Red-Headed Stepchild

Page 19

I looked down, ashamed I’d questioned her. But inside, my stomach was churning. Allowing another vampire to feed from you was the ultimate form of submission. All the Dominae’s underlings went through it as a sign of fealty once they came of age. But I’d never allowed anyone else to do it. Some vamps got off on the master and servant aspect of sharing blood during sex, but not me. To me it represented vulnerability—weakness—something I tried to avoid whenever possible.
“If you can’t handle this assignment, tell me now.”
My head snapped up. Her words stung my pride, and I suspected that was her intention. “I can handle it.”
“Excellent. Do not call again until you have real news to share.”
“Yes, Grandmother,” I said.
I pulled the phone away from my ear to disconnect, feeling confused by the emotions jockeying for position within me.
“Sabina?”
I put the phone back to my ear. “Yes, Domina?”
“Do not disappoint me, child. Is that clear?”
My teeth clashed, like my jaw had been wired shut. “Crystal.”
I hung up and went to go take my frustration out on a few of my fellow park visitors.
* * *
When I opened the door to the apartment an hour later, a black streak ran past. I turned to see Giguhl’s tail speeding toward the street.
“Hey! Come back here.” Before I could catch up with him, Vinca ran by. She caught him by the scruff just before he ducked under some bushes.
“Gotcha!” she shouted. Giguhl spit and hissed at her as his paws swiped at the air.
“What the—” I began. Vinca brushed past me as she lectured the cat. The wild-eyed cat mouthed “help me” as he went by.
I followed them in, glad for the distraction from the little chat with my grandmother. “What the hell is going on?”
She turned on her heel and looked at me. She now had the cat under one arm.
“Let me go, you freak!” Giguhl struggled to break free, but Vinca subdued him with a glare.
“What’s going on?” she repeated. “I’ll tell you what’s going on.” Her tone sounded conversational, but I detected cold steel underlining the words. “Hmm, let’s see. First, the demon cat escaped your room when I went in to leave fresh towels on your bed. Then the flea-ridden heap of fur decided to pee on my Maidenhair fern.”
I almost laughed, but her scowl made me smother the urge. She continued to tick off Giguhl’s sins on her fingers. “After that, he used my sofa as a scratching post. And if that wasn’t bad enough, he started humping my heirloom needlework throw pillow!”
I cringed as she pointed out where Giguhl shredded the corner of the couch. “Vinca, I’m so sorry. I’ll pay for the damage.”
“This cat,” she lifted him a little higher, eliciting a hiss from him, “is a menace. You’re going to have to crate him while you’re gone if you want to stay here.”
I was about to respond when Giguhl wiggled free and ran. I watched him go, figuring he’d hide in there until things blew over.
“Again, I apologize. I think he doesn’t like being cooped up in the room for so long.”
“It’s not just that,” she said, crossing her arms. “You totally disappeared last night.”
I sighed. If I wasn’t careful she’d kick us out before I could get my mission done. “I’m sorry. It’s just … well, I got waylaid by a mancy who’s been following me.”
“Still—” Her demeanor changed as she leaned forward with wide eyes. “Wait, a mancy?”
I nodded slowly, confused by her quicksilver change of mood.
“I had a vision about you and a mancy just last night. He has black hair, right?”
“Um, no. It’s kind of sandy blond.”
“Hmm. Was he wearing the color black?”
I thought about it for a second. “His boots.”
“Yes, that must be it. Well, my intuition is telling me he’s going to be very important in your life.” She stopped and looked at me with a huge smile. “I’m getting a major love vibe here.”
Not bloody likely, I thought. “Vinca, have you ever considered that your intuition might be a little off?”
She frowned. “Of course not. Nymphs are known for being excellent at prophecy. Don’t mock what you do not understand.”
“Anyway,” I said, trying to change the subject. “I had to deal with him, but by the time I got back to the booth, you were gone.”
She smiled. “I’m sorry we got off on the wrong foot. I’ve just never had a roommate. Can we start over?”
“Okay,” I said slowly. “Listen, I really need to go talk to Giguhl.”
She frowned a bit at the mention of the demon cat. “Okay, I’ll get some drinks, and when you come back you can tell me all about this sexy hexy.”
I let that go as she disappeared into the kitchen. I took a moment to gather myself before I confronted the pissed-off furball in the other room. No doubt about it, I was going to get the tongue-lashing of a lifetime. I had a few things to say to him, too.
I opened the door to my room expecting mayhem, but what I saw instead was Giguhl lounging on the bed, licking his paws. I shut the door and walked in slowly.
“Okay, I’m going to try to remain calm. And you’re going to give me some answers, got it?”
He paused from his licking to give me a disdainful sniff. That was as close to acquiescence as I was going to get.
“What the hell were you thinking out there?”
“That I needed to pee and someone forgot to take me for my nightly walk before she left.”
“Crap, you’re right. But did you have to pee on her plant? Couldn’t you have gone into the bathroom and used the tub or something?”
“Look, lady, I saw an opportunity for freedom and I took it. It’s not my fault I’ve been stuck in this freaking floral crypt for two days. Cats need freedom to roam, you know?”
I rolled my eyes. “Does this roaming also include shredding furniture?”
He shrugged. “Sometimes.”
“And the pillow humping?”
“I have needs!”
“You can’t do that shit here, Giguhl. She’ll make us leave.”
He sat on his haunches and glared at me. “You can’t expect me to just sit around here all the time trapped in this room. It’s bad enough I’m trapped in this furry carcass. Talk about insult added to injury.”
“Speaking of which, why is that? You could have changed back to demon whenever you wanted, right?”
He looked down and pawed at the bedspread. “Not exactly.” He mumbled something I didn’t catch.
“Come again?” I said, moving closer.
He sighed. “I said, I can’t change back. I tried and it didn’t work.”
“Why not?”
“I think it’s because you told me to stay in cat form unless you told me otherwise.”
“I’m not following.”
He looked up. “I think that when you survived the test, I kind of became your minion.”
“What?”
“Yeah, see normally only the summoner has power over me, but somehow it switched to you—or some of it did. It must be related to your surviving when I staked you.” He paused to give me a look to let me know he still thought that was weird. I agreed, but I had bigger issues than trying to overanalyze what most vampires would consider a blessing.
“Anyway,” he continued, “I basically have to do what you say.”
A laugh escaped my lips. “Now that’s funny.”
“I’m glad you find it amusing.”
“Let’s test it. Giguhl, change back to a demon.”
A burst of green light and the smell of singed hair filled the room. Waving a hand in front of my face, I squinted through the smoke. When it cleared, Giguhl sat bare-ass naked on the bed, scowling.
“Ack, cover yourself.” I grabbed a pillow from the floor and threw it at him. “Now I’m going to have nightmares.”
He caught the pillow and placed it over his lap. “It’s bad enough that I have to obey your every command—let’s not add insults to the mix.”
“Sorry. It’s just so weird. I’ve never had a minion before.” He huffed and crossed his arms. “Aw, come on. It’s only temporary.”
He looked up. “Oh? Have you found the mage who summoned me yet?”
An image of Adam’s face flashed in my mind, along with his ridiculous deal. “Not yet. But,” I said when Giguhl’s face fell again, “I have another plan.”
“What’s that?”
“I’m going to find a reversal spell and send you back myself.”
Giguhl snorted. “Right. Good luck with that.”
“Hey! I’m half mage, so I have to have some powers, right?”
“Pardon me for not being more excited about playing guinea pig while you test out your latent magical skills.”
“Look, I’m doing the best I can here.” But was I? One call to Adam right then and Giguhl could go home. But I had no interest in paying the price for the mancy’s help. Assuming he was telling the truth.
“In the meantime,” I said, changing the subject. “You’re going to have to behave yourself. If Vinca kicks us out, it could jeopardize my mission.”
“And that’s another thing,” Giguhl said. “Seeing as how I’m your minion and all, don’t you think it’s time you told me about this secret mission?”
“No.”
“Come on, Sabina. Who are we going to kill?”
“First of all, what makes you think I’m going to kill anyone? And second, if I was, what are you going to do, pee on them?”
“Please, you’re an assassin. It’s highly unlikely you’re here to take in the sights. And second, I have powers you haven’t seen yet.”