by T. S. Snow
“Two large cappuccinos, please,” I asked.
She rang my order up and smiled. “Would you like a croissant, on the house?”
“No, thank you.” I pulled out my credit card. “Just the two coffees.”
She pouted as I paid and walked to get my order from the male barista, who stared me down as if I’d kicked his puppy on my way in.
Honestly, if he had a thing for his coworker, he should just act on it and ask her out rather than give customers an evil glare for not flirting back.
It wasn’t like I’d encouraged her in any way.
I picked up the coffee cups, hoping he hadn’t spit in my drink, and headed to the table Theodore was sitting at.
“Nightshade,” Theo said, nodding his head in thanks when I placed the cup in front of him.
“Soulbinder.” I took my seat across from him and folded my hands over the table.
I didn’t want to admit it, even to myself, but I hated that I was here and nervous as fuck over this entire meeting.
Yes, I had been the one to call him and set it up, and I’d even gone so far as to schedule it on neutral ground to minimize gossip. I knew all too well that every single Arcane family had its share of private investigators and spies. I wanted to attract the least amount of attention possible, and a coffee shop in a human hotspot had seemed like the best place for it.
But I hated asking for favors.
I was used to just telling people what they should do and having them follow my orders without a second thought. This was…uncharted territory.
“So are we just going to stare at each other all day, or do you want to get straight to why you called me here?” Theo asked, breaking the stifling silence between us.
At least he was willing to cut to the chase and skip all the nonsense pleasantries.
“You can talk to ghosts, right?” I made sure my voice was low enough so we wouldn’t scare any non-mages, or worse, have them actually want to listen in on the conversation. While it was part of my job to know everything about the Arcane society, I disliked nosy people who eavesdropped on conversations for no reason other than curiosity. It was rude as fuck.
Across from me, Theodore Soulbinder’s lips tightened and he closed his eyes before nodding. “It does depend on whether they’re still here or if they’ve already crossed over. But yes, any Soul Mage is able to see ghosts. The stronger their affinity, the easier it is for them to command and communicate with the souls of the departed.”
And there were few stronger than the man sitting in front of me.
Knowing your friends was important, but knowing your enemies was vital. Especially in a world like ours, where people could turn on you in a split second.
“I need you to contact one of my men for me.”
Theodore lowered the coffee he’d just picked up and raised an eyebrow. “Why me? I’m sure there are plenty of Soul Mages that would be happy to have the Nightshade heir owe them a favor.”
I gave him a pointed look. He knew damn well why. “And yet, nothing would ensure their silence, but I know how to ensure yours.”
“Oh yeah?” Theo smiled, but there was no humor behind it. “And how are you planning on doing that?”
“Charisma Carter,” I said and watched as Theodore’s entire demeanor changed.
He sat straighter on the chair, his gaze sharpened on me, and his smile vanished.
“What about her? Is this about that fucking bet? Because I swear to the Goddess—”
I waved him off. “No, it’s not about that. Do I look like I have time to waste on something that childish?” Truth was, I was still fully intending on pursuing Charisma, but I was no longer sure if it was because of the bet or because of how I’d caught myself craving her presence.
It made no sense. She was a living, breathing mess, and while I’d thought she would make a great sub, she didn’t really seem to have one submissive bone in her body. It was all just part of her social ineptitude. And yet…
Yet, I kept thinking about her in the most inappropriate moments.
Hell, I’d even asked her out on a date. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d actually asked someone out.
It was like I’d been cursed.
“Then what about Char?” Theo asked, glaring at me as he put his closed fists on the table.
“One of my men was investigating a certain group for me when he disappeared. I have reason to believe the same people he was looking into are the ones who put the bomb in Miss Carter’s apartment,” I responded, taking a sip of my coffee before it got cold.
Theodore frowned. “So your guy was investigating the resistance and he vanished?”
I paused, breath caught in my throat as I slowly lowered the coffee and narrowed my eyes at the man sitting across from me.
“How do you know about the resistance’s involvement in this?”
I didn’t really think he would be involved with the rebels, especially not after Charisma almost died because of them, but he might know more than I thought he would.
And that was never a good thing.
“First of all, everyone knows about the resistance. It’s not like I’ve been living under a rock for the past few years. Secondly, maybe your sources aren’t as good as you think they are because by now pretty much everybody knows the resistance is getting worse. Their attacks have only increased after Michael Manteis was arrested. They’re out of control. And third...you’re not the only heir who takes his role seriously.”
I took another sip of my coffee and sat more comfortably in my chair, actually considering Theodore Soulbinder for probably the first time in my life.
Maybe he wasn’t as much of a creepy man-child as I’d thought. Maybe, just maybe, there was more than the whining, whimpering asshole I’d had the displeasure of dealing with.
Granted, I mostly avoided the other heirs if I could help it because they were either too much of a headache, like the twins, or annoying squabbling children I had no time for.
But Theodore seemed to be…growing up.
Almost tolerable.
Perhaps this partnership wouldn’t be as painful as I’d thought it would.
I could only hope.
“Fair enough.” I nodded to concede the point. “So do you think you can do it?”
“You’re sure he’s dead?”
I nodded. “Yes. He should’ve reported to me the day before yesterday, but he’s been radio silent for almost four days. If he’s not dead, then he’s in some serious trouble.”
Theodore tilted his head, then shrugged. “I’ll give it a go. If he hasn’t crossed over, I don’t see the problem. However, I must warn you, there’s the possibility that even if he saw something, he won’t remember.”
I frowned. “Why not?”
He ran a hand through his hair, messing it up. “It depends on a lot of reasons, but it’s more common in people who’ve had traumatic deaths, which we’re assuming is the case here. I can’t force him to remember or access his memories from when he was alive. I suppose a Necromancer might be able to do it to an extent if they had pieces of the body, but when I’m talking to the souls, all I’ll be able to find out is what they remember or what they’ve seen after they died.”
John better fucking remember exactly what happened to him because he was my only lead.
At least for now.
“Okay, let’s get out of here and go somewhere I can access my powers without having to worry, then we can try this. If it’s really the resistance, there’s no telling where they are or what they might do if they find out we have a lead,” Theodore said, standing up and picking up his now completely cold cup of coffee.
“I know a place.”
12
Charisma
I could not freaking believe I’d done it.
I’d just kind of…invited Blaze to be a part of my harem.
A harem I did not actually have, by the way. A harem I hadn’t even been sure I wanted until just now. I mean, what girl wouldn�
��t dream about having a group of boyfriends who were all okay with sharing her while she didn’t have to share them? What girl didn’t dream about a possible threesome with two hot as hell dudes, knowing she could bring them both, them all, pleasure? What girl didn’t want to be in the middle of a hot guy cuddle sandwich full of love? It was literally the ultimate fantasy.
But that was the thing, wasn’t it? In theory, everything sounded perfect. In the books, everything always worked out, but I couldn’t help stressing about the possibilities of it all happening in real life. The conflict, the bruised egos, the infighting. The dirty socks left all over the house, the line to use the bathroom.
Ever since Bast and I had talked about it, I’d been kind of playing with the idea in my head. It had been a nice thought to entertain, but I hadn’t realized I was actually sold on the idea until I’d propositioned Blaze.
And he’d agreed to think about it.
I didn’t know whether to be elated or terrified.
I blamed Blair. Clearly, I was spending too much time with her and her harem obsession. I must have caught the reverse harem bug like one would a cold.
“You okay back there?” Blair asked, her eyes meeting mine through the rearview mirror. We were on our way to AMIA after I’d managed to box up most of my equipment and carry it all down the stairs. Or rather, after Blaze put a handy rune on each of the boxes full of equipment, making them doll-sized, which allowed us to carry them down without a problem. Once we’d gotten in the car, he’d snuffed the magic in the rune and they’d grown back to normal size.
I’d totally taken notes so I could hopefully code that handy trick into my life.
No more heavy lifting, no more playing Tetris with my stuff at home. Forget a harem, that rune was the true dream.
“Yeah, I was just thinking. Hey, Blaze, do you think you could come up with a rune that would keep a house clean? Like, keep dust from sticking to it and stuff? Maybe runes that would vacuum around the spot? We could become millionaires.”
Blaze turned his head to look at me from the passenger seat and smiled.
“Isn’t it easier to just buy a robot?”
I rolled my eyes at his lack of vision. “Yeah, for a house. But think about the possibilities! Put it in the sink, clean plates, and sink for life. Put it on the street, spotless streets. In the laundry basket? No more dirty clothes!”
“Yeah? What about the smell?” Blair asked from the front, and I stared at her.
“You guys have no vision. There are obviously some details that need to be worked out, but this is the future! Just think about it, yeah?” I asked Blaze, who said nothing.
Instead, he turned to face forward again, checking something on his phone, and I swore I could hear his sigh of relief when he realized we were pulling up at AMIA’s headquarters.
“Oh look, we’re here. Char, I just got a text from the director. We’re going straight to the third floor. He needs you.”
I tilted my head, wondering just what the hell bossman had in store for me.
Please let it not be IT duty, please let it not be IT duty, please let it not be IT duty.
Oh wait. IT duty is on the second floor, not the third. I’m safe!
Blair turned off the engine after parking, and we all got out of the car.
It was…freeing to be back here. I knew most people would probably scoff at the idea of being excited about going back to their job after time away, but for me, AMIA was like a second home of sorts. There were people here who had accepted me and made me feel useful and needed.
Plus, I’d get to help make a difference and hopefully stop the resistance once and for all. Or an even better outcome would be to get them to fucking understand killing off mages left and right was not the way to get their voices heard.
But people were dumb and stubborn, and I was only thankful the Death Note didn’t actually exist because shinigami would have a field trip with our society. I just knew it.
We headed straight to the elevators, which were thankfully already waiting with the doors open, and we stepped inside.
“You nervous?” Blaze asked, his gaze landing on my hands where I’d been fidgeting.
“Oh, no. I’m kind of excited. I mean, I haven’t been here in forever, and I’m dying to get back to the tech lab and get some work done! I can’t wait to see what my fellow engineers might have come up with while I was gone. Also, I have all sorts of ideas for gadgets and things we should develop. You two might not have the vision, but my fellow nerds sure as fuck do.” I stopped speaking when the elevator doors opened, and Blair got out of them as if she were being chased by the pack of hellhounds from Bast’s new game.
We trailed behind her, and it felt…nice to not be mad at Blaze anymore, to have cleared the air.
Yes, I did still take deeper sniffs whenever he got close to me and I felt his presence like a magnet being attracted to another, but I was doing a great job at this whole ‘keeping it cool’ thing. Nobody would ever be able to tell the amount of sexual tension between us. It wasn’t like we could bottle it up and sell it like a perfume. No, sir.
We were cool. Friends. Buddies. Bros.
And bro’s did not picture their bros naked.
Bros did not know what their bro’s dicks looked like when they were hard and ready. Or what they tasted like. Or what…
Shit on a cracker. I had to stop that train of thought before I did something dumb.
Just think about something unsexy, Char, like…blue cheese.
Yes! Blue cheese might taste good in sauces and stuff, but it smelled weird and it looked freaking horrible.
“…right?” Blaze looked expectantly at me, and I just blinked at him.
I realized all three of us were standing in front of one of the interrogation doors. Blair had her hand on the knob but was looking over her shoulder at us, and Blaze had clearly been asking me something.
“Erh,” I said, trying to come up with something noncommittal.
Blaze smirked. “You didn’t hear a word of what either of us said, did you?”
“Well, uh. No?” It was more a question than anything else, really.
I mean, what was the point?
“I’d pay good money to know what you were thinking about just now, girl, because it seemed quite interesting,” Blair said, and I blushed almost on cue.
“Ohh, that good, huh?”
“Cheese! I was thinking about blue cheese and its level of stinkiness. True story, bro.”
And with that great piece of wisdom that fooled no one, I ran into the observation room and stopped dead in my tracks.
On the other side of the mirror, sitting down with her hands cuffed and staring at Christian like she could use the Force to get rid of him, was none other than Jess.
Gym Jess.
Human Jess.
What was she doing here?
13
Bastille
This was going well.
If by well, one meant that my grandmother ended up having to freeze everyone in the room to get them to stop arguing.
It had been the only way to get Serena to stop trying to kill her husband, while Diego Illudere dodged and laughed the whole time. It was a madhouse.
Andres was no help. He just kept trying to remind his mother that she loved her husband, but it seemed to only spur Serena on in her outrage.
I couldn’t really blame her, considering I couldn’t even imagine how much she had suffered thinking her husband was dying and there was nothing she could do to stop him. I knew if I were in her place and it had been Char, I would’ve been devastated.
“Everyone, sit,” Gran ordered, putting more than a little magic into the command..
Like marionettes pulled by invisible strings, we all walked toward the bed and sat on it, except for Diego, who sat on the chair his wife had been on. Yes, the same half-scorched, completely soaked bed. It was uncomfortable as all hell, but nobody dared mention it. Not when she was this pissed.
“Gran, t
his is creepy. You could’ve released us and let us walk by ourselves,” Andres complained. Clearly, he had no sense of self-preservation whatsoever.
“No. If you’re going to behave like children, I’ll treat you like children,” Gran snapped, and I sighed.
I knew I should do something to try to force Gran to release us, but I honestly didn’t want to. I had a feeling the minute she released the Illuderes, they’d start bickering again.
It was just too much of a fucking hassle.
“Now. Diego, why don’t you enlighten us about what I’m sure you thought was a genius plan?” Gran mocked, and I hid a smile.
It was rare to see Gran annoyed with someone. Or rather, it was rare to see her truly annoyed with someone. Most of the time, she faked annoyance just so people would leave her the fuck alone.
But Diego had managed to seriously get her hackles up.
“Yes, ma’am. But wouldn’t you rather sit down for it? Might take a while.”
“Well then, better get started, don’t you think, boy?”
Trust my grandmother to call a man in his fifties “boy.”
“Yes, Diego. Why don’t you tell us this brilliant plan of yours and why you couldn’t even tell your wife about it?”
We all winced at Serena’s question, but it wasn’t like she didn’t have a point.
Diego sighed. “Listen, it wasn’t… I didn’t mean anything bad by it, dear, I swear. You know how there’s always someone trying to poison us or stab us or anything, really. It’s not like it was anything new. The difference was that this time around, one of our staff came to me. Apparently, they’d already put something in my food—that was why I got sick, by the way—and they had orders from Ricardo to keep doing it. However, they felt terrible about the whole thing and came to me. So I orchestrated a plan. I pretended the poison was still being given to me and that I was getting worse, in order to see what Ricardo’s next move would be.” He grinned.
“The fucker didn’t even wait long before he challenged Andres to a duel. Problem is, if I magically get better, he could still back out from the challenge. So I need to be ‘dying’ to make sure it happens. Then, once Andres wins, he’ll be forced to bow out and give up the Illudere name. Since I very much doubt I’d be able to find actual evidence against him to get him arrested, it’s the second-best thing.”
