“Can you get me inside or not?” I demanded, growing impatient. Every moment I spent arguing with this creature was a moment Serafina and her husbands might return.
The demon bobbed what passed for its head in a mocking nod.
“I can, I will, I must,” it said, the words running together like spilled ink. “Thy bidding, mistress.”
I didn’t trust its eagerness, but I had no choice.
“Then do it.”
It extended what might have been a hand, a writhing mass of finger-like appendages, toward me.
“A touch to transport,” it said. “The price already paid.”
I steeled myself and reached out, letting those cold, damp tendrils wrap around my wrist. The sensation was revolting, like being caressed by dead, wet things. The demon’s eyes all blinked in unison, and its mouth stretched impossibly wide as it whispered, “As you wish.”
The world twisted around me, not unlike the water travel but somehow worse. Colder, darker, with a malevolence that seemed to press against my very soul. For a moment that stretched like eternity, I existed nowhere, suspended in a void that hungered. Then reality snapped back into focus with brutal suddenness, and I stumbled forward, barely keeping my feet.
I was inside Evermere.
The demon was gone, its service rendered, but I could still feel the phantom sensation of its touch on my skin. I shuddered and rubbed at my wrist, fighting the urge to cry out as revulsion washed through me.
Focus, Amabel. Focus.
I stood in what appeared to be the main foyer of Evermere, a spacious entrance hall with polished wood floors and cream-colored walls adorned with tasteful artwork. A grand staircase curved upward to my right, while doorways to my left and directly ahead led deeper into the house. Sunlight streamed through windows high above, catching motes of dust that danced in the beams.
It was beautiful, elegant, and I was violating it, an intruder dripping lake water onto the immaculate floor.
Fear gripped me anew, sharper now that I was inside. What if Serafina returned? What if there were guards I couldn’t see? What if the demon’s method of entry had triggered alarms?
But there was no going back. I had to find Eluned, had to complete this mission, and get out with my own skin intact.
I whirled toward the front door, hands already weaving a spell. Magic flowed from my fingertips like gossamer threads, forming an intricate trap across the doorway. The web glimmered faintly, strands thinner than desired.
Let it hold long enough,I whispered to myself.Let them be distracted. Let Eluned prove worth saving just this once.
How long it would fool a Cimmerian was anyone’s guess, but it was what I could do.
I shivered in the climate-controlled air of Evermere. The residual feeling of the demon’s touch lingered on my wrist like an oil slick, impossible to wipe away. I rubbed at the spot absently, my mind racing through possibilities, contingencies, escape routes.
Find Eluned.That was the primary objective.And if you can’t find her, you know what to do.
Mother’s cold voice echoed in my head, and I flinched as if she stood beside me. If Eluned couldn’t be rescued, she couldn’t be allowed to talk.
Eluned had always been the weaker twin. More emotional, less disciplined. She would break. And when she did, she would reveal everything she knew. It wasn’t much, true, but maybe it would be enough to threaten our plans, and I couldn’t risk that.
The elegance of Evermere’s foyer extended into the hallway beyond, where polished wooden floors gleamed beneath tasteful rugs in muted blues and grays. The walls were adorned with artwork, Not the ostentatious displays of wealth I’d expected, but thoughtfully curated pieces that spoke of genuine appreciation. Landscapes, mostly, with a few portraits interspersed. My reflection in the vaulted mirrors showed a drowned wretch, hair plastered, clothes steaming faintly. Eluned would have laughed herself breathless at the sight.
I moved along as quietly as I could, keeping to the edge of the rug where my wet footprints wouldn’t show. My senses strained for any sound, any indication that I wasn’t alone. The house felt empty, but that meant nothing. Dhampirs, like vampires, could move with unnatural speed and silence when they chose.
What if they’d taken Eluned elsewhere? What if this entire risk was for nothing?
I checked the ornate clock standing against one wall. Eight fifteen in the morning. Mother would return from Chicago no earlier than five this evening. Less than nine hours to fix this.
A sound stopped me cold. The distant thud of footsteps, followed by voices too muffled to distinguish. My heart, which had just begun to steady after the demon’s transport, resumed its frantic pace.
They were back already.
Impossible! I’d seen them on the scrying mirror, driving away from the house!
