I thought about the vampires. I hoped our lockdown wasn’t going to become a buffet. “Is it safe?”
Étoile made a noncommittal noise. “This is a diplomatic nightmare.” She placed a hand on my arm. Until that moment, I didn’t realise how cold I was. “Go rest up, okay? Your things will be here soon. I’m going to make a few calls and probably go to bed.”
“Let’s go,” said Micah. “I have a few calls to make too.”
As we walked away, I said, in my best, most purposeful voice, “I’d like to make at least one call, but the other party won’t answer his phone.”
“Leave a message,” said Micah and I gave up.
My assigned room was standard hotel issue. Nice double-bed with white covers and a dark walnut headboard with matching nightstands at either side. There was a desk in one corner, a lamp, a leather club chair, and a small bathroom that led off the sitting room. If I there was a view, I couldn’t tell because it was too dark and the windows simply reflected me.
For a long time, I sat in my evening dress in the club chair, feeling relieved that Matthew had survived. I wondered about the futility of making another phone call to Evan. How many had I made already that he hadn’t returned? I was beyond the point of feeling angry. Instead of feeling warm and connected to him, as I briefly felt after the revelation about the ring, now I was disappointed and hurt. I couldn’t fathom what kind of job would keep him out of contact for so long. Surely prisoner transport couldn’t be that complicated and involved as to prevent even a texted message? As I wondered what was keeping him, I took off the ring and held it in front of my eyes. The stones looked as polished as ever, the band unscuffed. With a sigh, I put it back on. Resting my elbow on the chair’s arm, I put my chin into my hand and stared out into the dark sky beyond the windows as I tried to make sense of things.
If Evan were hurt, Micah would know. If he were in trouble, Micah would know. Whether Micah would tell me if there were issues, or if Evan would even allow it, was another matter altogether. I could understand the employer/employee relationship and I knew Micah would follow his orders to the letter, but I what I questioned was whether there might be an underlying demon issue that imprinted the orders and bonds of loyalty even tighter still. Could Micah tell me anything confidential, even if he wanted to? We weren’t exactly friends, but we got along well enough. I wondered if I demanded, or insisted on leaving for Evan’s home across the country, would he try to stop me? What would he do if I attempted to locate Evan or set up a rendezvous? Come to think of it, I wondered what Evan would do if I did any of those things? It seemed he had gone to great pains to ensure Micah looked after me — and given the recent sniper attempts, I was glad I had his protection. But he had also taken great pains to avoid me. The thought of Evan steering clear of me felt like a lead weight in my stomach. I shook it off. We parted on good terms or so it seemed to me when we made plans for our reunion.
Micah insinuated that he could contact Evan, and was in touch with him until very recently, so why couldn’t I? Assuming that Micah informed him of the dangers here, why didn’t Evan send a simple text just to to see if I was okay or to reassure me? He’d already put himself in harm’s way to protect me once — not that I wanted him to again — and spent months searching to find me.
Something didn’t sit right. His behaviour perturbed me, but I wasn’t sure what I could do. There was no one I could ask, or demand an explanation from.
Asking Micah was clearly out. Plus, it was starting to make me feel a little humiliated whenever I asked him about Evan. Plus, he’d said he hadn’t heard from Evan in days. I wondered if this was still true.
Étoile didn’t seem to know anything more about Evan. The only other mutual acquaintance that was here was Gage, and I couldn’t see Evan confiding anything to Gage.
My worries bothered me. Another thought occurred to me. Wasn’t this what I wanted? To stand on my own two feet? To be a fully-fledged witch like everyone else I knew? Didn’t I choose to come to the Summit so I could get to know my own kind? To learn about and understand the inner workings of the Council?
I was a witch with magic, very powerful magic of my own. I could feel it fizzling angrily though my veins and immediately tempered it. Where had it all gone wrong? Could this be a lesson from Evan? To learn how to depend on myself, rather than relying on him or anyone else? Yet, surely this was more than either of us anticipated. As I recalled Micah’s worried expression when he admitted losing contact with Evan, as well as his surprise at Étoile’s revelation about the contract Evan was fulfilling, I frowned at my reflection.
Then, jumping to my feet in anger, I began pacing. With a sweep of my hand, I drew the curtains. I caught sight of my reflection in the mirror, the elegant dress, the high heels. I’d been sitting here, pondering my situation for over an hour, and I decided that I really needed to change into something a little less formal.
Making up my mind, I grabbed my key card and went in search of Étoile, pausing briefly outside Micah’s door. Silence inside. I was determined not to ask him about Evan again. His answers were becoming too annoying. Instead of knocking, I strode on past. I wouldn’t need his protection for this brief walk.
Étoile’s room was at the opposite end of the hallway to ours and appeared to be the corner room. I knocked and stepped back. Soft footsteps came to the door from the other side. When the door opened, a man looked up, holding a towel in his hand as he patted his hair dry. He was dressed in jeans, and nothing else, and his feet were bare. He was nicely built, with a hairless chest, lightly defined abs, and hair that was short with a slight wave. He was, in a word, handsome. He frowned at the sight of me in the doorway, at first. Then he smiled, and I saw fangs.
“I’m sorry,” I said, stepping back. “I must have the wrong room.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, rather than dismissing me abruptly. There was something familiar about him that I couldn’t place. Of course. The man whose mental feelers I had previously rebuffed. The man whom I was sure I knew, but whom I had never met.
“Matthias? Who…?” Étoile stepped around the corner. She was wearing a robe, and her hair was wet too. She stopped still when she saw me. “Oh. Stella. I wasn’t expecting you.”
Clearly.
“Sorry for intruding,” I said, trying not to gawk at the vampire. “I just wanted to know if anyone said anything about our belongings yet. I wanted to change out of…” I flapped my hand at the dress. “You know, it doesn’t matter.”
“They will notify me when I can retrieve them. I was told it will be within an hour from now,” Étoile said, making no inclination to invite me in — a welcomed relief — or to kick me out. “This is Matthias,” she added.
“Hi.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Stella,” said Matthias. His accent was European, maybe even English, but I couldn’t quite place from where. Of course, being a vampire, he most likely moved around a lot. He made no move to shake my hand so I didn’t offer mine.
“You too, Matthias.” As I said his name, it seemed to trigger a memory. I knew where I saw him before! In Étoile’s head! When she let me peek inside her brain, I saw her honesty, loyalty and her friendship, but I also saw something else. It was a man she’d left behind and I saw how sad she was without him. And now he was standing right in front of me, in the flesh. A very selfish part of me wondered how she got hers, and I didn’t get mine. But I squashed it immediately. “I’ll catch up with you later. Sorry for interrupting,” I said, keeping my tone light.
I turned back the way I came. Several steps away from the door, I looked over my shoulder. Matthias raised his hand and tilted it from one side to the other in a little wave. I just smiled and walked away. I suppose that explained his curiosity about me. He was once Étoile’s lover, and from the looks of it, things hadn’t changed. I wondered if he was part of the reason for her numerous trips back to the city. I also wondered about her many other visitations; and what the Council would say about her choi
ce of man. Once again, I had to chide myself. What concern was it of theirs?
When I passed the bank of elevators, I had a choice. Go back to my room and twiddle my thumbs until my bags arrived; or pass the time glowering at Micah. Neither appealed. Then I remembered that I wanted to talk to my werewolf friend about his artefact. Halting, I jabbed my thumb at the “down” button and stood back, waiting for the car to arrive. I checked with the reception desk for Gage’s room number, declined the receptionist’s offer to call ahead, and took the elevator to the twelfth floor.
If Gage was surprised to see me, he didn’t show it. “Come in,” he said, taking a step back, and holding the door open wide. Gage’s room was nicer than mine, I decided with a quick glance around; but his was a suite and booked in plenty of time; while mine was a last minute move, courtesy of the Council. He also wasn’t alone. Three people, two men and a woman, sat around the table in the living room, all shifters, specifically wolves. They all looked strong and healthy, and were still clad in evening dress, though the younger man had taken off his jacket. Gage still wore his tux, but his tie hung undone around his neck, and the top button of his shirt had popped open. I wondered what they thought about me in my fancy gold dress, and felt glad I wasn’t able to change. At least we were as smart as each other.
“I’m interrupting,” I said, offering them an apologetic smile.
“We’re just having a drink,” replied Gage. He hesitated, stuck on whether to invite me to stay or not. Just as I decided to tell him I’d catch up with him tomorrow, the older man beckoned me in.
“You’re welcome to join us,” the older man said as I stepped over the threshold. Gage gave me a quick, reassuring smile and shut the door.
“Thank you.” I knew better than to ask if they were sure. If they’d invited me, they were sure.
“We don’t have the company of witches often,” the woman said pleasantly. She stood up and offered me her hand. “I’m Caroline Newton.”
“Stella Mayweather.”
She introduced me to the others, the older man being Noah Woods, the grand packmaster, and the younger, Drew Freeman. Gage fetched a chair from beside the door and added it to the table.
“Stella’s a friend,” said Gage, ensuring I was comfortable before collecting another glass and pouring wine. I noticed he didn’t say a “neighbour,” just a “friend.” Perhaps my address wasn’t common knowledge? I wondered if this would be important.
“And a friend of Étoile Winterstorm,” remarked Noah. “You have an interesting coterie of friends.”
“The very best,” I added and they seemed to agree with a nod at that.
Gage took the empty seat next to mine. Something caught his eye and he squinted. “Is that blood on your dress?” he asked, his nostrils flaring.
I looked down quickly, but I couldn’t see anything. He reached out and pinched the fabric at my hip, rubbing it between his fingers, while inhaling. When he withdrew them, they were slightly pink. I peered at my dress. The tiniest red dot had landed on my hip.
“Not yours,” he remarked with an expectant face.
It was my turn to look puzzled. “You didn’t hear?” They all shook their heads. “Matthew Donovan, one of the candidates, was shot when we were leaving. He’s okay, but the place is in full lockdown. You really didn’t know?” I asked again. I thought that was why Gage wasn’t surprised to see me; that he must’ve heard I was here for the foreseeable future like all the other delegates.
“We came straight here when we left the ball,” Caroline told me. “We’ve been busy with other things. How long ago did this happen?”
“An hour maybe.”
“Perhaps you’ll kindly tell us what happened.” Noah’s suggestion was more of an order than a request. I didn’t see the harm in telling them, since I was fairly sure everyone else would know soon enough. I stuck to the facts, kept it brief and when I finished, there was a moment of silence.
“Something to think over,” said Noah at last as his colleagues regarded me with stunned silence. He got to his feet and removed a key card from his pocket. “Nothing much will happen tonight. Let’s discuss it over breakfast tomorrow. It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Stella.” The woman and the other man rose. We exchanged goodbyes.
“Are you sure I didn’t interrupt anything?” I asked when they’d gone.
“If you had, I wouldn’t have invited you in,” Gage told me. His blunt reply wasn’t offensive, just a statement of fact. “How are you really? You don’t seem too shook up.”
“I guess I’m not. I panicked for a moment, but Étoile had it instantly under control and Micah was with me.”
“Ah, the bodyguard. He came in useful.” He sat at the table and took a long moment to look me over, after which he relaxed. “Well, I’m glad you’re not hurt.”
“That makes two of us.”
“I bet Evan’s got a lot to say about all this. I know I’ll get an earful from Annalise.”
I sipped the wine, deciding I would switch to water after this. I wasn’t a big drinker and didn’t try to be.
“I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to him.”
“Tonight?”
“Since I got here. He’s incommunicado.”
“I’m sure Micah will give him a report. He’ll probably be here by morning.”
“Doubt that.”
Gage gave me an assessing look. “What’s wrong, Stella?”
My sigh was small and tired. “Nothing. Ignore me.”
“So, are you going to tell me why you came looking for me? Because you seemed to think we’d already heard about Matthew Donovan’s shooting.”
“Just for company, and I had a couple of questions. I thought seeing as we’re in lockdown, I might as well take the opportunity to come by.”
“What for?”
“Pardon?”
He jumped in before I could gather my thoughts. “From my recollection, we talked already this evening, and we both have a few things to think over. You’re here with your people and I’m with mine. I can’t see what we have left to talk over that didn’t come up earlier.”
“We’re friends…” I started. “And I haven’t seen you much lately.”
“Yeah.” Gage ran a hand through his hair and then pushed his chair back slightly, so he could stretch his legs. “I guess I’ve been avoiding you.”
“I noticed that.” My voice was small. “I wish you wouldn’t.”
He closed his eyes, tilting his chin towards the ceiling as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings,” he said, opening his eyes again and rolling his head to one side. He gave me a rueful smile.
“I never meant to hurt yours either.” A look passed between us. It was a sad one and I knew he knew I wasn’t referring to tonight.
“There’s a bar upstairs,” said Gage. “We could go up there and get a drink; or just kick back here.”
I considered the lockdown. “The bar is probably crowded. Let’s stay here. No more wine though. Do you have any water?”
“Sure.” Gage walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out a plastic bottle. He grabbed a glass tumbler from the bar and passed them both to me. “Noah has a delegation meeting with the candidates tomorrow. We have an appointment with Esme Sanchez first thing, then Georgia, Étoile after lunch, and Donovan last. Oh yeah, and that other lady, Mary somebody. Will you be with Étoile?”
“I guess so. She was busy earlier so I didn’t ask.” I decided to keep whom she was busy with to myself. “What will happen?”
“Just a discussion. Like I told you earlier.”
“Ah.”
“Drew is leaning toward Donovan for Leader. I think they’ve met before,” Gage explained.
“What do you think?”
“I don’t like Donovan. Too much of a politician. A lot of puff, not a lot of fire. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not thrilled he’s been attacked.”
“What about Noah and Caroline? I mean, what do they
think of the candidates?"
“They’re thinking things through. They think Étoile is smart, but I don’t know which way they’ll swing ultimately.” We moved over to the sofa, Gage taking one end with me at the other. “If you were anyone else, I wouldn’t be telling you this,” he warned.
“I’m not going to say anything.” I remembered why I had decided to stop by. “Speaking of not saying things, I heard you are all interested in some talisman that you think will be at the Summit.”
Gage’s head shot up and his face darkened. “Where did you hear that?” He made an exasperated huff. “No, let me guess. My sister?”
“Yes, but don’t get mad. She just asked if I heard anything about it.”
“Have you? Is it here?”
“I don’t know. But I found a book that mentions it. It says it could just be a myth.”
“It’s not a myth.”
“Why are you all so interested in it? Is it the wolves who were just here that want it?”
Gage nodded. “Noah would like to see it returned. I suppose Annalise told you it was a gift from a witch that was later stolen from us?”
“Pretty much. The book said the same thing.” I didn’t mention what else the book said; instead, I waited for Gage to continue. “What do they want to do with it? Put it on display or something?” I prompted when his reply didn’t appear forthcoming.
“Something like that. We got a lead that a witch has it and is prepared to sell. Noah wants to put in a bid, if we can’t negotiate for it to be returned amicably.”
“Do you think this witch might just give it to you?” I asked, deciding by ‘amicably’ he meant ‘free.’
Gage huffed. “Doubt it.”
“Do you know who the witch is?”
“No, and I’m not sure Noah does either. He’s waiting to be contacted.” When Gage told me how much his clan leader was prepared to spend, I whistled.
Magic Rising (#4 Stella Mayweather Paranormal Series) Page 18
