I stared at him blankly.
“Free as the wind… you, tourists,” he sighed. “Personally, I think she’s a little… out there. Dolo toujou couri lariviere.” He tapped his temple and winked at me knowingly.
I had no idea what the fuck he was talking about, but I couldn’t take much more of this. My stomach snarled again. “Thanks. I guess I’ll come back later.” I looked into the window again, hoping to see something else moving, but except for the pale glow of a few of those weird Himalayan salt lamps, the shop was dark and still.
“A very good idea,” the man said, moving away from the entrance to the alley so that I could exit. “I could hear your stomach growling, cher. You’d better eat something before it eats you.” He smiled kindly and I did my best to return the sentiment.
Pastry first, then you can make plans to pick the lock and get into that shop.
The thought of breaking into Vivienne’s shop tumbled in my brain, and by the time the man with the flour-spattered apron had placed an almond croissant into a shiny paper bag, I'd made up my mind.
9
Ophelia
Spiral’s red door was closed, and Church was in his usual spot, his beefy arms crossed over his barrel chest.
“Bishop’s in his office,” the bouncer growled as I pushed past the line of people waiting to get in.
“Does everyone know what’s going on except me?” I snapped, not stopping to look at him.
“You bet your ass,” he grumbled as I knocked over the posts that held the rope blocking the doorway and slammed the door open.
I looked over my shoulder and fixed him with a furious stare, daring him to say something else. I’d never used my magic in the club before, not in all the years I’d been coming here, but there was something about everything that was happening today that had pushed me right to the edge and I couldn’t feel my power crackling in the ends of my fingers, begging to be set free.
I clenched my hand into a tight fist.
Save it for Bishop.
It was still early, and the club was empty of humans, except for M.A.D’s drummer, Grady. He was lounging in a booth with Shade and Eli, a tall bottle of beer in front of him. Meridian had to be lurking around somewhere.
“Ophelia!” Grady shouted his greeting, raising his arm to wave me over as I came down the stairs.
“It’s a ghost town in here, you don’t need to flag me down,” I said as I approached the table. M.A.D. wasn’t performing tonight, but the band was always here. The Laudan members because they had to be, and Grady… I just assumed that he had nowhere else to go.
“I just found out that Lacey is your roommate!” Grady announced, clapping Eli on the shoulder. His excited grin told me that he had discovered this information in an accidental manner, Eli wasn’t usually a talker, unless there was something that would benefit him at stake. I narrowed my eyes at my boyfriend.
“Oh, really,” I said. “And how did that come up in conversation?”
“I was just asking where Lacey was, and Eli said that she was probably with you…”
“So you just put two and two together from that?”
“Well… no.” His smile faltered just a little. “There was a bit more to it than that, but yeah I figured it out,” he finished in a rush. Eli glared at him and then looked up at me.
“Bishop’s waiting for you,” Eli said, his moonshined eyes flashing in the dim light.
“So everyone keeps telling me,” I grumbled. I half expected him to say something else, but Eli had been more distant that usual since I’d come back from Spain. Whether or not it had anything to do with me was impossible to say, but I also found myself not really giving a whole lot of fucks about it.
Shade flicked a bottle cap at me and smiled, showing his teeth. I’d never been a fan of M.A.D.’s silent bass player, and he was getting on the wrong side of me really quickly. I caught it deftly and slammed it down on the table top.
“I’ll leave you boys to your… whatever the fuck you’re doing. Babysitting?” Eli stiffened a little, but Grady just laughed. I was starting to wonder if he was a little stupid, but it wasn’t my problem. M.A.D. kept him around because he had a head for rhythm, but I wondered how much of that would get lost when the Laudan blood started flowing through his veins. They all lost something when it happened.
Lacey had lost a bit of her airheaded ‘spoopy sparkle’ in the last few months, but I hadn’t said anything about it to anyone, not even Maia.
I strode away from the table towards Bishop’s office, not caring what Eli was thinking, and definitely not caring what they were saying about me behind my back.
Two Lauden in dark suit jackets stood outside Bishop’s office, and they eyed me carefully as I stomped towards them. The arm of the one on the left snapped out to slap my hand away from the door handle, but the sound of Bishop’s voice stopped us both mid-reach.
“She’s expected.”
I smiled thinly and raised an eyebrow at the burly Lauden Bishop used as protection. As though he needed it. It was all for show. “How does every single person in this club know that I’m supposed to be here except you?” I saw a hint of teeth as Lefty grimaced in my direction.
“You won’t be so smug in a minute, hitea,” Righty growled, turning the knob and pushing his meaty hand against the door.
“Now, now, Rook, there’s no need to be rude to our guest,” a voice drawled as the door swung open. Meridian.
Mutually Assured Destruction’s guitarist lounged against the doorframe, and stared at me over the rim of his mirrored sunglasses. His expression was casual, his smile on the edge of teasing. His groupies would have called the curl of his lips sensual, but just looking at him made me want to kick a hole in the wall.
Hecate distract me from my rage.
I hated him so, so, sooo much.
“Meridian,” I said through a tight smile. “Have you been promoted to being Bishop’s butler now? ”
Meridian’s smile broadened, and something twisted in my spine. He was happy to see me. And he was happy to see that I was angry.
“Don’t leave her standing there,” Bishop said, waving me forward from behind his massive wooden desk. “Ophelia, I’m glad to see you,” he said gesturing for me to enter the room.
Liar.
“Oh, I’m not lying,” Bishop said with a knowing smile. I tried not to flinch as I walked into the room, but I was a little shaken. I didn’t know he could hear what I was thinking. How long had he been listening?
“Don’t be concerned, Ophelia. This is new for me too,” Bishop said with a smile that I didn’t find as threatening as Meridian’s, but I was no less unsettled. “You’re... different, aren’t you? Is there something wrong?”
Bishop didn’t seem concerned for my welfare, he just seemed... interested.
Magdalena. She had done this to me, she had made me vulnerable. I swore under my breath and crossed my arms over my chest.
“We’re not here to talk about me,” I said, trying my best to distract him. “Everyone seems to think we’re having a really fucking important meeting tonight, so you’d better start talking, because if it’s not important, I really have to go home and clean my bathtub.” I sat down in one of the vintage leather chairs that flanked his desk.
Bishop looked up from his laptop and made eye contact with me for the first time. “Opheila,” he said warmly, more welcoming than I’d ever seen him. There was definitely something going on. “I’ve never been able to hear your thoughts before.” Bishop tapped a finger on his desk for emphasis. “It is far more entertaining to be in your head than I ever thought it would be.” He rested his elbow on the desk and leaned against his hand. “How was Spain, anyway? Did you take many photos?”
Fuck you.
“Touché,” he said with a note of contrition in his voice. I felt something pull back from my mind as he changed his focus.
Gross. Is that that it feels like to have someone be in your head?
Gross.
/> “Why the fuck am I here?”
If he was going to be an asshole and read my mind without my permission, I didn’t have to spend any more time here than was necessary. I’d never trusted Bishop, but this was a new low.
“I won’t beat around the proverbial bush,” Bishop said causally, inspecting his well manicured nails. “Lacey has been... acting out. You took her to Spain, and she broke our laws. Laws she should have known about.”
I didn’t miss the pointed look that Bishop directed at Meridian where he slouched against the wall.
“Look, I’ll take responsibility for whatever you want me to—“
Bishop held up a hand. “No, Lacey should have known these rules. But her mentors, seem to have been remiss in their duties,” he said, tilting his head ever so slightly.
“I see.”
What the fuck else was I supposed to say.
Bishop made a face, and I couldn’t tell if he was reading my mind or just thinking too much about what was going on.
“I’m going to be blunt with you,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “Lacey is in danger. There are representatives from the Caedyr here in the United States.”
He paused for dramatic effect, but I just shrugged. This shit meant nothing to me.
“And?”
Bishop sighed. “You humans,” he said with a little smile. “The European council has sent representatives, led by the Catamarian, to judge Lacey’s crimes—“
“Crimes?” I spluttered. “She was protecting us!”
“Let’s not get tangled in specifics. As far as the Caedyr is concerned, the acts she committed were crimes.” Meridian sauntered forward and leaned against the edge of Bishop’s desk. His moonshined eyes glittered at me as I glared back at him. “And we’re not prepared to argue with them.”
“I need you to keep an eye on Lacey,” Bishop said abruptly. “If she leaves the city, or steps one foot out of place, the Catamarian’s judgement will be swift, and harsh.” His long fingers tapped the papers on his desk, but my gaze slid to Meridian and his sharp smile.
“So, you want me to babysit her. Keep her under control,” I said through clenched teeth.
“Essentially.”
“What is wrong with you? How can you be so blind to your own responsibilities? Lacey should have been taught these things before we went to Spain, she should have known—“
“This isn’t about placing blame, hitea,” Meridian hissed.
“Oh, really? Then why is this Catamarian here? Why aren’t you protecting Lacey? Bishop…”
“We turned your little friend as a favor. I would have left her in the puddle she died in.” Meridian took off his sunglasses and tucked them into the deep neckline of his stylishly torn shirt. “You were the one who forced this responsibility, as you call it, onto us.”
I felt my magic boiling in my stomach. This was the way he wanted to play? “You’re one to talk about responsibility,” I snapped. “If you had done your job properly, then Eli wouldn’t be struggling with Lacey.”
Meridian snarled, but I held my ground.
I wasn’t afraid of him. I wasn’t afraid of any of them, and if it came down to it, I’d happily fill the office with purple fire and walk out like nothing had even happened.
“We aren’t here to debate the past, Ophelia,” Bishop said calmly, laying one of his hands on Meridian’s arm. “The Catamarian is here to dispense the justice of the Caedyr council. When it is time for Lacey’s trial, her youth, and her… status among us will be presented as evidence.”
From the look on Bishop’s face, it was clear that I was supposed to be reassured by the bullshit that was coming out of his mouth.
“She has to have a trial? What the hell is that about? Can’t you intervene on her behalf?”
He shook his head slowly. “Because she left without consulting us and without informing her mentor… there is nothing we can do. I will speak in her defense—“
“But the likelihood that the Catamarian will listen is still up for debate,” Meridian interrupted harshly. “The régi vér don’t take kindly to sharing their territory, and they like Áruló, the new mades, even less.”
“The old ones are a little… prickly when it comes to territory, and they value rules and order above all else. Meridian has had his own dealings with them in the past, haven’t you?” Bishop raised his eyebrow, and Meridian had the good sense to close his mouth. He got up from the desk and stalked to the wall, leaning against it with his arms crossed over his chest.
“What about Lacey?” I shouted, relishing the surge of my magic that accompanied my emotions. It was angry too, and I was barely holding it back. One slip and I’d be explaining to the cops why there was a smoking hole in the sidewalk where Spiral had been.
“If she’s with you, or here at Spiral with us, then she’s safe. We will protect her until the trial. The Catamarian has arrived in the United States, but we don’t know where he is, and we don’t know how many members of the Caedyr he’s brought with him.” Bishop leaned back in his chair and rubbed a hand against his face. “These are the old ways, old Laudans following old rules…”
“Sounds like it’s time for a bit of a change,” I muttered darkly.
“Be careful, hitea,” Meridian growled from the side of the room. “You’re already on thin ice here.”
“Do this for me, and I promise that Lacey will come to no harm,” Bishop said quickly.
“Fine,” I snapped. “I’ll do my part, but you sure as shit better do yours.” I lifted my hand and leveled at finger at Bishop’s face as my hand rippled with purple fire. “If anything happens to Lacey…” I didn’t finish my sentence, but from the way the color drained out of Bishop’s face, I didn’t have to.
I turned on my heel and walked out of the office, closing my hand into a fist to extinguish the fire that burned in my palm.
Lacey had to know what was going on, but she hadn’t said anything to me. I pushed past the goons at the door and headed for Spiral’s only exit, ignoring Grady as he called my name. I strode past their table without looking at anyone sitting at it. If Eli wanted to talk to me, he’d have to come to me.
I took the stairs two at a time, cursing myself for not talking to Lacey myself about what had happened in Spain. It had been her first time out on her own; clearly, that had been a bad idea.
I should have taken better care of her, but I was too wrapped up in my own bullshit. She was lucky that she hadn’t been killed. Maia was lucky too. I’d really fucked up, and I’d put all of us in danger. Maybe that’s why Lacey had been so quiet. I wouldn’t have talked to me for a while either.
The line outside Spiral had grown, but I didn’t stop to look. Church was cruising the line, but turned to look in my direction as I kicked open the door and took off down the street towards the subway. I had to get home to talk to Lacey before it got too late, and I had a bad feeling about all of this Catamarian bullshit. It took a lot for Meridian to get to me, but there was something about the way he’d been acting. Too smug. Too vicious, almost victorious, but what the fuck for?
It stank like deflection to me. What was he hiding? And why was he hiding it from Bishop…
Suki was sitting on the kitchen table when I walked through the apartment door. “Have you been sitting there this whole time?”
Suki stretched and settled herself on the table again, her purr rumbling through the apartment. I glanced through the door to the living room. It was well past 10pm. Lacey should have been up by now, but the curtains that surrounded her bed were closed. And so were the curtains covering the living room’s high windows.
“Lacey?”
I walked into the living room and waved my hand at the curtains. They snapped open, hitting the wall with a muted thump as they were pushed back from the windows.
“Lace? Are you still sleeping? I need to talk to you.”
Still no answer. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and tried calling her. I could usually hear her phone vibrating
through the curtain… but as the line rang, there was no sound from behind the thick velvet curtains.
Fuck my lives.
“Lacey?” I shoved my phone back into my pocket and pulled back the outer layer of curtains. “Come on, answer me!”
I pushed my way through the thick fabric, getting tangled in the second layer before stepping free and into Lacey’s ‘sanctuary.’ The strings of tiny lights that she had hung along the curtains lit the space dimly, but it was obvious that she wasn’t there. Her backpack was gone, and her piles of clothes, usually neatly arranged in her makeshift shelves were toppled over the floor.
“Shit.”
I fought my way through the curtains again and yanked my phone from my pocket again. I punched Lacey’s number again.
No answer.
I dialed her again.
Straight to voicemail.
Maia’s phone was the same. Voicemail.
“Seriously?” I shouted, throwing my phone onto my bed. “Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.” I paced the floor, my stomach churned, my heart thundered in my ears, and my mouth tasted like acid.
Suki meowed at me from the kitchen table and whirled around to face her. She was sitting next to the scrying bowl, staring at me with her bright green eyes. “What am I supposed to do now?” I asked her. “I don’t know where Lacey is, I don’t know where Maia is, and there’s some angry old Laudan out for Lacey’s blood. This is not how I wanted to spend my week.”
Suki just blinked at me.
“I don’t have time to play twenty questions with you today, Suki. If you know where they are, can you just… tell me?” I let out a frustrated groan. Of all the times to wish for a talking familiar.
Suki lifted a paw and set it on the edge of the scrying bowl.
“Suki, I know I have to clean up, but this is the wrong time—“ Suki’s paw dipped into the water in the scrying bowl, creating shimmering ripples over the smooth surface. Oh, goddess, I’m such a moron.
I rushed over to the table and scooped up my familiar, holding her close to my chest as I placed a kiss on the top of her black head. “You’re right, I’m a dumbass. Is that what you wanted to hear?” Suki purred in response and I let out a gusty sigh before I draped her over my shoulder and hunted through the cupboards for everything I’d put away while I was cleaning up Maia’s mess.
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