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Ancient meant that the magic was connected to demons. Or the Cabal. So how did a witch get ahold of it?
“Is it evil?” she asked.
“I can’t be sure, and until I am, I think we should keep the books in our ward safe.”
Peri nodded. There weren’t many things that frightened her. A fact that was a constant source of annoyance for Maya.
“Can you deal with them?” she asked the older woman. “I need to make a trip into the city.”
Maya settled on the corner of the desk, studying Peri with a curious gaze. “Does this have anything to do with Valen?”
Peri flinched at the unexpected question. She was trying to put the aggravating vampire out of her mind. Okay. It was a futile task. Even her dreams had been plagued with the image of his fiercely beautiful face and the icy brush of his power. But her pride demanded that she pretend to be impervious to the outrageously compelling male.
“Nothing I do has any connection to the leech.” She tossed her hair, which she’d left loose to tumble down her back. “In fact, I plan to go to great lengths to avoid crossing paths with him again.”
Maya pursed her lips. “I wonder if he feels the same?”
A treacherous tingle inched down her spine. Was that excitement? Peri sternly squashed the sensation.
“Vampires consider us food or slaves,” she said, as much to herself as to her companion. “They don’t have feelings for us lowly creatures.”
Maya straightened from the desk, her expression suddenly hard as she reached up to touch the scars that marred the side of her face. “Don’t dismiss his interest, Peri. There was a reason he was in Wyoming, and I don’t believe it was just to discover why the witches were dead. He would be a lethal opponent.”
Maya was right. Valen had a reason for being in Wyoming. It could have been that he feared the deaths were related to a rogue vampire. But that didn’t mean there wasn’t more to his arrival. Only a fool would underestimate one of the Cabal.
“He’s not an opponent, he’s a nuisance,” she insisted. “One I intend to avoid.”
Maya looked as if she wanted to press the issue, then, sensing Peri’s discomfort with the subject of Valen, she heaved a sigh.
“Why are you going into the city?”
Peri reached into the front pocket of her shorts to pull out the shard she’d discovered in the barn.
“I think this is a fragment from the statue my mother used as a focus for her spell. I want to know what the hell it is, where it came from, and if it caused the death of my coven.”
Maya was shaking her head before Peri stopped speaking. “It’s too dangerous. We have no idea how it will react to your magic.”
“That’s why I want to take it to the playroom,” Peri said, referring to the protected space owned by the fairy Aston. “Once I have it properly warded, then I can examine it without worrying about outside magic triggering the shard. Or anyone sensing that I’m investigating it.”
Maya wasn’t appeased. “Even with protections it’s still dangerous.”
“I’ll be careful, I promise.” Peri tucked the shard back into her pocket with a grimace. “I haven’t forgotten what happened to those women.”
Chapter 6
Leaving Penn Station, Peri used the subway to head to the Upper East Side. The neighborhood was quiet, as most residents retreated from the afternoon heat baking off the acres of cement. It was currently the temperature of a pizza oven. Peri grimaced, feeling her hair sticking to her nape as the humidity pressed against her.
Ah. Nothing like New York City in the summer.
Strolling through the maze of streets, Peri halted in front of a large, three-story brown house that spread the entire block.
The Warehouse was another property owned by Valen and managed by Aston Wellman. Unlike Neverland, however, it offered hush-hush entertainment. Peri had no idea what happened in the basement, or the other select areas of the club. They were specifically designed for the fetishes of various demons. Her interest was in the small room at the back of the building.
Climbing the steps, Peri pressed the button next to the heavy wooden door. Seconds later a voice drifted through the intercom.
“We’re not open.”
The male sounded bored, as if she’d interrupted his nap. And maybe she had. The Warehouse didn’t officially open for several hours. She’d heard rumors, however, that Aston lived on the upper floor. She wanted to catch him before he headed to one of the other nightclubs he managed.
