Page 82 of Wicked Thirst
We were in the courtyard and surrounded by the rest of Zinnia’s people. They all stood around as if we’d arrived on cue. Maze stood there holding a big white box in his hand and a white plastic fork. He shoved it into the box and came back with a big bite of cake.
“We’re going on a field trip.” He took another fork from his pocket and offered it to Tilly who stood at his side.
She shook her head, declining it. “I’m full from the donuts we just had.”
“You’ve got to eat to keep your strength up.”
When she only looked at him he shrugged and put it back in his pocket.
“Where are we going, Maze?” Tuck put his hands on his hips as he peeked inside the box.
Maze turned away from him and put a protective arm over the cake. “Niche and Adrienne need to go to the library in Hexia. And stop looking at my cake or I’ll stab you for it.”
Tuck arched his eyebrows. “Is that a fact?”
“It’s your future. Make better decisions,” Maze snapped at him and shoved another piece of cake in his mouth.
Brax busted out into deep rumbling laughter. “Sparkle vampires says things like this. Is very funny.”
“Sparkle vampires?” As far as I knew there was no such thing. Then I thought about it. “Do you mean Twilight?”
“Da.” He nodded. I didn’t have time to ponder his obsession with Twilight when it hit me, we were going to a place I’d never even heard of.
“Wait, hold up a second . . . Where is Hexia? What is Hexia?” I held my hand up. I’d been so ready to jump right into their suggestions that I hadn’t even stopped to ask what was happening.
Zinnia gave herself a little facepalm. “I forgot that you don’t know this world yet. Hexia is the seat of the oldest witches’ city in the world. Our elders are there, and it’s the only witch city that stood the test of time against my father, Alataris. They have knowledge we couldn’t even dream of. Our histories, our spells, and pretty much anything we might need are there. The last time I was there it was pretty amazing. Even if there was drama.”
“Drama?” That was the last thing I needed.
She waved my words away. “That’s a story for another time.”
Serrina motioned for the others to gather in closer to us. “Listen, we have to go to Hexia, but I think you’re going to need us all, at least based on what Niche and Adrienne havebeen telling us. The spell we are going to do is going to be something huge and will require a lot of power.
Niche ran out from one of the hallways with her bright-red hair streaming out behind her. Adrienne followed quickly behind her with a stack of books in her arms. “Wait for us.”
“This is your idea. We wouldn’t leave without you.” I felt the need to reassure her. “What did you guys find?”
Adrienne sucked in deep breaths, then came to a stop in front of our group. “There’s mention of a spell to summon a vampire, but it’s old magic and anything that took the power of the Witch Queens was sent to Hexia for safekeeping until they all rose. It’s got to be there.”
Beckett waved his hand, and the portal opened up behind him. “Apparently, I’m playing taxi tonight. Everybody in.”
I expected the portal to open into the middle of a big city buzzing with activity. Instead, he opened it right into the library. It was huge with high-vaulted ceilings that looked like a cathedral. The walls and large columns were made of light-gray stone carved with filigree from the floors all the way up to the ceilings. Stacks and stacks of books filled the cavernous space. They were spread out in all different directions, and there was no visible way of keeping track of them.
“How do we find what we’re looking for?”
Before anyone could answer me, an older-looking woman hobbled from around one of the stacks. Her head was wrapped in a white silky material that fluttered around her face. It was so delicate it almost made the wrinkles around her eyes and mouth look soft. She was so tiny that her grey dress nearly looked like a robe draped about her body. When she strolled up to us, she walked right past Zinnia and the Queens and stopped in front of Maze. She held her hand out toward him, and he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small white box. It was tied with a simple white string. The box looked like the pastry one he’d held his cake in which was now somehow nowhere in sight. She gave him a small head nod.
Maze returned her nod. “This is Gerda, the librarian.”
“It’s very nice to meet you, Gerda.” I gave her a tight-lipped smile so as not to show my fangs and startle her. There was something so gentle about the older woman I didn’t want to upset her in any way.
Again she said nothing but gave me a warm smile and motioned for us to all stand around a long rectangular wooden table. Adrienne dropped the books on the table with a light thud as Niche helped her straighten them into a nice pile.
As we all took our places, she hobbled her way to stand between Niche and Adrienne. “Why have you come?” Her voice was lighter than a whisper. It was less disturbing than the beat of a butterfly’s wings and sounded even sweeter.
Adrienne lowered her voice to try and match her tone. “We are seeking a very old text.”
Niche pushed her glasses up her nose. “One to help summon a vampire. There’s reference to it in this book.”
