He had a point. Any magic-using person in the throes of a violent fit was hazardous to be around, more so if they were untrained. My criticism ratcheted down a notch. “Didn’t you say that gifting didn’t work on magic-bearing humans?”
“I said it doesn’t often work on them. As with Liyliy and her sisters, the presence of fey blood was more important than the ability to tap into universal energies.”
I smoothed Beverley’s hair. “What gift did she get?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he turned and wandered a few steps away.
As silent seconds ticked away, my unease grew until I couldn’t stand it. “Menessos.”
The vampire’s head dropped slightly and his shoulders rounded.
“I’m not going to like this answer. I get it. Out with it already.”
He still didn’t move.
Zhan stepped up beside me. Our eyes met and it was obvious we were both suspicious of his hesitancy. Instead of making another verbal plea, I reached through the bond he and I shared. It drew his attention like walking up behind him and stroking his arm.
He spun around as if startled from deep thoughts. His gaze took us in, all of us, but settled on the child in my arms. There was despair in his voice as he said, “She’ll never be safe.”
Through the bond, my gentle touch turned into a squeezing demand.
“She is a ward-breaker, Persephone.”
I blinked, struggling to wrap my head around what this meant. It explained why my defensive protections at home failed. Wards differed from out-and-out spells in that they were purely protective. A spell required a divine and blessed circle in which words were spoken, elements summoned, and, often, gemstones or herbs used as a focus. A ward required only the use, direction, and sealing of energy. It was sorcery.
My stomach flipped at my thoughts of this poor child tapping a line accidentally, feeling the awful stinging pain initially involved with that action. She probably panicked. Somehow, that led to her being taken.
I held her tighter. She had the capacity to interrupt or break a flow of energy meant to protect that which it surrounded; any magical barrier set to keep dangerous things out. Softly, I said, “Most wards nowadays are meant to keep the ‘nonsters’ out.”
“Nonsters” was a media term coined to lump w?rewolves, vampires, witches, and fey together in one non- human group. It was inaccurate, as witches were definitely still human, but the term had caught on anyway.
“She must come with me,” he said.
I opened my mouth to protest, but before the words could form I realized that, until she understood how to restrain this power, I could not protect her. She would destroy any defensive ward I attempted to use to shield her. She was also a danger to w?res . . . and I could not protect them
Unlike vampires, who were down during the day and recognizable on sight, w?rewolves could blend into society. W?res could be working at her school. Her bus might pass some in traffic. We might walk the grocery store aisles with w?res and never know it.
Tears burned my eyes.
In a vampire haven, she would be safe, and so would others.
“Goliath and I will tutor her.” He added reassuringly, “When she learns control she can return to you. Everything will be fine. You’ll see.”
I winced. “You’re implying that I won’t be at the haven.”
He squared his shoulders as if his next words required some great amount of resolve. “You know why you must stay away.”
“Mero.” He wanted to present me to the Excelsior so I could be marked by him. “I don’t want to leave Beverley. When she wakes, she’ll need me. She’ll be confused and scared. You can—”
“I am no longer Quarterlord. I have no one to command.”
“Goliath—”
“—must not tarnish his new position with the blemish of such a choice.”
I bit my tongue. I couldn’t go to the den or the haven. The witches were torn over the issue of me being the Lustrata, so the Covenstead was also a risk. I had only my own home to run to and it had broken wards. The elementals would protect me, but they had all been through so much already. Inviting trouble to follow me there was selfish.
“Persephone.”
When he spoke my name a wave of warmth flowed over me like I’d stepped naked into strong sunlight. It was meant to reassure me, but instead it only pissed me off.
“Menessos—”
“Mero will not be turned from this course of action. You must go to the Witch Elders Council.”
“WEC is divided between those who believe the Lustrata means good things for them and those who feel she brings bad things. I don’t even know who’s on which side of the argument.” I needed to find out.
Undeterred by my anger, Menessos crouched before me. He slid his hands into mine without altering the way my arms held Beverley. “My master, you cannot accept the marks of the Excelsior.”
Many thoughts flooded my mind. What would Beverley think of this? How would she react? What if she didn’t want to be at the haven? What about school? There were no children at the haven—
Menessos was being too nice and too calm about all of this.
I blinked the moisture from my eyes and searched his face.
He had quickly evaluated the situation, then skillfully devised a conversation that kept me focused on Beverley and the solution to this new problem.
What was his verbal maneuvering trying to hide?
I sat straighter. “What in Hell had a hold of her?”
He blinked as if to make a denial, saw my expression harden, then sighed. His hands slipped from mine and he stood. “If I had to guess, I would wager it was Nyx.”
My embrace tightened protectively around Beverley.
“Nyx?” I asked. “You mean Nyx as in the
Menessos hesitated, then said matter-of-factly, “Yes.”
Zhan turned on her heel and walked away.
“Why?”
“That is what we must figure out.”
“And how do we do that?”
The corner of Menessos’s mouth crooked up. “Perhaps there is an Eldrenne or two that could aid you. Their reference library is one of the finest in the world. You could research—”
“I’m not going to hide behind the Council’s skirts.”
He was undeterred. “Two birds with one stone, my master.”
“No.”
“Then you doom Beverley.”
“Don’t pull this shit. Not now.”
“That is such an odd phrase. Why would anyone ‘pull shit’?”
I smirked at him. “I guess it has something to do with getting your hands dirty in a stupid and pointless way.”
“I am not needlessly dirtying my hands by trying to protect you while you figure out why Nyx would want a ward-breaker.”
I frowned, but before I could speak, a car horn honked. Zhan had brought the car as close as she could to us. As I shifted Beverley so I could stand, Menessos deftly removed her from my arms. I asked him, “How did you get here anyway?”
“After your call I had Risque gather supplies while I informed Goliath I was leaving. My driver dropped me off.”
I stood. “I never realized a ley line ran through here.”
“This area is secluded. If I lost control, the isolation would minimize the wild magic’s impact on others.” He
