I must have looked startled because she laughed lightly and touched my arm. A tingle raced through my body like a jolt of lightning-not painful but not exactly pleasant. But it was strong enough to leave me jarred.
“The vampires think they have an exclusive hold on that knowledge, but they are mistaken. The Vein Lords have long considered themselves to be the top of the food chain, but they have never crossed the Consortium. They have no real clue about the power our Society wields. And we intend to keep it that way until the day they choose to waken the sleeping dragon.”
Her lips stopped moving, but I could still hear her inside my head. Cicely, know this: If push comes to shove, the vampires could never win against us. And we should prove a sturdy force against Myst. We have an elite task force with whom I will discuss this situation. That is all I can tell you for now. Keep the knowledge to yourselves, and do not tell Lannan Altos or any of the vampires. But look for us to send help shortly.
I glanced at Kaylin and Rhiannon. They, too, wore surprised looks and I had the feeling they’d heard everything I had. We all nodded.
As we headed for the door, I asked, “What magic do you work with? You are one of the magic-born, correct?”
She nodded. “I am. I work with pure energy. The energy of thought, of communication, and of lightning.”
I pushed open the door and we headed out into the snow. As we were about to separate, her to her car and us to ours, a growl-low and threatening-alerted me.
Incoming. Werewolves. At least five.
Shit! I hadn’t been prepared for a fight. My belly was full and I was already tired from the altercation with the day-runners earlier. I whirled around to see the pack headed for us.
“Werewolves!” They didn’t look like they were from the Lupa Clan. In fact, they looked even surlier and nastier.
“I smell the stench of magic-born.” The tallest one stepped forward and-before I could say or do anything-he threw a punch my way, hitting me in the stomach and knocking me back into a snowbank.
Kaylin had his shurikens out within seconds, and Rhiannon jumped back, squinting as she whispered some chant. I struggled to my feet.
Ysandra, on the other hand, simply placed her briefcase and bag down behind her in the snow and held up one hand, palm toward the lycanthropes. They jostled for position, but within a moment a shockwave raced through the air, knocking all of us on our butts. The werewolves looked startled, nervous.
Kaylin grabbed Rhiannon and helped her up, then me.
Ysandra simply stood where she was.
“You have a choice.” Her voice was even and so scary cold that it frightened even me. “You can turn tail and leave us be, or you can lose your hearing forever, along with your equilibrium. If you don’t think I can do it, you’d be sadly mistaken. I am no youthful witch, new to her magic.”
One of the werewolves started forward, but the leader shook his head, grabbing the man by the arm. “She’s Consortium,” was all he said, and the five began to back away, hands in the air.
“Get in your car and drive out of here now.” Ysandra gave a little nod to us. “Do as I say.”
“But will you be safe if we go?” We couldn’t just leave her standing there.
She let out a cold, harsh laugh that seemed incongruous with her looks. “Do not let appearances deceive you, Cicely. Trust on instinct rather than what you see.”
Kaylin motioned to the car. “Get in. Do as she says.”
I started to protest, but Ulean swept around me in a spinning vortex.
Do as Kaylin says. Do as the witch says. She is far more than you perceive-I can see her energy now and it is frightening in its power. She could destroy the werewolves’ hearing with a whistle, she could rupture their eardrums with one clap of the hands. She does not need our help.
The intensity of Ulean’s thoughts hit me like a brick. She wasn’t joking. I nodded, backing up to the car, keeping one eye on the werewolves who stood near their trucks, staring at us. Rhiannon and I climbed in as Kaylin turned the ignition.
Ysandra called out something-I couldn’t quite catch what because I was too busy gawking rather than listening to the slipstream-and the werewolves turned, jumped in their trucks, and peeled out of the parking lot.
As we headed in the opposite direction, I glanced in the rearview mirror. Ysandra picked up her briefcase and bag like nothing had happened, daintily stepped into her sedan, and within seconds, she’d driven off into the night.
Chapter 7
On the drive home we didn’t talk much. Watching Ysandra bring a pack of werewolves to their knees had been sobering. If that’s the kind of power the Consortium had, I wanted in on it. I didn’t know how much I trusted them, but I’d rather align myself with them than against them.
“We have to tell Lannan we talked to her, but let’s wait till he’s asleep to discuss the werewolves, the task force, and the fact that the Consortium knows all about the war between the vampires and the Indigo Court.”
“Spot on.” Kaylin flicked the turn signal as we eased off the highway, onto the street leading to the warehouse. “Somehow I think even Lannan would go running back to the Crimson Court with that information, as much of a rogue as he is.”
We pulled into the parking lot and he turned off the ignition. We’d made it back to the warehouse without anything worse than a few swerves.
As we swept into the central room, everybody was eating. Everyone except Lannan, who was sitting off to the side, a smirk on his face as he flipped through an issue of Vamp. A slut magazine catering to the bite-me set, the monthly rag featured gaudy pictures of women-and men-dressed in little to no clothing, advertising their services for hire as bloodwhores.
He glanced up at me, his long lashes fluttering against the obsidian gleam of his eyes. Very slowly, he closed the magazine and set it to the side. “So, our illustrious trio returns.” Slipping off the arm of the chair on which he’d been sitting, Lannan sauntered over to me, circling me as I shrugged out of my jacket.
“Cicely, my sweet Cicely. Where have you been?”
I tried to ignore his proximity, but the feel of him behind me set me on edge. Shivering, I tried to ignore the magnetic pull he had on my body.
“We talked to Ysandra. The Consortium has accepted us in on an emergency basis. I signed a contract with her.” I turned to Lannan-I knew he was going to raise a stink about it. And I wasn’t mistaken.
“You seriously believe that will release you from your obligation to the vampires? Geoffrey’s actions do not negate the contract between you and the Crimson Veil. Don’t fancy yourself footloose, my dear Cicely.” He leaned in, his face inches from my own. My wolf ruffled its fur-Grieve wasn’t happy, that was for sure. “And didn’t Geoffrey tell you not to talk to the Consortium?”
I stood my ground. “He warned me about them, yes. But given that I now trust Geoffrey just about as much as I trust Myst, I’m not necessarily concerning myself with what Geoffrey told me.” I flashed him a snarly leer. I wanted to bait him. Just a little. “So, are you going to run back to him and tell him what I’ve done?”
Lannan froze, his gaze narrowing. He looked two seconds short of baring his fangs, but after a moment, he pulled back. “Don’t tempt me, girl. Don’t ever fancy yourself the winner in our little game of wit and will.”
“You’re edging onto shaky ground, Altos.” My father stood, motioning for Grieve to remain silent. “Remember, you stand in the presence of Summer whether Lainule is here or not-I am the King of Rivers and Rushes and I wield no small power. And Cicely is my daughter.”