I have to get up close to figure out if she’s the one I seek. What can a bit of dancing hurt me?
Swiveling back to Barassa, I take a final gulp of the drink he prepared for me and leave the empty glass on the counter. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I hope you find what you’re looking for.”
I give him a quizzical glance. “Who says I’m looking for something?”
He winks. “Aren’t we all?”
I smile and slip off the stool, careful not to bump the blue-eyed genie in the suit and tie who just sat down next to me. The bar has become really crowded in the last few minutes, and I’m glad to move away from it. As soon as I step onto the dance floor, the rhythm takes control as if the music reached out and grabbed hold of me, demanding that I enjoy myself.
I groove my way up to the female, my heels tapping the floor, maneuvering around the couples grinding and bumping against each other to reach her.
“Safety in numbers, right?” I say, raising my voice to be heard above the music.
As soon as the words are out of my mouth, a male edges up to us, the scent of blood wafting around him as he attempts to wrap his arms around the purple-haired witch. The dark smears on his hands tell me they’re coated in blood.
It’s the vampire I zapped when I first arrived, the one in the golden jacket. I’m not a big fan of vampires at the best of times, but the least he could do is wash his hands after feeding.
His speech slurs, an aftereffect of his blood high, while he paws at her. “Hello, ladies. You look like you need company.”
Blood. I don’t do well with blood. The memory of my mother’s final scream crashes across me. I try to push it away, but it’s too late.
My instinctive magic roars to the surface, triggered by the vampire’s stale, copper scent.
Chapter Five
The lights above us flicker as my power thuds through me, the music skips a beat, and a shot of electricity passes from my outstretched hand into the vampire’s chest in the spot where I slam my palm against it. Power as sharp as a blade shoots into him, a cutting pain that will make him feel as though I stabbed him from the inside. At the same time, I inhale with a single sharp pull, dragging his energy into my lungs and sucking away a little of his life. Not enough to kill him—not even close, especially since I can’t kill anyone in this protected environment—but it’s enough to scare the fangs off him.
I snarl. “Get lost!”
His mouth drops open with shock, his arms shoot wide, and he lets the female go as he stumbles backward, clutching his heart and narrowly avoiding knocking into the couple behind him.
The shock will have given his heart a nasty kick. That’s if it’s still beating. I’ve always lumped vampires in with the undead, so it’s hard to be sure.
Unsteady on his feet, he staggers away through the crowd, no doubt in search of a willing blood donor now that I sapped his energy and killed his high.
Satisfied that he’s not coming back, I spin back to the other witch. She gives me a wide-eyed smile, smoothing her dress as if she’s wiping off the contact of his grimy hands.
He’s damn lucky he didn’t try to grab me, or The Proprietor might have had a murder on her hands. Alexei was the first male I ever allowed to get close to me physically—and even then, our relationship didn’t progress beyond that one near-kiss. After my aunt tried to steal my power, I learned that nobody could be trusted. To take my power requires touching me, so physical touch is to be feared.
I return the witch’s smile with an apologetic shrug. I’m suddenly worried in case he was a friend of hers. “I hope you don’t mind; I saw him sucking blood from a woman’s neck earlier.”
“Good call,” she says.
I grin, relieved that I didn’t freak her out. She’s cool and calm, a lot calmer in the face of my power than many magical beings would be. Every other witch I’ve met has looked on my power as a thing of envy—something to be stolen, sucked out of me just like I sucked a little of the vampire’s life away.
All my life, other witches have been coming after me, trying to steal my power. But this female considers me in a way that tells me she’s confident in herself—even if the sense I get from her is that she’s seeking something elusive like I am.
“I’m Tansy,” I say.
“Sabine,” she answers, melting back into the beat of the music as if nothing happened. The way she casually assesses the room while keeping me within her sights reminds me of the assassins. I’m sure she isn’t one, but the way she calculates the distance between us and remains conscious of the location of the other magical beings around us tells me she’s ready for anything.
Oddly enough, that makes me more comfortable with her. I’m used to being around people who know their own strength. It’s the ones who are weak, who are unpredictable, who lash out and hurt others.
I let the music wash over me, soak it up, and twirl, the gauzy dress swirling around my legs. As I turn, I catch sight of a tall male in the distance near the entrance next to the fluffy beanbags. He’s half-turned and focused on the seats nearby. Broad shoulders and a commanding presence makes me miss a beat.
For a heart-stopping second… I think it’s Alexei.
That isn’t possible. He isn’t magical. He’s pure human. So human, in fact, that his witch mother abandoned him at birth. Out of respect for his human father, he didn’t go looking for her until his father died. When he finally tried to find her, he sought help from the wrong witch, a woman who promised to take away his pain. Her promise was twisted—she cursed him so that he can’t feel any emotion. Even if he wants to.
Because he’s human, he can’t be here even if everything inside me wishes he was.
I stumble backward, and Sabine reaches out a hand to steady me. “You okay, Tansy?”
“Yeah… uh… I’m sorry… I have to…” I gesture to the other side of the room near the bar, not really pointing at anything as I veer away from the dance floor, needing to escape the things I want and can’t have.
I clamber up the rainbow stairs as fast as I can, kicking myself. I thought a strategic path would work best—check each level carefully—but I need to start thinking like Mother Kadris. She’s as old as the hills. She wouldn’t waste her time bumping hips on a dance floor. She would keep to the shadows. I don’t kid myself that I’ll take her by surprise. She’ll sense me coming a mile away. I need to find her before she locates me and puts me on my ass.
Taking a deep breath, I tell myself to put fear into action. It’s time to use my magic. I stop halfway up the stairs, pretending to adjust my heels as I wait for the supernaturals behind me to pass.
Then I reach for one of the spells attached to my waist, passing my index finger across it as I cup it in my other palm. At my touch, my golden handwriting appears.
I whisper the spell to myself: “Lovely ladybug locate the lost lady.”
The leaf curls and folds around on itself, reforming into the shape of a glowing crimson ladybug, its tiny transparent wings a glittering blur as it flits ahead of me.
I follow it with quick steps, reaching the second level loft that lines the perimeter of the building and opens to the dance floor below. Massive cubes glow in each corner, and circular chairs line each side. To my immediate left, a pink cube, the size of a small room, glows iridescent. It’s pretty but takes up too much space to be a mere decoration. It’s large enough that I wonder whether supernaturals are inside it.
I race after the ladybug as it zips to the right, passing a circular couch and two swing chairs—both occupied—before I approach the next corner cube, a purple one this time.
Striding along the row of soft-looking chairs that line the long edge of the building, I quickly assess the couples sitting in them. Mother Kadris is unlikely to be here with someone—a witch like her will not compromise herself with random dalliances.
I halt outside the next corner cube, which is a soft neon blue color. This one is wide open at the front, and I’m
surprised to see that it has padded leather walls inside with a bed reaching all the way to the walls on each side. Colorful pillows are scattered across the bed’s surface. It confirms my suspicion that the purple one is closed because someone is inside it. Given the number of couples sucking each other’s tongues nearby, I’m surprised this one is empty.
I hurry after the ladybug as it continues to flit past the next corner and all the way back to the pink corner cube I first stopped beside.
It suddenly bursts into a cloud of crimson glitter that sprinkles the floor, falling like my hope of finding Mother Kadris.
What now?
I fight my growing frustration—and lose the battle. My instinctive magic rises like a boiling mass inside me, confused and unhelpful. I try to use it to reach out for her location, but it’s like reaching into an abyss. Every time I close my eyes, all I see is darkness.
Feeding my worry into my fists, I bunch them in my skirt as I study the cube in front of me.
Wait a minute…
The cube is open and a petite female sits on a couch inside it in a short off-the-shoulder dress barely reaching her thighs. Waves of deep black hair fall beyond her waist, holding hints of red glinting in the light as she turns in my direction.
Her fingers are laden with rings, but it’s the pack of cards she holds that draws my attention. Her grip on the cards is deceptively casual, and the air of power around her is deliberately controlled.
She must be a card mage, a powerful one, which means she’ll protect her cards with her life. It also means she could read the cards to find out where Mother Kadris is…
I mentally debate the wisdom of asking a stranger for help, but the strong aura glowing around her draws me inside the cube. It’s only once I step through the entrance that I realize I cut in line. The supernaturals milling around the entrance as they wait for a card reading let me pass. I can thank the air of dangerous desperation around me for that.
As soon as I step beyond the entrance, magic takes hold behind me, making my senses fire as the cube closes, a wall forming that drops us into silence.
Trying not to react to the suddenly confined space, I meet the mage’s eyes. “Blessings on your power,” I say. “My name is Tansy. I need your help.”
I stumble over my request. Asking for help has never been my strong point, but I clear my throat, lower my voice, and force myself to continue. “I need to locate a witch who has feasted on souls. She is hiding at this Ball. Can you tell me where she is?”
The mage considers me carefully, a light of curiosity entering her eyes. Her hands shift across her cards, an almost imperceptible movement. Whether or not she has heard of Mother Kadris, a witch who feasts on souls will be a dangerous creature. I’m sure the mage thinks I’m reckless—or equally dangerous—to be looking for her.
She crosses one leg over the other, her thigh-high boots accentuating the shape of her legs. I envy the way she wears her clothing. She’s confident, comfortable in her power and her body. I wish I could be the same.
Just when I think she’s going to deny my request, she nods. “I’m Katya. I can find what you seek.”
I take a seat on the other end of the couch. The cards hum in Katya’s hands, a curious energy that makes me both nervous and hopeful. I try not to let it show, hiding my desperation behind a blank mask I learned from the assassins. Their emotions are always closed off.
“Can you tell me where she is?” I ask.
“Yes.”
Relief rises inside me, but Katya pauses. I suspect she’s regretting helping me. I haven’t told her why I’m looking for Mother Kadris, but the light of intelligence in her eyes tells me she doubts things will go well for me tonight.
“Well?” I sit forward, the sunflower on my shoulder dipping toward her.
Katya taps the topmost card with her index finger, as if she’s considering whether or not she should tell me. “Will finding her this evening give you peace?”
I meet Katya’s eyes. “Nothing will give me peace. But finding her will give me closure.”
She hesitates another moment, then says, “Perhaps you should visit the rooftop. I understand there are conversation pits. In one, you shall find your witch. But tread lightly. A witch who has feasted on souls is potent.”
I push to my feet, still bunching the dress into my fists. “Thank you,” I say, taking a deep breath. “For your help.”
She tips her chin toward the door, and I step toward it, the magic in the cube taking hold and revealing the opening once more.
Outside, a male with the aura of a dark wizard has appeared, waiting to go inside. I shiver, wondering for a moment if I should stay, but a mage as powerful as Katya will be able to handle any situation that might arise.
It’s time for me to face Mother Kadris.
Chapter Six
I stride past the circular white bar in the middle of the rooftop toward the sunken couches on the far side. The staircase led me up through the colorful neon cloud that covered the ceiling and out into the open air at the top of the warehouse.
Multiple sunken couches line the edges of the rooftop, and a lone woman sits in the one to the far right. Her dark hair falls softly across the top of it, her features composed into an air of calm as she stares out over the sparkling city below us. She looks about forty, despite the stories that she is hundreds of years old.
The power around her slows me down. It bites like I expected it would, making my arms tingle and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I have no doubt she is Mother Kadris.
She could easily respond to my presence with violence, so I take each step slowly, reaching for the nearest spell attached to my dress—another protection spell like the one I used in the library in case things get nasty. I’m not sure how far to trust the stories I’ve heard about The Proprietor’s protection of this place—I don’t want a bunch of dead supernaturals on my hands. Even so, suddenly, all of the spells I’ve attached to myself seem pitiful. If I have to fight this woman, I’d better hope my instinctive magic is up to the task.
Mother Kadris sweeps her hair behind her ear as I approach. With a scant sideways glance at me, she returns her focus to the glass on the table in front of her, a smile gracing her lips. “Well met, Tansy Gray. Blessings on your power.”
I frown, surprised to hear her address me by my chosen name, let alone use the traditional witch’s greeting.
The couch is set into the floor, requiring me to step down and slide into it. I cautiously settle into the seat opposite her before I give her a reserved nod. “Mother Kadris. Blessings on your power.”
She takes a sip of what looks like plain water. I hide my surprise. I picked her for preferring something much stronger.
She meets my gaze. It’s difficult to tell what color her eyes are in the glowing neon light. Every time the light changes, her eyes change color with it.
She says, “I’m sorry I destroyed your ladybug. I needed to make sure everything was in place before you reached me.”
I press my lips together and cut to the chase. “You stole the revival spell from the angels. I want to know what it will take for you to give it to me.”
She leans toward me, her gaze passing to the faint glow that grows around my silhouette—my instinctive magic blossoming from my fear and determination.
She ignores my request. “Your magic is as strong as the stories say. Why do you repress it?”
I stutter. “I don’t… I don’t control when it surfaces.”
Her lips part with surprise. “Is that what you believe? Interesting.”
I frown at her as she taps a finger against the back of her other hand, considering me.
“Very well,” she says. “I will give you the revival spell if you do something for me. Something… that is very important to me.”
The light in her eyes changes as she speaks. The set of her lips becomes serious, and her confident smile fades. The faintest hint of desperation creases her forehead. She agreed to an excha
nge far more quickly than I imagined she would.
I’m suddenly struck by the possibility that she might need me as much as I need her.
I tip my chin, testing the waters. “What could be so important that you can’t accomplish it yourself?”
Her gaze flicks to the right, and for a moment, it looks like she’s searching for something.
She quickly returns her attention to me, clears her throat, and wraps her arms around herself as if she’s cold. “There are three rubies worn by a male at this Ball. A very powerful male who, like you, does not know the full extent of the power he controls. I need those rubies.” She takes a deep breath. “I need them badly enough to give you the spell I’ve kept safe until now.”
I scoff, “Kept safe? You stole it.”
“From angels who were fallen, dear. Even an angel faces temptation. Some angels would break any rule to ascend to heaven again. On the night I stole it, the angel Iriel planned to use the spell to revive her lost purity.” She leans forward again, her gaze piercing me. “The revival spell must rest only in the hands of those who would use it for the benefit of others… not for themselves.”
A shiver makes me rub my arms. “You think I’m that person.”
“You might be. Bring me the rubies, and we will see.” She glances to the right again, but this time, she smiles. “Ah. There he is.”
I follow her gaze to the same male I saw earlier, the one who reminds me of Alexei. He approaches the circular bar, taking powerful steps that emphasize the muscles beneath his dark pants and short-sleeved T-shirt. He’s casually dressed—maybe he didn’t believe the Ball was real and was taken by surprise when he was transported here. His hair isn’t all that long, but strands of it splash across his forehead, its dark tips covering his eyes and obscuring his face so it’s impossible to identify him. His hair is the biggest clue that he isn’t Alexei—the Master Assassin’s hair is always shaved close to his head.
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