Bloodstone

damp earth and life stirring. I inhaled deeply, savoring the sweetness that cut through the usual city smells. It was a good antidote for the dust that clogged my lungs.

The tunnel had been the perfect location for the Old Ones’ base—near the final point on the rune, deep underground, old and dusty enough to feel like home to a bunch of creatures that should’ve been corpses centuries ago. But there’d been nothing. It was hard not to feel discouraged. Juliet was still missing, Pryce was one victim away from coming back to life, and Mab’s life-giving bloodstone was still in Myrddin’s clutches.

We did have one advantage, though. Myrddin wanted my life force to revive Pryce. If I showed up at Boylston Street at the appointed time, Myrddin would be waiting for me.

A guaranteed date with a crazy wizard who wanted me dead—some advantage. But it was my best chance to defeat Myrddin and save my aunt.

27

BACK AT MY APARTMENT, TINA WASN’T IN THE LIVING ROOM. The TV was off, and the empty ice cream container sat on the coffee table. A trail of candy wrappers led down the hallway toward my bedroom. Tina’s laugh, never what you’d call subtle, boomed from that direction.

I threw my jacket on the sofa. What the hell was Tina thinking? One thing I had asked of her. One. Let Mab rest. And there she was, in the bedroom, bothering my aunt. As I stormed down the hallway, Kane slunk off in the other direction, into the kitchen. I couldn’t say whether he was avoiding my scowl or Tina’s “nice doggie” routine. Either way, I couldn’t blame him.

Outside my bedroom, I paused to take three deep breaths. Calm. I had to stay calm and reasonable for my aunt’s sake. No point in upsetting Mab because I was annoyed with Tina. One more deep breath and I stepped through the doorway.

Tina sat on the edge of my bed, one leg tucked under her, facing Mab, who sat propped up against the pillows. I flung a peeved glance at Tina. “How about you let me talk to my aunt?”

Tina stood up slowly and stretched like a cat. Well, stiffer than that—a zombie cat. I had to squeeze past her to get near Mab.

My aunt didn’t look any better. A little more rested, maybe, but so old and ill. Her hands, folded on top of the sheet, were rough and crisscrossed with veins. Those hands had always been so strong, able to deal any problem, from treating scrapes and bruises to fighting off Hellions. Now they were frail and trembling. It was hard to imagine them lifting a cup of tea.

I sat where Tina had been and patted Mab’s hands. They were cold. “How are you feeling? Are you warm enough?”

“Don’t talk to me as though I’m an invalid, child.” Coming from Mab, the quavering voice still managed to sound sharp.

Behind me, Tina brayed a laugh. I turned around to tell her off at the same time Mab said, “Be respectful, young lady.”

“Sorry,” Tina mumbled at the floor.

“Wait for me in the living room,” I said, pointing. “I’ll be there in a minute. I want to speak to you before you go.”

Tina gave a sulky nod and stepped into the hall. But she turned around immediately. “It was nice talking with you,” she said to Mab.

Mab nodded regally.

“And . . . you won’t forget?”

“I’ll not forget. But you have some things to remember as well, do you not?”

Tina’s eyes flicked to me, then away. She bit her lip and nodded. Then she turned and fled down the hall.

“That young lady—” Mab began.

“I’m sorry she was in here bothering you. But I don’t want to talk about Tina right now. I want to talk about you.” I caught her hands and held them between mine, warming them.

“I’m as well as can be expected under the circumstances. Rest did help. But unless the bloodstone is returned to me, I shall continue to age at an accelerated rate.” She spoke matter-of-factly, as if commenting on the weather. But that was Mab. No matter how bad the situation, she always cut through emotional distractions to focus on the practical. “So tell me, child, what have you learned?”

“We didn’t find the bloodstone.”

“I assumed as much. If you had, I’d have felt it.”

I briefed her on what Kane and I had learned. Since that was virtually nothing, it didn’t take long. But as I spoke, I had an idea. “Can you use your connection with the bloodstone to locate the safe house?”

Mab shook her head. “Myrddin has cloaked it. Its whereabouts are as much a mystery to me as they are to you.”

“How can we get it back?”

“I’m not happy with your plan to put yourself at risk to draw Myrddin out. Let’s be up front about that. But I can’t see any alternative. Myrddin intends, I believe, to pour your life force into Pryce and then shut me away forever, suffering from the knowledge of your fate.” Her cloudy eyes looked down at our joined hands. “So there’s one piece of good news, at least.”

I attempted a smile. “I think your definition of ‘good news’ must be different from mine.”

“We’ve time to plan, child. My body is giving out, but my mind is keen. Now, let me think, and then we’ll discuss strategy.” She drew her hands away. Three quick pats on my arm let me know I was dismissed.

The bed shifted as I stood. When I was at the doorway Mab said, eyes still closed, “By the way, I told Tina you’d most likely let her keep Russom’s a bit longer.”

“You did? Why?”

“She’s adequate on her overview of the Inimicus genus but needs to spend more time on the characteristics of individual species. If the child wishes to study demonology on her own time, surely you can allow her to borrow a text that would otherwise only gather dust on your bookshelf.”

I opened my mouth to respond, then decided not to bother. I wasn’t going to argue with Mab about anything right now, least of all Tina. And really, I thought as I pulled the door shut, Mab was right. What harm could it do to let Tina keep Russom’s? As long as she understood that borrowing the book didn’t mean she was still my apprentice, I had no problem with it.

Something looked different as I walked down the hallway back to the living room. As soon as I saw Tina holding a trash bag, I realized what it was.

“You’re cleaning up.” The words sounded strange, directed as they were at Tina.

“Yeah. Your aunt said I should. She was all about how an orderly environment is important.”

That did sound like Mab. If she could get Tina to pick up after herself, she was stronger than I was, even in her weakened state.

I put out my hand for the bag. “Here, give me that. I’ll take care of it.”

Tina handed it over, her eyes thoughtful. “What’s wrong with your aunt? The last time I saw her, she didn’t look so . . . I mean, I knew she was old and all. That’s how she got all that awesome demon-fighting experience. But she didn’t look old old. How sick is she?”

“She’ll be better in a couple of days.” I’d make sure of that.

“Whew, that’s good. ’Cause I thought she looked like . . . I don’t know, like she was about to die any minute or something. She didn’t sound that way, though. Um . . .” Tina ground the toe of her boot into the carpet. “Did she say anything about me?”

“Right now, Mab and I have other things to talk about.”

“Oh. Sure. I guess you do. I mean, she’s visiting from another country and all.” Tina picked up a discarded pizza box. I held open the trash bag, and she dropped it in. “Well, I guess I’d better get home. I have to clean my room??that whole orderly environment thing.”

Making Tina’s home environment orderly would probably require a bulldozer and a hazmat team, but if the kid wanted to clean her room, good. It would keep her out of trouble for a month or two.

“Where’s Killer?” she asked, looking around. “I want to say good-bye to him.”