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She folded the cloth and placed it on the arm of the chair, then put one hand on each of my knees and squeezed them, too hard for me to mistake it as a gesture of comfort. My restless bouncing ceased immediately, and the words I’d been spewing turned into a raspy sigh. I really looked at her for the first time since I’d arrived.
In another lifetime, Calliope had been Marilyn Monroe, but it was hard to think of them as the same person. She still had the wide-eyed youthful innocence in her appearance, but her hair was ink black and she radiated power and intelligence instead of charming naïveté. Today she seemed tired, and there was a weary strain around her eyes. Once she was seated on the arm of the chair, she started stroking my hair, and I realized she hadn’t spoken since I’d gotten here except for when she made me sit. Not that I’d given her a chance to get a word in edgewise.
“Do you know what she was?” Calliope asked, like she’d read my mind.
“Creepy.”
“Aside from that.”
“No, I was hoping you might have some insight.”
“Do you have anything to go on other than average looking and glowing eyes?”
“I think I said dowdy.”
Calliope arched a brow at me and tugged one of my curls. It reminded me of something Sig might do to bring me back to the topic at hand. She wouldn’t appreciate being compared to her ex-lover, so I buried the thought.
I touched the cut on my forehead which had already scabbed over. The tissue was tender, but it would be completely healed in an hour or so.
“No,” I replied at last. “I don’t have anything.”
“Could be a fire fae. Or a spirit-possessed human. Half-demon perhaps. There are any number of things. She could have been a witch, even. Some spells have physical manifestations.”
Making a mental note to ask Grandmere if she knew any spells that would give the caster ember eyes, I shifted the subject radically.
“I need to ask you something.”
“Mmm?”
“How much do you know about the Tribunal?”
Her whole body went still, and her tone was cold when she asked, “Why?”
“It’s not about… It’s just… I think I’m changing.”
“Changing?”
“Lately I’ve found it’s getting harder and harder to calm the urge to feed on humans.” I watched her closely, trying to see if her demeanor would change after the confession.
“Are you worried you wouldn’t be able to control yourself?”
“No.”
“Then feed on humans. What’s the issue?”
I suppose it was foolish to think Calliope would understand my hesitation. After all, she fed on virgin blood and aura energy. Taking sustenance from humans made sense to her because it was how she survived. It was a way of life for the vampires as well. I think only the wolves could relate to my squeamishness, and that was because they still associated themselves with humanity.
“I can’t.”
“It’s natural enough.”
I gritted my teeth and shook my head. “No.”
When I looked back over, she was staring at me intently. “You’re afraid.” Her gaze bore into me, making me shiver in spite of the roaring fire across the room. “The power of the Tribunal frightens you because you aren’t sure you want to give yourself over to their world.”
Well, there was no sense in arguing with an Oracle, especially since she was always right.
“Yes.”
