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“How did you know then? Technically.”
He shrugged, seeming unconcerned by my growing agitation. “We all have our little secrets, Sabina. I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.”
“Cut the shit,” I said, growing impatient. “Why are you still following me?”
“Like I told you, our family sent me to find you and make sure you’re safe. So, you gonna tell me why you went?”
I sat in the chair next to the table where Giguhl was now napping. “Oh, you know, just had a sudden hankering for some wine.”
“Right. And it just so happens the vineyard you visited is owned by the Dominae? Last I heard you weren’t exactly on their good side.”
“Weird, huh?” I said with a shrug.
“I’d say so.” He was playing along. “Sample anything good?”
“They have an amusing Shiraz you’d probably like. Although, it was a bit tannic for my taste.”
“Interesting.” He leaned forward, so his knees brushed mine. “Now are you going to cut the shit and tell me why you were really there?”
“No,” I said, pulling away. “That’s privileged information. If I told you, I’d have to kill you.”
“That would be a pity,” he said. “After all, if you kill me you’ll never get the answers you came to me for.”
I stopped, wondering if mind reading was one of his powers. He laughed then, “Mind reading isn’t one of my powers. I just figured this wasn’t a social call.”
I shifted in my seat, cursing myself for being so easy to read.
“Now that the witty banter portion of the evening is over, why don’t you tell me why you’re here?”
His posture was relaxed and his manner open, but I noticed a slight tension around his eyes. I felt a little tense myself as I tried to think of a way to question him about the missing mancies without his guessing the reason.
“Okay, so I’ve been thinking about what you said. Why would the Hekate Council send you now? I mean, I’m fifty-three years old. They’ve had plenty of time to track me down.”
He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. “Your existence was kept secret from us until recently.”
“Kept secret? By whom?”
“The elders of the Council knew, of course. However, it wasn’t until recent events that they felt the need to find you. They only entrusted the information to me and one other.”
A dozen questions popped into my head. I started at the top. “What recent events?”
He stood and started pacing as if the activity would help him gather his thoughts. “How much do you know about the Praescarium Lilitu?”
“That’s odd,” I said. “You’re the second being who’s mentioned it to me recently.”
“Who else mentioned it?”
Not wanting to explain why I’d gone to the occult shop, I shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. I always thought the prophecies were a myth.”
“Yes and no. No one’s ever seen them. They’re guarded by a secret sect.”
“The Caste of Nod?”
His eyes narrowed. “What do you know about them?”
“Nothing really. Like I said, I thought it was all a myth.”
“The Caste is über-secret and from what I hear they’ll do anything to keep it that way. As for the book, it’s rumored to be a collection of prophecies.”
“And?” I wasn’t impressed by his dramatics. So far, it sounded like Nostradamus-type shit.
“And,” he said, “Some of the prophecies have been coming true.”
“Wait, I thought you said no one’s ever seen them. How would anyone know if they’re coming true?
“Oral traditions exist among the spiritual leaders of the races, passed down from generation to generation. So some of the prophecies are known by each race’s leaders—more or less.”
I frowned remembering Grandmother’s dismissal when I’d mentioned the book to her. If Adam was telling the truth, surely she would have access to some of this information. Given recent revelations about the Dominae, I wouldn’t be surprised if Grandmother kept this secret, too.
“What kind of prophecies are we talking here?”
“Big stuff, like wars and the second coming of Lilith.”
“I see.” Obviously, Adam was a few drops short of a pint. I played along anyway. “And what has been happening?”
“Over the last couple of months, several mages have vanished.”
My stomach felt like it had been dropped off a ten-story building. “Vanished?”
“Gone. Poof. No one has heard from them and no bodies have been found,” he said. “There’s a vague prophecy the Council believes relates to their disappearance.”
My mind was too busy absorbing this information to respond. If the Hekate Council knew about the missing mancies, then there was no way I could let Adam find out about what was happening at the vineyard. He’d organize an army to storm the place. And the war would begin.
Adam was watching me, his manner wary, as if he expected me to launch out of my chair and disappear into the night.
“I know it sounds far-fetched, but that’s all I know.”
“I believe you, actually,” I said. If nothing else, his explanation proved he was indeed sent by the council. But their reason for sending him still confused me. “So what are you supposed to do?”
He came and sat across from me in the other chair. He looked at me over Giguhl’s sleeping form. “I’m supposed to find them, and I think you can help me do that.”
I blinked and looked away quickly.
“Sabina? What aren’t you telling me?”
Oh, shit. A flash of memory from earlier in the night came to me. A black-haired woman strapped down to a bed with tubes and wires sucking out her life force like bloodthirsty snakes. When I saw her, and the others, lying there, helpless, I’d felt the first stirring of … well, I guess one might call it conscience. But I couldn’t very well tell Adam all this. I would be causing a war just by saying the words.
“I know where they are,” I said.
His body jerked in shock, causing the table to rock. The movement startled Giguhl awake.
“Where are they? Tell me,” Adam demanded.
“I can’t,” I said.
He grabbed my hand and squeezed it, as if trying to force the truth from me. “Sabina, please.” The weight of my knowledge bore down on my shoulders, making them ache.
