Maisie didn’t look convinced. “I don’t know, guys. Mages usually chose their familiars. With you it’s different because you’re a Chthonic. It makes sense you’d have a demon familiar.”
“Yeah, but maybe the mixed-blood thing has something to with it,” I said, playing devil’s advocate. “Besides, you said before you’ve always wanted a familiar.”
Maisie opened her mouth to respond, but three Pythian Guards flashed into the fight ring to take custody of Lenny. Maisie spent the next few minutes filling them in on what happened and handing out instructions. Once they left with Lenny, she turned back to us.
“Okay, I’m not convinced Valva’s supposed to be my familiar, but until I can consult with Rhea and figure out what happened, there’s not much I can do.” She shot an apologetic look at Valva. “I’m sorry about all this.”
Valva shrugged. “I don’t mind. No offense, but anyone’s better than Lenny.”
Maisie smiled at the Vanity. “Thanks. We’ll get this sorted out soon.”
As she went to speak with Slade, and Giguhl and Valva began whispering to each other, I blew out a breath. What started as a girls’ night out had ended in an attempted murder on Giguhl and my sister being stuck with a demon familiar she didn’t want. I wasn’t sure how the Maisie thing was going to shake out, but I did know one thing: No one messed with my demon. It was time to stop waiting for the council to find the mage behind all these attempts on my life. That bitch was going down.
24
The next evening, I was getting ready to head to the council meeting when my bedroom door burst wide open. Orpheus stood on the threshold looking like an enraged god.
“You!” he said, his voice low and menacing.
I frowned at him. “You were expecting someone else? This is my room, after all.”
He pointed an accusing finger at me. “How could you take Maisie into that pit of iniquity?”
Ah, so that’s what this was about. “Look, dude, she wanted to go. I tried to talk her out of it, but it was her decision.”
Orpheus moved through the door and slammed it shut behind him. “I don’t give a damn whose idea it was. You should have known better than to take the oracle to a seedy dive bar. I knew you were trouble the moment you arrived.”
I crossed my arms. “You need to chill out. Nothing happened. Maisie’s fine.”
He sputtered for a moment, tripping over his tongue in his rush to argue. “You call getting involved in an attempted murder nothing?”
I shrugged. “She handled herself well. In fact, she made sure everything worked out.”
“If you call coming home with the stray demon of an attempted murderer working everything out.”
I raised my chin. “I do, actually.”
“I won’t have this. You hear me? Maisie needs to focus on regaining her visions. She doesn’t need to be wasting time consorting with the dregs of dark-race society.” His tone implied he included me in that group.
“Look, buddy, I know you’re used to calling the shots around here. But Maisie’s a grown female. She makes her own choices. Maybe instead of treating her like some fragile doll, you should treat her like the intelligent, strong female she is. And just maybe, if you stop pressuring her to be a one-woman vision factory, she’ll be able to relax long enough to start seeing the future again.”
His eyes narrowed and his posture went all stiff and offended. “You think you know so much? You’ve been here a few days. I’ve known Maisie her whole life. Helped Ameritat raise her as if she was my own daughter, out of respect for your father’s memory. So don’t tell me how to deal with Maisie when you yourself have shown complete disregard for both her station and her safety. Your father would be ashamed of you.”
I leaned forward, my jaw clenched and my stare icy. “I don’t give a fuck what Tristan Graecus would think of me.”
“And why doesn’t that surprise me? You father was a hero. A mage of honor. How his genes managed to produce such a selfish and irresponsible brat like yourself is a mystery.”
My mouth dropped open at the venom in both his eyes and his words. Before I could respond to his attack, however, he turned on his heel and slammed out of the room.
I went to the quivering doorframe and watched his angry progress down the hall. The door next to me opened and a horned head stuck out. Giguhl watched Orpheus’s retreat for a second. Then his head turned toward me. “What was that all about?”
I blew out a breath. “Someone’s not happy about Maisie’s night out.”
Worry spread over Giguhl’s face. “You don’t think he’s going to make her send Valva back to Irkalla, do you?”
I shrugged. “I honestly don’t know, G. He’s not happy about it, but I don’t know if he has the power to make Maisie get rid of her. I’ll speak to her this evening and find out what she’s learned about the mix-up with the transference.”
Giguhl opened his mouth to say something, but just then a golden arm snaked out from the door behind him. The fingers tugged Giguhl’s arm. “Come back to bed, my little mischief maker.” Valva’s high-pitched voice was muffled but unmistakable.
“Just a minute, my little peacock,” he said. He turned back to me. “Talk to Maisie.”
I nodded. “I’m about to go to the council meeting. I’ll see if I can talk to her after.”
“Thanks, Sabina.” The golden hands pulled him back into the room and slammed the door behind him. A few seconds later, squeals and moans echoed down the hallway. I sent a quick prayer of thanks to goddess I had somewhere else to be. Giguhl and Valva’s sex-a-thon kept waking me up all day, and I was going to stake myself if I had to listen to another round.
I grabbed my gun and hid it in a thigh holster under my chiton. The council didn’t allow mundane weapons into the council chamber, but what they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them. After Lenny’s revelations the night before, I wasn’t about to put myself in a room full of mages without a weapon. I might need more practice with my newfound magical skills, but I had plenty of experience using a gun. And I wouldn’t hesitate to put that experience to use if someone came after me again.
From my vantage point in the front row of the audience, the entire council looked wound up tighter than concertina wire. In addition to the tension of the coming meeting, the fallout from the previous night’s debacle was also clearly in play. Maisie kept shooting resentful looks at Orpheus. He steadfastly refused to even look at her, preferring instead to glare at me. I preferred to watch the small male sitting to Orpheus’s left.
He had to be a faery with his knife’s-blade cheekbones and luminescent skin. He filled out his green velvet coat and frilly white shirt with a muscular torso. His long brown hair covered his ears, but I’d bet cash money their tips were pointed. In short, he was gorgeous, but that wasn’t why I watched him. Disdain twisted his cupid’s-bow mouth and narrowed his almond eyes as he watched me.
Looked like the queen’s emissary wasn’t a fan. Since we’d never even met, his attitude surprised me. But before I could ponder the whys, Orpheus banged his gavel on the table.
“This meeting of the ancient and venerable Hekate Council is now called to order.”
The room fell silent except for the occasional shifting of bodies trying to get comfortable on the impossibly small cushions covering the floor. I caught Maisie’s eye and sent her an encouraging smile. She tried to return it, but her lips formed a tight grimace instead.
Poor Maisie, I thought. Now that I knew about her vision problem, I could only imagine the intense performance pressure she must be feeling.
“As you all know, the council has been seriously debating the prospect of declaring war against the Dominae. We understand you’re all invested in the outcome of our decision, but we ask for your continued patience as we weigh all the potential consequences.” He paused and took a sip of water. I couldn’t help but get the sense he was stalling.
“In addition to investigating the situation, we have also been in negotiations with Queen Maeve’s special envoy, Hawthorne Banathsheh.” He nodded toward the faery. “If the Council votes for war, the Queen’s support will be crucial to achieving victory. To Mr. Banathsheh, we’d like to extend our welcome and our assurances the Hekate Council is committed to continuing our cherished alliance with all faekind.”
Hawthorne nodded regally with a slight smile. “High Councilman Orpheus, Queen Maeve, may the Goddess protect Her, would like to extend her warmest regards to all members of this esteemed council as well as your honorable constituents. The queen is pleased we were able to come to a satisfactory resolution to our negotiations. If the Hekate Council, in its wisdom, decides war is the best course of action, the queen is prepared to offer her full support.”
A ripple of excitement made its way through the mages. I sat up a little straighter at the news myself. I just couldn’t figure out why Maisie didn’t look more pleased by her success with the fae envoy.
Hawthorne smiled at the audience. “Together, our ancient and noble races will finally dispense with the scourge of all the dark races—the Dominae!”
As a cheer rose, the faery’s eyes picked me out of the crowd. I shifted on my cushion uneasily. What was this guy’s deal, anyway?
“Thank you, Envoy Banathsheh,” Orpheus said. “Please send the queen our warmest regards upon your return to court tomorrow.”
He shifted then to look at Maisie. “We will now hear from the Honorable Maisie Graecus. Maisie?” His voice was tight, as if he’d prefer not to talk to her. As it was, he barely managed to look at her.
Maisie, to her credit, rose with her shoulders back and her head held high. “I have nothing to report.” She inclined her head respectfully in Orpheus’s direction and sat back down.
Confused murmurs swarmed around me. Obviously, everyone was disappointed their oracle didn’t have any new visions to report. Orpheus frowned and leaned over to Maisie, whispering. Maisie shook her head, her mouth tight. Orpheus stared at her hard for a moment. She met his gaze with her own, all but daring him to give her shit about her continued lack of visions. Finally, he sighed and turned back toward the mic. “This meeting is adjourned.”