“Ever think about using a brush?” she asked in a low voice when he sat on the other side of her, sandwiching her between Ivan—who had yet to put down his food—and himself, an enemy vampire.
Beatrice gasped. “This is just what we’re talking about!”
Oh shut it, you old bag,Paz said and peeked over the table, his cozy spot on Riley’s lap no longer so peaceful due to Beatrice’s sharp voice.
Riley choked on a fry, but Kraft chuckled, apparently having heard the kitten.
“That vampire should be staked and burned.”
“Hear, hear,” Riley said and shot Kraft a look.
He sat forward, his hands clasped on the table in front of him. “Oh, what did I miss?” He looked around the room, bypassing everyone until he got to Ivan. He frowned. “Who’s the giant retriever?”
Ivan grunted and continued to consume his food like a machine.
“Our other berserker, Ivan. Ivan, this is Kraft, our uninvited guest.”
“I want to hear what he has to say,” said Boyce’s boss, usually a decent guy, for a mage.
“You can ask anyone what went down,” Kraft answered. “We were there to—”
“Get some info on the sorcerers and rogue lycans, like my uncle said,” she interrupted.
Kraft frowned at her.
She frowned back.
Her uncle cleared his throat. “Right, and then?”
Kraft looked away from her, but she continued to feel his annoyance. “I wasn’t at the bazaar too long before I was attacked by several unhappy magir. But it was after the druid that the vampire attacked.” He frowned. “It wasn’t alive or dead, but something worse.”
Freddy snorted. “Worse than death?”
“Oh yes. The sorcerer with him practiced death magic, young wolf. Once you’ve been cursed, you know better than to scoff at the tragedy of losing one’s life. As my beloved goddess Hecate might say, ‘tis better to die with your panties on than lose yourself to death with a bad haircut and gods-awful fashion sense.” He looked Freddy over and grimaced. “Is that a hairpiece or is that your real hair?”
Beloved goddess? Hairpiece? Riley tried not to laugh, but Max was choking on his mirth.
I’m pretty sure Hecate never said anything that inspiring.Paz laughed.Look at these fools. All so easily led.
Riley opened her mouth to speak, but her uncle shook his head. “Kraft of the Night Bloode, would you please explain to everyone, in detail, about your time at the bazaar and what you saw at the Olmstead home, where you found all the dead sorcerers and lycans?”
Kraft nodded, and after a short glance at Riley, expounded on everything he’d experienced, ending with, “Everything I’ve seen and heard while working with your pack leads me to believe you have rogue lycans working with sorcerers. They’re collecting lycan blood. Riley not only assisted those needing help at the bazaar, but she helped break the spell draining one of your lycans and killed some of the evil ones responsible. She’s also seen the sorcerer behind all this up close.”
“Well, I’m not sure he’s the one actually behind all of our problems, but he’s definitely involved.”
Boyce frowned at her. “Can you see him in your mind’s eye?”
“Yes.”
He turned to his master and asked a question she couldn’t quite make out. Then he asked Jack, “Alpha, if you would allow it, I can take the picture from Riley’s mind so we can all see it.”
“Do it,” Beatrice said.
“Hey.” Riley fisted her hand on the table. “It’s my brain, you bit—”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Jack said loudly. “Riley, show Boyce the face of the sorcerer at the bazaar and the homestead.”
She didn’t relish letting Boyce inside her head, but Kraft murmured, “Scared? I’ll protect you, female.”
