Bewitched, Blooded and Bewildered (26 page)

Simon put a hand on the younger chronicler’s shoulder. “Are you certain you wish to reveal this?”

Michael nodded. “The Titania is right. We must all work together.” He took a deep breath—odd for someone who technically doesn’t need to breathe—and he peered at the assembled group. “This information must not leave this room. Do I have everyone’s word on this?”

A chorus of nods and yeses answered him, and it was the best he was going to get in this situation.

“Very well. One of my descendants inherited my wife’s gift. She is a living seer, and she resides in the area. If you wish, I will arrange for the two of you to speak with her.”

Amazement rustled through the room. Seers were the rarest form of magician. You had better odds of winning the lottery than you did of meeting a seer.

The sorceress in the red dress gaped at Michael. “There’s a seer living here, and no one’s heard of her? I find that difficult to believe.”

“Emily and I are very protective of our children. The seer council knows of her, and they were the only ones outside of our family who needed to know. We did not want our granddaughter to be manipulated for her abilities. Her visions aren’t for sale,” he explained matter-of-factly. I didn’t blame him. Poor kid would be fought over like a bone in a room filled with ravenous dogs.

I turned to Zach, and didn’t like his calculating expression at all. “That means hands off, billionaire vampire. Or I will let Portia put you on her hit list.”

“Understood,” he replied.

“We’ll set something up,” I said to Michael, and he nodded. “In the meantime, we’re going to start a magician phone tree. Everyone exchanges contact information. You need healing, you call the witch council; you need something burned down, you call the sorcerer council, and so on and so forth. All information on the hunters goes to the guardians and me and my Oberon. If you so much as hear a suspicious twig snap in your backyard, call for help.” I turned to Lex. “Did I forget anything?”

He rose and joined me in the center of the circle. “If you have a routine, change it. Odds are good that they have your address, and the addresses of most of your people. If you have faerie relatives, now is a good time to visit them. Just let us know the clan you’re staying with so we can contact you. We need to know who among you has training or experience in combat so we can call on you to fight when we locate the Prometheans’ base of operations. Civilians need whatever additional protection you can provide. The hunters are targeting children, and they have killed parents who fought back. The hunters can get through wards, and they’re not shy about attacking in well-populated areas. These aren’t crazed fanatics or thrill killers looking to bag a shapeshifter. They’re ruthless and well organized. Don’t assume you’re safe.”

“Right. The demon who attacked our home waltzed through over a dozen wards,” I added.

“If you ever considered gettin’ a guard dog, now’s a good time,” Lex said. “Let’s start trading contact information.”

“I can make lists!” Portia offered. A spiral notebook and a ballpoint pen appeared in her hands—I was fairly certain I spotted a pink unicorn surrounded by hearts and rainbows on the cover. I let her pounce on the magicians for their phone numbers and e-mail addresses, and I headed for Patience Roberts.

“Are you going to be okay on your own?” I asked.

She quirked a bright-red eyebrow. “You care? I’m touched.”

“Not really. But you’re the only summoner we have. We kind of need you alive. I don’t want to work with some sleazy summoner from Vegas.”

“Right. Don’t worry. I’m used to people trying to kill me.”

“Have you considered not dressing like a Bond villainess? Leather pants attract a bad element,” I suggested, and Patience laughed. She had a very nice laugh—warm and bubbly, which I wasn’t expecting at all.

“I’ll keep that in mind. Let me know next time you get a confirmed demon sighting with the hunters. I should be able to determine the breed. It’ll help us figure out a battle plan.”

“Will do,” I replied.

She sauntered off to join the magician queue, and Faust appeared at my side. “Congratulations on successfully defending your position.”

“Thanks.”

“After you and Mr. Black arrange your meeting with the seer, I will be providing your transportation back to Zachary’s mansion.”

Ugh, right. We were staying in the guesthouse now. I’d momentarily repressed that.

“Thanks, but I think the Titania and I are going to spend the evening with her Silverleaf cousins,” Lex said. I frowned at him, but didn’t argue. We did deserve a break from the plotting, and there was bound to be a party at the castle. There’s almost always a party at the castle.

Faust nodded, seeming disappointed, though he was hard to read with his eyes hidden behind his dark glasses.

“What about Marie?” I asked. “Are you going to leave her alone in vampire central?”

Lex cursed, because apparently he’d forgotten that Marie was homeless too. “She can come with,” he said.

“Can she, though? Isn’t she on call?” I asked.

He cursed again, which was not a good sign. I’m the one with the potty mouth in our family. Lex is usually much better behaved. I’m an only child, so the sibling thing was new to me, but I was willing to bet he was about to kick into overprotective big-brother mode. Especially because from this angle, it looked like Dr. Brian Dannaher was standing awfully close to Marie. If he were a nice young man, I’d have thought it cute, but he was a chronicler, and not what Lex or I would consider good in-law material.

Faust followed my gaze and tilted his head as he studied Portia’s group. “Mr. Black and his companion are the chroniclers who helped you escape from Zachary’s art gallery gala, yes?”

“No, Emily helped me escape. Michael and Simon just stood back and watched, because the Order isn’t allowed to interfere,” I corrected. “Mostly they just added snarky commentary.”

“I don’t doubt it. Emily Black has a long reputation of being a troublemaker.” Faust smiled thinly. “And this Simon’s last name would be?”

“St. Jerome. Although,” I started, and then bit my tongue. It was bad form to share a magician’s True Name. I really must have been getting too used to Faust.

“Yes?” Faust prompted.

“Zach called him something else at the party, when he was being rude to Simon. Go ask Zach if you want to know.”

“Thank you, I will.” The faerie turned to leave, and I tapped him on the shoulder.

“Wait a second. The ‘we all work together’ proclamation includes you too. If Zach’s still cranky at Simon, Michael and Emily, that’s just too damn bad. He can’t send you after them to wreak his cunning revenge,” I warned.

“My lady, I would never dream of such a thing.” Faust placed a hand over his heart as though wounded by the suggestion.

“Uh huh.” I turned to Lex. “Maybe you should go punch Harrison in the jaw again. You know, to set another example.”

Lex smirked. “Don’t tempt me, sugar.”

Chapter Sixteen

Faeries love to party. My Silverleaf cousins would’ve found any excuse to throw a loud, raucous bash at their castle, such as “Yay, it’s Tuesday!” But they were equally happy to celebrate the fact that Lex and I were still Oberon and Titania. A rowdy faerie extravaganza was a good way to unwind, and Silverleaf Castle was filled with music, feasting and revelry within an hour of our arrival in Faerie. I encouraged Lex to party for both of us, because I wouldn’t be drinking for the foreseeable future. We were reunited with Bubba and Cesár, who were being completely spoiled by the faeries, but the dogs had earned it. They were officially Very Good Dogs for having warned us about the hunters, and when I found my cats hiding under the bed in our room, I informed Merri and Pippin that they were fired as my pets. There was no way the ginger butterballs would’ve alerted us to an impending hunter attack, or put any of their nine lives in jeopardy to help defend our home. More likely they would’ve gnawed on my corpse after I’d gotten killed. Furry bastards.

Lex and I enjoyed the luxuries of an epic lovemaking session and sleeping in late, before we bid good-bye to Faerie and were hauled back to reality. It was a pity magiciankind couldn’t flip off humanity and escape to Faerie, but we’d just end up suffering the same infertility curse that was slowly killing the faeries. And then the earth would be overrun by demons and bathed in fire and brimstone. Nobody would win, so we’d all just have to get along.

Portia dropped us off in front of the Dusty Tomes bookstore, which was somewhere in Naperville. Lex was familiar with the shop and its owners, but I’d never heard of it. I am opposed to Naperville. It’s all cute, trendy and expensive, and filled with cookie-cutter Borg houses that assimilate you into upper-middle-class America.

“How many coffee shops do you need on one block?” I asked, peering down the street.

“This from a woman who mainlines caffeine,” Lex replied.

I folded my arms across my chest with a sullen frown. “Not anymore I don’t, thanks to you.”

Lex grinned and melted my pout, and he kissed me. “You’ll survive. Come on. You’ll like this place.”

Though I remained suspicious of Naperville and its inhabitants, I followed him inside the store. It reminded me of Mac’s office at the Three Willows—books crammed onto every available surface until they threatened a literary avalanche if you added one more. They were used books too, so they all had that well-worn, aged feel that shiny, new paperbacks lack, and the air was heavy with dust. An elderly gentleman in a faded tweed jacket sat behind the front counter, peering through thick tortoiseshell glasses at a copy of the
Chicago Tribune
.

“Hello, Arthur. How’s business?” Lex asked.

“Good lately. We’re always popular around Halloween. This must be your blushing bride.”

He set his paper down, rose and extended his hand to me. Arthur might be a senior citizen, but he was also easily the burliest librarian I’d ever seen, built like a linebacker. Though he was descended from Michael and Emily Black, he didn’t look like them, but then they were ageless and would be forever in their thirties. Or maybe the family resemblance fades after a few generations. I wouldn’t know, because I didn’t have any old family photos to compare myself to.

“Hi, I’m Catherine,” I said as I shook his hand.

“A pleasure. I understand you’re here to speak with Anne.”

“Yes, we are,” Lex confirmed.

“She’s in the office. I’ll take you back.”

Arthur led us past aisles of books, and my brow rose at the signs denoting the subjects—astrology, witchcraft, numerology, and so on. The Dusty Tomes was an occult bookstore, aimed at straights, run by real magicians. It was kind of funny. I wondered if there were actual books on magic in a special section somewhere, maybe tucked away in the basement. Probably, considering that it was a librarian establishment. Hmm, I did need new tarot cards…

We entered the back room and found Miss Anne Williams seated at a large round table covered with receipts and printouts of spreadsheets, munching on a garden salad as she glared at the screen of her laptop. Like Arthur, she didn’t look a thing like Michael and Emily. She had big green eyes and honey blonde hair hacked short in a pixie cut, and she was drowning in a gray, wool sweater that was easily three sizes too large for her. I’m not sure what I expected a seer to look like, but she wasn’t it. I understood why most people took her for a librarian, because she had a bookish, mousy aura about her.

“Nice to see you again, Anne,” Lex greeted. “Though I am a little hurt you never told me you’re a seer.”

She blushed. “Sorry. I don’t tell anyone. It’s safer for me. People can be pushy with their energy without even meaning to, and the visions can be overwhelming. Which is why I don’t shake hands. I don’t mean to be impolite,” she apologized. “But please, have a seat. Grandpa, you can go back up front. We’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?” Arthur eyed her skeptically, and she gave him a reassuring smile.

“Yes. Don’t worry.” She shooed him from the room, and Lex and I took a seat at the rickety wooden table. Anne turned her attention to me. “You must be Catherine. Aunt Emily’s very fond of you.”

“I’m very fond of her.” I resisted the urge to ask if she’d heard the story about the brick in her Aunt Emily’s purse. “So she gave you a heads-up about why we’re here?”

“Uncle Michael did, yes. I want to help, but I’m not sure if I can. In this sort of situation I need something to trigger a vision. Or someone. I can’t just pull answers out of thin air.”

Aunt Emily and Uncle Michael.
What would life be like with vampire relatives? I might’ve found out if Lovely Laura had delivered on her promise to gift my father with immortality, instead of keeping him around as a minion.

“We have the hunters who attacked us on ice. Would it help if you examined the bodies?” I asked.

Anne winced, looking a little green around the gills at the thought. “I’m not sure. I’ve never tried to read a dead body before. I can’t speak with spirits of the dead, because that’s necromancer territory, but I might be able to get an impression from something on the person. Like jewelry, or equipment.”

“One of them was questioned by a master necromancer. Will that interfere with your magic?” Lex asked.