Page 40 of Wicked Thirst
“Yours was like tasting blood and power at the same time.” We walked down another long hallway. “What is your power exactly?”
“If I’m being honest, I’m new at this and my power is new to me, sooooo your guess is as good as mine. So far, I can control others’ actions, but it’s fleeting and whatever that magic was with the water before.” I don’t know why I felt so comfortable with her. But she had a calm, cool way about her that made me feel calmer in return, even if they had just attacked me and admitted to murder. In the world of witches and vampires, someone was bound to get killed.
She stopped before a thick wooden door and motioned to it. “This is where we stop.”
I hesitated to open it. “What’s in there?”
“This is our war room. We all meet here when there’s a problem in the world of Evermore and we have to solve it.” She stepped around me and opened it, letting the door swing wide. “And we’re going to fix whatever happened because Gray is one of our own.”
I followed her into the room and just stood there as all eyes swung toward me. There was one long table in the center of the room with a map of the world spread out over it. Red pins were stuck into different locations. It looked the way it would if someone was marking off all the places they’d traveled before. There were other tables pushed against the walls with random chairs spread throughout the room. A dusting of white sand was sprinkled on the floor, and the smell of sun and sweat lingered in the air.
I looked across from me, and there sat a guy with midnight hair down to his chin and glowing green eyes. Tarot cards swirled above his head, and I froze on the spot. Green smoke seeped from his fingers and churned with the cards. When he looked at me, his eyes went from milky-white to glowing green and back again. A tiny woman sat perched on the table beside him. She kicked her legs, letting them swing back and forth. She held a bag of chips in one hand and divvied them up between the two of them. One for her, a bunch for him.
When my eyes locked on her, I did a double take. There was something so familiar about her, something I couldn’t put my finger on, but I’d seen her before, somewhere. The haunting feeling of déjà vu swam in my mind. “I know you.”
“Yup.” She nodded and her blond curls bounced with her movement. Crunch, crunch, crunch. The bag of chips crinkled as she yanked out more food.
I walked farther into the room. It was eerie how familiar she looked, like something from a dream or nightmare. Those dark eyes, that huge black trench coat, and those long blond curls, yet the memory escaped me from where exactly I knew her. “But I can’t place where from?”
“I’m Tilly. This is Maze.” She motioned between the two of them, then she brushed her fingers over her dark jeans and dusted the crumbs off her hands. She took a deep breath and met my eye. “Listen, I was only slightly demon-possessed when I kind of attacked you. But really, I was just hungry. I wasn’t actually going to kill you or anything.”
Then it hit me. The memories all rushed back. The night I was walking home from work to meet Dice. How scared and alone I felt. She hunted me. She chased me. She caught me. I nearly died that night from my injuries. It was catastrophic. “You’re the one . . . you’re the one who attacked me and put me in the hospital.”
Astrid stepped in closer to her as though trying to protect her. She leaned in close to Tilly and I could tell there was a bond between the two of them, like Dice and me. If Dice nearly killed someone, I’d defend her with my last breath. Astrid lifted her chin and met my eye. “She wasn’t herself.”
“Yeah, I heard that, demon possession?” This world was far beyond anything I could think of. But Tilly wasn’t attacking me now, and hell, I’d been feral for a time. I could only imagine the things I’d done against my will. So maybe demon possession was a bit like being feral? If that was the case, then I was in no position to judge, and a tiny bit of grace was in order. “So you attacked me because you were part demon?”
Tilly nodded. “Yep, demon-possessed. Plus, I was so hungry, and you had food. But I apologize.”
“Food is always the answer.” Maze reached into the bag and pulled out a handful of chips and shoved them into his mouth. Then he put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a brown paper bag with tiny stains on it. He turned it over on the table next to him, and the second he did, a one-eyed black cat charged into the room.
Maze put his arms onthe table and surrounded the pile of tiny pizza rolls. “Back off. They’re mine.”
The cat leapt up on his knee and stared at him. They did this for long moments as if it were a test of wills to see who would win. Tilly sighed and rolled her eyes. She reached into the pile of pizza rolls and snagged one. Maze looked like he was about to whine at her, but she blew on it and tossed it to the cat. “Honestly, you two.”
I was fascinated by the display. Maze stuck his tongue out at the cat and the thing turned around and stuck his tail up in the air and hopped off his knee with a little victory dance on the way out the door. He paused next to me and blinked his one eye as though winking at me.
Tilly cleared her throat. “I mean, I really am sorry now.”
I shook myself and reminded myself we were in the middle of a conversation. “Yes, of course, apology accepted. Are you still demon-possessed or are we good? Should I worry you’re gonna try to do that again?”
“Pshh, like I’d attack a super powerful vampire. I’m not stupid, Piper.” She said my name as if I were already a close friend. Her voice was almost teasing, as though this was water under the bridge already.
I tried to go with her approach and just accept it. “I mean yeah, I guess it’s cool now? I survived . . .”
Barely.
She looked me up and down. “Yeah, but not much longer after that.”
I rolled my eyes. “Thanks.”
“Vampire-Piper fits you.” She winked. “And will continue to fit you.”
“What?” My brow furrowed in confusion. What the hell was she talking about now? Will continue to fit me?
Maze sighed. “The rules, cupcake. The rules.”
She sighed. “I knowwwww. Don’t tell people what we see . . . blah, blah, blah.”
