Red-Headed Stepchild

Page 35

“I’m gonna miss you too, kid. Just listen to the mancy here, and he’ll teach you how to bring me back if you need me.”
“If you two are done with the heartfelt good-byes, I’m ready to do this,” Adam said.
Adam began to chant in an ancient tongue I assumed was Hekatian. Within seconds, Giguhl’s body became transparent, with a shimmery green aura. “Good-bye,” he said just before his outline blinked away entirely.
The whole thing was over in just a few seconds, but it seemed like a lifetime had passed. Adam looked at me and closed the book. “You okay?”
I nodded and rubbed at my eyes, which had mysteriously begun to sting. “You know, I’ve been trying to get rid of him, but now that he’s gone, I wish he wasn’t.”
Adam placed a hand on my shoulder, an intimacy I didn’t shrug off. “The sooner you commit to your training, the sooner you’ll know how to bring him back.”
Vinca stuck her head in the doorway. “What the heck’s going on in here? Why was Adam chanting? Why is there salt all over the floor? And where is Giguhl?” Her rapid-fire delivery made my head spin. Adam stepped in, no doubt understanding I needed a few moments. As he explained what was going on, I walked over to the circle. The collar Giguhl had worn lay in the center. I picked it up and watched the light dance off the metal spikes. I didn’t know why I felt so sad. Most of the time, the opinionated demon annoyed the crap out me.
“Sabina? Are you okay?” Vinca asked. I looked up. Vinca and Adam were both looking at me with hangdog expressions. I took the collar, wrapped it around my wrist and tightened it to form a bracelet.
“I’m fine.” I stood and straightened the pillows on the bed. Needing a distraction, I said, “Adam, let’s talk shop.”
Adam smiled a real smile, not his normal smirk. Without a word, he went to grab his backpack from where he’d left it on the floor.
“I guess I’ll leave you guys to it then,” Vinca said. I nodded, but wasn’t really paying attention. Now that I had a reason to learn magic, I was determined not to screw up again.
Adam pulled a small book from his backpack and handed it to me. The faded red leather cover had no markings and when I opened it, the pages were blank. “What’s this?”
“It’s a journal. That’s your starter grimoire. I want you to take notes on all the spells I teach you. Eventually you’ll want to buy a more substantial book that you can fill with your own charms and potion recipes.”
“Do you have one of these, too?” I asked. He nodded. “Can I see it?”
“Mine is back in New York under lock and key. Most of us are very protective of our personal grimoires.” He pointed to the book. “Since you’re just starting out, be sure and keep it with you at all times. That way you can jot down questions for me or ideas you have.”
I was strangely touched by Adam’s gift. I knew it was just a stupid journal, but it felt more important than that.
“Thanks,” I said.
He tilted his head and his lips quirked into a smile. “No problem.” Our eyes held for a few moments. I broke the contact and cleared my throat. Adam stood straighter and shuffled his feet. “Anyway, tonight we’re going to learn about creating and breaking circles.”
I grabbed a pen from the bedside table and opened the book. Before he could begin, however, my cell phone rang. My heart picked up speed, knowing who was calling. I paused, trying to decide what to do. If I took the call, I’d no doubt be ordered to report to her immediately. Obviously, that option held little appeal.
Adam frowned when I let it ring. “Who is it?” he asked.
I clicked the “end” button. “No one.”
24
Her goon found me the next night. I was heading to my favorite feeding ground when the black car pulled up next to the curb. A male vamp with wide shoulders and a no-nonsense attitude stepped out of the car. He wore a black suit with the Dominae’s emblem, a gold fleur-de-lis, embroidered on the pocket. I didn’t argue when he told me my presence had been “requested.” It was time to face the music with my grandmother.
She waited for me in the house where we’d met a few days earlier. As I walked slowly into the room, her eyes took in everything. Self-conscious, I straightened my spine and tried to project confidence I didn’t feel. Her anger was more pungent that the smell of ashes coming from the fireplace behind her. I knelt down and waited for acknowledgement.
“How dare you ignore your orders.” Not exactly the warm greeting I’d hoped for.
I slowly stood and tried to look abashed. “Grandmother, I’m sorry I haven’t returned your calls. There have been complications.”
She slashed a hand through the air. “I don’t want to hear excuses, girl. Clovis is alive. You failed. End of story.”
I shook my head, trying to figure out how to spin my miserable failures. “Actually, I think I’ve found a better way to approach his death.”
She raised her eyebrows, but still appeared skeptical. “This had better be good. The other Dominae are ready to put a price on your head.”
My heart kicked up a notch, but I soldiered on. “What if we waited until the vineyard attack? That way we’d not only kill Clovis but also his best men. His organization would be crippled without anyone to assume the reins.”
She went still, her face expressionless. My instincts urged me to continue, to justify, but I held them back. Silence conveyed confidence.
“Why should I trust you now when you have repeatedly failed?”
That stung, but I gritted my teeth and ignored the slight collapse in my confidence. “Think about it. The attack will be chaotic. I should have plenty of opportunity to kill Clovis and his guards.” I swallowed, hating what I was about to say, but knowing it would assuage her. “If you still have doubts about my abilities, you could even set a small contingent of your guards in ambush, ensuring the deed is done properly.”
She tapped her chin with her forefinger, considering my plan. “It could work,” she said finally. “However, when all of this is done, don’t think there won’t be repercussions for your failures.”
I bowed my head. “Yes, Domina. I understand.”
“I’ll talk to Tanith and Persephone. In the meantime, you must fill me in on the plans. I assume you have not failed in that area as well?”
Resentment churned like acid in my belly. I knew I’d screwed up, but did she have to rub it in? I’d warned them from the beginning that I wasn’t a spy. My job usually entailed following someone and putting a bullet in them. All this cloak-and-dagger bullshit wasn’t my strength.
“Well?” Grandmother’s impatience with me was clear. I tamped down my pride and nodded.
“I know the plan.”
“Excellent. You may tell it to me now.”
As I went over the plans with her, I reminded myself to be grateful for this second chance. A small voice in the back of my head worried about how Adam and the other mages might fare during the ambush. I put a muzzle on it. My first loyalty was to my own kind. I was raised a Lilim. Despite my recent experiences learning more about my mage heritage, I didn’t want to live a dual life as both vampire and mage. The Dominae wouldn’t stand for it. My grandmother would freak if she ever found out I’d been taking lessons in magic, let alone that I was consorting with mages and nymphs.
I tried to convince myself that hanging with Adam and Vinca was just part of my assignment. That it didn’t mean anything. But the truth was, along with Giguhl, they had become my friends. Well, maybe friend was too strong a word. I didn’t hate them like I did most beings.
But they’d hate me when they found out I’d been playing both sides of this. I could only hope I’d be long gone before they realized my role in the ambush. And if not, well, there wasn’t much I could do about it. Duty came before … not hating them.
This time, when Adam showed up for training I was dressed, caffeinated, and ready to go. Vinca let him in, and when he saw me sitting casually on the couch his eyebrows shot to his hairline.
“You’re up early.”
“That’s because someone I know has a nasty habit of showing up at least a half-hour early for training sessions.”
“Fair enough,” he said. I couldn’t put my finger on it but he seemed almost nervous. His normal easy smile seemed forced. “I assume you’re ready to get started?” I nodded and set my mug on the coffee table.
“I thought we’d take a field trip for tonight’s lesson.” I noticed tension in his shoulders, almost as if he expected me to balk.
“Oh? Where?” I kept my tone casual, but something wasn’t right.
“It’s a surprise.”
Curious, I shrugged. “Whatever you say, Teach.”
He relaxed a fraction then and turned to Vinca. As they bantered, I shrugged off my earlier suspicions. Perhaps I was letting my meeting with Lavinia get to me. Guilt and doubt plagued me at odd intervals. Like earlier, when Vinca already had a fresh pot of coffee made especially for me when I woke up. For some reason, I knew she’d be the most hurt by my betrayal. Even though she wouldn’t be at the vineyard during the attack, she’d be devastated when she found out I was responsible for Clovis’s death. Further, I didn’t want to think about how losing Clovis would affect her. She worshipped him and truly believed in his teachings, even if he didn’t.
“Sabina?” Vinca said, interrupting my maudlin thoughts.
“Hmm?”
She rolled her eyes. “I said, don’t you think Adam looks nice tonight?”
That was a major understatement. Tonight he’d skipped his usual urban commando look and opted for faded jeans and a tight black sweater. The black brought out the golden highlights in his hair and made the green in his eyes deeper, like moss. Not to mention the way the shirt clung in all the right places to his impressive biceps and taut chest. No doubt about it, the mage was a hottie.