Fatal Circle

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Joh

He pulled me away from Cammi and led me toward the back. People scurried to make way for us, well, for him. “Out,” he said to the few waeres milling around this room. He guided me near the door.

I stared through the glass, focusing on the mesh in the screen door. A loose weaving of wire. “And there she weaves by night and day a magic web.” I thought the lines from Te

My rage back in the bar, I realized, was my grief, my fear and loss and pain hunting for a way out. It couldn’t stay bottled inside, but I didn’t intend to give it a release through violence, either. Now, almost alone with Joh

“Red?”

“Yeah.” I returned from my weary, zoned-out state. Joh

“Don’t let her get to you.”

“It’s not her.” I clenched my jaw to steel myself.

He must’ve thought I was angry. “Hey, I’m glad you came back”—he tweaked my cheek—“but this isn’t the best place for you right now.”

“I know, but I had to come. I had to tell you.” You can say these words. You can do it without tears.

“Tell me what?”

I blurted, “Xerxadrea’s dead.”

“What?” His jaw dropped, then his arms encircled me.

Again, the tears threatened to come. Not here. The waerewolves would hear sobbing. They’d never respect sobbing. “After we buried Aquula, the fairies attacked.”

He jerked back and examined me again. “You’re all right?”

“I’m fine. I’m fine because Xerxadrea sacrificed herself.”

The tears won. I pressed my face into his naked chest and he held me so tight. I squeezed my reaction, being as silent as I could, telling myself this was just a little overflow. Let a little spill out and then I can seal them off again. That’s not all I need to tell him about.

A moment later, in his safe arms, I found the strength to staunch the waterworks, quashing tears down hard. On to the bigger thing we had to deal with. “Joh

“They mourned Ig for about a half an hour. That”—he gestured to the bar—“is a celebration of being the pack that can claim the Domn Lup.”

The drinking and dancing made more sense now. I nodded.

“I’ll come back to the haven as soon as I can, okay?”

There were so many other things I needed to tell him right now, but they would keep a little longer. I didn’t want to pass through the waerewolf throng again, so I reached for the knob of the back door. “I’ll go this way, and walk around.”

“I’d go with you but it’s cold and I don’t know where my jeans are. I’d be humiliated if you witnessed the inevitable shrinkage.”

I smiled and whispered, “Please, please, don’t ever change.”

Joh

When his tongue slipped to mine he tasted like something I couldn’t name, something oaky sweet, and when the kiss ended, his lips rose to my forehead. The tinglies subsided. “What’s that flavor?”

“Todd toasted me, opening Ig’s bottle of eighteen-year-old Laphroaig.”

“La-froyg?” I repeated.

“A single-malt scotch. Made on some island called Islay off of Scotland.”

Interesting. “Where is Todd?”

“Upstairs listening to Erik and Celia and Theo’s account of what you did to them, how they keep their man-minds.”

“Is it a good idea to let him know about that?”

“I think it’s something in our favor, something we can use in our pla

I squeezed him tight, then exited out the back door.

The party was still going full tilt with the vampires, Offerlings, and Beholders. We could hear it when we entered. Mountain was waiting for us to get back, sent to the ticket booth by Goliath. “After coming in with a broom,” Mountain reported, “he hurried off to question that guy with the daggers.” Mountain took Menessos and me the back way around, down the service elevator, and across the backstage area.

Menessos dismissed Mountain, then called my name. “Before you retire to your bed, would you please come with me?”

A nod was the best response I could muster. I was drained of energy, and filled with emotion. I needed to reverse that.

He opened his door; his room had been tidied and cleaned since we’d brought Aquula here. “Wait here.” He passed through that heavy, iron-studded door to his private room, and quickly returned with a small wrapped present. “It is traditional to give the Erus Veneficus a gift after the induction ceremony. Of course,” he said as his expression went sly, “that tradition dictates that the witch be bedded and her family taken hostage. She is to be given a ruby ring to remind her of the family blood that would be spilled if ever she disobeyed. I was certain you would object to such traditions, and I have no desire to put any of my people through the agony of holding your grandmother hostage again. I selected something more modern instead. I hope you will enjoy it.”

Curiosity piqued, I ripped into the paper and lifted the lid of the palm-sized box. What I saw was a sharp reminder that Xerxadrea was dead, that my protrepticus was useless, and that Samson was gone. “A cell phone?”

“This is actually more than a cell phone. It is co

Almost giving myself whiplash snapping my head up so fast, I started to ask but he answered my question before I could. “Yes. I thought after the ceremony you would want to speak with her. I had not guessed that so much would happen before I had the chance to present it to you.”

My finger poised, ready to hit the dial button, but in the corner the time read one-twelve. “She’ll be sleeping.”

“If my guess is correct, she’ll be sleeping with her phone right beside her.” He pushed hair back from my shoulder and neck, appraising the bite marks he’d made. “Take this to your chambers, call if you wish, but rest.”

“You’ll tell me what Goliath found out from the performer?”

Menessos sighed. “We removed weapons from two others at the door, and refused admittance to another we suspected. That was close.”

“Which of us was the target?”

“When I find out, I will let you know.”

With that, I left. If there was any doubt of my exhaustion, climbing the metal stairs confirmed it. My finger touched the send button of my phone before my chamber door had shut. Nana answered on the third ring. “Seph? Is that you?”

“Sorry it’s so late, Nana.”

“Forget the hour! Are you all right? I saw the news, I saw him bite you! Saw that scrawny blond vampire divert a blade—”