In the end, my mother limited the so-called bridal shower ‘games’ to three. Though I felt certain that at least one of them had been rigged, because I lost my clothespin almost immediately as punishment for saying the word ‘chocolate.’ Apparently, I couldn’t go five minutes without doing so. But after that, relieved of the pressure of having to watch what I was saying, I enjoyed being surrounded by feminine chatter that had nothing to do with cupcakes, sales figures, or elves.
At one point, the witches got a little rambunctious over the idea of conducting tests with the magical grid, since half the coven — the main part of Gran’s whittled-down guest list — was going to be in town for my upcoming nuptials. Then two latecomers showed up — Teresa Garrick, Benjamin’s mother, and Danica Novak, Mory’s mother. To Mory’s utter chagrin, the two necromancers immediately settled down in a corner of the dining room with their tea and pastries, then started cackling about a rare skeleton one of them was adding to her bone collection.
I ignored both conversations, choosing to hang out with Rochelle and Kandy until Beau showed up promptly at 4:00 p.m. That seemed a perfectly acceptable time for a planned retreat, since it had been noted as the end of the gathering on the invitations. The werecat’s appearance — literally, how delectably gorgeous he was — shocked the assembled females into appreciative but polite murmurs. Beau, being rather smart about these sorts of things — and head over heels for his pregnant wife — stuck around only long enough to rescue Rochelle from our clutches. Along with a Tupperware container filled with leftover petit fours, of course.
Leaving the witches to chat and sip freshly brewed tea, the necromancers, the werewolves, and I all made hasty retreats as well. And Kandy was happily laden with two more pastry-filled containers, thanks to my mother’s excellent forethought and planning. Mory, looking really put out, climbed into the back seat of an older silver Mercedes driven by her mother. Teresa Garrick took the passenger seat. Other than her daughter, Danica had been the only necromancer in Vancouver before the Garricks arrived. But apparently the two elder necromancers had a lot to bond over and had become fast friends.
Adepts usually stuck to cultivating relationships among their own kind. It must have been nice to be able to share your magic with someone, chat about tips and tricks, and cast spells together. I wouldn’t know. But I didn’t feel particularly put out for being the only dowser and alchemist around.
Kandy, Audrey, Lara, and I wandered back along West Fifth Avenue toward the bakery as the sun began to set. It was only slightly chilly, the weather in Vancouver being a sharp contrast to what we’d left behind in the mountains. Musing about the weather made me think of the Talbots and their skiing weekend, so I checked my phone for text messages while the wolves dug into the leftover pastries and chattered among themselves.
I had no new messages, from the Talbots or anyone else. And that made me realize that I was hoping Warner and Kett were on their way home. Not because I was worried about the elves, but because I missed them. Yes, even though we hadn’t even been separated for twenty-four hours. I might occasionally chafe when my very set routine didn’t contain enough knife fighting, but I was a homebody at heart. Whether it was feasible or not, I wanted all my loved ones in the same place at the same time. Didn’t everyone?
“Did you check in with the Talbots?” I asked Kandy during a break in the conversation.
“You know I did.”
I opened my mouth to continue grilling her, but she raised her hand.
“And Kett. And everyone else who was supposed to check in. Everyone who should be accounted for is accounted for.”
“Fine. You don’t have to be so bossy about it.”
“Apparently I do.”
Momentarily satisfied, I stuffed my phone into my sweater pocket, hampered by the handmade bouquet I was still carrying. As one of the so-called games, the guests had constructed the bouquet for me out of the paper and ribbons the shower gifts had been wrapped in. Kandy had gathered the gifts themselves into a large tote bag that was now slung over her shoulder. Though the invitations had indicated that gifts weren’t requested, most of the guests had brought a little something, including handmade chocolate-scented soap, lip balm, and body cream from the witches.
Opening the lip balm from Olive — and then gushing over it — was why I’d lost my clothespin so early on. I had a feeling that giving me that particular gift first had been a strategic move on the part of the witches, who liked to win any and all games. Burgundy had come away with the bulk of the clothespins in the end, gleefully winning a gift certificate for a manicure.
I raised the bouquet before me. “And what exactly am I supposed to do with this?”
“Oh!” Lara gushed. “You use it during the wedding rehearsal.”
I glanced at Kandy disconcertedly. “We’re supposed to have a rehearsal?”
“Don’t look at me. I ain’t never planned a wedding either.”
“Just bring it with you tonight,” Lara said, shaking her head at our collective ineptitude.
“You want me to carry it around with me?” I frowned down at the trail of curled gift-wrap ribbons that fell to my knees. “What if I have to pull my knife?”
Lara laughed. “At dinner? Or while we’re dancing?”
Kandy growled. “Shut it, big mouth.”
Preceded by her sweet peppermint magic, Jasmine stepped onto the sidewalk at the corner of West Fifth and Larch, gazing intently at me. Lara flinched as if the golden-haired vampire had just appeared out of nowhere, but she’d apparently been tucked behind a tall laurel hedge for some odd reason.
“I’m here,” Jasmine murmured, darting a look at the three werewolves.
“So I see,” I said, confused by the intimate wariness of her tone.
“You were supposed to text if you left the apartment,” Kandy snipped.
Jasmine frowned. “Jade texted me.”
“I didn’t.”
She fell into step with me, pulling her phone out of the pocket of her figure-hugging brown suede jacket.
The two pack werewolves dropped back a few steps, as if deliberately separating themselves from association with the vampire. Audrey whispered something that sounded derogatory, but I didn’t bother to work out the actual words. Lara snickered.
Jasmine flicked a backward glance at them, but she ignored the cold shoulder. Kandy tucked up slightly behind my left shoulder. The three of us wouldn’t have been able to walk abreast otherwise.
Jasmine unlocked her phone and stared down at her screen. “I … that’s odd.”
“No text message?”
But instead of answering me, the golden-haired vampire looked up abruptly, glaring past Kandy and at the other werewolves for no reason I could discern.
“What are you looking at, vampire?” Audrey asked with a sneer.
“I’m not certain,” Jasmine said condescendingly. “But it appears to be roadkill walking.”
Lara snarled. The green of her shapeshifter magic rolled across Audrey’s eyes.
“Whoa, whoa!” I kept my pace steady in the hopes of continuing to draw Jasmine with me without having to grab her. Something was definitely up with the vampire, but I didn’t want to exacerbate it unnecessarily. “It’s a party, ladies. Not a catfight.”
Lara opened her mouth to snarl something back at me — presumably regarding the cat comment, which I belatedly realized might have been construed as disparaging by a werewolf. An unfortunate choice of phrase on my part.
“Enough,” Kandy snarled. She spun around to walk backward, her bittersweet-chocolate magic shifting around her with the command.
Lara snapped her mouth shut.
Audrey pinned Kandy with her green-hued gaze — and her gait slowed. For a brief, panicked moment, I thought the green-haired werewolf was going to throw down with her beta. Which would have been a seriously bad idea for Audrey, because Kandy would most likely win — magic cuffs or no magic cuffs. And Kandy didn’t want the rank that would have come with that victory. Or the relocation to Portland.
“The weather is nice, isn’t it?” I tried to sound deliberately perky though something was clearly going on, continuing to stroll down the sidewalk. “Snow on the mountains but practically sweater weather in town.”
Kandy rolled her shoulders, then turned her back on Audrey, stepping up just behind me again.
Jasmine had reverted her attention to her phone.
The three of us crossed Balsam Street without further incident. Only a block and a half to the bakery. And maybe, once we were behind the security of wards, I could figure out what was up with Jasmine. And the testy wolves, though Audrey was always on the edge of —
“I can hear you, assholes,” Jasmine snarled, spinning so suddenly to face the werewolves that I got a mouthful of golden curls. “If you have something to say, try saying it to my face. See how that goes.”
Audrey practically threw herself forward, snapping her teeth only an inch away from Jasmine’s nose. “You’re hearing things, bloodsucker. If I bothered to address your kind, I’d do it with tooth and fang. You’re not worthy of my words.”
“Technically,” I said, “you’re talking to her right now, beta.”
“Stay out of it, dowser,” Lara snarled.
Kandy laughed sharply, drawing Jasmine’s attention. The red of her magic was ringing the vampire’s bright-blue irises. Something was seriously up with her.
Audrey turned her shoulders away, as if stepping back from the situation. Jasmine shook her head oddly, perhaps trying to clear it. Then Audrey shifted her weight, spinning back with her hand raised to slap Jasmine.
I stepped forward, blocking the vampire from the blow she was too inexperienced to expect. So Audrey backhanded me instead. Aiming for Jasmine’s cheek, she got my jaw and upper neck because I was about two inches taller. A bunch of the small bones in her hand snapped, the sound sharp to all our ears.
I turned my head with the blow, hoping to mitigate its effects. For Audrey, that was. I barely felt it myself.
Audrey froze, more wary than frightened. Her hand hung suspended in the air between us.
Lara moaned quietly.
I met the beta’s brown-eyed gaze, unable to keep the challenge out of my look. “Care to try again, wolf?”
Audrey lowered her hand, flexing her fingers as her shifter magic rolled over it, likely healing the multiple breaks. “You move quickly, dowser,” she said, deceptively mildly.
“You ain’t seen nothing yet, werewolf.” I smiled. Possibly nastily.
“Jade.” Kandy’s whisper was muted but tense.
I nodded, trying to temper my tone. I didn’t particularly like being hit, not even if I was the one who’d stepped into it. “In Vancouver, we try to figure out what’s going on with our friends when they act out of character. You know, before ambushing them.”
“Like a coward,” Jasmine added.
Kandy closed her eyes, pained.
Audrey’s chocolate-infused magic rose again — bitter and punctuated by the earthy taste of mushrooms and some sort of nut … brazil nut, maybe. The bones in her face shifted. Dark, wiry hair appeared and disappeared on her neck. She gritted her teeth, fighting the transformation.
Lara pressed her shoulder against her beta’s, but she kept her gaze downcast — likely so I didn’t think she was challenging me.
“I told you.” Jasmine peered over my shoulder. “They’re conspiring against me. Against you, dowser.”
“The vampire is obviously out of her mind,” Audrey said. “Not unexpected, for her kind.”
A wide grin spread across my face. Again. I wasn’t particularly friendly with Audrey, but Jasmine automatically earned my loyalty because she belonged to Kett, and because he’d asked me to watch over her.
Audrey actually stepped back. Most likely because I’d wrapped my hand around the hilt of my knife, though I left it sheathed. For now. Even the beta werewolf wasn’t stupid enough to tangle with my blade.
“We’re supposed to go for dinner,” Kandy said, stepping between me and the other two werewolves. She pinned me with a mournful gaze. “Then dancing.”
“How can you blame this on me?” I cried.
“The vampire needs to be shown her place,” Audrey snarled. “You allow her to be too familiar.”
“You once thought that about me, beta.” I laughed darkly. The magic of the instruments of assassination sleepily curled around my necklace, egging me on. “Maybe you still do?”
“A leader should understand, Jade.” Audrey squared her shoulders, lifting her chin imperiously. “Your example governs the fledglings in your territory.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. It felt as if the conversation was veering seriously close to some sort of lesson — but the beta was in no position to school me.
“Time and place, beta,” Kandy said, keeping her tone neutral. “I’m certain your insights would be welcome when requested.”
“You’re crossing a line, Kandy,” Audrey snapped.
Jasmine thrust her arm in front of me, showing me her phone. “See?” she cried. “It’s right there. I’ve uncovered evidence.”
The screen of her phone was blank.
I glanced at Kandy.
She leaned over to look at the phone, then peered at Jasmine. “There’s nothing on the phone, baby girl.”
Frowning, Jasmine withdrew the phone, muttering to herself and fiddling with the screen.
Turning my back on the stupid pissing contest with the werewolves, I grasped the golden-haired vampire by the elbow, steering her swiftly toward the bakery. Well, as quickly as I could without drawing attention from the homes lining either side of the street. It wasn’t dark yet, and people would be coming home from work soon.
The werewolves followed, Kandy at my heels with Audrey and Lara only a step behind.
Energy tickled the back of my hand. Just a hint of something foreign, almost hidden underneath the vampire’s riled, sweet-peppermint magic.
Possibly elven magic by its tenor. But, as far as I could tell, not the illusionist’s power.
“Elf …” I whispered it without otherwise reacting, knowing that Kandy would hear and understand me. “Something’s going on. Like with the injured wolf last night.”
Jasmine’s head shot up. “Elf? Where?” She hissed it through inch-long fangs, which had abruptly made an appearance.
“Keep moving, Jasmine,” I said, smiling as if we were just chatting amicably. “Like we’re in a hurry, but not like we’re panicked. Yes?”
“Yes.” The vampire sounded agreeable enough, but I didn’t like that she was showing fang.
“Circle back a block at the corner,” Kandy whispered to Audrey and Lara behind us.
“Why should we?” Audrey sniffed condescendingly.
“Use your nose, beta,” Kandy murmured.
As we approached the corner of Vine and West Fifth Avenue, Kandy said brightly, “We’ll meet you two back at the bakery. We just have a few things to pick up first.”
Then the three werewolves peeled off in different directions without another word.
As much as I desperately wanted to be leading the elf hunt, I steered Jasmine to the left, heading north to West Fourth Avenue instead.
The disoriented vampire was fiddling with her phone again. “It was right here. Here? No. Right here.”
I didn’t pick up any more of the magic I’d tasted when I first touched Jasmine. And I couldn’t taste any of the illusionist’s magic either. Which seriously bothered me. I had learned to rely on my dowser senses in such situations. You know, when my friends were being hunted — though the elves were taking it a step further if they were managing to influence Jasmine somehow.
And with the vampire compromised, I couldn’t even pause to dowse for the elves’ magic. Not out in the open. Not without first getting Jasmine away from the werewolves, who she seemed to be fixating on. I was hoping that getting the vampire behind the wards of the bakery would mitigate whatever was going on with her.
Thankfully, though, we still had a couple of hours before dinner. So hunting elves wasn’t completely off the menu yet.
I paused at the crosswalk at West Fourth Avenue. The traffic was thick, both vehicle and pedestrian. Jasmine pressed up against me, looking around furtively. Involuntarily, I thought.
I gripped her arm slightly more firmly, trying to impress her with the fact that she’d have a difficult time getting away from me. You know, just in case she was contemplating grabbing an unwilling snack. Then the light changed and I wove through the throng of people crossing the road, dragging Jasmine alongside me.
Up ahead, Kandy jogged across Vine Street, darting into the alley behind the Whole Foods at the corner to scout ahead of us. I followed the green-haired werewolf, meeting up with her by the back door of the bakery just seconds after Lara, who had approached from the opposite direction.
“Nothing,” the purple-clad werewolf said. “Only humans for a block in all directions. Audrey’s doing another —”
Without warning, Jasmine wrenched free from my grasp — leaving the arm of her suede jacket in my hand. The vampire attacked Lara, latching onto the werewolf’s neck and slamming her against the green recycling bin.
I lunged forward to slip a finger into the side of Jasmine’s mouth. Then, hooking her like a fish, I wrenched her away from Lara’s neck.
Kandy grabbed Lara, holding her upright while pressing a hand to her badly bleeding neck. Lara’s shifter magic exploded around us as she instinctively started to transform into a shape better suited for taking on a vampire. A form that wouldn’t remain hidden behind the recycling bin for very long.
“No!” Kandy pressed a hand to Lara’s face, gazing deeply into her eyes. “You’re okay, my friend. You’re safe.”
Leaving the hurt werewolf for Kandy to manage, I dragged a snarling Jasmine toward the exterior door of the bakery. She twisted and fought against my grip the whole way. Thankfully, the door opened to the touch of my magic, rather than needing to fumble with an actual key. That allowed me to get it open one-handed, then to thrust the vampire through the wards.
I glanced back at Lara and Kandy. The purple-clad werewolf’s neck was no longer gushing with blood. She looked completely pissed, of course. But at least she was still human.
Looking through into the kitchen, I realized I was still holding the sleeve of Jasmine’s jacket, though I’d lost the paper-and-ribbon bouquet somewhere. The golden-haired vampire was standing a few steps away from my stainless steel workstation, wearing her ruined jacket and a dazed expression. Thankfully the bakery was closed for the day.
A hulking, hairy monster abruptly appeared behind me, scoring my back with its wicked claws before I could step aside.
“Audrey!” Kandy cried.
Pulling a page from the beta’s own playbook, I took a step over the bakery threshold, then pivoted to backhand Audrey.
Carefully.
She was in her half-wolf, half-human form, first stumbling, then snarling, then coming at me with teeth and claws bared. Yes, right out in the freaking open space of the alley.
I slammed both hands over Audrey’s massive maw, squeezing her jaw shut. Then I tucked my knees and rolled backward into the bakery, pulling the huge werewolf with me. Audrey flipped ass over head, slamming down onto the edge of the workstation. Its stainless steel crumpled underneath her massive, clawed feet.
I stood motionless for a painful moment, cringing at the damage I had just inflicted on my haven.
Unfortunately, I’d also forgotten about Jasmine.
As Audrey staggered to her feet among the wreckage of my steel counter, the golden-haired vampire flung herself around the werewolf’s neck, dangling there like a pretty ornament. Her fangs had retracted. Her blue eyes were wide but determined. Whatever magic had influenced her previously appeared to have been negated by the bakery wards.
Unfortunately, a newly made vampire — even with Kett’s powerful blood running in her veins — was no match for a beta werewolf. At least not a match for Audrey in her half-beast form.
Snarling, the massive monster trashing the tile floor of my kitchen with her clawed feet reached up to engulf Jasmine’s face in her hand. Holding her by the head alone, she pulled the vampire off her shoulder. Then she body slammed Jasmine onto the floor — doing even more damage to my tile, along with what remained of my workstation.
Kandy appeared at my back, but she was trying to hold on to Lara rather than joining the one-sided battle taking place in my kitchen. The wounded werewolf’s eyes blazed green as she desperately struggled to thrust herself into the fight.
Jasmine, still on her back, slammed a kick to Audrey’s leg. I heard bone snap, but the beta barely paused. Snarling viciously, Audrey bit downward, making an earnest attempt to decapitate the vampire with a single chomp.
Jasmine rolled out of the way at the last moment, leaving a tangle of curls between Audrey’s teeth.
“Jade!” Kandy cried.
Spotting an opening, I lunged forward, getting between Audrey and Jasmine before either had a chance to see me move. I grabbed Audrey in a chokehold. My arm didn’t even come close to circling her neck, but my strength made up for my lack of grip. The beta grabbed my shoulders, but she couldn’t shake me off.
“Get back!” I said to Jasmine, who was looking like she was thinking of wading into the tussle again. The vampire crab-walked backward, clearing the immediate area.
“Dowser!” Audrey snarled, the word mangled by her not-quite-perfectly aligned jaw. “Step aside.”
“The pack has a perfect right to extract revenge, dowser,” Lara said from behind me. “The vampire has broken covenant with us!”
Kandy shook Lara harshly, so much so that the wounded werewolf appeared dazed — though that might have been due to the amount of blood she’d lost.
I shoved Audrey a few steps back as I let go of her. “Jasmine, child of Kettil, the executioner and elder of the Conclave, is under my protection.”
Audrey’s magic welled up and around her. Suddenly, I was looking at the gorgeous, sleek-haired beta in shredded and stretched clothing, instead of the toothy monster. She raised her chin regally. “No matter her lineage, she’s transgressed against the pack.”
“Under the influence of elf magic.”
Audrey curled her lip dismissively. “Elves. Hogwash. Show me some evidence.”
Kandy stepped up beside me. She was still holding Lara, though the wounded werewolf appeared to have calmed down. “You don’t want this fight, beta. You want a cooler head. And to remember the report I sent three months ago.”
“Also,” I said snottily, “the illusion that had you hanging your ass off a cliff last night.” Yep. Unable to keep my mouth shut, as always.
Audrey eyed me. “I believe that was you, Jade.”
“The title is dowser, or even alchemist, if you believe me to be lying, werewolf. Wielder of the instruments of assassination if you’d like to challenge me. Again. Only friends call me by my first name these days.”
Audrey’s face blanked of emotion. She wasn’t necessarily afraid of me, but she was definitely thinking through the consequences of continuing to push me. The beta of the West Coast North American Pack was usually much more diplomatic, which made me even more certain that the foreign magic I’d picked up earlier was at the root of this unfortunate skirmish.
I glanced over at Kandy. “How badly did your beta ruin my sweater?” I asked, allowing the tension to ease out of my voice and body language.
Kandy laughed. “The back is completely shredded.”
I gave Audrey a peeved look, but kept my tone playful. “Merino, cashmere, and silk. Hand knit by my grandmother, beta.”
The dark-haired werewolf offered me the hint of a smile, taking my lead and softening her demeanor. “I’d be happy to offer compensation.”
I nodded seriously. “See’s Candies will do. When you’re next in town.”
“Your wish is my command … Jade.” Her using my first name again was a deliberate claim. Of my friendship. And possibly my loyalty.
I nodded, then turned back to the more pressing issue. Namely, the vampire who’d suddenly decided to attack a werewolf.
Jasmine was still on the ground, her back pressed against the wall beside the open door to my office. She regarded me with a steady blue gaze through her mass of riotous curls. “My head feels like it’s been split open.”
“You’re lucky, vampire,” Lara snarled from her corner of the kitchen. “The beta should have torn it off.”
Kandy cringed, and for a moment, I thought Lara was going to renew her attempts to attack Jasmine.
Then Audrey stepped into my eyeline, her gaze on Lara. “Surely I misheard, my enforcer,” she purred. “You couldn’t have just thoughtlessly used the term ‘should have’ in reference to a choice your beta made.”
Lara dropped her gaze. Then, obviously deeming that to not be a strong enough reaction, she dropped to one knee and tilted her head to expose her neck.
A bruise was forming around the bite Jasmine had inflicted. The wound was still seeping blood.
Jasmine moaned quietly. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know why I did that. I wasn’t even hungry. I’ve never bitten anyone before.”
A look of distaste overtook Audrey’s stern features.
“It’s okay, Jasmine,” I said. “Figuring out the why is next on our list of things to do.”
“I can … I can fix it. Heal it.” Jasmine bit her lip, making the offer to me rather than Lara. “At least, I think I can. I’ve never … tried. Never needed to …” She stopped talking, glancing around at all of us in uncomfortable dismay.
“What the hell do you eat, then?” Kandy asked.
I elbowed my BFF in the ribs, reminding her — with no particular subtlety — that Jasmine wasn’t going to be comfortable talking about her still fairly new feeding habits. Especially not in front of Audrey and Lara. Plus, I already had an inkling of the answer, based on Kett’s need to continually shore up power.
Jasmine reached up and touched the gold chain at her neck. It had come loose from her blouse in the tussle. The tiny reconstructions hanging from it flared at her touch, and a hint of nutmeg teased my senses. I wondered whether she could still feel the magic of the cubes in her new form. Or whether touching the necklace was simply habitual. Comforting.
“My saliva should heal the wound,” she whispered, not answering Kandy’s question.
“Absolutely not!” Lara snarled as she looked up at her beta. “I’ll shift, and it will be nothing but a nasty memory by tomorrow morning.”
“It’s your choice, wolf,” Audrey said. “I, for one, wouldn’t choose to remain weakened when in the territory of another. Not with elves running the place.”
That last bit was a dig at me. I let it go without comment — though not without silently deciding that Audrey would be paying for cupcakes henceforth.
Lara looked aghast. “You’d let a vampire … lick you?”
“I wouldn’t have allowed one to bite me in the first place.”
Lara’s face crumpled, then almost immediately hardened.
Jesus. Being a werewolf was a perpetually demoralizing lifestyle unless you were at the top of the pecking order. I glanced over at Kandy. She shrugged.
“If there’s a magical trail to follow, we need to get on it,” I said. “Plus, the display in the alley might be an issue.”
“I didn’t see any windows open,” Kandy said. “Most likely due to the weather. You were partially hidden by the garbage bins. And I didn’t see anyone walk by or drive into the alley. I triple-checked.”
I nodded. “Moving forward, then.”
Jasmine held out her hand to Lara. She was still sitting on the cracked tile floor — yeah, I was actively ignoring the state of my kitchen so I didn’t melt down. But she kept her gaze somewhere around the werewolf’s knees.
“The elf screwed with us last night,” Lara said. “And I couldn’t smell any magic.” She glanced at Audrey and me for confirmation.
Kandy nodded. “Even the dowser missed it.”
I huffed out an indignant breath. “I never pretend to be infallible.”
“You skewered that elf in the middle of the forehead in the park.” Kandy’s tone was edging on accusing. “After he took down Warner and me. I’d think you’d know the taste of his magic.”
Lara, Audrey, and Jasmine all looked at me.
“Hey! Apparently they have different magic, like Adepts do. And the ability to mask it. Or maybe it’s because it’s not of this dimension. So my senses aren’t, like … tuned up or calibrated to it.”
Audrey laughed. As in, throwing back her head and howling.
Apparently, comparing my magic to getting a car serviced really got her going. Honestly, if I were the one standing around half-naked, I’d be just a little more circumspect.
Ignoring her beta’s outburst, Lara stood and stepped toward Jasmine.
The vampire rose in a perfectly fluid movement — the same movement that accompanied everything Kett did.
“No biting.” The purple-clad werewolf wagged her finger sternly, as if talking to a puppy.
Jasmine nodded, glancing questioningly at me, then at Kandy.
Nodding, the green-haired werewolf stepped around Lara, laying her hand along the back of Jasmine’s neck. It was a gentle touch that could turn rough in an instant — backed, if necessary, by the magic of the cuffs she always wore.
Lara smoothed her hair away from her face, gathering it together at the back of her head. Then she stepped closer, offering her bruised neck to Jasmine. The two deep gouges there were still weeping blood.
The vampire reached for Lara’s shoulders. Then she curled her fingers in, as if she were afraid of hurting the slightly shorter werewolf.
“Let’s not take all day,” Audrey said. “Elves to hunt and all.”
Instead of closing the space between them, Jasmine leaned forward, running her tongue up Lara’s neck without otherwise touching her. Then she paused as if observing the wound. I couldn’t see fully through her cascade of curls.
The vampire gently licked Lara’s neck again. And this time, the wolf sighed softly. Intimately.
Jasmine stilled for a moment. Then she carefully began lapping at Lara’s neck.
Lara twined her hands through the vampire’s hair, curving forward into her embrace. Jasmine placed a hand on the werewolf’s lower back.
And suddenly I felt like a voyeur.
Kandy glanced over at me with wide, questioning eyes.
Lara sighed again.
“You taste good, wolf,” Jasmine murmured against Lara’s neck. Heady magic was laced through her words, likely some form of compulsion. “Strong. Vital. Sweet.”
“Is that enough, vampire?” Audrey’s question snapped through the kitchen like a whip. Or maybe that was her own magic, claiming her dominion over her enforcer.
Jasmine quickly pulled away from Lara. Then she tried to step back.
Only Lara wouldn’t let her go.
Kandy reached up, untangling Lara’s fingers from Jasmine’s mane of golden curls. Lara moaned disappointedly. But she stepped back readily enough, pressing her hand to her neck though it appeared to be completely healed.
She grinned at Jasmine. “Nice, vampire.”
Jasmine laughed, but quickly glanced away. “It’s a trick, really. My saliva, combined with the residual venom in the bite, makes you feel good.”
“Mmm.” Lara swayed in place. “Being bitten by Kett was much the same.”
Jasmine’s head snapped up. “Kett bit you?”
“With permission,” I interjected.
“Werewolves aren’t food, vampire,” Audrey snapped. “As I understand the situation, the executioner was badly wounded. Enough to hurt many innocents. Two of our wolves sacrificed some of their strength in order to quell and heal him. Nothing else.”
Jasmine glanced at me.
I nodded, confirming Audrey’s version of the incident in which Kett had tangled with a zombie and nearly lost. Then he’d attempted to drain me dry, forcing Desmond to come to my rescue. Though that extra detail was best left between those who already knew it.
“I think I might need a nap now,” Lara murmured, swaying on her feet again.
“Sorry,” Jasmine muttered.
“You can access Kandy’s apartment through mine,” I said, gesturing toward the open stairwell. “Just up the stairs and through the front door.”
“Yes,” Audrey said with a sniff. “We did sleep there last night, dowser.”
“Right.” I forced myself to continue being polite, though apparently doing so made me an idiot in the beta’s mind. “No one should see you, but if you’d like to grab a bathrobe …”
Giving me a look, Audrey rearranged her shredded clothing so that it better covered her important bits. Then she slung Lara’s arm across her shoulders. Without another word, the beta half-guided, half-carried her enforcer up the stairs to my apartment.
Jasmine watched them leave, utterly chagrined. “Kett’s going to be so pissed.”
Kandy howled with laughter. “Oh, yes!” She clutched her belly, trying to talk at the same time. “Oh, please, God. Let me be there when you tell him.”
Jasmine twisted her lips, looking slightly nauseated. She hadn’t mastered Kett’s detached aspect yet, though perhaps that took decades, if not centuries. Either that or Jasmine was a particularly unique vampire emotionally.
“I need to go look for the damn elf,” I said.
Kandy sobered, shaking her head. “Lara, Audrey, and I circled twice, doubling back over each other. No elves. At least none we could smell.”
“Yeah, I was worried about that.” I stepped closer to Jasmine, thinking about how I’d felt the elf magic when I’d grabbed her elbow.
She smoothed her hand down her ruined suede jacket — the second one I’d helped her destroy in as many days. Though if she found a good tailor, she might be able to get the arm reattached.
“May I touch you?” I asked. “I don’t know how you were spelled … if you were spelled.”
“It didn’t feel like magic, but … I wasn’t naturally talented like that … even as a witch.”
Kandy stepped up beside me, leaning in to sniff Jasmine. After an initially disconcerted moment, the vampire remained still. “Smells like vamp,” the green-haired werewolf muttered. “And the necklace. Witch magic.”
“Wisteria,” Jasmine murmured. Then she smiled softly.
I brushed my fingers across her shoulder, then down her arm. Trying to taste beyond her sweet peppermint and that unknown spice that clearly marked her as a vampire, I breathed through the scent of Wisteria’s nutmeg magic in the reconstructions on the necklace. “I tasted elf magic briefly outside when I touched you.”
“Maybe we need to step outside,” Jasmine said. “Through the wards again.”
“No,” Kandy said. “Not without finding the source of whatever was influencing you. We don’t need Kett pissed at us as well.”
I nodded, only vaguely listening to them as I brushed my fingers down Jasmine’s other arm. Then I found what appeared to be a small plastic dot stuck to the cuff of her silk blouse. Almost on the very edge. A section that would have been exposed even before she’d torn off the sleeve of her jacket.
I had to actually touch it to get even a glimmer of magic from it. Which made sense, since its hold on Jasmine had been severed once I’d gotten her behind the bakery wards. Still, the idea that something so small could be powerful enough to make a vampire see things — even a fledgling — was disturbing. And even as a guess, this tiny touch of elf magic might have also exacerbated the antagonism between Jasmine and the werewolves. And the power that backed that sort of reach was chilling.
Brushing the supposition off as unhelpful until it was verified, I carefully peeled the dot off Jasmine’s cuff. It was the size of the tip of my middle finger.
“What the hell?” Kandy leaned in to sniff the dot. “What’s that? Plastic? Like one of those bumpers you put on a cupboard door? Or underneath something so it doesn’t scratch your coffee table?”
“It isn’t plastic,” I said grimly. “It’s a drop of elf blood. At least that’s what I think it is.”
“Blood?” Jasmine whispered. “As in … blood magic?” Witches had an ingrained thing against blood magic — apparently to such an extent that Jasmine was forgetting she wasn’t a witch anymore.
“Yeah. I mean, I’m guessing. But elf blood is thick and clear like this. I’ve seen it turn to a fine powder, like pulverized crystal, when removed from their bodies.”
Kandy snorted. “Well, that one time at least.”
I nodded thoughtfully. “And the illusionist’s magic does seem to work completely differently. So … I really am just guessing.”
“But …” Jasmine hesitated. “If you want my opinion …”
“We don’t stand on ceremony here, vampire.” Kandy wagged her fingers toward Jasmine, encouraging her to speak.
I laughed. “We’re usually in the dark for way too long as it is, even when everyone is contributing.”
“Okay. I don’t think I was seeing things. Like, not illusions, at least.”
“What about the text messages?”
“Yeah, sure. But then they weren’t there, right? And can the illusionist even confine her magic to only one viewer like that? We all heard the wolf on the cliff, right? The werewolves’ reaction was just stronger.”
“Just because you two don’t care about a wounded animal,” Kandy grumbled snarkily.
Ignoring her, I spoke to Jasmine. “What did it feel like? I know you don’t feel magic like I do. But?”
“Like I was going crazy,” Jasmine whispered. Her attention was trained on the solid dot of elf blood at the tip of my finger.
I glanced at Kandy. She shook her head once, grimacing ruefully.
“Telepath?” I offered up the suggestion hoping I was wrong.
Jasmine nodded. “Maybe. Could be. But not just any mind reader. Someone capable of creating a psionic dissonance and planting complex scenarios based on my own … concerns, obsessions …”
“Jesus,” I muttered. “An uber-telepath who works with some form of blood magic. As what? Something that broadcasts magic, like Wi-Fi? Except personalized?” I refocused my questions to Jasmine. “Why did you go out tonight? Because of the text message you thought you got from me?”
“No. And if being behind the bakery wards severed the connection …”
“Then the elf wouldn’t have been able to trigger the spell and manipulate you until you’d left the building. He or she must have been waiting, and then … simply brushed up against you without you noticing.”
Jasmine nodded. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry is what sorry does,” Kandy drawled sardonically.
“Helpful, my wolf.”
Kandy grinned toothily, like a wolf smiles at a bunny.
“So … you left the bakery, then what?” I asked.
“Then I remembered I was supposed to text you, so I stopped on the corner … and saw I already had a text.”
“From me.”
“Yes.” Jasmine hesitated. “I thought I might try to come in … for the bridal shower. Scarlett, your mother, did invite me, and I was okay hanging out with you all in the bakery in Whistler last night. But …”
“But?” Kandy prompted.
“But, um, you’re all … I thought it might be harder around witches and the necromancers …”
“Weaker prey,” Kandy said matter-of-factly.
Jasmine nodded.
“You might be surprised,” I said. “Especially by the necromancers.” I thought about the bone bracelet with which Teresa Garrick was practically torturing her son, Benjamin. Then I sighed as I laid the puzzle pieces out before us. “What are the chances that an elf skilled as an illusionist would also be a masterful telepath?”
“In the Adept world?” Jasmine asked. “No chance at all. Both are mind magic, obviously, but they’re completely different skill sets. Hell, they’re different genealogies.”
“Yeah,” I said grimly. “I thought you were going to say that.”
“The third elf.” Kandy tugged her phone out of her back pocket.
Yep. The freaking third elf.
“And …” Kandy added, drawing out the word in a way that let me know I really wasn’t going to like what came after it. “The telepath’s magic doesn’t register on the witches’ grid.”
Ah, the freaking grid.
“They are other-dimensional beings,” Jasmine said helpfully, attempting to get a look at Kandy’s phone. The werewolf belligerently angled her screen away from the vampire. “Do you have the grid up and running on your phone?”
Kandy eyed her for a moment. “Like how? With a live feed?”
Jasmine grinned, then shrugged. “I guess you’re going to have to let me look at it. See what I can do.”
Kandy offered Jasmine one of her patented nonsmiles.
Jasmine’s grin widened. “And I might be able to figure out how to tweak it so it can register the elves’ magic.”
“How?” I asked.
Jasmine nodded toward the solid dot of blood on my finger. “Exactly like that, but in reverse. But I’m … ah … it’s not blood magic if it’s elf blood, right?”
“I don’t think the Convocation would come after you for it,” I said wryly.
“Well, I wouldn’t be able to cast anyway. I’d need a witch. Maybe Wisteria?”
Kandy eyed her. “Would Kett want us asking the reconstructionist to fly into Vancouver? With him away?”
Jasmine set her jaw, then spoke begrudgingly. “Scarlett will do.”
“Not Gran?” I asked.
Jasmine looked aghast. “I’m not asking the head of the Convocation to mess around with this sort of stuff. What if it doesn’t work? Plus, um, I haven’t actually been face to face with her, since … you know.”
Right. Jasmine meant since she — a former tech witch — had been remade as a vampire. I hadn’t realized she’d managed to avoid Gran all this time. But then, Kett managed to do so well enough.
I indicated the spot of what I hoped was dried elf blood on my fingertip. “I assume this isn’t enough of a sample?”
Jasmine shook her head.
“Okay, then. We’ll have to deal with that later. But first, I need a change of clothing …”
I crossed to and flicked on the light in my office. An older green hoodie was hanging on one of the hooks behind the door, kept around for the exceedingly rare occasions when I got chilly while baking or had to step out into the alley during a snowstorm.
Jasmine appeared beside the desk, opening a few drawers until she found and liberated a half-dozen safety pins I hadn’t even known were there. The golden-haired vampire then tugged off her suede jacket and began meticulously reattaching the arm with the pins.
“Planning on starting a new fashion trend?” I asked, swapping my sweater for the hoodie — and attempting to not lose the dot of elf blood in the process.
Jasmine grinned without responding. She followed me out of the office with her head still bowed over her task, managing to not trip over her own feet.
Seriously, that was skill. I could barely eat and walk at the same time.
I stepped back into the kitchen. Kandy was perched on the counter beside the oven — the only counter that appeared to have survived the tussle with Audrey unscathed. My BFF jumped down, stuffing the last pastry from a container into her mouth. She placed the empty Tupperware in the industrial dishwasher, then brushed her hands together with great satisfaction.
Damn it. I wouldn’t have minded another Florentine myself.
Steadfastly ignoring the trashed state of the kitchen, I crossed to the exterior door, opening it and stepping through the wards. “Let’s see if we can turn the tables on the elf. Assuming she’s stupid enough to leave us a drop of her blood.”
Kandy laughed snarkily.
“How?” Jasmine asked, following us out into the alley while tugging on her hastily repaired jacket. Somehow, she’d completely hidden the safety pins from sight. Skilled in tech and tailoring. Nice.
“Dowsing, baby girl,” Kandy said. “That’s what Jade does, after all. Want to go hunting with us?”
Red rolled across Jasmine’s eyes, and she grinned wickedly. “I sure do.”
Lovely. “Though let’s keep the biting to a minimum, eh?”
Kandy laughed quietly, then whispered to Jasmine behind my back, “She always says that.”
Well, this was sure to go delightfully.