Page 40 of Bent Out of Shade
“Allow me a moment of your time to show you a new acquisition.” Zev motioned toward the art gallery sharing the space with his office.
“Stay,” I hissed at Sadie. “And take off that damn wig.”
She pulled it off, her dark hair falling out in a lank ponytail.
I crossed the Persian rug in its deep reds and blues to where art hung on white walls, each piece bathed in its own spotlight.
We navigated several statues to stand before a painting made of shadows and flames depicting a witch being burned at the stake.
I clasped my hands behind my back. “I didn’t deceive you. We just learned about her magic a couple weeks ago. My Banim Shovavim magic kept it from being released.”
“Regardless, the promise I gave was to protect a vulnerable Sapien child, which your daughter is not.” He sipped from the chalice.
“You saw her magic?”
“I asked and she answered. It’s delightfully unusual.”
“No disrespect intended,” I said through gritted teeth, “but I’ve had a long and not so great day, so if you’d lay out what you want from me, I’ll take my daughter and go home.”
What was one more favor that I was threatened into doing? You’d think I could get a rewards card for these things, maybe earn myself a new blender.
“I wish nothing from you.” Zev tapped his index finger against the cup. “The colors are so alive in this painting. You can almost hear the wood cracking over her screams.”
Not up to a veiled threat masquerading as art appreciation, I gathered the shreds of my patience together. If I didn’t get more food soon, things were going to get ugly. “Rodrigo told me you were angry, so just tell me what I have to do.”
“It’s done.”
My stomach stopped trying to eat itself due to starvation and began to ache. “What does that mean?”
“Sadie and I came to an understanding.”
My kid was really going to town on that fingernail, but otherwise she had a deer-caught-in-the-headlights look.
“Any understanding with Sadie is null and void. You deal with me.”
“As I said, it’s done.”
“She’s a minor.”
Zev laughed. “Then sue me. The fact of the matter is that she chose a certain course of action tonight and is old enough to be held responsible for the consequences of that.” He adjusted the spotlight on the painting. “This really was a marvelous acquisition, don’t you think?”
“Worth every penny.” I dug my nails into my palms to keep Delilah from getting loose, the strain of holding back giving me a headache. I was a multitasker. A modern woman. A mom. How ironic that protecting Sadie, my most primal drive, was denied to me. “So, you tried Sadie as an adult?”
“Trust me.” Zev flashed his fangs, his voice sending a shiver up my spine. “Were that the case, she would not be sitting in my office.”
My baby girl sat fidgeting, obviously trying to eavesdrop and completely unaware of how close she’d come to death.
I shivered. “What was this understanding?”
“Your daughter nulls magic. She will do that for me as a one-time favor at some point. In exchange, there won’t be any other consequences for her or her friends due to their actions tonight.”
It didn’t matter what decisions had led Sadie here or that the one time she’d nulled magic, she’d been psychologically fine with it because she’d saved her father and me. It wouldn’t be the same when Zev requested it of her. She’d probably be used as a tool for execution again, but this time, it would change my upbeat child, mark her deep in her soul.
The implacable expression on the vampire’s face showed the futility of begging for mercy.
“She can’t null demon magic and we haven’t dared try on a vampire.” We hadn’t had the opportunity, but he didn’t need to know that.
“Sadie already explained all this to me.”
