Page 90 of Truthfinder’s Promise

She blinked. Nullifying spells were one of the few Aspect spells that had to be physically drawn in runes and lines, the way movies about witches often had people drawing arcane circles on the ground in chalk.

Because a nullifying spell was meant to negate Aspect, it couldn’t be made wholly of it, but had to be drawn in something non-magical and then sparked with Aspect to activate. Several structural variations of the spell existed, so the fact that a house could be made into one was not unbelievable.

The hard part to swallow was that a nullifying spell had to be created with the same amount or more of Aspect as it was meant to contain. Should the Aspect of the person—or persons—held by the spell exceed the Aspect used to create it, those within could access their power and bring down the spell.

She’d never seen one hold more than three Aspecters at once.

“How?” No single person save Siren had enough power to fuel a nullifying spell this large.

Julian shrugged. “Many of her thralls were Aspecters once. Enough to fuel the spell on auction night and keep the attendees from getting overly exuberant.”

A brilliant move on Analisa’s part, since the nullifying spell didn’t affect her, as the thralls were as blank-eyed as ever within the walls. The spell was designed specifically for Aspect, so either Analisa had never been Aspect, or her power was twisted enough that the nullifying spell no longer worked on her.

Their guiding thrall led them up a stairwell, then around several turns until they arrived on a level that overlooked a ballroom. Below, people dressed in tuxes and elaborate evening gowns sipped champagne and strolled between tables that contained artful displays not unlike the ones in her mother’s repository.

She scanned the room, half-expecting to see a metal cage with a Shifter inside, on display. She didn’t.

“You don’t think it’s a risk?” she asked casually. “Letting them wander your priceless auction goods?”

“A thing is only a risk if you do not have full control over the outcome,” a female voice said. A woman approached, her carriage regal, two thralls to either side of her. Thick black hair cascaded over her shoulders in lush waves, the dark color in soft contrast to her pale skin. Her dress was the exact shade of her hair, a simple silk design that clung to her frame.

“And you have full control?”

“Of course. I have my lovelies, after all.” The thrall to either side leaned into her, as if drawn by her mention of them. “And those are the items of lesser importance.”

Her age was impossible to guess. She could have been twenty or sixty. Every time Meredith blinked she looked slightly different, younger or older, though her physical appearance wasn’t actually changing.

Instinctively, Meredith reached for her Aspect, only to remember it was beyond her.

“Are all of the…lovelies yours?”

The woman smiled, revealing unnaturally white teeth. “Everything here is mine.”

“You’re Analisa?”

“It is the name I use, these days. Now, I believe you have something that belongs to me.”

Meredith told her the repository location. Analisa’s eyes misted white for a moment before clearing, and Meredith would bet every one of her cars that somewhere in the manor, thralls were now rushing to get to Savannah Townsend’s mausoleum. Meredith itched to know how Analisa’s connection to the thralls worked. Was there any independence left in the minds of the people? Did they fight against Ana’s control, or had she obliterated any individuality, until all that was left was an empty husk?

“A delight to have that matter resolved. But when I said you had something of mine, I meant him.” Analisa pointed at Jensen.

Meredith’s heart kicked behind her chest. “I was under the impression you had your own Shifters for the auction. This one is mine.”

“I have several, but they have all been so disappointing. They refused to change shape after the first weeks in captivity, remaining in their animal skins. Pain is supposed to trigger the change in them, but they grew resistant to that method, and their savagery in response grew tiresome.

“I lost over four dozen of my lovelies in attempts to train them. I haven’t lost that many in the last hundred years. It tempted me to put the beasts down—they won’t turn much profit in their wild state, but I thought something was better than nothing at this point. And then I saw that one.” She pointed at Jensen “Elijah was training it for me. He clearly did an excellent job. It’s so docile.”

Meredith didn’t need her Aspect to peg that lie. “Elijah wasn’t training him for you. He was taking him apart to see how he worked. I put in the effort. I brought him to heel.”

Analisa laughed. “You Truthfinders are all the same. So unwilling to let a lie stand even when you would be better off shutting your mouth. The only truth that matters is the truth you make. The truth you can take. And here, now, I say that that was meant for me. That is a truth I can make and take.”

Meredith’s fingers curled into Jensen’s fur. The nearby thralls all focused their attention on her as if they—as if Analisa—were preparing for an attack. If she showed herself to be weak and submissive, Analisa would take Jensen from her. He was large. He was strong. Maybe he could fight through the thralls on this level. But the rest of them in the house? On the grounds?

No. She couldn’t afford to get into a pissing contest with Analisa. She would lose.

Meredith ran through everything she’d gleaned from the whole five minutes since she’d met her. Analisa had convinced no small number of Aspect heavyweights to voluntarily enter a building where their power meant nothing and her power meant everything. She had enough thralls to form a personal army.

She was rich and powerful and beautiful. By her own admission she had lived for at least a century. In short, she was the god Julian had labeled her.