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Tucking it away in a desk drawer, I stared at myself in the mirror. I looked haggard. My wolf growled and I gently rubbed across it, sending soothing thoughts to Grieve. Thank the gods that Anadey hadn’t been able to complete her spell or I’d be dead.
With that thought, I took a quick shower, dressed, and ran down the stairs. As I shot into the kitchen, I skidded to a halt. Everybody was gathered around the kitchen table: Rhia, Leo, Kaylin, Chatter, and Peyton. They all looked up at me, as if expecting a thundercloud to break.
“What? What’s going on?”
“How are you doing?” Rhia looked uncomfortable.
I shrugged. “Fine, I guess. I feel a bit discombobulated, but it was probably just Anadey’s magic. It’s different than my own.”
“Did you want to go dreamwalking at Geoffrey’s today?” Kaylin gave me a long look, speculative, and I realized he didn’t believe me.
With a shake of the head, I let out a short sigh. “No, there’s too much at stake for us to chance it right now.” Before anybody could say anything, I turned to Peyton. “We’d better make sure the parlor and waiting room are clean. Our ad hit the paper this morning and my guess is that we’re going to have a busy day.”
At least, I prayed it would be a busy day—that way I wouldn’t have time to think. I wolfed down my breakfast, waffles and eggs and bacon, without looking up at the others, even though I was all too aware of their attention focused on me.
“But I thought you needed to get the antidote as soon as possible?” Rhia asked slowly.
“I’ve decided to wait—just not a good idea. Leo was right.” I looked up at him, a faint smile on my face. “It’s too dangerous.”
“The day I’m right around you women is the day hell freezes over,” Leo said. He glanced out the window. “And it looks like it has. I’d better get back outside to shovel the walks again. I feel like crap, but it has to be done.”
“Let me do it,” I said. “I need the exercise.” Truth was, I just wanted to be alone for a while. “Peyton, would you mind watching over the fort? Call me if anybody comes in and I’m still on shovel detail.”
“All right,” she said, frowning. “Cicely . . . are you sure you’re all right?”
I nodded, vigorously, forcing a smile to my lips. “Yeah, I’m fine. Good breakfast. Thanks to the cook.” As I pushed myself to my feet, I noticed Leo watching me, a thoughtful look on his face. I engaged his stare, feeling altogether too hostile, then turned away.
Grabbing the snow shovel, I headed out the front door. The cold took my breath away, but I cautiously began scraping the snow off the steps leading to the walk, making sure to scatter rock salt to melt the underlying ice.
Myst’s winter had hit and hit hard. A good two feet of snow blanketed the front yard, but where we were shoveling the walk, we’d built snow banks over three feet high. I slid the edge of the shovel under the layer of white and began to scoop it away. Too bad we didn’t have a damned snowblower, I thought. I should ask Regina for one. She’d probably buy it for us.
As I scooped shovelful after shovelful of snow away and tossed it on the ever-growing pile, I began to calm down. Breakfast had been difficult, but this was no different from the scams we’d run on the men Krystal attracted. All it came down to was playing a part. And I’d developed into a pretty good actress over the years. I’d had to learn—that was how I won my 1966 Pontiac GTO in a game of street craps. Bravado and bluffing was what it was all about.
After a while, the cold settled into a gentle numbness and I worked silently, clearing the sidewalk. The sound of a car made me stop, and I leaned on the shovel, watching as a long black limo eased down the cul-de-sac. It crept toward me, and I waited, a tingling racing down my fingertips. As the limo stopped, easing into the driveway, I caught my breath. Myst’s people didn’t drive, as far as I knew—they hadn’t assimilated into society that far. Or at least I thought so. And it was daytime, so it couldn’t be the vampires.
The door opened and a lean, wiry woman stepped out of the car. She looked yummanii, but the sense of magic tingled around her. She was one of the magic-born. As she swept up the sidewalk I’d just cleared, I found myself tensing.
Watch what you say, watch what you do. Ulean’s warning came sharp and clear.
I gave a gentle nod.
“You are Cicely Waters?” The woman’s voice was husky. She wore an ankle-length dress, almost Victorian in nature but made from a warm purple jersey. Over the top, she was wearing a white fur coat, and her hands were swathed in ivory gloves made from brushed suede. And she was carrying a briefcase that looked like it had been fashioned in the early 1900s.
“Who wants to know?” I didn’t mean to be belligerent, but her nature put me off. She had a nosy energy about her, and my instinct was to head inside and lock the door. But she wasn’t vampire, she wasn’t Fae . . .
“I am not here to play games. I’m Ysandra Petros, from the Consortium, and you’d better answer me quickly if you have any wits about you.”
Oh crap. The Consortium. Had they gotten wind of Myst? Geoffrey’s warnings came rushing back as a swell of panic rose up. I had to get her inside. We couldn’t chance her sensing something from the Golden Wood.
“Come in. Yes, I’m Cicely. Please, let’s get out of the cold.” I hastened her inside and showed her into the living room—the parlor now being a place of business. “I’ll be right back. Would you like some tea?” Without waiting for a yes or no, I hurried into the kitchen, yanking off my coat and gloves and tossing them on the table. A spark of good luck: Everybody was still gathered around the kitchen table eating.
“Trouble with a capital T. We have a member of the Consortium out there. Chatter, don’t you dare come out. I’ll handle this—we have to hustle her out before she finds out about Myst. Geoffrey warned me about the Consortium and on this, I trust him fully.”
The color drained out of Rhiannon’s face, and both Peyton and Leo let out little gasps. Chatter frowned, but said nothing, and Kaylin sat there with a smirk on his face. He slowly pushed himself to his feet.
“I can be useful in this matter,” he said.
“Are you insane? You’re bound to a demon. Doesn’t the Consortium feel it necessary to bind demons or something like that?” I stared at him, wondering if he’d gone bonkers.
