Trial by Fire (Covencraft Book 1) (32 page)

She felt a little dumb just reading some of the titles.

There was also a small sitting area with two large, wing-backed chairs and a tiny, intimate fireplace.

Probably where he had groundbreaking meetings with werewolves or vampires, she thought with a laugh. Jesus, no wonder he thought she was amusing for mouthing off at him. She shoved her hands into her pockets and tried to make herself a little smaller. Ugh, she felt really out of place.

Even the carpet was opulent. She didn’t want to step any further into the room without removing her footwear. Her tennis shoes sunk in a little into the plush softness and she wanted to back up and try to smooth out the fibers or run a vacuum over the area to clear it up.

“Why are you just standing there?” Paris asked from behind his desk. He was already seated, the big windows framing him wonderfully. “I thought you’d be all over the bookshelves by now.”

“Yeah. I’m just gonna…” She shrugged and rocked on her feet a bit. “I’m good right here.”

“It’s going to take me some time to pull the files,” he said, looking at her like she’d lost her mind a little bit.

She glanced around the lavish room again, looking for a safe place to park her butt. Her only option was the two wingback chairs. She squared her shoulders and marched over to one, sitting down gingerly.

It was like butter. The dark, chocolate leather felt so soft she almost mistook it for some other cloth or fabric. She ran her fingers over it, marveling at its texture. She mouthed the word, ‘wow’ even as she tucked her feet up underneath her. At the last minute she remembered she was wearing shoes and stopped, dropping them back down on the floor. She looked over at Paris and found him smiling at her.

“Like the chair?”

She laughed at herself. “Yeah, it’s pretty nice.”

After a few minutes of chair appreciation time, she pushed herself out and finally made it over to the bookshelves, reading the spines of the books. She heard Paris on the phone, arranging for the files to be collated, then speaking to Callie letting her know where they were, then to someone she didn’t know about a meeting with a werewolf pack that he apparently couldn’t put off any longer.

Jade raised an eyebrow and glanced over at Paris as he got off the phone.

“Werewolves?”

“There’s a pack very close by and we’ve been having some… Magic overlap issues with them.”

“Werewolves have magic too?”

“Werewolves
are
magic. All supernatural creatures are magic to some extent,” he explained. “Witches can use that magic at their will. The things that we’ve been doing recently, the amount of magic bleeding off us with the demon warding and the other spell-work you’ve been learning…” He trailed off. “It’s leaking into their territory and they don’t like it. I can’t say I blame them. Normally, they probably wouldn’t notice, but demon magic does have a certain… Feel to it.” He rubbed his fingers together as if he were feeling the greasy taint of demon magic even then.

She toed the carpet a bit with her shoe, feeling chastised. “Sorry.”

“Well, it’s not really your fault. It’s not anyone’s fault. Something I’ll have to make clear to their Alpha.”

“So is it more political or magical? Your job?” she asked.

“It’s both, usually in equal parts.”

She made a
hmph
sound. “Sounds crummy.”

He laughed a bit. “Well, I wouldn’t have used that word exactly, but it fits.”

“What time’s your big meeting?”

“One,” he said, looking at her like he was trying to decide something. She eyed him right back.

“What?”

“I don’t know what to do with you.”

“Gee, thanks,” Jade said dryly. “First of all, I’m not something you have to ‘do’ something with. Second, what’s that even mean?”

He shook his head like he was trying to clear it. “I just meant that I’m uncomfortable leaving you on your own but at the same time, werewolves have a formal introduction process when meeting new people in a political setting and I don’t have the time to introduce you before bringing you.”

“And that would be a problem because you’re kind of already on their shit list with the over-spillage of magic?” Jade asked, guessing the heart of it immediately.

“Right.”

She shrugged. “So don’t bring me. I can hang out with Callie in the dungeon. I’m sure Henri will be there too. Yeah ‘Bob,’” she said, making air-quotes around the pseudonym she was still using for Seth, not risking his name out loud, “showed up here the other day, but he can show up anytime from what I gather. And it doesn’t seem like he’s actively trying to hurt me. And Doug? Well, Doug apparently favors mirrors. I can avoid those.”

“So far Doug favors mirrors. We don’t know what else could be coming. Portals out of the wall, out of thin air. Anything.”

“Thank God you’re here. I feel so much better with you around,” she deadpanned.

He pursed his lips at her. “I’m just saying that we’ve been lucky so far.”

“Lucky?” she said incredulously as she waved her cast in front of him and pointed at her face. “Have you seen me lately? I haven’t been this beat up on a regular basis since I was twelve.”

Jade immediately wanted to take the words, and their implication, back. Impulse control. She really had to get some for her mouth.

“I meant that it could be worse,” Paris clarified.

“Again, I’m feeling so much love,” she said sarcastically. “Just… Go to your little werewolf meeting and smooth some feathers. Or fur. Or whatever it is you have to do,” she paused. “Although if there is some kind of freaky ritual involved, I must admit, I’m curious and I want you to tell me later.” She shook herself, trying not to be distracted. “But, I will stay here, at the Covenstead with Callie and Henri. We can stay in the cafeteria or someplace really public and visible. It’ll be fine.”

Paris appeared to be thinking about her proposal, tapping his fingers against his desk. “Why don’t the three of you use my office? While we can’t really ward any place in the Covenstead, I do feel as though there’s a certain amount of power associated with this room, this space. It’s been used by coven leaders for years.”

“Okay. Works for me.” Jade shrugged. “We can eat in here, right? You won’t get freaked out if we get mustard on the carpet or something?”

“You’re all adults. I’m sure you’ll do fine,” he said dryly.

*

Jade’s unease about squatting in the formal space lasted until Henri spilled his half-filled latte cup and stained the carpet.

After that, it was like some kind of seal had been broken.

Callie, Henri and Jade lounged on the floor, leaning up against the high-backed chairs and the front of Paris’ desk while they kept on in their research into demon magic. Jade liked to think of it as Demonology 101.

Although frankly, she could do without all the sexual positions, depictions and graphic sketches in many of the books. She didn’t know if she was desensitized or just grossed out at that point. She didn’t really care anymore and she snapped the book she was reading shut.

“I can’t look at any more dirty pictures!”

Henri looked up with a smirk. “You know, when I was sixteen, I thought if I looked at enough porn, I’d eventually get to that stage.” He shrugged. “Never did.”

Callie made one of her snort-laughs, hiding behind the long curtain of her hair.

“I’m serious!” Jade continued. “I’m not even that much of a prude, I just want some actual knowledge to be in these books and not just whatever dirty fantasies or outrageous positions came across the writer’s mind. Half of these books don’t contain any real information. It’s all just second hand tales or urban legends or kinky stories.” She kicked at the book with a disgusted toe, nudging it further away from her. “I just want something that will help.”

“Paris’ mom’s books are the best so far,” Callie said quietly, all tones of laughter gone from her voice.

Jade nodded. “Yeah. Almost too good. It’s like I don’t know enough to follow along quite yet. Her stuff is like, advanced mathematics and I’m still learning how to count. There are one or two spells I think I could try, but the rest,” she shrugged, “I don’t know. I wouldn’t even know how to attempt them without breaking something or blowing shit up. It’s like I can’t even figure out how she structured them.”

“She was quite the witch,” Callie said. “And coven leader.”

“And you guys never got any hinky vibes off her?” Jade asked, looking at each of them. “Paris was shocked when I found those grimoires. He had no clue.”

They both shook their head. “No,” Henri replied, checking with Callie to see if she agreed and she wore a similar expression. “Nothing. She was the perfect coven leader. I mean, really, she was!” He continued at the face Jade made. “She was kind most of the time, but stern when she needed to be. She knew everyone in the Coven, knew their magic. She would remember stuff about you and ask. She was at all the public events, did all the ceremonies for the solstices and equinoxes. I didn’t know her personally, but I would have never guessed.”

“I knew her,” Callie said. “I mean, like a child knows an adult, you know? Paris and I’ve been friends for years, so I was always at their house or she was picking us up from something. Or my mom and her were sitting together at some event. She was just… Paris’ mom. And our coven leader.”

Jade pursed her lips and stared at one of Sakkara’s grimoires that she was still studying in fits and starts. It gave her a headache if she worked on it for too long and she wasn’t sure if that meant something, or if it was just because of the scrawled handwriting.

Paris’ desk phone ringing startled her and she jerked upright. She then poked her head out toward the small desk where his assistant should be sitting. Her plan was to accompany Paris to the start of the werewolf meeting and then come back, but it didn’t look like she’d returned yet. With a shrug, Jade picked up Paris’ phone.

“Uh, yeah. Paris’ office,” she said, sticking her tongue out at Callie who was smirking at her.

“This is Suki, Paris’ assistant. I just got an email that the personnel files you requested are ready but you’ll have to go to HR to pick them up. We can’t transmit that kind of information over external email.”

“Uh, sure. HR. Where is that?” Jade asked, grabbing a sticky note and pen.

Suki gave her directions to the HR department in the Covenstead and Jade jotted down the bare minimum.

“How’s the wolf meeting going?” Jade asked, curious.

Suki made a disgusted sound. “Ugh, if I see one more preening and posturing wolf that tries to sniff me, I’m getting a silver cane and I’m going to start using it as a bat.”

Jade had never met Suki, but she liked her already. “Sounds like you’re having fun.”

“I can’t wait for this day to be over. All I can smell is wet dog.” Suki added. “By the way, Paris wanted to check in and see how you’re doing. All okay?”

“Yep. Just hanging out at his office, wrecking the joint.” Jade stuck her tongue out at Henri this time who was still trying to move one of the chairs to cover his latte stain. He gave her the finger and she laughed.

“I’ll let him know,” Suki replied, sounding amused.

They said their goodbyes and Jade hung up, plucking the sticky note off the pad and fastening it to the back of her hand.

“My files are ready. I’m going to pop down to HR and get them. Who wants coffee while I’m up?”

Callie and Henri both raised their arms high and straight immediately and Jade huffed in amusement.

“Can there be pastries too?” Henri asked, batting his eyelashes at Jade.

“Moment on the lips, lifetime on the hips, Henri.”

“I hate you for being right.” He slumped dejectedly.

“Hate the game, not the player,” Jade said smartly as she left the office like a dervish.

She read her haphazardly scrawled directions on the post-it note and figured she could either try to get to HR, on the second floor, by navigating down to it from the third, or she could head to the second floor and go from there. She wanted to get a good look at some other witches and the entire third floor appeared to be offices so she decided to start there.

She became one of those obnoxious people who walked down hallways and peered into every open door. Everyone looked up at her as she did. Some said hello and asked if she was lost, some offered to help her find what she was looking for, some appeared really annoyed and didn’t say anything. She just stared at each of them thoughtfully, trying to figure out if she could sense any demon magic around them, on them, in their vicinity.

She was pretty sure she came off like a creeper. But it was collateral damage and she didn’t care if they thought she was socially maladjusted or some kind of misfit. She only cared if she got a sense off them or not.

She did get a vibe from most people - a kind of generic, non-specific air. If she had to categorize it, it was vaguely cattle-ish. They were all sort of the same - she got a vague impression of magic but it was mostly superficial and bland. Nothing that really pinged her radar.

There were several folk she couldn’t quite get a handle on, and she made a note of where their offices were located. She was better with numbers and spaces than names so she’d have to look up who they were later based on their location but that was okay. She could do that easily once she had the files.