The Mage in Black (37 page)

That stopped me. I’d been so focused on her motives for inviting me here, I hadn’t thought she’d be interested in mine for accepting. I squared my shoulders. “I want to know where my sister is.”

“She’s not in Los Angeles.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Where is she?”

“We’ll get to that. But first, I have another matter to discuss with you.” She motioned to a bench. I shook my head. This wasn’t social hour, so I preferred to stand. She shrugged and settled onto the stone seat with easy grace. Her long, black cape came to rest around her like a black cloud, and her deep auburn hair glistened in the moonlight. Of the three Dominae, Persephone was the beauty. Historically, she’d also been the nicest of the three, but “nice” is a relative term when speaking of ancient vampires.

“I hear you ran into some trouble in New York.”

“Persephone, let’s not play games here, okay? You know damned well the trouble I ran into there was orchestrated by the Caste of Nod, with the help of you and the other Dominae.”

She frowned. “Correction, the trouble was orchestrated by the Caste and your grandmother. Tanith and I were not privy to Lavinia’s plans.”

A cynical laugh escaped my lips. “Bullshit. Do you really expect me to believe that?”

She leaned forward and quieted her voice like a conspirator. “We didn’t find out about the attack on the mages until after the fact. The truth is, your grandmother has been acting without our knowledge for some time now. For months, Tanith and I have been troubled by Lavinia’s increasingly erratic behavior, but this war she’s hell-bent on starting is the last straw.”

“Assuming I believe that she acted without your knowledge, why haven’t you confronted her?”

Now it was her turn to laugh. “Surely you haven’t been away long enough to forget how things work here. Confronting the Alpha Dominae is a death sentence.”

I frowned. “But law dictates the three of you share power equally.”

“Despite what the laws state, your grandmother has been the de facto leader of the vampire race for centuries. Tanith and I assist her in running things, of course, but she holds all the real power. At best, she could have the Under Council strip us of our titles. At worst, well…” Her voice trailed off; she knew she didn’t need to finish the thought. After all, I used to make my living being the worst-case scenario for vamps who pissed off the Dominae.

“So what does all this have to do with me?”

Persephone’s lips lifted, flashing a little fang. “It has everything to do with you. I want you to set up a secret meeting with the Hekate Council. Tanith and I want to overthrow Lavinia and negotiate peace with the mages, but we’ll need the council’s help to succeed.”

My mouth fell open.
What the hell?
Adam shifted in the shadows, as if ready to confront Persephone. I shook my head, hoping he’d take the message and stay put. I held Persephone’s gaze. “They’ll never agree to that.”

She stood and smoothed out her skirts. “They will if you convince them we want a peaceful resolution to the current conflict.”

“And why would I do that?”

She looked me in the eyes. “Because if you fail, you’ll never find your sister in time to save her from what Lavinia has planned.”

My eyes narrowed into sharp slits. I’d had enough of the Dominae backing me into corners, but I put a muzzle on my temper. I couldn’t risk Maisie’s safety just to satisfy my itch to tell off Persephone. “It seems we are at an impasse then. Because I don’t trust you, and you won’t get your meeting until you prove that I can.”

Her smile wasn’t so much a grin as a tense pull at the corners of her mouth. “You surprise me, Sabina. You’ve changed since you left us.” Whether she was talking about my lack of outburst or about calling her bluff, I didn’t know. Didn’t care, frankly.

I thought of my mage training in New York—the tricks of the trade that Rhea had taught me. Now it was my turn to smile. “You have no idea.”

“What proof do you need that my intentions are honorable?”

“Tell me where they’re keeping Maisie. When and if I find her, I’ll talk to the mages.”

She pursed her lips. Against her pale skin, they looked like a small pool of blood in the snow. “How do I know you’ll keep your promise? After all, I have as little reason to trust you as you do me.”

She had me there. Not two months earlier, I had betrayed the Dominae to help out some mages in trouble. “Yes, but you asked for this meeting. And you’re the one who wants to speak with the Hekate Council. You want my help, you need to give up Maisie’s location. If you do that, you’ll have my word that I’ll speak to the council.”

She hesitated.

“Take it or leave it, Persephone.”

“You’d walk away knowing that to do so would allow the war to proceed?”

“For my sister?” I said. “Hell, yes.”

The ancient held my gaze. She took so long to respond, I was afraid she’d refuse. But then, after a few moments, she finally spoke. “Your sister is being held at the Caste of Nod’s headquarters.”

I smothered my momentary shock over her capitulation. “And where is that exactly?”

“New Orleans.”

“Well, that narrows it down. You got an address?”

Persephone shook her head. “The exact location is a closely guarded secret.”

“So how do you know that’s where she is?”

“Your grandmother isn’t the only one with spies, Sabina.” She looked up at the moon, as if the glowing orb whispered a secret. “It’s getting late. I need to get back to the compound before I’m missed. I’ll expect to hear the time and location of my meeting with the Hekate Council within seventy-two hours.”

“Wait a second. I need time to verify your story before I talk to the council.”

“Then you’d better hurry.”

I silently seethed as my brain sorted through logistics.

“And Sabina?” Persephone said. She leaned in, her voice soft like a confidant. “If I don’t hear from you in three nights, I’ll have no choice but to come after that handsome mage standing behind me.”

I jerked. It was one thing to threaten me. But her threatening Adam was like waving a red flag at a bull. “I’d like to see you try,” I said through gritted teeth.

“Don’t underestimate me, girl. You know I have resources you couldn’t dream of possessing.” She glanced over her shoulder toward Adam. When she turned back around, her smile was filled with menace. “My spies tell me you’re rather fond of him. I can see why. It’s been centuries since I’ve had a mage pet. The prospect is so appealing, I almost hope I don’t hear from you.”

I looked over her head at Adam, who couldn’t hear our conversation. He cocked his head, as if asking if I was okay. I forced a smile. No sense cluing him in to the danger he’d be in if I failed. Failure wasn’t an option. Not this time.

I looked Persephone dead in the eyes, letting my anger burn there for her to see. “You’ll be hearing from me real soon.”