She grabbed onto me again and glared at Drake. “We’re having girl talk. You can go.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Can I? I can also not. What could you possibly have to talk about that didn’t involve me? Egocentric, right? When the sin becomes the identity. Such a tragedy.”
He crossed his arms and stared at Viney, his mouth in a line that only an idiot would cross. Viney hissed and dug her nails into my arm. I mean, if she’d had nails, they would have dug in. I’d still have bruises. Peanut brittle and cupcakes. She was clinging to me like I was her teddy bear or something. Because I was leaving her and I was supposed to be her friend.
“Drake, I’ll see you later, okay? I think we have to talk about you without you around because otherwise you’ll know how obsessed I am with your socks. It’s a secret, but still all about you.”
He gave me a long look before he smiled and winked. “All right. I’ll let you two go in to dinner without me. But Penny, you need to contact your step-father so if you’re going to do some serious female bonding, like throwing hurters or watching horror movies, I suggest you call him first.”
I licked my lips. “What are you going to do while I’m talking to Viney about you?”
“I’ll probably go talk to a circle of mages about you. Sounds like Zach will be a pain to track down. Pete will have to storm witch’s bedrooms. That’s going to be hilarious. Ian could help, but he’d get distracted.” He waved absently and turned, walking out as though he were far too cool to care whether I was staring at the way he filled out his suit or not. Viney did the same until he was out of sight. Then she punched me in the stomach.
I oomphed and folded over. She grabbed my shoulder and yanked me upright. “You’re Pitch’s hurter maker?”
I struggled to breathe. “You just punched me.”
“You didn’t tell me that you’re the greatest hurter maker in the world! You’re letting Zach know all about your hurter making skills? All those super secret techniques kept from mages for millennia? How could you be so stupid?”
Okay. This was not what I expected. “They’re my own techniques. Mostly. I don’t have magic so I have to adapt and…”
“And that. How can you make such great hurters without magic? Hm?” She glared at me with those bright fierce terrier eyes, arms crossed which was nice because then she wouldn’t punch me again. And then I wouldn’t have to fight her. And kill her. I licked my lips and fought down the rising craving for her blood. I didn’t need that.
“Can you keep it down?” I looked around furtively.
“I cast a spell. No one can hear us. I have foresight. I don’t go around and show freaking Stoneburrow, mage tech mafia family, hurter maker secrets. Seriously. You’re just unbelievable. You deserve him sticking his logo on you. Except how dare he? Because you’ve been feeding him your tech, now he thinks he owns you? Screw that. We’ll burn him. No, you’ll have Ian and Drake burn him. Alive. Screaming. And you know the girls he’s after, all your Chem girls, plus Marianna. Piss-face Mage. I need a lollipop.”
I licked my lips. “Maybe you should take it easy on the lollipops for a little while. They don’t seem to be helping.”
She lunged at my face and hissed. “I’m fine. I’m just great! Except that the poor helpless mage I was stupid enough to take responsibility for is somehow as diabolical and evil as Ian and Drake combined. All he needs to do is beat up the entire school and he’d be the ultimate mage.”
“Sounds fun. You still own him, right?”
She glared at me. “Yeah, but it’s not a strong bond, and he’s used to agony so it’s not like inflicting torment on him is really going to influence him all that much. Jerk. That’s Drake, who promised that Zach wouldn’t be any problem. Not that I believed him, but it was definitely a lie. Maybe we can tie up Zach and put a spell on him so he forgets everything about the hurters.”
I grabbed her arm. “It’s fine, Viney. He’s not going to tell anyone. He swore to me, with blood and everything that he would keep all my hurter secrets. I thought it was kind of overkill, you know, blood oaths are kind of disgusting.”
She stared at me. “He swore himself to secrecy? He is such a weird mage. I mean, anyone slightly rational, particularly someone with that kind of family would exploit the crap out of someone as stupid as you. Seriously. I just can’t fathom a witch as stupid as you.”
“I know. I’m an idiot. Always have been, but I blame my mother. She’s even more idiotic than I am. How can I fight against my own genetics?”
She shook her head. “Lame excuse. So, what was Drake saying about a mage circle? Is that like a kinky thing?”
I blinked at her. She didn’t sound like that would be bad. At all. “They’re resetting my protection spell. My step-father will be there. Where is your mind at, Viney? Macaroons and bon-bons.”
“I’m not the one moving in with the hottest guy at school.”
“Well, it’s not like that. We’re just, I mean…” I sighed. I couldn’t seem to finish sentences today.
“What happened to Jackson? I hope you didn’t hurt him. It would be better to kill him and hide the body.”
I blinked at her. I opened my mouth to say something then turned and started walking. I couldn’t. It had been a pretty horrible, awful, miserable weekend, what with Pitch and Zach and I would have to see Zach again. Drake’s reasons were completely rational and logical, but still, I did not want to see Zach any time soon. Or ever.
Jackson. I owned him, but I still probably wasn’t supposed to skin him alive. There were probably rules about that. I mean, if he let me it might be okay, but he’d been protesting pretty volubly, you know, those screams. I shuddered, but part of me smiled. Pitch. It had been so nice not to worry about Pitch killing everyone I loved. Naw, she wasn’t death, just pain. How would Drake do with massive pain? I shook my head. He was precious, my heart. Like all my darling pets wrapped into one wickedly sweet smile.
“Viney, I’ll meet you at dinner. I need to call my step-dad, if you’re done screaming at me, that is.”
She grabbed me into a hug that made me freeze before she pulled away with a scowl. “Five minutes. Don’t make me wait.” She whirled around and stormed off, boots echoing off the pavement. I smiled slightly and walked into the garden. The snow wasn’t very pretty, kind of gray and dirty looking. I pulled out my phone and called Revere.
Chapter 6
Mage
I didn’t rip off his arms. I punched his face until it was bloody while I held him against the edge of the parapet on the roof of Rosewood. I’d probably throw him over the edge when I was finished with him.
Zach laughed, his split lip spread above his gleaming grin. “You could just ask me to be your source. You don’t have to beat me bloody first. That’s inefficient. I’ll have to heal and therefore be less useful to you. You’re always talking about efficiency. Shouldn’t she be in your room about now?”
I yanked him closer to me so I could make out the burning blue in his eyes. “She belongs to me. Don’t think for a moment that I won’t rip you apart if you attempt anything like what Witley did with Ian.”
His smile grew sharp and malicious. “I told you, I’ll let you have her bond after you married her. What’s wrong, getting cold feet? Nervous about jumping into the deep end with a psychotic witch?”
I snarled in his face. “Don’t tempt me. I could null that bond without too much effort. You cut her against her will. She begged me five times to cut into her. Begged me.”
His eyes burned. “That’s right, Drake. You’re the one she wants. That’s why she stalked me, hacked into my limo and bedroom when she first got here, making certain I appreciated every inch of her hideously long legs. You can have her because I’m giving her to you, because I don’t want her.”
I swallowed with difficulty and shook him. “You don’t? Really? Then why are you seducing all of her Chem girls?” That’s where I’d found him, in his room with three of Penny’s special friends, all defacing his Pit
ch poster. Like that was going to go well for anyone.
“She owes me a debt.”
“What kind of debt? Bring it to me and I’ll settle it for her.”
He pushed me away from him and brushed down his t-shirt where it had been up around his armpits. “Do you remember when she cracked my face?”
“Yeah. After Lester dumped her.”
“Right. She was so angry. Now it’s my turn to be angry.”
“So, you’re going to hurt her to get back at her now because Pitch dumped you like Lester dumped her?”
He glared at me and shook his head, face tight. “She is, she was my friend. Now she’s not. It was my mistake, and I need her to hate me. I need her to stay away from me.”
A wave of confusion rudely interrupted the green film of rage. “You’re sleeping with her Chem girls so she hates you? But she’ll also hate them.”
“She’ll forgive them. She can’t help it. But she can’t forgive me. She can’t let me close to her again, not close enough to rip her protection spell apart.”
“It’s a compulsion with you?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Pretty much. Penny’s just so ridiculously infuriating.”
“Infuriating. Huh. Are you in love with her? Is that why Pitch broke up with you?”
Zach’s eyes went enormous with guilt and rage. “Love Penny Lane? Only a pathetic loser would love a crazy witch like that. She can’t even play video games.”
He loved her. My witch. And he owned her. But he was trying to make her hate him, so that was something. I didn’t absolutely need to shatter him right there on the top of the icy parapet. Possibly.
I took a step away from him. “I need you in my mage circle.”
He ran a hand through his already messy hair. “I have an appointment. Sorry. You’ll have to get along without me.”
I took another step away from him. “I said that I need you in my mage circle.”
He glared at me and swallowed, desperate anger and hatred in his eyes. “Why should I? She’s going to live with you. You’re the one who is responsible for her health and happiness.”
“And just like you, there’s every possibility that I might break her, only I’d do it more thoroughly. For her, I need you, so she isn’t entirely reliant on me or Ian. She does not need another messed up mage like him in her skin.”
He inhaled sharply. “Drake, you hurt her, and I’ll kill you.”
“Good. And if it comes to that, get Teddy Prince to help you because I’m going to be very difficult to kill. I’ll let you know what time it’ll be after I hear from Penny. Her step-father will be there.” I sounded excited about that. I should be excited about something. Zach had made a ridiculous mess out of his love life. It had been bad when he’d been helplessly obsessed-in-love with Pitch, the girl he’d never actually met, but falling in love with Penny when he knew that she belonged to me, and he belonged to Pitch? Seriously idiotic. Still, understandable. Penny was unmistakably brilliant, bizarre, and sweet. Also apparently, Zach liked unavailable women.
I stepped throughside to find Ian. He was drinking in the usual pub, an enormous mug of green swill in front of him and one across the table waiting for me. I slid in.
“I’m not drinking. You shouldn’t, either. We need to reset Penny’s protection spell, and I would like you to join us.”
“Who’s us?”
“Jasper, Revere, and Zach. And you and I.”
“Five mages.”
“Plus my aunt.”
“What do you need a witch for?”
“We should have four witches, but where would I get that many who didn’t hate her for having me?”
“What about her little group of sycophants?”
“Zach is seducing all of them.”
Ian laughed. “That’s right. I saw him with Rhoda. Zach isn’t her favorite person right now.”
“Mine neither. Still, he’s a good mage and he’ll break her protection spell again if I don’t make him part of it.”
“Hm.” Ian studied me with puzzled eyes. “Why haven’t you ripped him apart? Do you think he’ll give her to you? You do. I have my doubts, but I’ll keep them mostly to myself. You’ve always given Stoneburrow too much license.”
“He’s my equal in Dayside. I like to remember that there are limits.”
Golden sparks filled his eyes and smoke curled out of his nostrils while he grinned at me. “Limits? What limits?” Ian’s voice was a low growl as smoke curled around his face like a halo, eyes bright gold and wicked.
I exhaled and shook my head, clearing my vision. “My aunt is coming. You remember her.”
“It would be impossible to forget. I hope she pats my cheek like last time.” The smoke diminished until only the slightest hint curled from his mouth.
“Try not to seduce her. She’d be a crier.”
He grinned at me. “Only you make witches cry. About that. Do you have a contract for Penny? After her performance at the tourney, you know that all the mages in this school are itching to play with your witch. She might have moved in with you, but without a contract…” He shook his head while he rubbed his cheekbone where it looked like he’d been punched repeatedly. “I suppose I should warn you, inform you rather, I am her mage. If she touches me, I have to accept that, unless of course, she’s under contract.”
“It’s nice to know that you respect something. As a matter of fact, I have a two hundred page contract in a secure drawer in my bedroom. If she doesn’t find it before Tuesday, I’m giving it to her then.” I inhaled deeply then drained the mug, drinking like an alcoholic. I slammed it back down on the table and blinked at Ian. “I’m a little bit nervous.”
He leaned back and grinned at me. “Of course you are. You know why you can’t predict what she does? Because she has no idea. She decided to move in with you on an absolute whim. Otherwise, she would have taken that limo home. You should thank me for helping persuade her to stay.”
“Why would you do that?”
“For you, of course. And for me. It’s not pleasant to have an inaccessible mistress. Not that she didn’t offer to trade me for the price of hurter supplies. What would sweetly oblivious Penny be doing with hurter supplies?”
I glanced at him. “No idea.”
He laughed and shook his head. “Of course not. And Zach’s been doing tech classes with her. And she aced the Chem exam. The whole school is going to know that she’s Pitch’s hurter maker, if they don’t already. It would be convenient if you have her under contract when the TCM come after her.”
My stomach plummeted. Of course. Penny’s hurter business wasn’t exactly legal. In truth it was extremely illegal. That hurter she’d given to Signore was war grade with advanced tech I’d never seen before. The TCM would take her and put her in a cell until they’d harvested all the tech in her head, unless she had a contract with Stoneburrow or one of the other tech families. Stoneburrow would be the best. Also the worst because once you joined them, no one ever saw you again. They were very possessive bordering on paranoid. For good reason. Mage tech was where the money was. That and winning wars.
“I hate the TCM and I’ve never had to deal with them. I didn’t actually need another thing to worry about. Thanks, Ian. Now I’m going to have an ulcer.”
He laughed and waved the server over with another mug. “Don’t worry about it. That’s what I’m here for. I saw Witley in the hall earlier. The look she gave me, it was the most come-hither thing I’ve seen for ages.”
“She’s more attractive to you now that she doesn’t own you.”
“No, I’m more attractive to her since she doesn’t own me. It makes me more of a challenge, although I’m always easy. It’s irritating, Drake. Not being able to control my impulses like that.”
“At least you didn’t have to buy a hospital.”
“But you have a chance at an actual relationship.”
“Do you think so?” I threw back the second mug. What was I doing? A spell. With
Penny’s step-father. I should definitely show up drunk. “Meet me at Rosewood.”
I stepped Throughside and came out in the front foyer of Huntsman Manor with its pale marble and rich wood. I snapped my fingers and clapped my hands in rhythm as I walked to the table in the center to take a blood red apple from the display.
“The master has arrived,” Jasper said in a dry voice from behind me.
“Is Ramona here?”
“It’s Aunt Ramona, darling,” my aunt’s voice came the moment before she swept into the room with the drama of a flapper. She was actually wearing jeans and a t-shirt, her fashionable short hair messy and probably unbrushed. Magenta paint streaked one leg of her jeans and one cheek.
“Aunt Ramona, darling,” I said with a slight smile. “I would like you to assist me with a spell. Thank you for coming on such short notice.”
She frowned suddenly, her green eyes much lighter than mine. “Jasper said we’re resetting a protection spell invented by some spellmaster, right? He hasn’t said who we’re going to spell. Is it a witch? A mage? One of your pets?”
I rubbed my forehead. “She’s my witch.”
Ramona gasped, covering her mouth with both hands in the most overdone reaction possible. “Could it be? Has our little Drakey finally found a witch to match his…” She frowned. “Don’t tell me it’s that Pennmore girl. I never could stand that family. I suppose I’ll make the best of it, but…”
“Wit? Hardly.”
Her eyes narrowed in thought. “Hm. Not the prettiest and most talented witch at your school, so the second most, and definitely worlds more pleasant, Pinhouse. Their family is less irritating. Moderately.”
I groaned and went into the study. I needed another drink. Two drinks. Three. I poured three glasses and carried them to a chair, throwing myself in and keeping the liquid in through sheer magic. I balanced them on the arm while my aunt followed me, sneakers scuffing Jasper’s immaculate floor.
“Now I’m genuinely intrigued,” she said, perching on the arm above me. “I’ve heard some gossip about Pitch attending your school.”
Blooming Black: Rosewood Academy of Witches and Mages (Darkly Sweet Book 4) Page 4
