“Were you born yet? What stories did you hear?”
Adriana shook her head. “I was born many hundreds of years later.” But that still made her several hundred years old. Yowzer.
“Maybe we need to not worry about how they got where they are and concentrate on why they’re still here at all. If Atlantis disappeared into the rift, shouldn’t the horns have gone with it?”
Adriana’s head was moving up and down like a bobblehead doll created by Tiffany and Max Factor. “I’ve asked that since this one was brought to me. Of course we already knew Stefania was trafficking with demons, so I wondered if perhaps it was a gift from them. I’ve also been concerned that the horns were a double-edged sword of a kind.”
“Ooh,” Dawna said from the backseat. “You mean that maybe the horn can open the rift instead of close it and maybe that’s why the wicked queen of the west had it?”
Oh, that would be bad.
“Indeed.” Adriana’s perfect nails were tapping a staccato on the tote. I flicked on the right turn signal and eased into the exit lane. We were getting nearer to finding the answers to a lot of questions. “There is every chance that the records I’ve found are wrong—changed after the memories of the queens were altered. I fear using the horn unless we have some authority.”
I pulled my cell phone from the dashboard charger and tossed it backward over the seat. “Dawna, check my voice mail and see if Dr. Sloan has called back. I only called him yesterday, so he might not have, but if he has, I want to talk with him while we’re all together and nothing’s trying to kill us.”
There was silence in the car other than the clicking of keys. I could hear my own voice far in the distance, and then Dawna was writing on her hand while nodding absently—just like she did at the office. “Yep,” she said after a few minutes. “He called you back, and left a number. Want me to call him and set something up?”
“It’s illegal, so yeah, I don’t like to, and I hate the way calls sound on those Bluetooths. Or is that Blueteeth?”
She smiled and even Adriana let out a small amused sound. Dawna paused and then her smile turned to a grin. “Two other calls, by the way.” Her voice went singsong. “John and Bruno both wanna see you. Celia’s got two boyfriends.”
I looked over to catch Adriana’s reaction, but it didn’t really mean anything to her. Why would it? She’s probably completely used to men falling over her. Dawna must have noticed Adriana’s lack of reaction, because she leaned over and whispered, “Her first triangle.”
I swatted at Dawna and she ducked. But Adriana let out a real laugh. “My first was amazing, but it’s also the most difficult, Celia—especially if you find them both attractive in return.”
“Oh, she does. Both are mages and both are completely hot.”
That grabbed Adriana’s attention. “Mages. Are they skilled?”
I nodded, fighting off the blush that was probably making my white skin a vivid pink. “Very. Bruno is more powerful, but John has an amazing talent.”
Adriana touched the tote as I came to a stop at the light heading toward the beach. “Would they be able to feel the magic in the horn? Perhaps even know what spell was cast on it?”
That was such a logical question that I kicked myself for not thinking of it. “It’s sure worth asking, but I don’t know if we can reach them. Were they still down at the prison, Dawna?”
She glanced at the time display on the face of my cell. “The messages were both about an hour ago and they were just leaving for the night. Again, want me to call?”
What the hell. “Sure. Call all three. Have the whole bunch meet me at the guesthouse. That’s where the other shell is. But I have got to have something to eat first, so tell them to make it in an hour or so and if they get there before us they should wait.”
I figured if they were early and we were late, we could focus on the shell and not on … well, less comfortable subjects. I glanced in the mirror to see how Dawna took my instructions while I turned away from my house. Her brows were raised and there was a small smile on her face, but she didn’t say a word.
That was best, because I had suddenly become a bundle of nerves. I didn’t want to have “the talk” with Bruno and I certainly didn’t want him to see the effect Creede’s magic had on me. Nor did I want John to see the pain in my eyes when I looked at Bruno. Damn it. I could really use one of those cleansing rituals right now, because I wanted to throw up and was brushing back tears. If Adriana noticed my slightly green expression, she didn’t mention it, but I was betting she didn’t notice.
Apparently I was wrong, because moments later she spoke with absolute seriousness: “This is something you must learn to live with, Celia. None of us chose to be a siren. If you spend all your time worrying about what effect your beauty and natural attraction will have on the hearts of the men who love you, you’ll curl up in a corner and die.” She stared at me so intently that I couldn’t help but turn to meet her gaze. “I mean that literally. Others have.”
“If that’s supposed to be encouraging, it’s … well, your delivery needs a little work.” I turned back to concentrate on my driving. I was glad of the ocean breeze coming through the open windows; it helped me calm down. “Let’s find somewhere to get some food before I start chomping on necks.”
19
There were three cars parked at the guesthouse, but no people were visible. As I pulled in, I spotted Inez slowly climbing the stairs back to the main house.
Oh, shit. She’d let them in. Great. They were probably pawing through my stuff right now.
Nah. They wouldn’t do that. Would they?
At least the house was still standing and the walls weren’t melting … yet. That was a plus. I wasn’t as emotional anymore, either. Apparently aggression isn’t the only thing that happens when I get hungry. The people at the Italian restaurant had probably never seen a weepy vampire before. Interestingly, spaghetti with marinara sauce isn’t half-bad in a blender. Definitely on the keeper list.
But my emotions weren’t in perfect order, because my stomach did flip-flops when I saw two men watching me arrive from my own living-room window. So when I parked the SUV next to a rental Mustang that was as red as a certain Ferrari but not as fast, it wasn’t much of a struggle to answer the cell phone when it rang. Dawna let out a clucking noise and leaned next to my ear to whisper as she was getting out, “Chicken.”
I shooed her away. Adriana had an amused look that said she agreed with Dawna. Just what I needed—two amoral compasses. I pressed the green button as both doors shut and they walked toward the house. “Celia Graves.”
“Afternoon, Ms. Graves. It’s Mick Murphy.”
It wasn’t Monday. “I’m sorry, Mr. Murphy, but I haven’t had a chance to talk to those people yet. Didn’t we say we’d talk tomorrow?”
“We did. Yes, ma’am. But something interesting came up and I thought you’d want to know about it.”
Okay, that got me curious. I got out of the car and started to walk toward the stairs … not to climb them to the door but to stand under them where there was shade. It was December, but I was suddenly dying in the car. It hadn’t really hit me until the breeze stopped moving and I started sweating. But out in the open air a cool wind took away the heat and the sounds of gulls and of waves crashing against the rocks calmed me. “Tell me about it.” And please take a long time doing it.
“Well, I got a call today from an older gentleman named Nathan Fulbright. His family has been in the county for generations, but I’d never really talked to him before. Called me right out of the blue and offered to sell me his ranch. The interesting part is he’s asking the exact amount of money Ms. Cooper is leaving me.”
Really. I let my sneakers sink into the soft sand and rested my tail against one of the stair treads while I thought. “Did the amount you’re getting appear in the local papers or make the rumor mills?”
“No, ma’am. That’s why I thought it was significant. Gave me a shiver right up my spine. Most of the people around town think I’m getting a million or so. Mind you, that’s still a lot of money down here.”
It was just about anywhere except Hollywood. “Is that a normal price for land down there?”
The choking laugh that burst from him was the answer without him even saying the words. “No. Nowhere close. It’s nice land and there’s always been a rumor he’s got a little diamond mine there, but other than that, it’s just ordinary ground. Not even very good grazing. Might be good for crops once all the undergrowth is gone. It’s about two sections—so a little over twelve hundred acres. But land’s only about three thousand an acre hereabouts.”
“Diamond mine? There are diamonds in Arkansas?”
“Yes’m, in a few places. A couple of the mines are real steady producers. A lot of them are industrial-grade veins, but there are a few that are jewelry quality. I talked to my boss, the judge, and he thinks the reason Nathan’s offering the land to me is to keep his two moneygrubbing sons away from it. That I do understand. His sons are real no-accounts. Nobody likes or trusts them and their names have passed by my desk in the court more than once.”
Sort of like Vicki’s situation but in reverse. “I guess the big question is, are you interested?”
He let out a deep breath. “I haven’t had much of a chance to think about it, to be honest. I just barely got off the phone with him and we immediately thought to call you to find out your thoughts. I mean, it’s nice land—overlooks the river and parts are real pretty. But for that price there’d better be something really special about it. I just don’t know what that might be. And I don’t think he’d tell me if I asked ’lessen we were under contract.”
“And by then, it’s a little late to be disappointed.”