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That was when the whole section clicked quietly and opened, revealing a hidden door.
Shit. I’d been hoping this was the house’s way of helping a sister out. Up until this moment, I’d kind of thought the house was tired of watching us fumble and was simply leading me to the book I needed.
This was a whole room, and even with my powers bound, I could feel the magic coming from it.
I didn’t want to go in. If I went in, things would change again.
I forced myself through because I wanted this change. I wanted out. I wanted to be free.
I stepped through the doorway and felt the moment I passed through the magical wall that separated these spaces.
This place was out of synch with the rest of the house. It existed in space that both was and wasn’t part of the house. I would bet there was another door that led off this plane. This was a senior witch’s sacred space.
I looked up in wonder at the vast array of ingredients this witch had acquired. She had bottles and jars that lined the floor-to-ceiling cases. And books. Oh, these were books I was interested in.
But then I caught sight of the big book in the center of the room. It was closed and on a lectern.
A grimoire.
There is nothing more sacred to a witch than her grimoire. It’s the place she records everything she has learned. All her spells and curses and bindings. All her tonics and tinctures. A witch puts her soul in a grimoire.
I used to have one. My mom gave it to me when I was figuring out what I was. She’d found it online. It wasn’t like the one in front of me. Mine had been new, but my mom told me one day I would find the person worthy of my knowledge. She’d promised one day I would give it to my own daughter.
Myrddin took it from me. He burned it as I stood there.
When you’re good enough, you’ll have a real one.
I hadn’t even been worthy of a grimoire. He didn’t think I was smart enough to have one. Why would he hold me above others? Why make me Profane?
“I’ve been wanting to talk to you,” a soft voice said.
I started and turned, my heart racing. “Who are you?”
If this was a trap, I likely was about to die.
A woman stepped from behind the thick red curtain that separated the room from whatever connected to it. She was roughly five-five with flowing golden hair and the slightest glow about her. “I am the House Sloane and the House Sloane is me. Think of me as a physical manifestation of the house. Once I was an earthbound witch. I was taken into the House of Sloane many years ago, and I bonded with the house itself.”
There were so many things that were wrong with the Hell plane. “And you wanted to talk?”
“I definitely wanted to meet you.”
Was she under a mistaken impression? “You do realize I’m not Lady Sloane.”
“Oh, goddess, of course I do. Lady Sloane has the heart of a wolf, and something like the brain of one as well. I can’t actually communicate with her. Besides, she’s not the one I wanted to talk to. I felt your presence the instant you appeared on the plane.” She walked up to me, her unlined face frowning as she reached up and touched the collar that bound my magic. “Even in spite of this, I felt you. The power you must have when you’re not chained up like a dog.”
“Can you help me get it off?” She had some serious power, too. If she could break the binding spell, I could waltz right out of here. I could use my powers to transport Dean with me, and Myrddin could save his son.
She appeared to examine it for a moment. “I’ll have to think about it. It’s well done, and it’s perfectly Earth magic. Not a hint of Hell influence. That makes it harder for me. Though I was born to an Earth plane coven, my powers now are exclusively touched by this plane.”
So she was of no use to me. “All right, if you weren’t planning on rescuing me, why did you bring me here?”
“Can’t the physical manifestation of a mansion get lonely sometimes? You’re the only one who can feel me. Oh, I can influence the others, but you I can truly communicate with.” She wore a flowy purple gown that skimmed her delicate figure. She was slender and petite, and I wondered if she weighed a hundred pounds. Most of her weight would be hair.
I was deeply disappointed she wasn’t offering me anything of interest. She’d spent the entire day shoving me at Casey and then splitting me off from Casey and bringing me up here, and for what?
“You won’t be lonely soon because there is a vampire downstairs who will find his way up here.” If only Casey had been so concerned about me twelve years before. If only he’d been willing to fight to get me out.
She didn’t seem worried. “I doubt it. Even if he did, the door is closed. He won’t be able to find you.”
