“You were both tired,” the vampire reasoned. “There was no reason to wake you.”
“Yeah there was. We need to make a battle plan or something.” My eyes opened and I glared at Akiva. “I get why Cian isn’t tired, since he’s a vampire, but why aren’t you?”
“Maybe I napped while you were over there snoring on Indra’s shoulder,” Akiva challenged.
“I don’t believe that.”
Akiva shrugged. “Chalk it up to my outstanding constitution, then.”
“So is it battle plan time?”
“We’re not leading an army to war,” the blonde pointed out. “I don’t think we need to summon the war council, but yes. There are some things we need to discuss.”
“Before dark?” I pressed. “What if they show up here? If they’re taking vervain, they can get right past Aveline’s wards.” And my magic.
“I doubt they’re going to come here and knock down the door.” Cian sounded certain. “They won’t take a fair fight with me.”
Was he really so powerful that he could be so sure?
“Why?” I pressed, wanting answers. “You’re just one vampire.”
Indra’s eyes opened and he studied Cian’s face as the vampire considered his response.
Cian hesitated, and Akiva answered instead. “You sell yourself short, do you not? And us. Lucia does not want to lose any of hers, you know, and she would in that kind of fight.”
That did not answer my question, and I filed my curiosity away for later.
“She’s a problem, though,” Indra said. “Even if she doesn’t want to fight you directly. She can keep us playing her games indefinitely with her power.”
“You said she can cast illusions?” I asked, remembering our conversation earlier.
“And her brother can make himself invisible,” Akiva grumbled. “It’s beyond irritating.”
“Two Empowered vampires?” Surprise colored my words. “Isn’t that really rare?” Normally vampires had no extra, special abilities, but sometimes they just inexplicably did. Those vampires were called the Empowered.
My eyes went to Cian. “What about you? Are you Empowered as well?”
He gazed at me, expression melting into pure innocence. “Don’t you think the odds of that are incredibly small?”
“What’s your power, then?”
“My personality.”
I was sure if I rolled my eyes any more forcefully, something would break.
“It’s pain,” he answered finally, a sigh leaving him after his words. “
“I’m sorry, pain?” I didn’t understand. “As in, you don’t feel any pain or can negate your own pain or-“
“I can cause others to feel pain.”
“Like voodoo?”
“I don’t play with dolls.”
“Pretty sure if any bokor heard you say that, you’d be the one in pain,” I said, sure he shouldn’t be insulting the magic of voodoo priests. “So try again. What do you mean cause others to feel pain?”
“I feel like it’s pretty self-explanatory. And you’ll be shocked to know it’s not popular at parties.”
“What kind of pain?”
Cian met my gaze. Even at my prodding, he still seemed amused. “You’re asking a lot of questions.”
“I’m curious. Is that a crime?”
“If you’re not careful it might be.”
“Can you do it?” I asked. “To me? Just a little.”
His eyebrows shot up. “No.”
“Just a little? I just want to know what it feels like.”
Akiva coughed into his hand to hide a laugh. “If you are trying to explore your masochistic side, I can do a much better job of assisting you,” the lich said.
“I’m not a masochist, just curious.”
Cian gazed at me, then heaved a sigh. “All right–“ He broke off when I stuck my hand out to him and looked down his nose at it. “I don’t need your hand.”
“What do you need, then?”
He smiled. “Nothing at all.” His eyes met mine and I dropped my hand, intrigued.
Then I felt it. Like a spark, somewhere in my brain, that was only barely there. Like the beginning of a headache or a sore throat. It was both of those, and more, but also…not.
“Is that it?” I asked, trying to trap the feeling but finding it fleeting and transient.
His brows rose and the dull ember of pain brightened very slightly. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he informed me. “If I do anymore, you’re not going to like it much.” The feeling vanished as if it had never been there at all. “It’s not something I’m going to demonstrate further.” His tone was final.
“How bad can you make it?” I blinked, not surprised when he didn’t immediately answer. “Like a headache or a broken arm–“
“George, if I wanted to, I could drive you out of your mind with agony. I could have you on this floor screaming for me to stop within two seconds. I could break Akiva’s arm and make you feel it instead of him. Is that a good enough answer for you?”
“No,” I smiled. “I’m going to need you to demonstrate breaking his arm for me.”
“Kinky,” Akiva smirked. “Let’s do it, Cian.”
“Anyway.” Cian looked between us, unwilling to humor our jokes. “We need a solution for their gifts. Lucia will see us coming from ten miles away, and we can’t walk into another trap of hers. Until we can have some protection against them, we’re dead in the water.”
“Undead,” Akiva and I said in unison.
Even Indra smiled, not bothering to hide his soft laugh when Cian glanced at him. “They’re funny.”
“Do you have any kitsune friends?” I asked, running my fingers over the edge of my blanket that still covered both Indra and me. “Couldn’t they just negate any kind of vampire illusion?” Kitsune were masters of illusion. I very much doubted even an empowered vampire, unless they were very old, could fool a fox.
“I’m not on speaking terms with any kitsune,” Cian admitted, looking to Akiva for his opinion.
The lich shook his head. “I’ve only met one or two. And they didn’t like either of you enough to come help us.”
What a shock.
“Well this is New Orleans,” I reasoned. “There has to be a kitsune or ten around here somewhere. I can try scrying for one.”
Cian grimaced lightly, his hand pausing in Indra’s hair. “I’m not sure that’s a great idea,” he
