Page 39 of Endless Terrors
“You’re afraid of him,” I observed.
“My predecessors gave me a thorough education. I’ve seen classified information on cases the public knows nothing about.” The vampire paused. “My training also included learning how to conduct exorcisms.”
I’d been to an exorcism, once. I flinched at a memory of Finn snapping his teeth, his entire body twisting and jerking. “Did you speak with him?” I asked.
“Only briefly.” Dracula paused. “He was perfectly pleasant. Yet somehow, I walked away from our encounter with the distinct impression I must never let that creature step foot in this world, or it would all be burned to ash.”
He spoke of fire, but my heart felt like a lump of ice. I needed to think. “I should go. Thank you, Dracula,” I managed. “If you think of any information that might be useful, like … oh, I don’t know, the devil has a deadly allergy to cashews or can be killed with a unicorn horn, I’d appreciate a call.”
“Until next time, Lady Sworn.” Dracula hung up.
That hadn’t gone nearly as bad as I’d thought it would. I put my phone away, surprised that I hadn’t been forced into any bargains or received a single threat.
Hopefully my good luck would continue, because there was one more person I’d come out here to contact.
No time like the present. I sucked in a breath, held it, and released it into the cold. The faint cloud dissipated.
“Gwyn,” I said.
A small breeze whistled in my ears. After a minute, the only one to appear was a solitary, nosy crow. It landed on a branch high above and watched me with gleaming black eyes.
I waited another minute before I called her again. “Gwyn of the bloodline Nudd, I summon you.”
Once again, Gwyn didn’t show. Either I was really bad at this whole summoning thing, or I was just being ignored. Somehow, I suspected the latter. Irritated now, I pulled my phone out and typed a brief message. Call me when you get this.
After I heard the subtle sound that meant it had been sent, I put my hands in my pockets and turned to leave. The crow called after me, its harsh voice echoing off the stark sky and hard snow.
Cyrus, Ariel, Gil, and Danny were all gone when I got back to the loft. Only Lyari and Finn were left, and they stood in front of the fire, clearly waiting for me. “Where did everyone go?” I asked, frowning.
“You have a visitor.” Lyari inclined her head toward Damon’s room. “We thought we’d give you some privacy. Emma took Matthew over to Cyrus’s for something called ‘ice cream.’”
I darted a glance at Finn, but his expression didn’t change. His side of the bond was calm. It couldn’t be Gwyn in that bedroom, then. Curious, I nodded and moved around them, heading for that open doorway. The last time I’d been in here, I’d left Emma sitting in one of the chairs. But it wasn’t Emma beside the bed now, I discovered a moment later.
It was Savannah Simonson.
The feeling in my gut was a combination of resignation and apprehension. When I’d sent her that first text message, I knew it was likely only a matter of time until she showed up. The phone call from Bea’s had only made it inevitable. I wasn’t exactly making it seem like her son was in good, stable hands. Really, it was strange she hadn’t come sooner.
Savannah’s time at the Unseelie Court had treated her well. I wasn’t sure what that said about the necromancer, but I liked seeing that she’d gained some weight, and her ribs were no longer poking out from her skin. Her autumn-colored hair had grown out to her shoulders, lending a softer look to her narrow features. Even her posture was straighter.
She looked like a faerie.
I sank down in the other chair and fixed my attention on Damon’s monitors, scanning the numbers and images for any abnormalities. “You should’ve called first,” I said.
“Why? So you could come up with an excuse to keep me away?”
Savannah’s tone was bitter. Tearing my gaze from the screens above him, I stared at my brother and wished for the hundredth time that he was here. I didn’t know how to have this conversation, and I also didn’t want to speak for Damon. I had no idea how he’d handled things with Savannah when we left town. It was another question I hadn’t asked, because the answer would only have added to my guilt.
“We’re just trying to protect him,” I said after a weighted pause.
Savannah didn’t ask who I meant. She didn’t need to. Her voice sharpened as she replied, “It’s not like I’m trying to take him back to Court with me. I’m asking for a second chance. Haven’t you ever needed a second chance, Fortuna?”
I opened my mouth, but whatever I’d been about to say stopped in my throat. My family and I condemned Savannah for her part in Fred’s death, and yet I’d taken lives, too. She’d also betrayed us, yes, and yet … why was Collith worthy of forgiveness and not her?
As always, thinking of Collith made me hear his voice. It traveled through my body like an echo. Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. Choose mercy, Fortuna.
I almost swore out loud. Fuck.
I was going to forgive the unstable necromancer who’d murdered my friend.
