. This must be Winter, the third sister. By the looks of her t-shirt, sweats, and messy hair, she had just woken up.
“What the hell is going on?” She looked around at each of us, taking in the scene.
“The hobo won’t let me go!” Lilith complained, grunting through the force that held her in place.
Winter didn’t say a word. She simply disappeared.
I lowered into a defensive position. “Where’d she go?”
“She could be anywhere,” Lynx whispered.
“This seems like a good time to leave,” Roma said and slowly began to back up while maintaining her hold on Lilith.
Winter appeared behind her holding an empty bottle of wine. “You’re not going anywhere.” She slammed the bottle into the side of Roma’s head. Roma fell over, unconscious.
I growled and leapt at Winter, but by the time I reached her, she was gone again. Shit. I bent over to check on Roma. She had a head wound, but it didn’t look serious.
Lilith laughed and walked the rest of the way down the stairs with Maera. Winter appeared next to them.
“Who’s going to protect you now, wolf?” Lilith said.
“I am.” Lynx stepped in front of me.
“Stay out of this, cuz,” Moira said. “We don’t want to hurt you, too.”
“For the love of God,” I said, “I just want to talk to Cassandra!” I looked all around, hoping I could make a run toward wherever Lynx’s mother was, but I couldn’t hear anything else in this huge house. Where was everyone?
Pain blasted me again. I tried to stay on two feet, but the amount of pressure squeezing my brain was too much. I was half-tempted to call upon my Komira powers, but this was the last family I needed knowing my secret.
“I warned you.” Lynx stepped in front of me, her eyes blazing.
Winter laughed. “What are you going to do? Turn us into a flower?”
Lynx shoved her hands forward. An invisible force knocked all three of them onto their backs. Winter disappeared.
Free from the pain, I jumped to my feet and moved to Lynx’s side. Then everything just stopped.
But then it started again. Lynx was in front of me when she hadn’t been a second before. “We have to hurry.”
I glanced to the stairs. Maera and Lilith were on the ground, their legs half up and hair scattered in the air but frozen in place. “You stopped time.”
“I did. Find Winter.”
I turned around. Winter, or a semi-translucent version of Winter, crouched behind me frozen with a small knife in her hand. I jumped away. “Holy shit!”
Careful not to touch her, Lynx yanked the knife from her hand and tossed it across the room. “We need to knock her out.”
I drew back my fist and punched forward. Her body fully materialized and fell over in an awkward, stiff position.
I glanced at Lynx, utterly impressed. “I take it all back. You’re the baddest of asses and should always fight with me and Samira.”
“Thank you?” She glanced around frantically. “I can’t hold it anymore!”
Time sped up.
I sped to the remaining twins. Maera and Lilith continued their fall backwards. They looked up, jumping when they saw how close I suddenly was. I growled, feeling my shifter powers close to the surface. “Are you finished?”
Before they could answer, I heard, “What is this?”
I whipped around. Cassandra stood beneath an archway, her hands on her narrow hips and a look in her eye that made me think she wanted to finish the job Winter started.
Chapter 22
“I asked you a question, Lynx,” Cassandra said again. She wore a gray pantsuit that most would probably call a power suit, but I just called it stupid.
Lilith pointed at me from her position on the floor. “She broke into our house!”
“She’s with me,” Lynx clarified.
Cassandra’s eyes lowered to Roma. “And what’s with the drifter?”
Lynx lifted her chin. “She’s our friend.” Her voice was much stronger.
Cassandra shook her head. “You are my daughter, and yet, I don’t know you at all.”
“Likewise, Mother.”
She gave her an icy glare. “Why are you here? Especially tonight. You know we have company.”
I stepped forward. “I need to talk to you. It’s urgent.”
She eyed me up and down. “Come with me. I’ll give you five minutes.”
“What about her?” I motioned to Roma.
“Get her out of my house, Lynx,” Cassandra said. “And check her pockets to make sure she didn’t steal anything.”
“Wait!” Lilith cried. “I want my revenge.”
“Shut up,” Cassandra snapped. “Briar did us a favor when she killed Dominic, and you know it. Go find another geriatric patient to screw.”
Lilith frowned and picked herself up off the floor. Maera was already to her feet and checking on Winter.
“This way,” Cassandra said.
She led me down a wide hallway, past a massive kitchen and a formal dining room, and finally stopped in a room surrounded by windows. Behind one of them, a large fire burned in the distance. Dozens of people in white dresses and suits danced around it. Filling the spaces between the windows, large portraits with gold gilded frames displayed what looked like deceased relatives, if eerie blue eyes and shock blonde hair were family traits. Lynx’s red hair and green eyes were a vast improvement to the family line.
Cassandra shut the door behind her and turned around. “Start talking.”
“You’ve changed a lot.”
She arched an eyebrow at me. “Excuse me?”
“Last time you were at my house, you were as sweet as Georgia peaches. After giving you my seat on the Ministry,” my voice lowered to almost a growl, “you’d think you’d be a lot nicer to me.”
Her lips tightened, and she crossed the room to stare out at the celebration. “What do you want?”
“I want you to release Lynx from the deal she made with you.”
“We’ve made many deals. Can you be more specific?”
“The one where she said she’d train with the Principes Noctis in exchange for your saving me from Dominic.”
Cassandra nodded slowly. “So she told you.”
“Yes, and I want you to release her from it.”
She spun around. “Unfortunately, I can’t do that.”
“What if I offer you something else instead?”
I expected her to fully reject me first, but, instead, she narrowed her eyes. “Like what?”
“My services. Now that you are on the Ministry, your life is constantly in jeopardy, but with me by your side,” I quickly swallowed the vomit coming up my throat, “no one will get to you.”
She lifted her eyebrows and burst out laughing, a shrill sound that struck my nerves like a plucked guitar string. That pissed me off.
“Did I say something funny?”
“Oh my, yes.” She held her stomach. “Don’t you think I’ve prepared for this moment? I have so many protection spells placed on me, some of which have been building for over ten years, that it would take God himself to take me out.”
“Okay, then. How about you owe me for the way you manipulated me into getting you on the council.”
“You have no proof of that.”
“We both know what you did.” She maintained eye contact, as if challenging me to do something about it. I curled my fingers into my hands. “What do you want?”
Her smile disappeared. She lowered onto a desk behind her and swirled her finger in a small glass container of paperclips. “Have you ever wondered why so many supernaturals flock to Rouen?”
The question startled me. I had never thought about it, but now that she mentioned it, I had encountered a lot. Especially more recently; they seemed to fill Sinsual more and more every night.
“There is power in this city, an ancient energy that plagues the earth beneath it.” She lifted her hand. Several paperclips followed the motion into the air unaided. “Supernaturals come here and most of the time, they have no idea why. It’s as if this place calls to them.”
She looked up at me. “Did you feel called here?”
“What?”
She dropped her mental hold on the paperclips. They fell back into the container. “There is a rumor spreading among supernaturals. An ancient and powerful blood has come to Rouen.”
My heart skipped a beat. She looked up and watched me closely. I made sure to keep my expression even.
“I want you to bring it to me,” she said.
“What makes you think I know anything about it?”
The corners of her mouth turned up. “I have a feeling that if you don’t know anything, you will soon enough. Get me the blood called the Abydos, and I will free Lynx from her obligations.”
Having her call the blood by name scared the shit out of me. If I could move the Abydos without drawing attention to it, I would. Immediately. I rolled my thumb over the smooth metal of my ring. “Let’s say I did know where this blood was, why would I ever give it to you? You would probably use it to become Supreme Leader of the galaxy and destroy anyone who opposes you.”
“Not me. The Ministry.”
“Even worse!”
“Despite what you may think, we want to destroy it.”
I almost confessed it couldn’t be destroyed, but caught myself just in time. “Why would the Ministry do that?”
“Because as it stands, we are the most powerful group in the world. The blood challenges that, for only one can use it. Who would we choose?”
She paused as if she actually wanted me to answer the question.
When I said nothing, she added, “We couldn’t. That’s why we must destroy it before anyone else gets their hands on it.”
“I wish I could help you, but I don’t know anything about someone’s crusty old blood.”
Her expression soured, and she raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Then find out. If you truly want to help Lynx, this is how you do it.”
“I do want to help her. More than anything.” But could I give up the Abydos
to do it?
She tilted her head slightly, considering my words. “Did you ever think that this training may be the best thing for her?”
“I don’t see how. Nothing good comes from working with the Principes Noctis. I’ve seen their handiwork many times.”
“But the man I’ve hired is the only one who can properly teach Briar how to contain her powers. He is also loyal to me and will keep her true identity a secret.”
“Her identity? She’s a Morgan.”
Cassandra winced, then frowned. She glanced at a clock on the wall. “Time’s up. You have my terms.” She walked to the door and opened it wide. “You better hurry. My nieces aren’t patient and may already have Lynx and that homeless person pinned to a wall somewhere.”
“Lynx deserves better,” I said, passing her.
“I couldn’t agree more,” she called after me. I had a sneaking suspicion she was referring to me.
I rushed back to the front entrance. I fully expected to face the sisters again, but they were gone. So were Lynx and Roma. I opened the door and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw them in the car. I jogged down the stairs to meet them.
“Are you okay?” I asked Roma. She was sitting in the passenger seat, pressing a towel to the back of her head.
“It’s more my pride that got hurt than anything else.” She looked me up and down. “Glad to see you got out alive.”
I jumped in the back seat and Lynx quickly drove away from her childhood home. She glanced at me in the rearview mirror, a look of hopefulness filling her green eyes. “How’d it go?”
“Not as bad as I thought it would.” I leaned back into the seat, not thinking about the Abydos, but thinking about what Cassandra had said about Lynx’s true identity. What had she meant? And did I dare ask Lynx about it?
Lynx glanced back at me. “She’s letting me off the hook? No training?”
“Not yet, exactly, but I’m working on it.”
She bit her lip and turned onto an old highway that would lead us back to the center of Rouen. “Thanks for trying.”
“Don’t give up just yet.” I waited a few seconds, then slapped the top of the seat, startling both of them. “So what the hell? You guys were amazing back there!”
Roma turned to me. “Is my outfit that bad?”