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“No, you won’t,”Astrid chuckled, not bothered in the slightest by Lottie’s actions or her words.
“Yes. I. Will.”
“Nope, you won’t, and ya’ know why?”
“Oh, please enlighten me, Queen on high of the Pain in the Asses in the whole wide world and then some.”
“Cause you lurve me, just like you lurve Donovan.”
“No, I do not, to either of those ludicrous statements. And furthermore…” Lottie ground out through gritted teeth.
But it was too late. Astrid had already slammed her mental shields into place, locked Lottie out, and was probably cackling like a loon at her own magical prowess.
Huffing out a long-suffering sigh, she met Jianna’s eyes a split-second before the Valkyrie snickered, “Trouble in Paradise?”
“Since when was my life ever Paradise?”
Spreading her arms open wide, her mom’s oldest and dearest friend cocked her head to the side, smiled, and winked. “Come on, let me give you one of my extra special hugs while you tell me all about it.”
Walking into the embrace of a woman she knew almost as well as she knew herself, the tension was draining out of her body, when Jianna chuckled, “And that was some fancy shootin’ there, Tex. I’ll let it go this time, but don’t make me take away your toys and put you in time out. We’ve got a strict ‘Do Not Harm’ policy here at Crimson Moon and that includes, nieces who are frustrated with their Mates.”
“But I’m not your niece,” Lottie teased, lifting her head off the Valkyrie’s shoulder. “Just a poor, little orphan with nowhere to go. Who’s…”
“As full of shit as the day is long,” Jianna snorted. “I’ve been your Auntie Ji since the day you came screaming into the world. But seriously, you can’t just go tossing that Dragon of yours around like a sack of potatoes. Merlin might just come unglued and hop a sunbeam back up here just to teach you a lesson. We both know how well he’s adapted to modern times, but that doesn’t mean he won’t resort to the old ways to make a point.”
“Being a movie star didn’t hurt to bring his ass roaring into the twenty-first century.”
“Nope, damned sure didn’t,” Jianna snickered. “Even so, he’s absolutely medieval about the rules. Don’t you remember?”
“Hell, yeah, I remember,” Lottie groused, her hand instantly rubbing her bum. “It was my ninth birthday and I had just turned Charlie Mitchell into a piglet because he said I had a booger hangin’ out of my nose. Which I did not, but that’s not the point.Wam-bang-sis-boom-bah, my ass was on fire and Merlin was by my side.”
Frowning at her friend with a sharp tilt of her head, she added with as much chagrin as she could shove into the words coming out of her mouth, “That Mate of yours whisked me in the house and up the stairs so fast my head was spinning, then spent the next hour-and-a-half explaining why we don’t use Magic for revenge. Worse. Birthday. Ever. And I’ve still got that damned scar on my ass. A crescent moon with the mane of a Sleipnir – wow, sexy, huh?”
Motioning a lift of her chin towards the mark below the Valkyrie’s right eye, she scoffed, “Couldn’t have something cool like your Wolf.”
“Never mind that,” Jianna brushed off. “Merlin was teaching you a lesson. One you still remember, right? That’s why you’re here? Not rip-tearing through the countryside, blowing shit up, and raising hell trying to find Vanessa and that halfwit of hers? That’s why you didn’t give that Dragon of yours a pig snout and curly tail, right?”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Lottie hastily agreed, stepping out of the Valkyrie’s embrace and reaching down to pet Ruin, the huge White Wolf that was Jianna’s Familiar.
Looking at her ‘adopted’ aunt, it was hard to believe how very long the Valkyrie had lived, the things she’d seen, the battles she’d fought, the souls she’d safely delivered to Valhalla – and other places not so nice. It was mind boggling to think about Jianna commanding a Wolf Army as they fought for Odin against the forces of evil in too many legendary battles to count.
“What’s that look for?”
“Just thinkin’ about you and mom and dad fighting the bad guys, trying to restore order to our world.” Fighting back the tears at the loss of her mom and her sister Witches and of the silver urn marked with the sigil of the Goddess Rhiannon that contained all that was left of the revered Priestess Margarite, she added, “Y’all were real warriors. Hell, even the ones you were fighting had scruples. There was a code of honor. Sure, they fucked up and did some really bad shit, but…”
Inhaling deeply, her hand fisting the thick fur at Ruin’s neck, seeking the comfort the White Wolf always offered, Lottie seethed, “They knew who to mess with and who to stay away from. Please explain to me why Vanessa did this to my Coven, my friends, my family,my mom. Tell me how she got past the most powerful wards created by the Priestess of the Guardians of Rhiannon.”
“I know Vanessa hated my mom and the other Elders for turning her away after she was thrown out of her family’s Coven. I remember that day all too well. How she stood out on the front porch screaming like a Banshee and vowing to make my mom pay. But killing her? Them? Everybody? No, wait – she didn’t just kill them, she slaughtered them? Is that revenge? No, I don’t think it is. I think she showed up all those years ago to try and get her hands on the Grimoire. I think she knew it was the only way she would ever have the kind of power she craved.”
Shaking her head, trying to control her temper, Lottie went on, “I could smell it almost a block away – Vanessa’s wimpy Magic with a twist of evil and a pound of malicious intent, but it took me seeing the damage, what was left of my – m-my p-people.”
Running her free hand through her hair, it took everything in her to get the last words out. “I t-touched the doorknob and… and I could see it all happening, in slow motion – an instant replay of the massacre of my Coven.”
Producing the papers Prue had printed out, she shoved them towards Jianna. Did she really make a deal with a sub-Prince of Hell? Did that bitch sell her soul then kill my mother to seal the deal?”
Taking the printouts, Jianna didn’t so much as glance down before sadly nodding, “That’s what we believe and why we…”
“Why am I the last to know?” Lottie shouted. “What is this? Keep the little girl in the dark? Handle it for her? She’s the Protector of the Coven of the Guardians of the Goddess in title only. We did it to make her feel important. Give her something to do. Don’t tell her any more than she needs to know? Do as you…”
