AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“If you’re telling the truth, and you truly protected Maya from an abusive vampire then shielded her after you escaped the leech, you must have done something to turn her against you.”
“She’s a fool,” Tia snapped. “A weak fool.”
Peri made a strangled sound. “You have to be joking. Maya weak?”
Tia clicked her tongue with impatience at Peri’s blatant disbelief. “Not in magic.” The older woman touched the center of her chest, directly over her heart. “In here. She refused to make the hard choices to gain what we all desire.”
“And what do we all desire?”
“Power.”
Peri deliberately glanced around the office loaded with priceless artifacts. Although Maya refused to speak of Tia, there were plenty of mages willing to whisper that this mage possessed a terrifying amount of magic. And that she had acquired a fortune by using her gifts to manipulate both humans and demons.
“Judging from your massive castle, you seem to have plenty of power,” Peri said in dry tones.
A hard smile curved Tia’s lips. “For a mage.”
“What other power would you want?”
“I want what the Cabal has.” The dark eyes flared with a craving that stole Peri’s breath. This wasn’t ambition. This was a vast, roaring need that Peri suspected would destroy the world before it was sated. “I want mages to rule the Gyres.”
Peri frowned. Mages didn’t need the magic of the Gyre, but if they wanted to rule the demons, they’d have to take control of the enchanted lands.
“You intend to challenge a leech?”
Tia shrugged, her expression giving nothing away. “Let’s just say my ambition has never been small. Unlike Maya.”
Peri shook her head. It was no use pointing out that the Cabal would destroy her if she was foolish enough to battle for a Gyre. The woman had obviously allowed her hatred for vampires to send her over the edge of reason.
“Why are you telling me this?” she demanded.
Tia pursed her lips, but she allowed Peri to change the direction of the conversation.
“Do you remember when I came to your cute little coffee house?”
“Hard to forget. Your hissy fit cost us a thousand dollars to repair.”
She waved a dismissive hand. “I hoped we could have a private conversation, but of course, Maya rudely interrupted us.”
“Why would you want a conversation with me?”
Tia leaned forward, stabbing Peri with her dark, ruthless gaze. “Because you’re going to give me the power I need to rule the world.”
Chapter 14
Destiny wasn’t sure what woke her. Maybe the sound of voices outside the window. Or the thump of music from the room next door.
With a groan, she opened her eyes to discover she was still crouched in the bathtub with the dagger clutched in her hand. She groaned again as she crawled out of the tub and forced her cramped muscles to straighten until she was standing upright.
How long had she been asleep? She glanced toward the window where the sun was fading to a soft, peaceful glow. Night was swiftly approaching. It was time for her to go.
But where?
Slowly turning, she studied her reflection in the mirror. Her lips parted in shock. She barely recognized herself. Her golden hair hung in clumps around her pale face and her eyes were circled by dark shadows and sunken into her skull. She looked as bad as her coven. Like a mummy that’d been sucked dry. The only difference was her heart continued to beat.
At least for now,a voice whispered in the back of her mind.
The continued beating depended on avoiding the evil magic that was following her. But how? She’d hoped to return to her parents’ vacation home and forget everything about her life at Wisdom Ranch. But she was starting to fear that there was no way she could hide from the spell that Brenda had released into the world. Even assuming that she could reach the beach house before she was consumed.
