“You’re expending a huge amount of magic doing this.”
His expression told me he didn’t care.
The flood of tires ended midway up; the pallets stopped too. He’d run out of building materials.
The door opened again. “Mom says—” my sister started.
A fire escape ladder tore itself off the building across the street on my left and wedged itself in the stack. Several cement bags landed on its base, anchoring it.
Catalina shut the door without another word.
He walked up the ramp, climbed the ladder to my window, and held his hand out to me.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m kidnapping you back to my lair. You’re sleeping in my bed tonight and all other nights.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“And do I have any say in this?”
“You always have a say. If you say no, I’ll leave.”
He wore his Prime face, inscrutable and detached. But his eyes gave him away. He was barely in control and hanging on by the tips of his fingers.
We could either work through this mess or I could sit in my room and steam in my own hurt feelings. I grabbed his pair of sweatpants, pulled them on, stuck my feet into my slippers, and put my hand in his.
My cell phone rang.
Who the hell would be calling me at midnight?
I raised my finger. “One second.”
The phone streaked across the room and held still in front of me.
I took it and answered.
“Nevada Baylor.”
“There you are,” Vincent Harcourt said.
“Hello, Vincent.” My voice was so sweet, you could drip it on pancakes. I put him on speaker. “So nice of you to take time away from terrorizing children to call me.”
“I had a spare moment.”
His voice set my teeth on edge. So smug.
Rogan took my hand. Together we walked down the ladder, then the ramp toward his HQ.
“I see you filed for trials.”
It wasn’t enough he had almost killed Rynda’s children, Edward, and a houseful of people. No, he decided to call me in the middle of the night to rattle me.
“Do you think you can be a Prime?”
“You tell me. How did it feel when you couldn’t move and stood there shaking, trying with all your will to keep me out of your mind? Did it feel like I’m a Prime?”
Heat flared in Rogan’s eyes. He smiled, low and lazy, looking at me as if we were in the middle of a ballroom and I wore a ten-thousand-dollar gown instead of his T-shirt.
“Touché,” Vincent said. “Too bad you won’t make it to trials. You might have been interesting.”
“Is this the part where you threaten me?”
“No, this is the part where I educate. You don’t know how the game is played, so I’ll explain it to you. You’re dead. Your mother is dead.”
In my head I saw my mother lying in place of Edward Sherwood, a bat-ape creature digging in her stomach. You bastard.
“Your cute sister is dead.”
He would pay for this.
“Your other sister is dead.”
Other? He took the time to opine on the cuteness of my sisters while threatening to kill them. Oh, I wish he was within bullet range. I wish.
“The two idiots who live with you are dead.”
We walked into the HQ. Rivera, Nguyen, and two others from before, the blond woman and a dark-haired man, were still there. At the sound of Vincent’s voice, Rivera came to life like a shark sensing a drop of blood in the water. Rogan shook his head.
“The animal mage is dead . . .”
“You’re wasting my time,” I said. “Just say everyone I know and love is dead. It’s more efficient.”
He laughed quietly. “You’re mouthy.”
“And you’re a psychopath.”
“You say it like it’s a bad thing. It’s practically a requirement for people in our position.”
“Yes, well, David Howling did it better.”
“Rogan won’t always be there to do your dirty work.”
“Rogan didn’t kill David. I did. He fought me for his life and lost. The next time we meet I’ll pull every dirty secret out of your mind and lay them out in the open. When I’m done, you’ll curl into a ball and weep, just like all the others. That’s how you threaten, Vincent.”
Nguyen blinked. Rivera took a careful step back.
I passed the phone to Rogan. My fingers shook and the phone trembled slightly. He took it and I curled my hands into fists.
“She’s right,” he said. “You need to work on your delivery.”
“I’m so glad you’re there, Rogan. It saves me a phone call.”
“I’m always here for you,” Rogan said, his voice deceptively light. “It’s been too long. We should get together.”
“I was thinking the same thing. You’re overdue for a visit.”
“Can’t wait.” Rogan smiled.
“You can’t kill all of us, Rogan.”
“But I can kill you, Vincent. Don’t worry about the others. You’ll never know how it will turn out anyway.”
“We’ll see. Your cousin sends her love.”
“Tell her I’ve missed her.”
The phone call cut off.
Rogan turned to me. “House Harcourt disavowed Vincent about an hour ago. They claim to have no idea where he is or what he’s doing.”
“How convenient.”
“I thought of going over to the House Harcourt compound in the morning.” His tone was still light. “I could knock on their door and you could ask them some questions. Would you like that?”
“Yes. Yes, I would.”
Rogan looked at Rivera. “Make the arrangements.”
“Yes, sir.”
Rogan led me to the stairway. I walked up the steps. “He knows that we’ve identified him. He will expect retaliation.”
“Yes,” Rogan agreed as we crossed the second floor. Bug saw us and didn’t say a thing.
“If I were him, I’d attack the base as soon as we leave.”
“I’ve accounted for that possibility.”
“What if he attacks tonight?”
“He won’t.” Rogan led me to the staircase to the third floor. “He performed a high-volume summon tonight. With summoning, the totality of the matter coming through is what counts. One large creature is equal to several smaller ones. Vincent summoned nine beings tonight and then expended energy and magic manipulating them, defending against you, and fighting Cornelius for control. He won’t risk attacking tonight knowing that I’m here. He needs to recharge.”
His expression told me he didn’t care.
The flood of tires ended midway up; the pallets stopped too. He’d run out of building materials.
The door opened again. “Mom says—” my sister started.
A fire escape ladder tore itself off the building across the street on my left and wedged itself in the stack. Several cement bags landed on its base, anchoring it.
Catalina shut the door without another word.
He walked up the ramp, climbed the ladder to my window, and held his hand out to me.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m kidnapping you back to my lair. You’re sleeping in my bed tonight and all other nights.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“And do I have any say in this?”
“You always have a say. If you say no, I’ll leave.”
He wore his Prime face, inscrutable and detached. But his eyes gave him away. He was barely in control and hanging on by the tips of his fingers.
We could either work through this mess or I could sit in my room and steam in my own hurt feelings. I grabbed his pair of sweatpants, pulled them on, stuck my feet into my slippers, and put my hand in his.
My cell phone rang.
Who the hell would be calling me at midnight?
I raised my finger. “One second.”
The phone streaked across the room and held still in front of me.
I took it and answered.
“Nevada Baylor.”
“There you are,” Vincent Harcourt said.
“Hello, Vincent.” My voice was so sweet, you could drip it on pancakes. I put him on speaker. “So nice of you to take time away from terrorizing children to call me.”
“I had a spare moment.”
His voice set my teeth on edge. So smug.
Rogan took my hand. Together we walked down the ladder, then the ramp toward his HQ.
“I see you filed for trials.”
It wasn’t enough he had almost killed Rynda’s children, Edward, and a houseful of people. No, he decided to call me in the middle of the night to rattle me.
“Do you think you can be a Prime?”
“You tell me. How did it feel when you couldn’t move and stood there shaking, trying with all your will to keep me out of your mind? Did it feel like I’m a Prime?”
Heat flared in Rogan’s eyes. He smiled, low and lazy, looking at me as if we were in the middle of a ballroom and I wore a ten-thousand-dollar gown instead of his T-shirt.
“Touché,” Vincent said. “Too bad you won’t make it to trials. You might have been interesting.”
“Is this the part where you threaten me?”
“No, this is the part where I educate. You don’t know how the game is played, so I’ll explain it to you. You’re dead. Your mother is dead.”
In my head I saw my mother lying in place of Edward Sherwood, a bat-ape creature digging in her stomach. You bastard.
“Your cute sister is dead.”
He would pay for this.
“Your other sister is dead.”
Other? He took the time to opine on the cuteness of my sisters while threatening to kill them. Oh, I wish he was within bullet range. I wish.
“The two idiots who live with you are dead.”
We walked into the HQ. Rivera, Nguyen, and two others from before, the blond woman and a dark-haired man, were still there. At the sound of Vincent’s voice, Rivera came to life like a shark sensing a drop of blood in the water. Rogan shook his head.
“The animal mage is dead . . .”
“You’re wasting my time,” I said. “Just say everyone I know and love is dead. It’s more efficient.”
He laughed quietly. “You’re mouthy.”
“And you’re a psychopath.”
“You say it like it’s a bad thing. It’s practically a requirement for people in our position.”
“Yes, well, David Howling did it better.”
“Rogan won’t always be there to do your dirty work.”
“Rogan didn’t kill David. I did. He fought me for his life and lost. The next time we meet I’ll pull every dirty secret out of your mind and lay them out in the open. When I’m done, you’ll curl into a ball and weep, just like all the others. That’s how you threaten, Vincent.”
Nguyen blinked. Rivera took a careful step back.
I passed the phone to Rogan. My fingers shook and the phone trembled slightly. He took it and I curled my hands into fists.
“She’s right,” he said. “You need to work on your delivery.”
“I’m so glad you’re there, Rogan. It saves me a phone call.”
“I’m always here for you,” Rogan said, his voice deceptively light. “It’s been too long. We should get together.”
“I was thinking the same thing. You’re overdue for a visit.”
“Can’t wait.” Rogan smiled.
“You can’t kill all of us, Rogan.”
“But I can kill you, Vincent. Don’t worry about the others. You’ll never know how it will turn out anyway.”
“We’ll see. Your cousin sends her love.”
“Tell her I’ve missed her.”
The phone call cut off.
Rogan turned to me. “House Harcourt disavowed Vincent about an hour ago. They claim to have no idea where he is or what he’s doing.”
“How convenient.”
“I thought of going over to the House Harcourt compound in the morning.” His tone was still light. “I could knock on their door and you could ask them some questions. Would you like that?”
“Yes. Yes, I would.”
Rogan looked at Rivera. “Make the arrangements.”
“Yes, sir.”
Rogan led me to the stairway. I walked up the steps. “He knows that we’ve identified him. He will expect retaliation.”
“Yes,” Rogan agreed as we crossed the second floor. Bug saw us and didn’t say a thing.
“If I were him, I’d attack the base as soon as we leave.”
“I’ve accounted for that possibility.”
“What if he attacks tonight?”
“He won’t.” Rogan led me to the staircase to the third floor. “He performed a high-volume summon tonight. With summoning, the totality of the matter coming through is what counts. One large creature is equal to several smaller ones. Vincent summoned nine beings tonight and then expended energy and magic manipulating them, defending against you, and fighting Cornelius for control. He won’t risk attacking tonight knowing that I’m here. He needs to recharge.”
