Random Acts of Sorcery (11 page)

Going to The Daily Grind late at night for some kind of after-hours vampire powwow was starting to feel normal. Cassie sat with her arms crossed at one of the café tables, trying to adjust the black dress into place. It had seemed to fit her much better in the store. Next to her, Miri was also wearing basic black, a simple A-line dress that Cassie had never seen on her before. It seemed oddly conservative for the vampire that normally wore skirts that just barely covered her rear end. Even Ethan was dressed up, wearing an adorable little navy blue suit with a red tie while he played cards with Mike and Jay. Cassie was sure Eugene spared no expense on his ward’s attire.

Cassie drummed her fingers on the table, impatient. She wanted to get this over with so she could go home and go to sleep, but she wasn’t that eager to meet this vampire, either.

“We really should find a better place to hold these things,” said Cassie finally, breaking the silence. Their formal wear looked incongruous in the shop. Miri looked unimpressed with the idea.

“Where else are we going to go at midnight on a Tuesday? I guess we could rent out a room at a bar, but half of you aren’t old enough to drink.”

“Technically, you aren’t old enough to drink either,” Cassie retorted, but she was cut off by Khalil coming to stand behind Miri’s chair. Gently, he hugged her from behind. She made an irritated face.

“That’s funny, it almost feels like there’s someone touching me,” she said.

“I’m sorry. I was wrong. Please don’t eat me.”

At that, she cracked a small smile. “I thought you wanted me to eat you?”

He grinned and gave her a peck on the cheek. “The confusion tactic worked! I got her talking to me!”

“What have I missed?” asked Cassie.

“Are you really sorry?” Miri asked in a small voice. She reached up and tugged on one of his coat sleeves.

“Yeah.
Which doesn’t mean I’m okay with everything, but I know I was wrong,” he said. “I want to talk about it with you, not yell at you like some—”

At that, Miri stood up and kissed him. He put his hands on her back and pulled her close, pushing her chair out of the way with his leg. Cassie poked at Khalil’s side.

“Hey, Ethan’s here!” she said. “Could you please keep it PG?”

“I’ve seen kissing before!” said Ethan defiantly from across the room.

Just then, Aeka and Nyesha walked in, both dressed impeccably in silver evening gowns. Cassie turned her face away; it almost physically hurt to look at Aeka, and not just because she knew the blond girl was far more beautiful than she was. She had lied to Aeka in North Carolina, saying they would go back to the sea together…something that probably wasn’t even possible, but she had been desperate at the time. She’d have done anything to get Aeka to help Sam kill his attackers, and it had worked like a charm…only now, she was afraid that the girl who was like a spiritual sister to her would never, ever forgive her.

Ethan smiled at the sight of them. “You both look really pretty!” he said. Then a line appeared on his forehead, as though something had just occurred to him. “Um, Cassie and Miri also look very pretty.”

“Thanks,” Cassie and Miri said in unison, without much enthusiasm.

“It begins,” said Mike, ruffling his fingers through Ethan’s dyed-black hair. “Now you get to see how much fun it is to have to watch everything you say around women like a hawk.”

“Don’t put sexist garbage in his head! Khalil, you tell him,” said Miri, hugging Khalil around the waist.

“I am not involved and have no opinion,” he replied, his face a study in blankness. Miri frowned and straightened his tie with a yank that made him grimace slightly.

Sam came in from the back, wearing the black suit he’d last worn at court. Cassie supposed he only had one.

“Is Mr. Golding happy in his cage?” She asked icily. She couldn’t believe he had put the poor man back in the rat cage again.

“There’re too many people here tonight. If he runs around loose, someone might step on him,” Sam said, adjusting his gloves. “I want to know where he is at all times.”

There were a lot of them. With Nyesha’s arrival, the entire Buckley clan was there, including Eugene. Cassie and Ethan were familiars, so of course they had to be front and center. Jay, Mike, Dwight, and Khalil were there in the capacity of human members of the entourage. And Aeka was…something. The bottom line was, O’Donnel probably knew something about her, so if she was missing, he might take it as a slight.

“The only one missing is Serenus,” Cassie said sadly. Miri put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about him. That man is far too valuable to kill,” said Eugene from his place in the back of the room with his vampire sons. “You’ll see him again, and soon, I’d wager.”

Eugene’s words comforted her a little, but in truth, she wasn’t really afraid of Serenus being killed. There were just so many things someone could do to you without killing you…she shuddered at the thought.

The door swung open with a jolt, and the man with laughing blue eyes sauntered into the shop, a pretty brunette at his side.

“Finally, we made it! You wouldn’t believe the flight we’ve had.”

Before Cassie was conscious he had moved, Eugene was across the room, shaking the other vampire’s hand.
“Thaddeus, so good to see you again. And the lovely Arianna.”

“Please, call me Tad,” said Tad, grinning. “That goes for all of you as
well, life is too short to stand on ceremony.” He clapped Eugene on the back, which Eugene accepted with a friendly stiffness.

Sam cleared his throat, walking forward to meet Tad down the center aisle. “I’m Samuel Andrews; welcome to my city,” he said, sounding more gracious than Cassie wou
ld have predicted. “This is my—”

“Of course, everyone knows who you are,” said Tad, pumping Sam’s hand in an energetic handshake. “I thank you kindly for your hospitality, it means a lot to me.”

Spouting more pleasantries, he quickly brushed past Sam to make his way toward Cassie. Cassie quickly stood up and took his offered hand. Instead of giving her a handshake like she expected, he went down on one knee and kissed her hand.

“I never thought I would see such a marvelous witch again in my lifetime. It is a true privilege to make your acquaintance,” he said, overflowing with old-world charm.

“Thank you…Tad,” said Cassie, but she knew her smile was a little forced. Was he just talking in general terms, or did he think she was already a witch? If he couldn’t tell that she was still only a familiar, she wasn’t going to tell him. No one else corrected him, either.

Tad also shook Miri’s hand.
“Miriam, lovely to see you again. You know, half the vampires on the East Coast are still pining for you.”

Miri grinned, and returned the mischief in Tad’s eyes with some of her own. “Are you including yourself in that, Tad?”

“Put a finger on Eugene’s little girl, are you kidding? I’m too young to die again!” he said, winking at Eugene.

He went to everyone in turn, introducing himself with great vigor. He was quick to laugh, and never seemed to stop smiling. What surprised Cassie was that he even knew all about the human entourage members like Dwight and Khalil, going so far as to be familiar with Dwight’s music. The woman, Arianna, stayed by the entrance, but smiled graciously at everyone. Cassie wondered what her story was.

As pleasant as he was, Cassie felt her stomach twist with nervousness. This was going entirely too well; there was no way he had really just dropped by to say hi and shake their hands. The fact that he was alone was also curious; she had expected him to have other vampires, members of his clan, with him. Why would he come by himself, with only the silent woman for support? Was he trying to prove something: that he was strong enough to enter a demon’s stronghold without obvious protection?

She could tell that Sam was thinking similar thoughts when she caught his eye. Whatever problems existed between them, she knew they would present a united front where outsiders were concerned.

I don’t like this any more than you do. But I will not be the first one to turn hostile.

She blinked in surprise at the sound of his voice in her head. It had been a while since he’d done that. Still, she gave a barely perceptible nod.

The last person Tad went to fawn over was Aeka. “And here she is! I kept hearing rumor upon rumor saying that the Son of Sammael had added the most beautiful, angelic looking girl to his entourage, but I assumed they were all exaggerations.” He knelt in front of Aeka and reached for her hand as well. “But I see now that she is every bit as lovely as they say.”

“Pleased to make your acquaintance,” said Aeka when Tad kissed her hand. It sounded forced, robotic; Eugene had probably told her exactly what phrases to say and when.

However, when he had finished kissing her hand, Tad stayed kneeling in front of Aeka. He studied the girl, seemingly drinking in the sight of her with those always-laughing eyes.

“Ah, but as much as they love to talk about you, my darling, no one seems to know quite what you are. Are you a witch?
A familiar? Surely she can’t be a baseline human now,” he said, inclining his head to Sam.

Sam’s expression was carefully neutral. “She is human. She was a familiar, but lost her power, so I took her in.”

Cassie thought that was a smart answer; close enough to the truth that it wouldn’t contradict whatever Tad had already heard, but missing all the things they definitely did not want this vampire to know.

Tad looked puzzled.
“A familiar who lost her power? Who’s ever heard of such a thing?”

“It’s quite mysterious to us as well,” said Eugene. He was starting to look uncomfortable with the attention Tad was giving to Aeka, and seeing Eugene look uncomfortable made Cassie doubly worried.

“What a shame. Tell you what,” he said, finally rising to his feet. “Why don’t you let me make her one of mine? It beats the alternative.”

There was a moment of silence as everyone in the room seemingly held their breath, including those who didn’t need to breathe.

“What…alternative?” said Sam. He was trying to hide his agitation, but not doing a very good job.

Tad yawned.
“Death, of course. I don’t need magic to see that this one isn’t long for this world,” he said, gesturing at Aeka with a thumb. “She simply has no will to live. Let me take her back with me to Miami, she’ll have a whole new life filled with sunshine. I’m adamant that someone should enjoy it, though I can’t.”

“I’m afraid I’ll have to refuse your kind offer,” said Sam in a monotone. “She stays here.”

Tad chuckled and looked at Sam like he was an overindulged child. “Oh, it’s not like I’m being unreasonable and asking you for your Cassandra! This girl is not your familiar or your lover, is she? She’s nothing to you. And surely you were prepared to offer me a souvenir to remember my trip by,” he said. Then something seemed to occur to him and he crossed his arms, inclining his head towards the woman at the door.

“If you’d prefer to trade, I’d be happy to give you Arianna in exchange. I’m sure it would be helpful for Cassie to have another witch around the place.”

Cassie’s eyebrows shot up at that. Arianna was a witch? She’d figured the silent companion for either a human or a vampire; the fact that the vampire had a witch at his disposal was disturbing. Usually only demons had witches….

Sam had entered that calm state; that place he went before bodies started flying. Cassie wondered if Tad even knew the danger he was in.

“Mr. O’Donnel, I don’t know what you’ve been told about me. But I don’t buy, trade or sell, people.”

Tad’s eyes wandered back to Aeka’s face. “No, you don’t. You take them from others and give nothing in return.”

Sam took a step towards Tad, only to be stopped by Eugene’s hand on his shoulder. “You forget yourself, Thaddeus. You are in the presence of the Son of Sammael. You are in no position to be making demands.”

“Which is why I’m only asking for the most minor of tribute,” Tad said stretching his arms wide. “A human in exchange for a skilled witch is a great deal;
my host makes out like a bandit here. And all because this is a beauty that should never be tarnished!” He took a quick step towards Aeka and lifted her chin with his hand. “This face—”

Aeka moved so fast that Cassie only fully realized what had happened later; at first, all she saw was the ribbon of blood across Tad’s throat. Her mind processed other bits and pieces one at a time: Tad, gurgling and holding his throat, for even though he was a vampire, he wasn’t immune to pain—or shock. Aeka, her face expressionless, a few drops of blood marring her perfect gown.

But Aeka wasn’t done; after opening the vampire’s throat from ear to ear with the boxcutter, she jammed the blade into his Adam’s apple, all the way up to the hilt.

The girl had used the force from jumping out of her chair to open his throat, and her downward momentum to bury the blade in her victim. It had all taken less than a second.

While Tad made pathetic, tortured sounds, everyone’s eyes watched him, horrified. Even Eugene looked to be at a total loss.

Cassie put her hands on her ears as a loud thunderclap threatened to rip her skull apart, but there was no escaping the sound. After taking a few seconds to catch her breath, and feeling her arms explode into goosebumps at the sudden chill, she realized that Sam had frozen time.