Amaretto Flame (6 page)

I thought about that as I finished brushing
my hair and decided that I wasn’t sure. We walked out into the
bright morning sun and I locked the door behind me. The fragrant
flowers in the yard were brighter after yesterday’s rain. A few
small pools of rainwater stood in the crevices between stones on
the walk.

As we walked to the car, Everett asked me
again about the job. I sighed. I had never tried to keep anything
from him before. He and I shared everything—almost to the point of
being able to read each other’s minds.

“It’s just a silly job. Nothing important,” I
said, getting in the car. After he got in the driver’s side and we
pulled away, he looked at me.

“So what kind of silly job is it?” He
prodded.

I spent the first few minutes of the car ride
telling him about Stallotts; about Jenny and Erika, Renee, Bob, and
the customers that I met last night. He pursed his lips and gave me
a sidelong glance, but didn’t comment on how much Ivanna would hate
the job, the way I thought he would.

He pulled into the parking lot of a diner a
few minutes later and the thought of food made my stomach rumble.
Inside, our ears were filled with the clinking of plates, the
sizzling of the grill and voices. We both ordered pancakes and
drowned them in syrup. After several bites, I took a sip of the
cold milk and looked at Everett.

In the past few years, Everett’s childish
features had all but disappeared. While he’d been so slender
through most of his teenage years—mostly arms and legs—now he was
filling out. His biceps bulged under the sleeves of his shirt. His
baby face had hardened into adulthood, but he’d kept that innocent
and charming look that made him handsome.

He had never been much of a talker and never
demanded to be the center of attention like some boys his age. He
was quiet and reflective most of the time, his eyes twinkling with
intelligence. Knowing he wouldn’t begin talking on his own, I
prompted him.

“So what do you think the meeting’s about?” I
asked, curious.
He had finished almost all of his food and I put my fork down,
full, and pushed my plate toward him.

“I’m not sure,” he said after taking a sip of
his own milk. “I know it has to do with the attacks from before,”
he said, keeping his voice low. He started eating the rest of my
pancakes automatically—it was something he had done since
childhood. I used to laugh and call him my garbage disposal.
Charlotte always picked on him for eating so much and staying so
slim, telling him he had a hollow leg.

“That was a few months ago. Do you think
there’s been another?” I asked.
He swallowed, and licking his lips, looked up at me. “I hope not. I
was really hoping those were random—you know, someone wanting money
or something totally unrelated to the…” He trailed off, and I knew
he didn’t want to say the word out loud, not only because we were
in public, but also because it was terrifying.

I remembered getting the news from the coven
in Moss Point. Two of their wise ones had been attacked, but not
hurt. While we had found the news disturbing, we had assumed along
with them that it was something random. Perhaps the act of a
religious group that fancied themselves as vigilantes or something
similar. We had, of course, promised to leave at once to assist
them if necessary, but after no other news, we’d nearly forgotten
about it.

“They don’t just attack that way, though.
Lillian told us that the wise ones who’d been attacked weren’t even
hurt,” I said.

Everett glanced up at me and put his hand
into his pocket, placing several bills on the table. When we were
outside of the diner and climbing into the car, we continued with
the conversation.

“I mean, if the Venator,” I could barely
squeeze the word from my own lips, “had been that close, it would
have been a fight to the death.”

“You’re absolutely right. That’s why I’m
hoping it has nothing to do with them.” He shuddered, and I
understood the revulsion that had caused it. The Venator were our
greatest enemies, but they were also our greatest fear.

“Well it has to be something pretty important
if they’ve scheduled a meeting and Ivanna wants me there,” I said,
still trying to get him to speculate.

“No matter what happens, you are and will
always be a part of our family, Livvy. If you’re not a part of it,
neither am I.” Everett raised one eyebrow at me.

“Oh, I’m a part. I’m a very banished part,” I
said sourly.

“I feel like I should be banished too,”
Everett said, furrowing his brow.

“No, you shouldn’t. It was my mistake. I
broke the rules. I’m just having a very difficult time with the
consequences,” I said, taking his hand.

As I watched the town of Staves vanish and
the trees along the highway getting thicker, I felt my eyelids
getting heavy again. Even through the excitement of seeing my
family and home, I dozed. Although it wasn’t under wonderful
circumstances, being near Everett relaxed me—made me feel at home.
The long hours from last night didn’t help any, either.

He woke me again when we passed through the
massive, black wrought-iron gates in Eagleton.

“We’re home, sleepy head,” he said, smiling
at me.

I yawned and sat up, my heart pounding.
Rolling down the window, I inhaled. The green, fresh scent of home
comforted me but only minimally. The long, winding drive after the
gates was as familiar to me as my own hands. Everett, Max and I—and
then Sylvia when she’d arrived—had raced up and down the drive
hundreds of times over the years. I felt as if I knew every blade
of grass, every tree, and every speck of dust personally. The trees
pressed in on us from both sides, and with the sun shining through
the massive boughs full of leaves, a river of flecks sparkled on
the pavement.

After half a mile, the trees opened up,
revealing the massive house, set back on a sprawling lawn of green.
The main house contained the kitchen, common areas where we all
spent time together, the classroom, and several bedrooms.

Directly behind the main house were the
massive gardens, which yielded all the vegetables and fruits we
consumed as well as the herbs we needed. The gardens ended at
Ivanna’s stone cottage and behind that was a large lake, complete
with a lake house and a few wooden boats with oars. The property
went on for hundreds of acres. There were clearings here and there
that we used for different purposes—celebrations and training,
mostly.

As we pulled up in front of the main house,
my eyes flicked over a strange car in the curved driveway. The
guests from the Moss Point coven had already arrived. I gave
Everett an apprehensive look, but he smiled encouragingly as I
unbuckled my seatbelt. With one more deep breath, I headed toward
the door with Everett. Before we ever reached it, though, Sylvia
came rushing out and threw her arms around me, squealing.

“Olivia! What are you doing here?” I hugged
her, smiling, and then glanced at Everett.

“Ivanna didn’t tell you I was coming today?”
I asked. Sylvia’s caramel-colored eyes were wide when she pulled
away from me.

“No! I can’t believe it. I’m so glad to see
you,” she said. I noticed that she was wearing my silver amethyst
bracelet and nearly laughed out loud. Sylvia was very much a little
sister to me—even down to stealing my clothes and jewelry. Normally
I would have grumbled at her, but today I didn’t care. I was too
happy to be home.

Max exited the main house a second later,
wrapping me in a bear hug.

“How’d it work?” He whispered in the middle
of his hug.

“You’re a skilled law-breaker,” I whispered
back, drawing a laugh from him.

The greeting being over with, there was
nothing to do but enter the main house, and that’s what I did, with
the brothers and sister of my heart flanking me. The massive front
room was open and airy, containing huge windows that let in the
natural light. A large arch framed the entry into the hall and led
to a dining room, which was as large as the front room.

The dining room had to be large to hold the
monster-sized, round dining table. When Everett and I were little,
we used to pretend it was King Arthur’s table and we were his
knights. I only pretended to be a knight when I felt like humoring
Everett. Normally, I wanted to be Morgan le Fay, but Everett had
lisped at me that Morgan le Fay was evil. I argued that she wasn’t
evil—that she had been the necessary wrathful face of the lady. He
never understood, so most times, I satisfied him by playing as Sir
Gawaine.

The dining room was where we always met
guests. The windows there were large and open as well, so that
every corner of the house was bright and cheery. The familiar scent
of herbs used in the kitchen and the citrus oil used for cleaning
was comforting to me, even if my heart was pounding furiously.

Ivanna sat facing the doorway, so her face
was the first I saw—bright, onyx eyes shining. The chair to her
right—my chair—was empty. Charlotte sat at Ivanna’s left, with
Perry beside her. Lillian, whom I recognized as the leader of the
Moss Point coven, sat beside Perry and the two other guests filled
the next two chairs.

Ivanna rose when I entered, and the others
rose as well a moment later.

“Olivia,” Ivanna said. Her voice still seemed
to clang even though she kept it quiet, under control. Still, I
could see by the way her forehead was pinched that she was worried.
I quickly made my way to her, with Max, Everett, and Sylvia taking
their seats at the table. I stretched on my tiptoes to give Ivanna
a kiss on the cheek. She leaned in for the formality, but her eyes
were filled with some emotion I couldn’t place.

“Ivanna,” I said, knowing that she didn’t
miss the bitter tone in my voice.
I kissed Perry and Charlotte now, who both murmured greetings to
me, their eyes twinkling back at me.

“You’ve met Lillian,” Ivanna gestured toward
the gray-haired woman with the violet eyes, who smiled now.

“Merry meet, Olivia,” she said, grasping my
hands for a moment.

“Merry meet, Lillian,” I smiled at her. “It’s
wonderful to see you again, and I hope your coven is well.”

“We are well, for now,” she said, a worried
light in her eyes.

Ivanna spoke up again as I looked at the
other two guests—a shorter, dark-haired lady and a tall male with
curly brown hair.

“This is Susanna and Dray, the eldest members
of Lillian’s coven,” she explained, and I grasped hands with both
of them, giving them the traditional, ‘merry meet.’ After greeting,
they took their seats again. I walked behind them, around the table
and sat in my chair, briefly considering sitting in another spot. I
would never dream of embarrassing Ivanna in front of company,
though. This was neither the time nor place for my childish
grudge.

“Olivia is not only my coven sister,” Ivanna
said, her eyes shining with pride, “but she is my apprentice and
will take my place as head of this coven when it is time for me to
step down.” She looked at the guests and they smiled, nodding at
me. I absent-mindedly rubbed my palms together under the table. It
was traditional that each member of the coven be introduced, and I
had sat through this kind of introduction dozens of times in the
past. Still, my face reddened each time Ivanna spoke about me in
that way.

“Each of my wise ones are amazingly
talented,” her prideful eyes flicking over the rest of my family,
“Charlotte’s talents are for healing. Along with her ability to
speed healing time significantly, she knows all there is to know
about herbs. My brother, Perry is our Hercules, with strength like
none that I have ever witnessed.”

Her eyes flicked now toward Everett.
“Everett,” she gestured, “has a unique talent. When he chooses to
project it, others in the room are unable to focus on anything
other than him. They are oblivious to any other sounds or
distractions, because his face is all they see and his voice is the
only sound that makes its way to their ears. It’s a very useful
persuasion tool.”

Susanna smiled at Everett. “That is a very
unique talent,” she said. “I would imagine it comes in handy with
the girls,” she laughed. Everett blushed and Ivanna continued,
amused.

“Sylvia is still learning how to control her
talent, but will prove to be a very great oracle in due time. She
has amazingly clear visions of the future, although at this point,
she’s unable to will them to come when she chooses. They come
unannounced, so it’s a surprise for us all when it happens,” Ivanna
smiled at Sylvia, who glanced at me and then looked down at the
table. Typically, a Wise One’s full power did not come to them
until they reached the age of twenty-five, or near that age.

“Max is our chameleon, able to blend in with
his surroundings to the point of seeming invisible to others around
him,” Ivanna smiled again with pride at Max and then she looked
back at me.

“Olivia has perhaps the most amazing talent
of all,” she said, glancing at Lillian, Susanna and Dray. Lillian
had heard this before, but didn’t seem to be bored as Ivanna
continued.

“It seems as if she was created specifically
for fighting our enemies. When in their presence, she emits a
scream of sorts, which drains the life from them.”

Susanna’s eyes widened slightly as she said,
“Impressive.”

Lillian lifted her hand. “It’s quite
impressive, but that is not the whole of her talent.”

Susanna glanced at Lillian and then back to
Ivanna, who nodded and spoke.

“That’s correct. Not only does the scream
kill, but also in the same moment, binds the souls of her victims,
preventing them from having the ability to wield the magick in the
next life…and forever.”

Susanna and Dray both gasped, murmuring
approval and amazement.

“How was this discovered?” Susanna asked of
Ivanna, curious.