by Lisa Edmonds
My good feelings were short-lived, however. Charles tapped his fingers on his desk, a sign he was unsettled. “It has come to my attention that Bell has at least one turncoat in his organization who may be leaking information to the Murphy cabal. What information that individual has been privy to, I am not entirely certain, but there is a chance they have communicated Bell’s suspicion about the identity of Storm Girl. If so, I am of the belief that your status as a pack consort and a favorite of the Court may not be enough to shield you from Murphy. He desires retribution for the injuries you inflicted on his daughter, and he will be quite motivated to prevent you from allying yourself with Bell.” He sounded grim.
I’d known there was a good chance that information would find its way to my grandfather’s ears from the moment I decided to stop Catherine from burning down four square blocks in order to take out Darius Bell. I didn’t regret my decision then and I didn’t now, but it was impossible to quash the spike of fear caused by the realization that my quiet life as Alice Worth might be coming to an end. If Bell had a traitor who was working for Murphy, it was only a matter of time before my name would be mentioned and I would become a target—not because I was Moses’s granddaughter, but because I’d hit Catherine with lightning and foiled her attempt to kill Bell.
Sean understood that danger as well as I did, but when I glanced at him, he was calm and unfazed by the possibility of Moses coming after us for the lightning strike. Our eyes met. I’m with you, his expression said. My worry faded.
“Do you have any intelligence that would indicate whether Murphy’s people know who I am yet?” I asked.
Charles shook his head. “Nothing definite. My sources of information on Murphy and his organization are far less dependable than my informants within Bell’s cabal, as you might imagine. I will continue to monitor the situation and will pass on any pertinent information I receive.”
“Thank you.”
He inclined his head. “For now, let us focus on your proposal. If I understand you correctly, you wish to offer to aid Bell in his planned attack on Murphy when he comes to the city in three days’ time to collect his weapon. In return, you require that Bell releases the nulls he is holding against their will.”
“That’s my proposal, yes.”
He leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers. “If I may speak as your…friend…for a moment, rather than as a broker, you are taking an enormous risk. May I ask what prompted you to make this offer?”
“I’m betting Murphy’s property is protected with the same kinds of wards as his compound. If I’m right, that means trying to break the wards will probably just kill all the nulls and the wards won’t have more than a scratch. Even if he has enough strong nulls to break the wards, the mages will probably still all die. One of those nulls is a twelve-year-old kid. I don’t want all those people to die for nothing.”
Charles tapped his fingers together. “I advise against this,” he said finally. “The risk is substantial. I understand your motivation to save these people and I commend you for it. You have ever been entirely selfless and have suffered greatly as a result.”
He looked pointedly at Sean, probably recalling how I’d died in order to free Sean from the cuff that was killing him, and that Sean had reacted angrily to how cavalier I’d seemed about my death and resurrection. Charles had been unable to understand Sean’s reaction and apparently he was still displeased.
Sean met the vampire’s gaze, his face expressionless. “Everyone here knows how selfless Alice is. Two of us might not be sitting here right now if it weren’t for her penchant for saving others’ lives at the risk of her own.”
“Alice, I must ask you to reconsider,” Charles said. “Perhaps I can arrange the release of the child and his mother without this drastic measure.”
I shook my head. “Even if you were able to free Aden and Jana, that still leaves a dozen nulls who will die if Bell uses them to break Murphy’s wards. I don’t want those people dead any more than I want Aden to die. And you said it yourself, Charles: Moses Murphy is going to come looking for me sooner or later now that Bell thinks I’m Storm Girl. This isn’t just about saving the nulls, though that’s my primary motivation. If Bell and I can take Murphy out, he’s no longer a threat to me or the people I care about. As far as I’m concerned, I have to make the first move to save my own hide. So I’m not as entirely selfless as you think.”
His brow furrowed. “You present a compelling argument.”
“So here’s what I want.” I squared my shoulders. “I want a joint Bell-Court-Storm Girl mission targeting Murphy at the buy. One big strike. Before we attack, however, Bell releases all of the nulls he’s keeping against their will and their families, including Aden, Jana, and Allan. In return, I will break the wards. We kill Murphy and whoever’s with him. This is a one-time deal. Bell can never ask or manipulate me for my help again.”
“How do you propose to break the wards?”
I shook my head. “That’s my business. If the Court is serious about backing Bell against Murphy, it’s time to put your money where your mouth is and commit to taking him out. Bell provides foot soldiers and mages who are there voluntarily. The Court provides whatever forces it deems appropriate. Amira and a couple of Hunters would be nice.”
Charles addressed Sean. “What role do you intend to play in this attack?”
“I am Alice’s partner and protector,” Sean told him. “I fight with her, wherever that fight may be.”
The vampire made a few notes. “As with any brokered agreement, there will be negotiations. I know what your ideal result is. What compromises are you willing to make in order to reach an accord?”
“None.”
His brows rose. “Alice—”
“No compromises,” I said firmly. “All the nulls and their families go free, period. In return, I give Bell his best and only chance to take Murphy out. He doesn’t have the power in this negotiation, Charles—I do. I have no doubt he’ll try to haggle and threaten and negotiate, but without me he doesn’t get into that building and Murphy eventually destroys what’s left of his empire and kills him. What I need from you is an iron-clad agreement with no loopholes or omissions he can use against me because he’ll turn on me the moment he figures out a way to do it. You’re earning your commission by keeping me alive and out of his hands.”
“And just to be clear,” Sean interjected, “It had better be the best and most ironclad damn contract you’ve ever written in your entire undead existence because Alice’s life—and therefore yours—depends on it.”
To my surprise, Charles chuckled. For the first time in a very long time—since before our walk in the sun—his eyes gleamed. “Very well. Challenge accepted, as they say.” He picked up his pen again. “Shall we discuss the particulars, then?”
It was nearly three in the morning when Sean and I got home from Charles’s house.
We let Rogue in from the backyard and went upstairs. As the dog settled into his bed by the window, I changed into pajamas, washed my face, and brushed my teeth. I put moisturizer on my redone dragon tattoo and the new one, covered each with plastic wrap so they didn’t leak onto the bedding, and taped the wrap down before putting on my pajama top.
When I came out of the bathroom, Sean waited by the bed. He’d changed into lounge pants and a T-shirt. His wolf amulet hung around his neck. “I know you’re tired, but I’d like to see it again,” he said.
I smiled and raised my top to bare my abdomen.
To my surprise, he knelt in front of me. Carefully, he pulled the plastic away from the new tattoo and kissed my still-tender skin so gently that I barely felt it. He put the plastic back in place and looked up at me, his eyes golden. The alpha was on his knees before his consort.
I took his face in my hands and kissed him, gently at first and then more hungrily as golden shifter magic rose. It might have been his, or mine, or both.
He broke our kiss and stood. He led me to the bed and pulled me
to him so I straddled his lap. “My Alice,” he said, his voice half growl. “When I look in your eyes, I still see her. You burned away the virus, but she’s still there, isn’t she?”
“She always was,” I told him, pressing light kisses along his jaw. How I loved the feeling of his bristly skin against my lips. “That’s what I realized the other night in the woods, when I burned the virus away. She’s me and always has been, because I believe my biological father was a shifter. Though I'm human, I’m a little bit wolfy too.”
He kissed me deeply, his hands on my hips. I moved against him automatically, my exhaustion forgotten. I pulled his shirt off over his head.
We both needed this intimacy tonight, after spending hours thinking about all the ways in which my plan to save the nulls and take out Moses might go sideways. As confident as I was in Charles, I was afraid of what I might face, and so was Sean. We needed comfort and strength.
Afterward, we curled up together. He nuzzled the back of my neck, drinking in my scent. “So the dragon is a protection spell and the wolf summons Malcolm. What’s the spell in your Bastet tattoo?”
I smiled. “An obfuscation spell.”
“As in—?”
“It makes me invisible for about three minutes. As with all the other tattoos, it’s one-time use only.”
“The stars on your side?”
“Masking spells that make me feel like a mid-level mage to anyone with magic, and protect me so I can’t be tracked via blood magic.”
“The runes on your stomach?”
I hesitated. He kissed my jaw and waited.
“It’s…” I swallowed hard. “There was a time when I had reason to worry that I might be used for breeding against my will.”
Sean’s surge of fury was so powerful I thought it would scour my skin from my bones. I flinched. “Alice,” he said, his voice an octave lower than normal, an indication his wolf was beyond angry. “I knew things were bad for you, but…Jesus.” His arm tightened around me.
Moses had talked about the possibility of breeding me often in the last two or three years I was his prisoner. It was never a question of who I’d choose as a romantic partner, but rather who he’d select as the sires of any offspring I would have. My consent was not a factor in the decision.
Luckily for me, selecting someone to father children with me was an extremely thorny problem, since that person and his family or cabal would be inextricably tied to Moses, and every candidate he considered had too many potential conflicts. I’d lived in terror that he’d find someone he could approve, and it was that dread more than anything that drove me to escape before my worst fear was realized.
“That spell is there in case that ever happens.” My voice was toneless. “I won’t be bred like cattle. I meant what I said when I told you I spent a very long time with no control over my own body or choices and I would never give that up again.”
“Using you for breeding against your will. Well, that clinches it,” he muttered.
I frowned. “Clinches what?”
He growled. “The night we met, I saw your scars and I swore I would find the people who hurt you and kill them.”
Startled, I turned to look at him. “You what?”
A muscle moved in his jaw. “After you fell asleep, I lay awake in your bed for a long time thinking about those scars. I could tell they weren’t from an accident. I promised myself and my wolf I would find whoever did it and kill them. I intend to keep that promise, and now, given what you just told me, I’m going to take my time about it.”
“You didn’t even know me at that point,” I protested. “I was a one-night stand.”
“No, you weren’t, not to me. Maybe that’s how the evening started, but before too long I knew one night with you would never be enough.” He kissed my hair. “The next day didn’t go anything like I’d planned, but here you are with me still, and I haven’t forgotten my promise.”
I’d had no idea about any of that and his revelation left me stunned. The night we met, I’d invited Sean to my bed for the purpose of recharging my magic and for a few hours of pleasurable fun, thinking we were both on the same page about our hookup being a one-night deal. The next morning, he’d thrown me for a loop by asking me out on a date. I’d certainly never imagined he’d already begun to have feelings for me, or that he’d realized the scars on my back were the result of torture, not an accident. I’d given him so little credit back then. The thought made me sad.
He went back to nuzzling my hair. “And the magic in the phoenix?” he asked finally.
“The symbolism is obvious: a phoenix rising from the ashes of her old self.” I took a deep breath. “The spellwork in the phoenix is there in case the people I escaped from find me and I ever have to run.”
He stilled. “You told me you weren’t going to run. You said if anyone came looking for you, you’d be here waiting.”
“And that’s what I intend to do, but nothing in this life is certain. There might be a circumstance in which I’d have no choice but to run.”
He growled. “Don’t run, Alice. I told you before: out there you’re alone and vulnerable. Here you have allies. Friends. People who love you and will fight with you.”
“Allies change. Friends and lovers…they can die.” I closed my eyes. “I don’t plan to run, Sean, but I’m prepared in case I have to.”
“Then I’ll make sure you never have to,” he promised. He kissed my shoulder. “And someday when we find the people who hurt you, I’ll make damn sure they regret it.”
Not if I find them first, I thought, snuggling back into the warmth of Sean’s arms. If I had my way, those people would never get anywhere near him, the pack, or Malcolm.
In two days, if Charles was successful in brokering my deal with Bell, I might have the chance to take my own revenge and finally, finally be free.
19
Brew a Cup Tea & Coffee House was a charming little shop in one of the few areas north of downtown that hadn’t yet lost their soul to the gentrification that systematically turned formerly eclectic neighborhoods into block after block of generic retail lofts.
Carly had suggested I come mid-morning when the shop was less busy, so I arrived just after nine-thirty and parked out front. I spotted a few people inside at the tables, working on their laptops with mugs of coffee or tea close at hand.
“Looks like a nice place,” Malcolm commented as we approached the door. He was invisible but I sensed him on my right.
I paused just outside the front door. “Hey, you feel that?”
“Yup, witchy wards. Very different from our kind of wards. I’m not sure what these do exactly, but it kinda feels like they’re either supposed to keep something out or keep something in. Dang it, Alice, why don’t I know more about witch magic?” Malcolm sounded disgruntled.
“Well, maybe now we have a chance to learn. Carly did say she’d talk magic with us anytime we wanted,” I reminded him.
“What kind of witch do you think she is?”
“Maybe a hedge witch, since her magic smells like parchment. But then again, she owns a coffee and tea shop, so maybe a kitchen witch? Or she could just be an eclectic witch.” I shrugged. “Let’s find out.”
I opened the door and we went inside. The shop smelled the way I imagined heaven might smell: fresh roasted coffee, fresh-baked scones and cookies, and spices. I paused to enjoy the aromas.
I spotted Carly behind the counter, wearing an apron over a black blouse and long purple skirt. She was moving the remaining baked goods onto three trays in the display case while an employee, a young woman with pink hair, focused on making drinks for the customers.
Carly looked up as I approached the counter. “Alice, hello!” she said with a smile. “Come on in. I’m so glad to see you. What can we make for you?”
I eyed the display. “That blueberry scone looks particularly good. How about one of those and a large cup of coffee with room for cream?”
“You got it, dear.”
She rang me up while the pink-haired employee, whose name tag identified her as Katy, filled a cup with the nectar of the gods. She set it on the counter in front of me, avoiding eye contact, and disappeared into the back room. I signed the receipt, dropped a five in the tip jar, and picked up my cup of coffee.
“How about you have a seat in that back corner booth, the one with the Reserved sign on it, and I’ll join you in a few minutes with your warm scone?” Carly said.
“Sounds good.” I added half-and-half and raw sugar to my coffee, stirred it, and headed to the booth Carly had indicated.
As I slid into the seat, I felt an odd tingle of magic. “Do you sense anything weird over here?” I asked Malcolm under my breath.
“Oh, yeah, definitely,” he said. “More witchy wards. The spellwork is actually kind of familiar, though. I think it might be designed to prevent eavesdropping. Hang on—let me look under the table.”
While he investigated, I sipped my coffee and sighed contentedly. It tasted even better than it smelled. This might just be my new place for good coffee.
Malcolm spoke again from my right. “Yup...there are symbols and runes carved on the underside of the table and both benches. Carly has her own little Cone of Silence area over here. That’s nifty. I bet it comes in handy.”
Carly headed our way with my scone on a plate and a large mug full of hot tea that smelled wonderful. “What kind of tea is that?” I asked as she sat down across from me.
“It’s a blend of my own: dried lemon balm, lavender blossoms, and chamomile. Very pleasant after a hectic Saturday morning. I’ll send some home with you.”
“Thanks. I’d love to try it.” I broke a piece off my warm scone and popped it in my mouth. My eyes widened. “Oh my goodness,” I said reverently.
“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Malcolm scolded. “I’m sorry, Carly. She was apparently born in a barn.”