by Sarah Noffke
“So the white tiger and the black crow represent good and evil in the House of Seven?” Liv asked, thinking that sounded too simple.
“I think they represent much more than that,” Plato began. “But yes. That, at their core, is the ultimate purpose, but we must remember that life isn’t always black and white.”
Liv found herself nodding at the irony since the animals actually were black and white.
“So how do they create balance for the House?” Liv asked.
“I’m not entirely certain yet,” Plato answered. “But I think it’s important that you’re aware of the role they potentially play. You don’t want to obsess, though. For instance, it might be flawed thinking to pine for the attention of the white tiger, entirely dismissing the presence of the black crow.”
“But if he represents evil, then wouldn’t it be good to want to see less of him?”
Plato considered this for a moment and then sauntered forward. “Balance is achieved by having equality between two forces or influences. If we are too masculine, then we neglect an important aspect of ourselves, or vice-versa. Things aren’t inherently good or bad, but rather a mix of the two.”
Liv scratched her head. “I don’t think I completely get all of this.”
“Nor do I,” Plato admitted. “I believe there is something missing, but I don’t know what.”
As if on cue, Liv walked around a row of books and halted, staring at a wall of murals. It was the ancient language, she realized, watching as the symbols danced like the shadows of trees being blown around by the wind. This area of the library was suddenly darker, and she somehow felt as though she was standing outside near a campfire.
She didn’t realize she was holding her breath until her head began to beat with blood. Letting out her breath, Liv strode forward, unsure exactly what she was looking at.
“The symbols? Why do they appear different here?” she asked Plato.
“I’m not sure, but I think you’re right,” he answered.
“Is this one of those times when you say you’re not sure but you know and just won’t tell me?”
“I’m not sure,” he repeated with a mischievous smile on his face.
She waved him off. “Oh, you’re such a lovely pain in the ass.” Liv touched the wall, thinking that the symbols would dance under her fingertips like they did in the long entrance hall. However, here they glowed brighter and seemed to jump off the wall, enlarging in size. For a long few minutes, Liv was fascinated by the display, running her hand back and forth as she walked down the wall. Then she noticed something different—a groove in the wall. She would have dismissed it as nothing, except that it looked familiar to her.
There was a deep indentation, and around it were smaller ones. Fourteen, to be exact. Liv realized then that she still had her mother’s ring clasped in the palm of her hand. She opened her fist, noting that the stones in the ring matched the indentations.
“Could this be?” Liv asked, looking over her shoulder for Plato. He wasn’t there; again he’d disappeared.
“Damn cat is never there when I need him,” she muttered to herself.
“Which cat do you mean?” Stefan’s voice called from a nearby row of books.
Liv startled, folding her fingers over the ring and turning to face him.
Of course Plato had disappeared. He had probably known Stefan was approaching long before he reached her. Maybe next time he’ll give me a little heads up, she thought.
“I was referring to my cat Plato, who appears to be hiding again,” Liv explained, looking sideways at the groove in the wall that had caught her attention moments prior.
Stefan strode out from between two rows. He was wearing a long black jacket and traveling boots, his hair covered in a knit hat. “That’s funny. I didn’t know that you had a pet that is approved to enter the House of Seven.”
“Rules don’t really apply to Plato,” she said, chewing her lip and wishing that Stefan would disappear so she could inspect the wall again.
“He sounds like he takes after you.” He looked behind her, his gaze full of interest. “Did you find something on that wall? You seemed fascinated by it a moment ago.”
Liv glanced casually over her shoulder. “Oh, no. I’m looking for my sister and thought she might be hiding somewhere over here. She’s good with disguises.”
“She’d have to be if you thought she was hiding against a solid wall,” Stefan said, sounding impressed.
Liv nearly clenched her eyes shut, thinking she’d made a grave error by giving Stefan a hint that her sister’s magic had come in and was strong enough for her to do such thing as disguises. However, he continued to smile good-naturedly, the same way his sister did during meetings with the Seven. Maybe the Ludwigs could be trusted? She wasn’t about to tell them everything, but having an ally might possibly prove useful.
“So where do you suppose Ms. Sophia Beaufont is hiding?” Stefan asked, looking around. “Is this a game you play, or did she run away?”
Liv laughed. “It’s a game. I suspect that if Sophia wanted to run away, then she would, and none of us would ever find her. I can only discover her hiding places because she allows it.”
Stefan nodded. “That seems about right. May I help you find her?”
Liv lifted a curious eyebrow at him. “Don’t you have important Warrior business to attend to?”
“I do,” Stefan replied, unhurried. “However, I won’t set off for several more hours. Not until the timing is correct. And you? Has the Council assigned you another case to keep you busy and out of harm’s way?”
“Yes, wiping fairy asses or something,” Liv joked.
“And yet, you’ll probably still find a way to end up on the national news while breaking a hundred laws,” Stefan told her with a wink, staying beside her as they strode through the aisles. “What were you doing at the museum?”
“Brushing up on my history,” Liv replied.
“And this case that was set off when you touched it? Do you by chance want to share what was in it?”
Liv bit her lip again. She needed allies, she reminded herself again. But she didn’t need troublemakers, and she wasn’t sure which one Stefan Ludwig was.
After a long moment of silence, Stefan said, “It’s fine, you don’t have to tell me. I daresay, I have a fair number of things I like to keep secret too.”
“Like what?” Liv asked at once.
He flashed a sideways smile at her. “Things.”
“Thanks for revealing so much,” she drawled sarcastically.
“It was curious that a case reacted to your magic like that,” Stefan mused. “More curious is that certain people on the Council didn’t find this of interest.”
“Yeah, they seemed to simply gloss over the fact that I triggered the alarms,” Liv agreed, realizing at once that Stefan was right. Then something else occurred to her. “Hey, what were the details regarding the bank vault that Adler set off? Do you know?”
Stefan shook his head. “That was the first I’d heard of it, but it is interesting. We have our own banking systems within the House as you very well know, so I wonder what he was doing at a mortal-owned bank.”
“Another thing that the Council sort of glossed over,” Liv said mostly to herself.
“Questions that Adler doesn’t want asked have a way of being ignored,” Stefan offered.
They paused in the center of a large reading area. Huge overstuffed chairs sat around a fireplace that was taller than Stefan. Liv blinked at the painting above the fireplace, recognizing the little girl standing next to a tall palomino. She nearly paused, surprised by the sight of her little sister disguised in an oil painting, but she stopped herself, pointing to an aisle.
“Let’s see if Sophia is down here,” she said in a rush. “If not, hopefully she comes out of her hiding place soon.” She said the last part with a heavy inflection in her voice, intending that her sister get the hint.
“Weren’t you and Trudy hunting unregi
stered magicians together?” Liv asked when they’d walked in silence for a moment.
“Yes,” Stefan answered. “However, I got assigned a different case, and I think she got a little sloppy, hence the excitement today.”
Liv nearly shivered with disgust. “Hunting down our own and punishing them for not registering their magic seems so wrong. I can’t imagine having to do it.”
Stefan agreed with a nod. “I’m glad to have a different case, although I wish I had been there to help Trudy. Maybe I could have kept her out of trouble.”
“Because you would have done all the slaying of innocent magicians for her?” Liv teased, defiance written on her face.
A roguish smile crossed Stefan’s lips. “Yeah, something like that.”
Secrets. Stefan Ludwig definitely had his fair share of secrets, and Liv desperately wanted to know what some of them were. Maybe it was the serious look in his bright blue eyes or the mysteries that seemed to dance behind the surface of his expression. She decided to play a game of reciprocation and see if that worked to open things up.
“So the case I touched at the museum,” Liv began.
“The one with the mystery contents that you can’t disclose?” Stefan asked.
She waved him off. “It’s not really important. But do you know why a case in a mortals’ museum would be protected by magic?”
“You said that you set off an alarm,” Stefan said. “You never mentioned that it had magical wards.”
“That part must have slipped my mind during the meeting with the Seven,” Liv explained, tilting her head and trying to look like a ditz.
“That sort of thing happens to me all the time during those meetings,” Stefan said, and then looked down. “But remember that your magic is monitored through the Council, so be careful. They might not be able to see what you’re doing all the time, but they can piece things together. That’s why understanding how to use your magic in general ways is important.”
Liv nodded, looking into the distance without seeing as all this sunk in. If she used her magic to perform any opening spells, the Council would see that, as they had at the museum. However, if she employed a more general spell, they wouldn’t have a clue what she was doing.
“It doesn’t make any sense why there would be magic protecting anything in the Natural History Museum,” Stefan said, tapping his fingers on his lips as he thought. “I’ve never heard of such a thing. How did you discover this?”
“I’m good at finding these things out, apparently,” Liv stated. “I search out trouble.”
Stefan laughed. “That you do. And it looks like you also find adorable magicians.” He pointed to a large couch that sat against a muraled wall. In the center of the couch and covered in overstuffed pillows was a bulky form. Protruding from under the pillows were two little feet in white tights and black, patent leather shoes.
Liv nearly burst out laughing at the horrible hiding spot. Sophia was too much, even while pretending to be a simple child playing a regular game of hide-and-seek.
“Oh, right. I wonder where Sophia is,” Liv said loudly, which prompted a giggle from the pillows.
Liv flashed Stefan a smile. “I guess she’s not here.”
More giggles made the pillows dance.
“That’s too bad, because if she were, I’d have a present for her,” Stefan announced.
Sophia burst from the couch, landing on her feet with her arms wide, the pillows tumbling to the ground. Just like in the painting, she wore a blue velvet dress and her soft, curly hair was pulled back into a low ponytail.
“Soph!” Liv exclaimed. “You were right there. I had no idea.”
“Present,” Sophia demanded. “I was promised a present. I heard it.”
Stefan laughed and went down on one knee. “And I’m a man of my word. It’s important that you always remember that. If I tell you something, you can rest assured that it’s true.” His eyes flicked up to meet Liv’s briefly before he opened his hand to reveal a soft blue rose petal.
“Is that…” Sophia asked, her wide eyes looking between Stefan and the object in his hand.
He nodded. “It is. A rare but authentic depour.”
“Wow! I’ve never seen one in person.” Sophia’s hand paused as she went to grab for it. “Is it really mine?”
Stefan nodded, carefully dropping it into her palm. “Yes, but be gentle with it, and remember it can only be used once.”
The little girl beamed, her bright eyes lighting up. “I can’t believe it! I’m going to go turn our living area into a winter wonderland! Oh, Clark will be so angry.”
Before Liv could ask Sophia a question, she was off, streaking through the library with her long ponytail flying behind her.
“Ummm, what’s a depour?” Liv asked Stefan.
“Remember when I said it’s good to do general magic if you don’t want to be tracked?” he asked. “Well, there are also magical objects you can obtain that will do things for you that can’t be traced back to you. A depour is one of them. I just gave your sister one that will create a great deal of snow in an area. Sounds like she’s going to turn the Beaufont residence into a ski lodge for the evening.”
Liv laughed. “Oh, Clark will be so pissed. And how do I get hold of one of these depours?”
Stefan considered her for a moment. “There are different kinds. Red ones create fire. Blue ones, snow, and purple, rain. You get the idea. And you have to know the right people.”
“And by people you mean…”
“Elves,” Stefan answered. “The elves are the ones who create the depours. But you’ll learn all this in time. And I’m always happy to help, like with this museum project you’re working on.”
Liv considered him for a moment and shook her head. “Thank you, but no. I think I’m better operating alone on this one.”
Chapter Sixteen
“I don’t know when you found the time,” John said, his hands on his hips as he gazed fondly around the shop. It was clean. No, it was more than clean. If Liv didn’t know any better, she’d think it was brand new.
“I didn’t find the time,” Liv admitted.
The smile on John’s face vanished. “This wasn’t you? You weren’t the one who cleaned the shop last night?”
Liv wanted to avoid the speculation and say it was her, but she couldn’t take credit for what the brownies had done. In truth, they had done a better job in John’s shop than they normally would have. Usually, a brownie merely did a few chores, making the mortal’s schedule a little easier. Mortimer must have been extremely happy with their agreement and was trying to show it.
“If this wasn’t you, then who?” John asked, concern suddenly appearing on his face.
“Maybe those same thugs who broke in before did it again, but this time decided to make up for their misdeeds?” Liv suggested.
John rolled his eyes. “No, I’m not buying that some hoodlums came in here and polished the floor and relabeled the shelves last night.”
Yeah, this brownie went entirely too far. He was going to make it impossible for Liv to not tell John the truth.
“Maybe it was Rory,” Liv supplied. “You know how he likes to do things for you.”
John nodded. “Yeah, maybe, but I don’t know when, since he was working at the Sunshine Nursing Home last night.”
“He was what?” Liv asked.
John’s lips pressed together. “Well, you shouldn’t say anything. He looked a little mortified when I found him there. I’d gone over to drop off a coffee pot that I had repaired for Mr. Jeremiah Grimes. I didn’t think that Rory would have to pick up extra work. Thought he was doing all right, but it just goes to show that the cost of living here in LA has everyone working doubly hard.”
Liv narrowed her eyes, considering this. “Working, you say? Are you sure he wasn’t volunteering?”
John scratched his mostly bald head. “Now, why would he do that? Nah, I’m sure he was working. And you should have seen him with the old folks.
” A chuckle fell from John’s mouth. “As gentle as a—”
“Don’t you even dare,” Liv said, cutting him off.
“Well, you get the idea. And I know he isn’t a giant. It’s just genes, and whatever his mother ate when she was pregnant with him.”
“Kittens,” Liv stated.
“Say what?” John asked, leaning forward like he hadn’t heard her properly.
“His mother ate kittens.”
This made Pickles break into a sudden flurry of barking as if he had taken offense to the joke.
John waved her off. “Oh, you’re too silly.”
His eyes suddenly turned serious. “Why didn’t you ever tell me you had a brother?”
Liv deflated. She should have seen this conversation coming. Plato cracked an eye open and peered at her for a moment before shutting it again.
“You remember when we first met?” Liv asked John.
He nodded and froze. “Yeah, you’d just lost…”
“My parents had died,” she said, picking up where he’d left off. “It was a dark time for me.”
“I figured you were all alone.” John picked up Pickles and petted him fondly before looking at Liv again. “You never mentioned a brother, and I just assumed you didn’t have any other family.”
John had never pried, and Liv had respected that about him. It was one of the many reasons it was easy to keep working at the repair shop. Back then, she hadn’t thought she could answer questions.
“I also have a little sister,” Liv offered.
“You don’t say?” John’s face brightened. “I learn something new every day. Will I get the pleasure of meeting her?”
Liv shook her head. “Not anytime soon. She’s in a boarding school of sorts.”
“Of sorts?” John questioned.
“Well, just a boarding school, but it’s one of those weird ones where they have rigid curriculums and the teachers use fancy words, and she can’t really leave except on holidays,” Liv explained.