“Miriam,” Angela began.
“Don’t,” Miriam said, her voice dropping to normal. “You know I told you to stay away from him. I can’t believe you disobeyed me.”
“He just stopped by to ask me to look at something.”
“And did he just stop by at your house or the store,” Miriam asked. “Because you were off tonight, which means you brought him here or you met him here.”
I sat on the chair and waited for the argument to burn itself out. It seemed like they’d forgotten me in the drama of the moment.
I didn’t really understand what Miriam had against the guy. I could see why Angela had disobeyed, though. That man was fine on the eyes. He was probably a jerk, I bet. He had that air about him. The one that said ‘I’m sexy and know it, but you’ll do just about anything I ask even though you know you’ll probably end up broken hearted and hurting at the end of it.’
“I just—We just—” Seemed like Angela couldn’t think of a lie quick enough. “It doesn’t matter. What I do on my time is my business. You can’t forbid me from seeing someone just because you’re my mentor.”
The old defense by attacking. Rooky mistake. It almost never worked but was guaranteed to escalate things. I knew from considerable experience gained through fighting with my mom.
“That’s exactly what it means,” Miriam said, her voice cold and implacable. “When I took you as an apprentice, you agreed to obey me. This is not obeying. Continue on this path, and I’ll be forced to dissolve our relationship.”
Ouch. That was a little harsh and would no doubt send Angela right into the man’s arms.
From the stubborn tilt to Angela’s jaw, I guessed she’d be on her way to his door as soon as she was done here. This was like watching one of those teen dramas on TV. Who knew this kind of thing happened in real life too?
As entertaining as it was to watch and dissect where each party was going wrong, I needed this to be wrapped up. My problems weren’t going away, and they were a little more serious than Angela getting her heart broken.
“Excuse me. Sorry to interrupt.” I stood and stepped forward before Angela could make the situation any worse. “I came here to talk to Miriam, and it really cannot wait. Do you mind if we chat a bit before you guys continue this?”
Angela glared at Miriam before stalking outside.
“Miriam?” I asked.
Miriam exhaled and it was like she was shaking loose of the anger that had saturated the air since the man stepped into the store.
“Of course. I’m curious as to why you’re here as well.”
I followed as she walked into the back office. I froze once I pushed past the beaded curtain. This was not the room I’d visited last time I was here. For starters, it had nothing in common with the stereotypical office break room you’d find in pretty much every retail store in America.
There was still a table with chairs around it, but instead of the cheap vinyl folding table and plastic chairs, there was a table burnished a deep cherry brown in its place. It looked like an antique. A very old, very expensive, hand carved antique. Plants, enough to fill a green house, surrounded it, climbing on trellises and clinging to the ceiling. They should be turning brown and preparing for winter but instead they looked like they were caught in the peak of summer, with new buds joining the substantial amount already on them. They were a deep, verdant green—the intense colors almost surreal.
Miriam walked through them, the leaves swaying out of her way as if opening a path. She turned and looked at me quizzically as I gaped at the paradise around me.
“How is this possible?” I whispered. “It wasn’t here before, was it?”
I didn’t know what would disturb me more. That she’d grown this in the two days since I’d been here last or that it’d been here all along and I just hadn’t been able to see it because of a spell.
She looked around in surprise. “Tell me what you’re seeing.”
“Plants. Lots of them. How are you growing these?” There was a window, but it wasn’t nearly big enough to give the plants the type of light they would need to grow to this extent.
Understanding dawned in her eyes, followed closely by suspicion.
“Something about you has changed,” she said, no question in her voice. “This illusion should have been strong enough to fool a vampire a thousand years older than you. Tell me, have you been marked recently?”
I stopped gaping at the plants. She sounded very sure. Maybe she would be able to help me after all.
“Yes. Some sorcerer claims I’m indebted to him.”
I rolled up my sleeve and held my arm out. The lion wrapped in thorns was kind of pretty now that I’d had time to get used to it. I’d always wanted a tattoo but had never been able to figure out what I wanted. If it hadn’t been a sorcerer’s mark, I’d be tempted to keep it.
“I don’t recognize this mark, but it’s definitely the reason you can see through the illusion. I’d wager, given the power radiating off of it, you’d be able to see through pretty much any illusion right now,” Miriam said.
