Chapters (50)
- Cover
- Roc Books by Jacqueline Carey
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-one
- Twenty-two
- Twenty-three
- Twenty-four
- Twenty-five
- Twenty-six
- Twenty-seven
- Twenty-eight
- Twenty-nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-one
- Thirty-two
- Thirty-three
- Thirty-four
- Thirty-five
- Thirty-six
- Thirty-seven
- Thirty-eight
- Thirty-nine
- Forty
- Forty-one
- Forty-two
- Forty-three
- Forty-four
- Forty-five
- Forty-six
- Forty-seven
- Forty-eight
“It’s okay.” I smiled wryly. “No, no powers of persuasion, sir. Don’t worry, I haven’t claimed my birthright. To be honest, I don’t know why it worked. Maybe Dufreyne’s ability is more like a power of suggestion. Maybe it takes time to work, and I just happened to be there at the right moment to nip it in the bud. Maybe two hell-spawns cancel each other out no matter what. I don’t know.”
The chief’s face softened into an expression of paternal worry. “That can’t be easy, being an enigma to yourself half the time.”
Damn. Again with the unexpected surge of gratitude. My eyes stung a little. “Thank you,” I murmured. “It’s not.”
“All right.” He planted his hands on the desk with a meaty thud. “I’ll put the word out. Anyone talking to Dufreyne should talk to you. Anything else? Where are we with this obeah woman situation?”
I cleared my throat. “On it, sir. The local coven is meeting with Sinclair this Saturday evening to discuss strategy.”
“Good.” He paused. “I have to admit, I don’t actually know who’s in this coven. Do you?”
“Other than the Fabulous Casimir? No,” I said. “Not for sure. But I look forward to finding out.”
Twenty-four
Late on Saturday afternoon, I got a call from Cody.
“Hey there, Pixy Stix.” Even over the phone, his voice had a hint of a low rumble that would have made me feel tingly if I weren’t so annoyed by the nickname. “Are you busy tonight?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I have an appointment at seven. Why?”
“I have to pay a visit to Twilight Manor,” he said. “I thought it might be a good idea to have Hel’s liaison riding shotgun.”
“What’s up?”
“We’ve got a sixteen-year-old girl who went to a poetry slam at the coffee shop and never came home last night.” All traces of humor vanished from his voice. “Witnesses say she left with someone who sounds a lot like Bethany Cassopolis.”
“Shit.” That was Jen’s blood-slut sister. “Are you serious?”
“Unfortunately, yeah. I checked with the Cassopolises and they haven’t heard from her since she went back to her vamp boyfriend,” Cody said. “I stopped out at the manor, but it’s locked up tight during daylight hours. Their minions won’t even answer the door and they’ve got a state-of-the-art security system. Can you reschedule?”
“Not really. But sunset’s not until a little after eight. Can I call you when my meeting’s over?”
He hesitated. “I’ll give you until eight thirty. If I don’t hear from you, I’ll go it alone.”
I didn’t like that idea. “I’ll make sure I’m out by then.”
“Good. Call me.” He hung up.