Vicious Circle

My phone rang. I slid from the seat with coffee mug in hand and went to answer it, fearing it would be the errand boy confirming a time for pickup. The voice on the other end of the line wasn’t one I’d expected. “Hey, Seph. You’re never going to guess what I’m calling about.”

It was Jimmy Martin, my contact at the syndicate that had agreed to try to sell my column. Suddenly, I wondered if he was the errand boy, if he had ties to Menessos, if—wait. He sounded happy; he’d never sounded happy. “What’s up?”

“I just got word that your column has been picked up for syndication by ten major newspapers, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the LA Times, and the Mi

I felt a cold shiver go through me. “That’s…that’s great, Jimmy.”

“Oh, yeah, and there was a message, too. Where’d it go?”

“Message?”

“Yeah. Here it is. Says, ‘You have nothing to fear.’ Cryptic, huh? Like a fortune cookie or something. Just don’t start thinking you’re set, hotshot. Not yet. You do this right, and you can write your own ticket to television. Columns can turn into news segments and then into half-hour shows. And you don’t even blog! This is crazy…”

Nothing to fear. Nothing to fear. “That’s great, Jimmy.”

“You don’t sound too happy about it.”

“No, I am. I am. Just surprised. Stu

“Oh, sorry. Go share your good news. I got to get back to work myself. Bye.”

“Bye.” I clicked the button on the receiver, but kept hold of it.

Nothing to fear. That was what I’d told Menessos. What was that obviously well-co

I hung the phone up. Through the window, I saw Joh

That ache remained with me; I was aware of it most when nothing else was distracting me from it. Then Joh

“Joh

“Yeah.”

“I just got an interesting phone call from my syndicate.”

That surprised him enough that he faced me. “What about?”

“Seems my column was just picked up by most every major newspaper in the U.S.”

One brow arched. “Fu

“Yeah. The news came to him with a note for me. Said, ‘You have nothing to fear.’ That’s what I told Menessos: if he helped me with Theo, he’d have nothing to fear because I’d give him Vivian, the book, and the stake.”

At the mention of the stake, Joh

“He’s telling me the rewards for turning over the stake and forgetting about him will be better than trying anything stupid.”

“It’s an intimidation tactic.”

“I agree. He could pull the plug on my whole career, and I can’t afford that with Nana and Beverley to support now. I bet Goliath made sure to point that out to him and…” I left the argument there. “I just know that we have to give him the stake.”

“Maybe the stain is influencing you to that end.”

I clamped my jaw shut. Could it be? Maybe, but I’d intended to keep my word from the start. “Can’t you just trust me on this?”

“I trust you. I don’t trust him.”

I let my head tip forward and stared at my feet. “I admit I don’t know much about vampires. Can you tell me something that will convince me? I mean, why are you so adamantly against trusting him?” I paused. “Is it because he kissed me?”

“I think the better question would be: Does that kiss have anything to do with why you want to…comply?”

What was I supposed to say? I’d brought it up. “He made a blood oath on the steps, he hurt no one, and—”

“Hurt no one?” Joh

He released me and turned away.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I was very wrong. Menessos did hurt someone: he hurt you.” I half expected Joh

“The Lustrata.” He turned back. “Controlling you would be a very beneficial arrangement.”

That sounded horrible. But I wasn’t convinced I was what he and Nana seemed to want me to be. “Does he know that you guys think that’s what I am?”

“Say it! Say the word. Stop tiptoeing around it.”

“Do you think he knows that you guys think I’m…the Lustrata?”

Joh

Joh

“I don’t know.” He turned away and ran a hand through his hair. “If he doesn’t, then it’s something you need to hide from him. But with the mark, I don’t know how or even if you’ll be able to do that.”

“Vivian knew. I’m sure she’s told him. And, Joh

We stood there, warmed by the sunlight and cooled by the breeze, for a long time, silent, side by side. I didn’t want to go back into the house. I wanted to run into the field and just keep ru

Beverley bounded up between us. “Demeter sent me out,” she said. “She wants to talk to you, Joh

He looked askance at me.

I said, “I’m not the only one who doesn’t want to be more than they appear, am I?”

Joh

Chapter 26

The living room seemed dark after our time in the sunshine, and my eyes adjusted slowly. I’d held back in the kitchen, but Joh

Nana sat to one side of the couch and indicated the other end to Joh

I sat on the floor opposite them. The cards were upside down to me, but I knew them well enough that it made no difference. Nana’s deck was pretty, but worn.

“In light of everything that’s happened, I thought doing a reading might give me some insight. I didn’t get answers, but it seems very clear this reading is about you, Joh

“Nope.”

Nana gestured over the cards spread across a Tarot cloth on my coffee table. “This is a Celtic Cross spread. The first position represents you. As you can see, the card is the King of Cups.” She lifted the card and handed it to Joh