Magic Rising (27 page)

“Dumbass?”

“Um… sorry. I didn’t mean that,” I backtracked, closing my eyes as embarrassment flooded me. Between my eavesdropping news and Evan, I wasn’t feeling myself. “Stressful day. What can I do for you?”

“Just checking you were there. I’ll be by in ten minutes. We need to talk.”

“Sure. Okay.”

Gage was still wearing his suit when he came by. “Like it?” he asked, popping his lapels.

“Yeah. Looking good. But I’m guessing you’re not here for compliments.”

“Nope, but keep them comin’ anyway.” He shut the door and handed me two take-out coffees from the coffee shop on the corner. It had the unfortunate effect of reminding me of danger. “I hate the coffee here. Thought you would want one.”

“Thanks. I’m guessing the poison risk is low.” I warmed my hands around the cup, then offered him the club chair while I perched on the end of the bed.

“We’ll know in five minutes. Listen, about that. Where’s Micah?”

“Next door. He’s making phone calls.”

“To Evan?”

I shrugged. I hadn’t even asked. It occurred to me I hadn’t checked my phone either, but I didn’t want to jump to my feet and get it. If there were a message, which I doubted, it would be there after we finished talking. “So… you want to hang out?” I asked, waiting for him to spit out whatever I’d just interrupted in the hallway.

“I wish I had the time. These guys have got me running around. I don’t know how much you heard, but I wanted to ask some more about the talisman.”

“You’re not the first person to want to talk about it today.”

Gage looked up sharply. “No?”

“No. An acquaintance was approached about it.”

“Someone close to you?” he asked casually as he brought the paper cup to his lips.

“Is this the bit where you kiss up to me?” I asked, echoing Noah’s words at him. He gave me an apologetic look and shook his head. “No. No one you know,” I told him.

“Noah’s gotten pretty excited about it.”

“I heard. I hear he’s got a photo too.”

Gage raised his eyebrows. “You heard right,” he said, apparently impressed at my knowledge.

“I also heard a deal is going to take place very soon.”

“Now that I didn’t know, but I’m not surprised. Listen, about what you heard earlier. Is there any chance this talisman could be the real deal and not just a…?”

“Lump of wood?” I finished. “My contact seems to think it’s authentic, but she won’t know for certain until she gets her hands on it.”

“She?”

“Not telling.”

“Good. I don’t want to know.”

“Sure you do! Ask Drew. He approached my acquaintance and showed her the photo,” I told him, deciding not to mess with him anymore. Besides, it was likely Drew would tell him anyway. “Look, she doesn’t know who has it, and neither do I. She’s waiting on your friends to call her when the deal goes ahead. If it’s a fake, she’ll say so.”

“I’m more worried about what happens if it’s not a fake and actually has got powers to do what Noah thinks it can. He’s adamant about it.”

“He didn’t seem all hearts, flowers, and world peace about it.”

“No, he’s not. Stella, I sat through three meetings with Noah, acting all keen on the Council and pretending to be genuinely interested in backing the right candidate. But the backstabbing jackass just wants a weapon to use.”

“Jackass, huh?”

He lifted a shoulder and grinned. “That time, it was appropriate.”

“Here. Read this.” I placed the coffee on the dresser and knelt in front of my suitcase. Opening it up, I pulled out the stolen library book and passed it to Gage. “The page is bookmarked.”

“What is this?”

“It has some information on the talisman.”

“Where did you get it?”

“Funny story. Let’s not talk about it.” As I said that, the conversation I overheard that night at the library came back to me. I still didn’t know who the speakers were, and I hadn’t discussed it again since reporting it to Etoile but now it occurred to me, the voices seemed familiar somehow.

Gage gave me a puzzled look before thumbing the pages, until he found the pages I marked. He slung one leg across the other and rested the heavy book against his calf as he read. “You believe this too?” he asked.

“It doesn’t matter what I believe.”

Gage shut the book and tossed it onto the bed. “If he gets the talisman, and everything this book says is true, I’m worried about what’s going to happen. You should have seen Noah after you left. Well, I guess you did. This isn’t just about protection. This is about having a weapon to use against all of you. He thinks Etoile would do good things and collaborate well with us, but that she probably won’t win. Even if she did, what if he decides he wants something else? If I didn’t know you and Etoile well, I’d probably think he had a point but I can’t get excited about something that could hurt you guys,” he said, making his problem plain.

His phone rang and he pulled it from his jacket pocket, raising his finger to his lips, reminding me to be quiet. “Yeah?” He listened, then exhaled and hung up. “I have to go. I’m probably going to be busy all afternoon and night.” He got to his feet. “You got any plans?”

“No. I’m just going to hang out. Etoile is meeting the witches, then the vampires and I don’t need to be there.”

“Afraid you might be supper?” Gage grinned.

“Not at all.” I pulled a face. “Maybe a little bit. I’ll probably hang out with Micah and play ‘Which Witch Am I Going To Vote For Tomorrow’?”

“Have fun. Oh, hey, Annalise called. She said to say hi,” Gage told me as he made for the door. “She asked me to look out for you, but I think you’ve got that covered.” He inclined his head towards Micah’s room.

“Looks that way.”

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on between you and Evan? You know, as friends.”

“Are you going to tell me why you and Michelle split up?”

“Nope. Later, Stella.”

“Bye.” I shut the door on him, smiling to myself. At least there was one relationship that was getting back to normal. Knocking on the internal door to Micah’s room, I waited anxiously for him to open it. As he did, he waved me through, the phone pressed to his ear.

“Where’s mine?” he mouthed, pointing at the coffee cup.

“I didn’t go out to get it,” I whispered in return. “Who are you talking to?”

He turned away, listened some more and clicked off. “No one.”

“Whatever.”

“Do you want to play cards?” He pointed to the game of solitaire he had spread out on the desk.

“Will you cheat?”

“Define cheating.”

I shook my hand in exasperation. “Sure. How come you don’t want to circulate?” At his stony face, I frowned. “Are you hiding, or persona non grata?”

“This is a witch conference and I’m not a witch. Besides, it seems easier to protect you in a controlled space.” He picked up the cards, shuffling them into a pile. “Let’s play Go Witch.”

“Is that Go Fish?”

“Yes.”

“Haha. Fine. You deal. And you can tell me if you think Mary Richardson is a killer, or if you think Georgia is the only one who’s got it in her.”

“Not as good as the library theft, but sure. Why not?”

Seven hands later — three wins to me — and my phone rang. I came close to tripping over my own feet in my anticipation to get it, a knot of disappointment hitting me when I saw Etoile‘s name flash onto the screen.

“You were right about the poison in my soup,” she told me. “Lisette Randolph just called to confirm.”

“She had it tested?”

“Yes, and everyone else’s, whether they showed symptoms or not. Only three bowls were contaminated. Mine, Esme’s as we already know, and Mary’s. Matthew hadn’t arrived yet, so we don’t know if he was targeted as well.”

“And Georgia’s?”

“Funny you should ask. No, hers wasn’t contaminated.”

“Don’t you think that’s a little odd? Would she really have poisoned you all and risk having everyone suspect that she’d offed the opposition?”

“I agree.” Etoile fell silent and I heard her moving about, though she didn’t say where she was. “Such a blatant attack would be hard to ignore. Plus, there’s something else that I find odd.”

“What’s that?”

“Your very timely vision.”

I thought about that too. “Do you think I was supposed to have that vision? That something triggered it?”

“I guess, yes. Maybe. I don’t know. I can’t prove it. Only the dishes were taken. All the tables were cleared hours ago, so if there were some kind of magic triggering your vision, we’ll never prove it. Much as I hate to say it, you might be right about Georgia being framed. The evidence of poison suggests each candidate but Georgia was targeted, but that doesn’t mean everyone was meant to consume it.”

“That leaves Mary, who was present, and Matthew who wasn’t.”

“We can count this as an attack on Mary. Matthew has already been attacked,” Etoile pointed out. “The only thing I can say with any certainty right now is that neither Esme Sanchez nor I was responsible.”

“That leaves three candidates and a hotel full of possible suspects.”

“This just gets better and better,” said Etoile. “I have another meeting. Keep Micah with you.”

“And who’s protecting you?” I asked.

“Someone very dangerous indeed.”

FIFTEEN

With the unrest over the poisonings and the increased number of guards appearing throughout the hotel, the beings within were tenser than ever. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who thought two hundred stressed-out supernatural beings was a recipe for disaster. Pleasant as it was to spend time with Daniel, when my presence wasn’t required by Etoile, I had something else playing on my mind — Georgia’s words about the so-called prophecy that I’d previously brushed off as nonsense. It kept haunting my thoughts from the moment I woke this morning. I couldn’t fathom whether it was another one of her head games, or if there was really something more to it. I wouldn’t put it past her to try and play with my mind; after all, the whole Summit seemed to be just another a game to her. As far as she was concerned, I was simply another piece to push around until she got what she came for.

There was one benefit though in thinking about her — it meant Evan wasn’t on my mind every single second. I was now on day nine of wondering why he wasn’t returning my calls.

With the election taking place shortly, and no more news about the talisman’s whereabouts, I made up my mind to find out if there were any truth to Georgia’s speech and if so, what that truth was. Not wanting to alert anyone else to it, in case I put something in motion that I didn’t intend, I made my way to Etoile‘s room. I told Micah where I was going and that he couldn’t come, which he accepted without argument, hoping to catch her before she left for the day’s events. Just as I raised my hand to knock, I hesitated. What if she were entertaining Matthias inside?

To hell with it. I knocked. This was witch business and it took precedence. I felt a flush of shame. Since when did witch business outrank the happiness of my friend? Too late. The door opened and Etoile beckoned me in. Me and the chip on my shoulder entered.

“Where’s your vamp buddy?” I asked, seeing that we were alone.

“Taking his daytime nap,” she told me. “The hotel isn’t sun-proof.”

“So all that stuff about vampires not being able to come out in sunlight is true?”

“Yes. Many of the legends are true.”

“Does he drink blood?”

“Yes.”

I pulled a face. I couldn’t help it. I remembered our old friend, Meg, and how I hadn’t even realised she was a vampire until after she was gone. A couple of years ago, I would probably have laughed at the idea of a discussion such as this. Now it just seemed ordinary. How far things had come! How far had I come?

Etoile stood in front of her closet, surveying her clothing while I pondered this. “I have to dress,” she said. “Should I wear the blue dress or the navy suit?”

“What’s the occasion?”

“Grovelling.”

“Blue dress.”

“Good idea. Gives a gentle impression.”

“I was thinking it gives you good cleavage.”

She laughed. “That won’t hurt.” She pulled the hanger out and laid the dress on the bed, then peered into the dark interior. After a moment, she snapped her fingers and her black heels appeared in her hand. “It would have taken me forever to find them in there, thanks to the forty-eight hours to replace a light bulb policy here,” she complained. “So, is this a social call?”

“Not exactly.”

“Didn’t think so. You have that look on your face. Out with it.”

“I was thinking about what Georgia said after Esme Sanchez died?”

“About this so-called prophecy?” Etoile asked. I asked her about it the same day and she gave me a vacuous look but now she looked interested.

“Yeah. Do you think it’s true? Like, even a little bit?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. I know I don’t trust a lot that comes out of that woman’s mouth.”

“Me either, but… it just sounded like she didn’t mean to say it.”

“Maybe she wanted you to think that. She could be playing with you.”

“That’s what I figured, except… the bit about the prophecy protecting me? She hates me, Etoile, she wouldn’t want me to know about something that could protect me. Not even accidentally. And the bit about the star sisters makes no sense at all.”

“Actually, I had an idea about that.”

“Which bit?”

“The star sisters. Do you know what my name means?”

“No.”

“Star.”

“Like—” I pointed skyward, “—that kind of star?”

“Uh huh. It’s French. Seren has the same meaning, but hers is Welsh. Astra also means star. Greek, I think.”

“So when she said ‘star sisters,’ she really meant you three?” That made sense to me, for the most part. Etoile was sent to be my protector. Seren also acted in a protective capacity, but Astra… I couldn’t fathom that. Astra never protected me.

Etoile picked up the dress and took it into the bathroom. She left the door ajar as she spoke. “What exactly did Georgia say?”

“She said, ‘You think the prophecy will protect you and your star sisters. I don’t think so’.”

“Hmm.”

“Hmm what?”

“She clearly meant you, but she never actually said it was about protecting you and only you,” Etoile called. “That is, I don’t think it means the star sisters will protect you and only you, but more likely, we’re supposed to protect each other. Actually, my mother said something similar last night. I meant to tell you then, but I couldn’t find you. Where were you?”