Nyota snorted. “That’s the same thing my dad said about the boy who walked me home from school in the eighth grade.”
Gavin sat up straighter. “And I’m sure your father was right.”
“He was the class valedictorian, in the chess club, volunteered at the animal shelter, and the old folks’ home his grandparents were in.”
Gavin pointed a chip at Nyota. “See he was cultivating an image of being a good person. I bet he wound up being a serial killer.”
“He’s at MIT studying sustainable energy and engineering.”
“Nope, just wait. I’m sure your father was right. We have a sixth sense about these things.”
Nyota rolled her eyes, and I laughed. Overprotective much?
“So what else did you buy today, Sapphire?” Nyota asked.
“Oh, Miu said I would need a dress to go clubbing in.”
“Well show me.”
I smiled at Nyota’s excitement. I hadn’t hung out with her much. Since she was twenty-two, I didn’t think a group of teenagers would interest her. I wiped my hands on my napkin and held up the black dress.
“Oh that’s so cute. Do you have shoes?”
I pulled out one of the copper Roman styled high heels.
She wiggled her eyebrows, making the silver piercings shift.
“Very sexy,” she said.
“Sexy,” Gavin said around bite of chips. He glared at the dress. “How low is the neckline? It looks very low.”
“Uncle Gavin, it’s fine. I tried it on.” I put the dress back in the bag and tucked it all under the table.
“I want you to show me or Anali before you go out in it.”
“Fine,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“I bet the guys at the club will go nuts when they see you in that.” Nyota’s pale gray eyes sparkled with mischief.
I glared at her. She smiled.
“Maybe I should come to your party, too,” Gavin said. “I mean—I don’t want you to feel like I’m ignoring any important events.”
“Hey, where are the others? They texted me saying they were fine and wanting me to be safe and such,” I asked trying to distract Gavin.
“Oh, I have them all hanging out in our suite. I wanted them to be all together.” Gavin sent off a text.
“Good plan,” said Nyota. “Although they should be undetectable at the hotel.”
Gavin’s phone lit up. “They’re all fine.”
“So it’s ten minutes to two.” Nyota said. “Do you feel any walk-ins?”
I closed my eyes and let my shields down. I could feel the magical creatures and a naughty gleefulness that I assumed was the witch’s cat. But nothing evil, nothing dark, and nothing that reminded me of the Sons of Belial. “Nope, nothing.”
Nyota nodded. “Okay. Let’s wait until two before we leave just to be on the safe side.”
Gavin stood. “I’ll pay the check.”
“You were not helpful,” I said to Nyota.
She smiled. “I’m not Anali and going to smooth everything over. Anyway it’s fun to wind him up.”
“You need another hobby,” I said.
Nyota laughed.
Chapter Ten
Cartazonon took a deep breath of the cold Montana air. Why he allowed Lee’s horse obsession to influence him, he’d never know. Lee raced across the snowy meadow on the sturdy gray Mongolian pony. His cheeks were ruddy, and the flaps from his fur hat fluttered around his face. Cartazonon was transported back to his first human life. He had spent years in his animal form, hiding, barely surviving, and then finally he was able to transform. He’d watch the Mongol warriors for years and knew their ways. Lee was a young boy, well man, back then at fourteen, and he’d been thrown from his horse and wounded. Cartazonon had rescued him, saving his life. At least Lee and his family had thought so, and they had taken him in.
Cartazonon rose to power, becoming a feared warlord with Lee by his side. More than a thousand years had passed, and Lee was the only one he truly trusted.
Which is why he was freezing his ass off in Montana in the middle of winter. He sensed a cold presence connected to him: the walk-in he’d sent to London. He sat still on his mount while the images from the walk-in played in his mind.
Damn it, he wanted that torc. Was there a chance that someone bought it? He should buy the stupid antique store. There were several antique stores that would post photos of their new merchandise but would only sell things in person. His long pale fingers engulfed the crystal around his neck. The Akashic crystal thrummed with the magic and life force he’d taken from magical beings. He followed the connection to his people and holdings in England.
At first everything seemed as it should. The web he created connected all his people and properties. He reached out to his general there, a bright glimmer. He reached deeper, under the surface—a different energy was replacing his. This wasn’t an attack, but a bid for freedom.
Cartazonon clutched the crystal so hard the tip cut into his palm. After centuries of feeding energy, money, and knowledge into his general this was how she repaid him.
“Khan, is everything okay?” Lee asked, his cheeks red from the cold wind.
“We need to go to London,” Cartazonon said, letting go of the crystal and healing his hand.
Lee frowned and patted the neck of his horse. “Now?”
“No, I think patience is the key. We’ll wait a bit. But not too long. Someone is trying to betray me.” Cartazonon looked over at the porch swing.
Sapphire held her breath, hoping he wouldn’t sense her this time.
“Our mysterious visitor is here again,” Cartazonon said.
Lee’s thin eyes narrowed. He pulled a wicked curved blade. “I don’t like it. Who dares to watch us, and how do we rid ourselves of their presence?”
Sapphire stepped away from them, grateful she didn’t leave footprints in the snow. She wasn’t sure what would happen if he stabbed her, but she definitely didn’t want to find out.
“So about the general in London?” Lee asked.
“I’ll have our people investigate. Time means nothing but timing is everything, after all.” Cartazonon smiled, not willing to give too much information in front of the invisible stranger.
Lee huffed. He’d been using that line for over five hundred years since he first heard it, and now Cartazonon had appropriated it.
Is the general in London a possible ally? Sapphire wondered. Or someone who wants to be the head of his own evil empire and not a minion?
“Go and ride some more. I know you want to,” Cartazonon said. “I’m going inside. It’s cold, and I have a meeting over Skype in a few minutes.”
Lee glared in Sapphire’s direction. “What about our visitor?”
Cartazonon smiled and held up his hand drawing power to his palm.
Sapphire flinched as white energy grew, it looked like a sparkle lay on his hand.
Cartazonon looked into her eyes and smiled. “Good-bye.”
He threw the energy at her.
Sapphire screamed as it hit her shields.
* * *
Panting, I scooted away from the power Cartazonon had thrown at me, and fell off the couch. I was safe. I patted my body making sure his energy hadn’t touched me. Okay. Taking a shaky breath, I stood up. Well, that was new and unpleasant.
Opening my laptop, I emailed Gavin everything I remembered about my dream. Unlike Sasha the images and words from my dreams tended to fade. I wasn’t sure what would be important, so I did my best to remember even the smallest detail, as the images and words began to disappear.
I knew better than to fall asleep after being close to any of the Sons of Belial. Once we’d come back to the hotel I’d been steered to Gavin and Anali’s room where I was hit by a wall of emotions, fear and anger being the strongest.
They talked—well ranted—and with the way the others were going on, you’d think I had been in mortal peril or run off and done something stupid again. Thankfully, the intensity of
emotions had given Anali a headache, and we’d all been sent out of their rooms.
Miu had stayed to help Anali, and I’d rushed to our room shutting the door. I had fallen asleep instead of reading as I had planned. I texted Gavin letting him know about the dream/vision and the email.
I jumped as the alarm on my phone beeped at me. I had to be ready in an hour for the stupid party. Sighing, I headed for the bathroom and a hot shower. Hopefully, the hot water would wash away the crazy from the day.
Chapter Eleven
“Let me do your hair,” Miu said, her eyes shining, hands clasped to her chest, and pigtails with dark pink flower clips making her look five instead of seventeen.
I jumped, not realizing she was even in the room. I tugged on the belt for my robe. “I hadn’t planned on doing anything special with it.”
Miu rolled her peridot-green eyes. “Yes, I’m aware of that. Come on, you're going to a fancy party, no a GALA. Let me fix your hair.”
“Okay, sure.” I hadn’t spent a lot of time with Miu recently, maybe this would make up for it.
“Does your dress have to go over your head?” she asked gathering up supplies.
I frowned. “No, it zips and I step into it.”
“Okay then we can do your hair and makeup before you get dressed. Sit, sit.”
I obeyed sitting on the vanity chair where Miu was set-up.
The hair dryer hummed, and I relaxed allowing Miu to move my head as she wanted. The smooth steady strokes of the hair brush felt very soothing. I closed my eyes. Miu was great—her touch firm yet gentle as she brushed, pulled, and twisted my hair into whatever shape she was going for.
“There.” Miu clasped her hands to her chest. “Can I do your make-up?”
I laughed. “Sure. You’ll do much better than I would anyway.” I could do makeup for the circus performances, but for a fancy evening out, I wasn’t so sure.
Miu tilted my face as she applied different smelly, sticky substances. “I wish I was going. I’m so jealous.”
“Didn’t you volunteer to perform?” I asked.
“Look up,” she said bringing the mascara brush to my eyes. “No, there are others who want the exposure the gala will bring them. Anyway, I have a fabulous evening planned.”
“Oh? What are you doing?” I blinked, my eyes watering a bit from being held open.
“Well,” she grinned. “It’s very fancy you see. I’m going to Skype with some friends and family in Japan, take a bath, and then watch a movie.”
I closed my eyes, Miu stroked the soft wand over each lid in an interesting pattern. “Sounds like a wild night.”
She chuckled. “As much as I adore all of you, it will be nice to have some time alone.”
“If you ever need some space, just ask, and I’ll find somewhere else to hang out,” I said.
“Open your mouth.” Miu applied the lip gloss, frowned, wiped it off, and dug through her makeup bag. “Different color. And don’t worry, enjoying an evening alone isn’t the same as being desperate for time alone. I am able to set boundaries. Don’t let the pink lace and ruffles fool you, I do know what I’m doing.”
I opened my mouth to reply when another brush began to paint my lips. I tried not to fidget, but I wanted to talk, to make sure she knew that I knew that she was more than her vast array of Hello Kitty clothing and accessories.
“Much better,” Miu said stepping back to look at her work. “A bit of clear gloss.”
I waited patiently, well kind of patiently my feet and fingers were twitching. I let her finish my lips and didn’t bite her, so I was calling it good.
Turning back to the table, she hunted through the makeup. Muttering, “no, too bright, too pink, too sparkly.”
“Miu, I know you are more than ruffles and pigtails. You are a strong valuable member of our group and not just because you can heal us. You are intelligent, and the Shinto ritual you lead to open portals is very valuable. I am so glad to have another girl my age here.” I cleared my throat, I hadn’t expected to vomit all those words out.
Miu smiled and ran a brush over my cheeks. “I think young women instead of girls.”
She stepped back, and I saw myself in the mirror. I blinked, that was me? Miu had swept my hair up into a bun, but left a few inches free so black and red curls fell around the top of my head. Scattered in the hair were small bobby pins with clear crystals on them. Shiny dusty rose made my lips several shades darker than my normal color. My cheeks had a faint brush of the same shade as my lips with a tiny bit of sparkle. My eyelids were a sparkling dusty blue on the outer edges and against my black lashes, which faded into dusty white on top. The effect was kind of smoky and sexy.
“Miu, thank you. I love it. I was just going to leave my hair down and put on some lip gloss,” I said.
Miu twirled one of her pony tails around a finger. “Yes, I know. You do realize that you can care about how you look and still be independent and strong. I used lip stain for the color, so you just have to take the lip gloss with you to reapply.”
“Thanks,” I went and got the silver beaded clutch Anali had picked out to go with my dress and put the clear lip gloss in it. “Anything else I should take?”
“Yes, your phone, key card, breath mints or gum.” Miu tapped her lip an evil grin forming. “A condom?”
I turned and took the suggested items out of my regular bag and tucked them into my evening bag, careful to keep my key card away from my cell phone so it wouldn’t be erased. “I seriously doubt I’ll need anything like that. I’m not going on a date. It’s some stuffy, boring adult charity party. I’m probably going to have to listen to old people talk about how important the charity is and all of the work they are doing.”
Miu cleaned up the makeup. “Maybe, but one never knows.”
I took my dress and shoes and went into the bathroom ignoring her happy humming.
I stepped into the midnight blue velvet dress. Keeping my fingers tucked together I slid my hands through the sleeves. The top of the chest, shoulders and sleeves were fine white lace with thin silver threads which sparkled in a delicate snowflake pattern. The cuff flared slightly around my hand, a disaster waiting to happen, but I would try my best to make it through dinner. More snowflake lace covered the midnight blue velvet bodice with a sweetheart neckline and ended at my waist. The full midnight blue skirt fell to my feet, which I slipped into silver pumps.
“Oh, you look so beautiful, like a winter princess,” Miu cooed.
I rolled my eyes.
“Sapphire, are you ready?” Gavin called out as he knocked on the door.
“Yes,” I grabbed black wool dress coat Anali had insisted on getting for me. “Thanks Miu, enjoy your quiet evening.”
“I will. Tell me all about it when you get back,” Miu said.
I smiled. “I’ll takes notes and as many pictures as I can.”
I opened the door. Gavin stood there in a black tuxedo. His flame red hair was brushed back into a ponytail with a silver Celtic knot clasp holding the wild locks into place. “Wow, you look great, Uncle Gavin.”
“Yes, I do cut a rather dashing figure, don’t I?” He turned, and his smile changed to open-mouth gaping. “What? Oh, you look beautiful.”
“Thanks, Anali helped me pick it out.”
“And you look amazing,” Anali said. Her rich purple sari flowed around her as the gold beading along the edge caught the light. Her freshly painted bindi was bright against her copper skin. The paleness was gone or masked behind her red blush and lipstick.
“Would you let me write ‘I’m only fifteen’ on your forehead?” Gavin asked.
Anali swatted his arm. “Really, such silliness. Your niece is a beautiful young woman. And I am sure she will have many admirers this evening.”
Gavin groaned. “I can still remember when she was a toddler wearing a dress with Winnie the Pooh on it.” He held out both his arms. “Well I suppose I shall have to accept that the constant stares I receive tonight will be be
cause of the beautiful women on my arms.”
Anali laughed as she slid her arm through his. “Your poor ego—however will it survive?”
He grinned. “I’m sure you can make it up to me later.”
Ewww, gross. Why must they flirt in front of me? “I think we should go.” I placed my hand in the crook of Gavin’s elbow.
“Your car is ready, sir,” said the doorman. A sleek black car waited in the driveway the engine running.
The doorman opened the back door for me while Gavin opened the door for Anali. I laughed and walked to the other side of the car.
Gavin tuned the radio to holiday music while the driver pulled out into the street. Pale pinks and oranges lit the evening clouds.
“How are the others getting there?” I asked.
“They left a few hours ago to set up,” Gavin said. “Michael, Taliesin, Nyota, the Russian pole group, the jugglers, the woman who does hula-hoop, and the girls who do diabolo will all be there.”
Anali turned in her seat. “Apparently there will be different performances. Other than our circus, there will also be bands, singers, dancers, and performance artists. I’m so glad I’m finally feeling better, at least in the afternoon, this morning was horrid.”
“I’m glad you’re feeling better, too. Don’t we have your cousin’s wedding soon?” I asked.
Anali squealed a bit. “Yes, next week. I am so excited I haven’t seen most of them since they flew to India for our wedding.” She reached over and clasped Gavin’s hand. “Your uncle looked so handsome. He wore a traditional Indian wedding suit. Have you seen the pictures?”
“Yes, you were both stunning.”
Anali had been dressed in a bright red sari and Gavin in a gold tunic that fell below his knees with red pants underneath. Both were embroidered in red and gold almost to the point of being gaudy.
“I can’t wait, and while I’ve had some nice Indian food if I make it or go to specific restaurants, it’ll be nice to have authentic Indian food again.” Anali sighed and rubbed her belly.
“Sapphire, I hear you’re going to wear a sari,” Gavin said.
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