Succession of Witches (30 page)

Cassie felt eyes on her back, and looked up to see Vladmira glaring down at her from on top of a lamppost. They had been afraid the little bat was injured or dead after Quentin hit it, but on the way back home, Serenus had noticed her following the car in his rearview mirror; she seemed to be indestructible. No one else seemed to notice her now, but in the darkness, the brown shape was hard to see.

Since it was
intensely devoted to Sam, she was glad the thing was alive, but it still creeped her out; it seemed to look at her with naked malice. How she could tell what a bat was feeling, she had no idea, but she was pretty sure she wasn’t just imagining it. The fact that the bat had once dived for her head was also kind of a tip off.

She unbuttoned her jacket as she walked. It was still winter, but strangely, she always felt warm lately. She had felt a little strange ever since coming back from North Carolina—it might have been
due to coming down off the adrenaline high, but it sure was taking a while.

She turned her attention back to Ethan, who was chattering away. Ever since they’d told him that he would have a permanent home with Eugene Buckley, he’d become much more talkative.

“And then, and then, my friend Malcolm, who lives two doors down from me, I used to go with him to the game store there, it was called Game Worlds, where his brother worked, and sometimes we would watch the tournaments—”

“You know you’re not living in the game store, right?
Just above it?”

“I know!” he snapped with an ornery air that made her struggle to hide her smile. “I’m just saying that I used to go to the game store that was near my school, so I know all about that stuff.”

“You’ll fit right in then,” said Cassie, reaching to pat him on the head. He pushed her hand away, annoyed.

“Don’t do that, I’m not a baby!” he said in that same ornery tone. Cassie didn’t even try to hide her smile anymore; she loved the fact that he was getting more confident, acting more like the slightly prickly kid he real
ly was than a scared refugee.

“Behave, you two,” called Sam over his shoulder. The three of them turned a corner, passed a woman pushing a stroller, and came to a stop in front of SilverHawk Games.

“Do we go in?” asked Ethan, eyeing the colorful posters and figure displays in the front window with wide brown eyes.

“No, the entrance to the building proper is up those stairs,” said Sam, motioning to a small stairway next door to the shop.

“Oh,” said Ethan, frowning. He was obviously disappointed that he could get to the apartment without having to go through the game store on the ground floor first.

A second after Sam hit a button, someone upstairs buzzed them in, and the three of them entered the building. The hallway was fairly narrow, and Cassie ended up wedged against Sam’s side as they waited for the elevator to descend. She looked down, feeling awkward. After everything that had happened, she felt more comfortable being close to him, but they hadn’t discussed the fact that he’d kissed her. Should she say something? It was weighing on her mind.

Ethan looked at the two of them. “Are you guys boyfriend and girlfriend?”

“Ah…well….” Sam began.

“No. No, we are not boyfriend and girlfriend,” said Cassie, feeling a blush start.
Why do I always blush? What do I have to do to make the blushing stop?

“Oh,” said Ethan, then he paused briefly. “Are you going to be boyfriend and girlfriend?”

“Who can say what the future holds,” said Sam ominously.

“He’s not exactly boyfriend material,” Cassie snapped as the elevator doors opened.

“Are you girlfriend material?” Ethan asked her, unperturbed.

“I don’t know!” said Cassie, stomping onto the elevator. “Don’t laugh!” she yelled at Sam as the doors closed.

“I’m not laughing.”

“But you were thinking it.”

“I’m pretty sure you can’t read my mind,” said Sam, leaning against the back wall of the elevator. “That hasn’t changed.”

“Yeah, well, you’re more predictable than you think,” she said, crossing her arms and moving as far away from him as the space would allow.

“It’s just, you guys sound kind of like my parents,” said Ethan, standing in front of them with his back to them. “So I thought maybe you were boyfriend and girlfriend.”

Cassie and Sam shared a concerned look at that: they reminded him of his parents, who had
abused
him? What did that say about them?

Fortunately, when the doors opened, Eugene saved them from their revelry.

“Welcome!” said Eugene in a booming voice. “Ethan, Cassie. Master. Please come in.”

Cassie could hear Sam’s teeth grind in irritation when Eugene used the dreaded title, but he didn’t correct him. The three stepped off the elevator and into the living room, the scale of which surprised Cassie. She knew Buckley had money, but the penthouse reminded her of the upscale hotel suite the entourage had stayed at in New York City for court; it looked far too swanky to be a part of Sterling.
The glittering tiled floors were covered with beautiful patterned rugs, and the far wall was all red brick, with shelves full of sculptures and antiques. Large windows overlooked the glittering lights of the Sodatown clubs.

“It didn’t look like it would be this nice from the outside,” said Sam, running his fingers gently over the keys of the baby grand piano positioned in a corner. The instrument made a pleasant tinkling noise. “I guess that’s by design.”

“I get to live here?” said Ethan, his eyes wide as saucers. “Who else lives here?”

“Mostly just me, although you will see the boys drop in fairly often. Miri and Nyesha are getting their own place, with Miss Aeka, of course,” said Eugene smoothly. He grinned, and his smile surprised Cassie; despite his pointy canines, his smile radiated warmth, just like Miri’s did. “Want to see your room?”

“Yeah!” said Ethan, taking off after the vampire. Eugene winked at Sam and Cassie and began giving Ethan a tour of the penthouse.

After a moment of silence, Cassie turned in a circle, taking in all the sumptuous furniture and the impres
sive view. “And we thought all vampires were dirtbags.”

“I know,” said Sam, not looking at her. “If you had told me a few months ago I would trust vampires to take care of a little boy, I would have said you were crazy. But the Buckleys…” he began,
then changed tack. “I don’t think Eugene would ever even think of taking Ethan’s blood.”

“I think he’d smack you if you even asked about it
— aw, man,” said Cassie, feeling a rumbling in her purse. “That’s probably Miri.” She unzipped her bag and picked up her phone.

“Can you please tell Miss Angelfood Cake that I get first choice of beds?” the redheaded vampire snapped. “I scoped out a room, and she went and took it!”

“Don’t call her that,” said Cassie. “It’s—”

“Dangerous, yeah I know, I would only say it when it’s just us. Anyway, can you talk to her? I really wanted that room.”

“Mir, you know she’s mad at me, she’s not going to listen.”

Pacing in front of her with his hands in his jeans pockets, Sam gave her a quizzical look, and Cassie waved him off; it was nothing for him to be concerned about.

“So I just have to give her everything she wants, otherwise she goes ballistic and cuts my head off again? This sucks.”

“You know what Serenus said, she used up all her magic in North Carolina,” said Cassie, a strange sensation in her stomach as she said it. She felt sorry for Aeka for no longer having any magical power, but there was a part of her that was…excited?
Gleeful? Thinking about it made her feel slightly ill. “She can’t cut your head off, and she wouldn’t now, anyway. And it’s not like she asks for much. Just let her have the stupid room.”

“I’m not hypnotizing your parents for you anymore,” said Miri in mock-outrage.

“That’s fine, I don’t want you to hypnotize my parents anymore.”

“Dumb princess.”

“Undead skank.”

Cassie hung up the phone.

“You two have a fight?” Sam asked.

Cassie shrugged. “Nah, that’s just how she is.”

The two stood together, awkwardly. Cassie opened her mouth to begin talking, but stopped several times. Finally, she summoned her courage and spoke.

“You know, back in North
Carolina, when…when you kissed—”

“I found out about Pascal,” said Sam, not looking at her.

“Huh?”

“I just heard. He’s going to be tried for his crimes in Las Vegas, on the same night as my blood status hearing. Of course, Buckley stopped him before he did much, so he’ll probably get off with a slap on the wrist.”

“Oh. Figures,” said Cassie, not sure what else to say. He had intentionally cut off her question about the kiss, but did she really want to go there again? She felt like they were right on the precipice of something, and with a word or two, everything between them could change.

If they had to be together romantically to satisfy the court, and if they liked each other romantically—and yes, she had to admit that she did like him that way, even if part of her was screaming that she shouldn’t
—then weren’t they going to be ‘boyfriend and girlfriend?’ And if they weren’t that, what were they?

Ethan interrupted her train of thought by running back into the main hall. “Cassie, my room is awesome!”

Eugene trailed behind the boy, his hands behind his back. “—and you will take your lessons in the study. Greek, Latin, Physics—”

“Whoah, whoah,” said Cassie, waving her arms. “You’re homeschooling him?”

Eugene stopped. “Is that a problem?”

“I think he should go to school with other kids his age,” said Sam.

“But I want to stay here!” Ethan bellowed, running and jumping over an elaborately woven carpet to slide on the tiled floor. “School sucks!”

“You are aware that the education system in this country is irrevocably broken, right?” said Eugene, a disgusted expression on his face.

“Yeah, it’s irrevocably broken!” said Ethan.

“Much as it pains me to admit it, I think he should at least try going to school first,” said Sam.

“Is that your wish?” said Buckley to Sam softly, and Cassie felt a chill go up her spine. Eugene was the wealthiest and most respected man she knew, but ultimately, he was still subservient to whatever demon he was currently serving. If Sam said that he thought Ethan should go to school, Eugene would send him, even if he violently disagreed with it.

“That is my request,” said Sam, putting emphasis on the last word.

Ethan looked totally deflated. “Awwwww….”

Just then, they heard the sound of something knocking against glass. After only a moment’s hesitation, Sam walked over to the nearest window and opened it a crack, giving Vladmira enough space to enter the room from outside. She circled the room, looked for a moment like she was about to settle on Sam’s shoulder, then changed direction and perched on the lid of the piano.
Cassie barely resisted the urge to cover her head with her hands protectively.

“Sorry, if I don’t let her in, she’ll just make a fuss,” said Sam.

Ethan looked mesmerized by the small bat. “Can I pet her?”

“You can try, but she’ll probably fly away.”

Ethan walked slowly over to the piano and gingerly reached out a hand to touch the creature. To everyone’s surprise, Vladmira didn’t move, letting Ethan stroke her gently between her wings.

“I guess she likes you,” said Cassie, “She hates me for some reason.”

Eugene walked up beside her. “That’s because you’re the competition.”

Cassie looked at him like he had grown another head. “Eh?”

“You’re all familiars who belong to the same master, you know.”

Sam turned away from Ethan to stare at Eugene. The vampire chuckled.

“You’re not going to deny it, are you?”

“No,” said Sam, looking at the tiny creature with a puzzled expression. “I figured that out in North Carolina. But I don’t see how; I didn’t do anything to bind her, it just happened.”

“Perhaps….” Eugene started, then lifted his chin, turning his head toward the window. “Can you hear that?”

It took a moment before Cassie’s ears could make out what Eugene’s vampiric hearing had picked up first, but soon there was no doubt; a cacophony of little squeaks and clicks, and what sounded like the flapping of hundreds of wings.
Hundreds? No; it sounded like thousands.

Cassie and Sam looked at each other, awestruck.

“Vladmira’s ‘friends’ from down south…she brought them with her?” said Sam, his eyes widening. Just then, a whirlwind of black shapes flew past the window; they could hear screams from the streets below as people noticed the torrent of bats. Ethan ran to the window and pressed his face against the glass, thrilled.

Eugene threw his head back and laughed; a deep, booming laugh that echoed through the living room.

“Perfect! Everyone’s moving in today. Good for you Ethan, it’s some new friends.”