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twenty-one
Cold fingers slapped my cheek. When I snarled, they slapped me again, hard enough to bring tears to my eyes, and I jolted awake to find myself staring at Sierra. Severin stood at the door.
"Nice choice," she said, waving to the room. "I was thinking you seemed ready to sit down in that big, open parking lot, and that really wasn't suitable at all." She bent in front of me. "You aren't nearly as good at hiding as you think. Not enough practice at it, I think. Normally, you can rely on your spells but . . . they aren't quite up to snuff these days, are they? And it isn't the poison."
I tried to hide my reaction, but her laugh told me I failed. She glanced at her brother.
"Yeah, yeah," Severin said. "I owe you a hundred bucks."
She turned back to me. "See, we'd heard that rumor from a source. But you know demons. Notoriously unreliable. Which is why we weren't taking any chances."
"If you're waiting for my friends to show up, you'll be waiting a long time," I said. "I figured you'd let me escape so I could lure them in. So I haven't contacted them."
"Maybe not, but you have contacted someone." She waggled my cell phone. "Don't worry, I won't ask who. Not interested. We know where your pals are--holed up under maximum Cabal security in Miami."
"Right, which is why you are trying to lure them out."
She bent again. "Got it all figured out, haven't you? You think Giles and his bunch let you go in hopes your friends would send help, preferably a werewolf or Hope Adams." She straightened and turned to Severin. "Good plan, huh? Kinda genius in an underhanded way."
"Which is why you can be damned sure Giles never thought of it," Severin said.
They both laughed. I thought back to my escape. Who'd tied me up? Severin. Who'd locked the door? Severin. Who'd stopped for gas and not bothered to check on me? Severin.
"They didn't set me free," I said. "You did."
"Yes, we let you go. This is just a little session to negotiate our reward. Well, not really negotiate. Demand, actually. Either you pay up . . ." She lifted her fingers. They frosted over. "Everyone says it's a party-trick power. What's it good for, other than chilling beer cans fast? Thing is, they lack imagination. There's a lot of things you can do with ice. Nasty things. Painful things."
"What do you want?"
"To join your team. Help y
ou."
Now it was my turn to laugh. They waited patiently until I was done.
"Seriously?" I said. "If this is Giles's backup idea for planting a spy in the enemy ranks, then he really isn't very good at the underhanded stuff. So, what's your story? Let me guess. You've been having doubts. Wondering if exposure is really such a good idea. Now you've met me and you've seen the light. You want to switch sides."
"We don't have doubts," Sierra said.
"Ever," Severin added.
"What we do have is ambition. You're about to be made a very generous offer, Savannah. One that will put you in a position"-- Sierra's lips pursed--"a position we don't think you're ready to undertake. Not alone, anyway. You need help. Our help."
"So you're threatening me with torture because you want to team up with me?" I sighed. "Okay, look, obviously you guys skipped preschool and missed out on all the lessons about making friends. Let me give you a few pointers--"
Sierra laid a finger on my arm. A shot of icy agony had me howling in shock and pain. "You have no idea what we're bringing to the table, little girl," she said. "No fucking idea."
"Okay." I struggled to keep my voice calm. "Why don't you tell me?"
She eased back and peered at me, jaw set in a way that said she didn't think I deserved a response. Not yet.
She touched my arm again, in the same spot. Pain shot through it, and I choked on a scream. When she withdrew her finger, she'd left a patch of white skin.
"Ice is a nasty thing," she said. "Much worse than fire if you do it right. Localized freezing. That's the key." She stroked the back of my hand. "You have very pretty fingers, Savannah."
I remembered Walter Alston's fingers lined up on the desk. I yanked my gaze away before she could see my reaction.
Severin was drawing a chalk circle on the floor.
