“Sisters, it’s started,” she said.
Her words had an immediate reaction in the Sisters, who stiffened and some even had tears silently coursing down their cheeks.
“The time has come to choose a side,” she said.
“Are you sure?” one of them asked.
“The vision was clear. The Crimson Fiend has returned and is not alone. We must decide how to proceed. I ask all of you to spend time meditating. Once a side is chosen, there is no going back. We stay the course.”
“At the heart of it is the shadow collective. And there is so much darkness, but as you know, it doesn’t mean evil or bad. It’s a balance to the light.”
We needed to get out of here before they started leaving or noticed us. That was gonna be tricky. Lochlan took my hand and pulled me to him. It felt nice holding his hand.
“What are you doing?” I hissed.
He leaned down and whispered into my ear, “Remember the time in the Mage Guild Headquarters?”
I sure did. He made us invisible, but we nearly got caught spying on the Guild Master. And, how Lochlan blackmailed me into going on a date with him. What would he want this time?
He pulled me close. Electricity danced across my skin from either the magic of his spell or being near him. We’d have to maintain skin-to-skin contact or it would break the spell. Lochlan smiled. Stupid fae was enjoying this a little too much.
We crept out of the chamber and back to the waiting room. I quickly dropped his hand, but he smirked seeing my reaction.
“Too much for you, Marty?”
“Not at all. What do I owe you?”
“Who said you owe me anything?”
“Are you saying you did the invisibility trick with no hidden intentions?”
“You wound me.”
Muffin got up and stood in the doorway. Looks like we’d have company soon.
“We can talk about this later,” said Lochlan.
I’m sure we would. The sneaky fae always managed to work things to his benefit. It impressed me as much as it bothered me. And, if I was being honest with myself, Lochlan was honorable. As much as I wanted him to be a jerk and find him less appealing, I couldn’t.
Cassandra walked in, leaning on the arms of two of the Sisters, who helped her to the chaise.
“What did you find out?” I asked.
“The vision wasn’t clear, I’m afraid. As I told you last time, this isn’t an exact science, it’s open to interpretation. I would avoid the shadow man. No good can come from that one. Anyone that can control the servitors is a dangerous and potentially deadly person. And, I received nothing about the identity of the shadow man.”
“So, you can’t help us with anything to do with the shadow man?” asked Lochlan.
I was furious. She’s lying and we both knew it. Although, accusing her of being dishonest would be stupid. Let her think we were clueless. We’d chat with the others when we got back. This must tie into what Garen read in the Book of Shadows.
“If that changes, can you please contact us at the Wolf Agency?” asked Lochlan.
“I’ll send word should I have any visions about this,” said Cassandra. “Oh, and trust in your companion Marty. He’ll protect you.”
Lochlan beamed. Great, an ego boost for an already too inflated ego.
“You’ll take care of her, won’t you Ebony, err, Muffin,” she said.
Lochlan looked disappointed when he realized she spoke of the protection Muffin would give me and not him.
We needed to investigate the Sisters. They were up to their neck in secrets and schemes. From forbidden alliances to lying about visions and some sort of major event.
21
From the Sisterhood, we went back to the Wolf Agency. Lochlan naively assumed I was done for the day.
Once he realized I was dumping him off, he wasn’t thrilled and that was putting it mildly. A small part of me felt bad, but not nearly bad enough to let him tag along with me.
I didn’t need him to baby me through vampire interviews. And, if what Xavier said was true about my blood, then I’d be a repellant to any vampires – keeping me bite-free.
I drove through Uptown and passed the Mage Guild Headquarters. I gave it the finger on my drive by. Stuck up pricks. Muffin leaned against my arm, which made it harder to drive, but I didn’t care. I petted his soft fur, which reminded me of a pelt – all smooth and velvety.
Not long past my least favorite guild, Xavier’s residence came into view. The mansion extended across the entire side of a city block. It was a disgusting display of wealth and privilege. It was one of the largest places in the city.
Xavier had the distinction of having one of the most powerful and strongest vampire covens. So, when he said he had a lot of enemies, he was speaking the truth. He ruled this coven through sheer strength, a benefit to his extreme age. Xavier was at least several centuries old, or even millennium old.
I knocked on the double doors and liveried servants opened it.
“Miss Martin?”
“Yep, that’s me.”
“We’ve been expecting you. Please follow me,” said one of the men. He stopped suddenly and I nearly slammed into his backside.
“Oh, how remiss of me. Please leave your weapons with us and no animals inside the mansion.”
“I’ll leave my weapons, but the dog stays with me. He’s my support animal.”
“You have a devil dog for a support animal?”
“Sure, why not? People use hedgehogs, unicorns, horses, rabbits, so why not a devil dog?”
“Indeed.”
“Xavier is obviously expecting me. Are you going to let me in or come up with a darn good excuse for why I didn’t do the job he hired me for?”
“Very well, but at the first sign that the animal isn’t behaving, you and it have to leave.”
“I can manage my dog, thanks. And his name is Muffin.”
The man’s lip curled up and his eyes widened.
I felt the need to explain, “He came
