* * *
“Welcome to Shimmer, friends.” The bartender set two cocktail napkins on the bar, giving the newcomers a quick assessment. Suspicion flickered in his gaze.
Jaci forced her nerves to settle. She had every confidence in her glamour magic. The guy was just doing his job, checking out the unfamiliar faces, trying to decide whether they were friends or foe.
Nothing to worry about.
“What can I get for you?” His eyes were on Gabriel, the barest hint of a challenge in his tone.
Gabriel didn’t say a word.
“Not much of a talker, huh?” the bartender said.
“Go easy on my brother,” Jaci said with a smile. “Small words, no fast movements.” She leaned across the bar and tapped her temple, dropping her voice to a whisper she knew damn well Gabriel could still hear. “Too many hallucination potions in his formative years. Cooked up his brains like scrambled eggs.”
“I see.” The bartender laughed, his suspicious gaze warming a bit.
Next to her, Gabriel seethed, but didn’t deny the charge. That would require speaking, and he was too damned stubborn to cave in now.
She ordered him a vodka tonic, just to piss him off, then flashed another smile at the bartender.
“Reggie here is good with the VT, but I’m actually looking for some friends?” She retrieved the Lord of Scepters card from the front of her dress where she’d strategically stashed it. It was still warm from her body, and when the bartender took it between his fingers, his breath hitched.
A low growl rumbled in Gabriel’s chest, but he sipped his drink as if he weren’t paying them any attention.
The bartender handed the card back to her, then pointed toward the vast ocean-view windows stretching out behind them. “Follow the windows to the end. The third door on your left—that’s where you’ll find your friends.”
“Thank you.” She tucked the card back into her dress, winked at the bartender, then turned back to Gabriel. He circled her wrist with his fingers, his thumb brushing her skin.
“I’ve got a meeting,Reggie,” she said. “But I’ll be back before you know it. Be good, okay?” She stretched up on her toes and kissed his cheek, barely resisting the urge to pat his head.
Gabriel tightened his hold on her wrist, his whisper so soft she nearly missed it. “Watch yourself, witch. First sign of trouble, I’m taking you out of here.”
“Secondsign,” she whispered back. “The first sign will just be me, setting the mood.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“We’ve been expecting you, witch.” The hooded mage stood before the open door and bowed as if he’d been waiting for her. He didn’t even ask to see her card.
“You have?” Jaci asked, putting a little smolder into her voice. It was just as she’d hoped—the loose-lipped demon had already spread the word.
“The Dark Priestess granted us a shared vision. We saw your arrival some days ago.”
Dark Priestess? Shared vision?The scent of bullshit was so strong she nearly wrinkled her nose, but Jaci kept her smile firmly in place, nodding a silent acknowledgment as she followed him into the room.
It was nothing special—the kind of meeting room you’d expect in a hotel or restaurant, a long conference table at the center, a whiteboard on one end. Just beyond the uninspiring beige walls, the ocean roared against the shore, but unlike in the main room, there were no windows here to let in the stunning view.
Eleven mages sat around the table, not a witch among them. All of them wore the same black hooded robes, faces hidden mostly in shadow, only their grim mouths showing.
Jaci fought off a shiver. Cults always gave her the fucking creeps.
Two empty chairs waited at the head of the table, and the mage who’d met her at the door directed her to take one. He took the other.
No one spoke.
“So, um, hi. I’m… Demetria,” she said, blurting out the first name that came to mind. Sitting there among the somber hooded mages, she felt like an over-caffeinated bimbo in her red dress, her voice too high, her gestures too jittery.
So much for wise and experienced…
