a grotesque, dimpled bulge of flesh.
She raised her chin. Magic streamed from her. Her voice filled the dome, invaded my ears, penetrated my mind.
“We are the Oracle. We serve the covens. They rely on us for power, wisdom, and prophecy. We keep the peace. We keep them safe. Look to the walls. You will see our bodies there, buried, secure in the womb of the tortoise. Just as we turn to dust, we rise anew in young flesh, for when one of us Three dies, a child is born to take her place.”
Her gaze pierced me, her eyes radiant. Above her the three-armed Hekate towered, black on the gray wall. “We are the knife, the craft, and the torch that banishes the darkness.”
The crone was the knife, the knowledge had to be the mother-witch, and the torch stood in front of me. The torch that banishes the darkness…She was the one with the prophetic gift.
“I foresaw that someone would come. I didn’t know who it would be, but I foresaw the coming.”
She took a deep breath. “I’m dying. My body is full of tumors and neither magic nor medicine helps. I’m not afraid to die. When I do, within three years another witch oracle will be born to take my place. But she will take several years to blossom into her power. I’m too ill and Maria is too old.”
Within the next few years, the Oracle could be down to one witch. And could stay that way for about a decade, until the next witches revealed themselves. I looked to the mother for confirmation. She had put her hand over her mouth and was watching the maiden. Grief distorted her face.
“We aren’t trying to turn back nature. We cannot reverse Maria’s age. But there’s a way to cure me.” The maiden swayed. “There is a potion. My very last chance. The blood of Morrigan’s Hound heals all. You want to save a young girl? Here is your chance to save one. Save me. Bring me the blood and I’ll tell all you wish to know.”
The maiden fell back onto her couch. The mother rose and swaddled the maiden’s fragile body into the robes. The black silk, luxurious before, now gained the dreadful air of a funeral shroud.
“How much blood?” I asked.
The mother straightened, reached into her sleeve, and extracted a plastic blood collection tube. “This much. Press here and slide up. The needle will pop out. Once you draw blood, the needle will retract. Put the cap on right here and bring the whole thing back to us.” She sighed. “You must meet him in the mist. In Morrigan’s place. That’s where his blood is most potent. And another thing: the blood can’t be taken or bought with money or traded for favors. It must be freely given or it will lose its magic.”
How in the name of all that’s holy was I going to do that?
I walked to the platform and took the tube from her.
“How do I get into the mist?”
The mother reached to her knitting. “Nettle and Hound’s hair, knitted together. You know how to do a calling, don’t you?”
“Yes.” Where did she get his hair?
“You better,” she said. “Go now. Sienna needs to rest.”
I turned to see the red columns draining, revealing the vampire and the monster that once served as my sidekick. The ward circles shivered and vanished, and Derek padded to me, eyes alight with yellow fire.
Chapter 17
“Outrageous,” the vampire hissed.
“What would you have me do?” I stepped out onto Centennial Drive, shook twigs out of my hair, and headed across the street to the chicken joint. Normally I kept away from fried food, but today was different. I’d danced in the snow, crawled in tortoise spit, got locked up in glyphs, and I deserved some fried wings, damn it.
The vampire followed. The patrons eyed it with open suspicion but stayed where they were. Atlanteans for you. A walking undead, no big.
And then they saw Derek. Chairs scraped as a few moved out of the way.
“Derek, you want chicken?”
The bastard offspring of Dr. Moreau’s Dog-Man and the Hound of Baskervilles nodded.
“Hey!” A stocky laborer at the nearest table pointed a chicken drumstick at me. “Hey, what the fuck, huh? I can’t eat with them here!”
I gave him my hard stare. “I guess you won’t be needing your food then.”
That shut him up.
I pushed the twenty-dollar bill across the counter and scooped up my change and a basket of fried wings. I was so tired of being broke and hungry. At least for a moment I could be happy and full of chicken. I zeroed in on our horses, tethered back by the tunnel. We could eat on the go.
I dropped a handful of wings into Derek’s paw. He stuck one in his mouth and spat out clean bones.
The vampire scowled at me. “Not a single word of protest, Kate! Not one. You simply stood there. I had a certain expectation of cooperation.”
The urge to mouth off was almost too much. I squashed it. This was a professional disagreement. “Ghastek, correct me if I’m wrong, but the contract you and I both signed specified that I’m to disclose all of the information relevant to reeves, which I have done.”
“Kate…”
“May I finish, please?”
The vamp’s face stretched in confusion. Boy, I should be polite more often. “Yes.”
The magic fell. It crashed, gone so completely my heart skipped a beat. I caught my breath and drove on.
“You decided that the information was not substantial enough and requested to come with me for the sole purpose of learning more about reeves. You chose to interpret the contract that way, but that’s not the way it’s written. We both know that technically you don’t have any ground to stand on.”
“I beg to differ…”
“I agreed to your presence because I felt it was a fair request, not because I was bound by our agreement. I’m under no obligation to help you. Furthermore, please note that at no point did the contract specify that you or any other representative of the People became part of the Order’s investigation into the disappearance of Jessica Olsen. So far, you have done your best to impede this investigation by nearly sabotaging my rendezvous with the witches. As an Order representative, it’s my duty to advise you that further attempts to hinder the Order’s activities will
The vampire stared at me with an expression of utter shock on its face.
“Who are you?” Ghastek said finally. “And what have you done with Kate?”
“I’m the person whose job it is to settle disputes between the Order and the Guild. I have a lot of free time on my hands, and I spend this time reading the Order’s Charter and the Guild’s Manual. Would you prefer if I went back to my normal mode of conversation?”
“I think so.”
“You underestimated the witches, mouthed off, and got punked. Don’t come crying to me.”
I picked up a chicken wing. Food. Finally.
Derek snarled. It was a low snarl, a deep, threatening warning of barely contained violence.
I turned. Feet wide, back humped, he stood stiff, facing the wall of green that surrounded Centennial Park. His hackles rose, his black lips drew up revealing huge white fangs, and out came another growl. The hair on the back of my neck rose.
I set the wings on the curb and reached for Slayer. My fingers touched the leather of the saber’s hilt. Like a handshake with an old friend.
The vampire slunk low to the ground.
I surveyed the trees. From the massive roots to the tops, etched against the garish orange and gold of the sunset, the dense mass of green looked impenetrable.
