Page 29 of Vampire so Virtuous
“Yeah.”
“Love life okay? How’s Rob?”
“That was over five months ago, Dad. I told you at the time.”
“Oh shit, yeah. Sorry, honey.” He looked apologetic. “Someone new?”
Him and Eve both? Well, it was only because they cared.“Happily single.”
He held up a hand in mock surrender. “A father’s duty to pry, sweetheart.”
“How about you, then? How’syourlove life?”
“All right, point made.”
That wasn’t an answer, but she let it slide. She already knew there wasn’t one.
“So if it’s not your work, your taekwondo, or your love life, what’s eating you?”
She tilted her head. “What makes you think something is?”
“One, it’s a Monday, so whatever it is must be urgent. Two, you’re jumpy. Three, you didn’t answer when I asked you earlier.” He waggled his eyebrows at her.
Cally laughed. “You got me. There have been a couple of things, lately.” She sobered. “Dad, can I ask you about Mom?”
He stiffened briefly, then forced himself to relax. “Of course, sweetheart. What do you want to know?”
“This is going to sound weird, but…” Cally took a breath. “She never expressed interest in the occult, did she?”
“Your mom?” Dad laughed. “I haven’t thought of that in years. Sure she did.”
Cally’s throat clenched, and she swallowed hard. “She did?”
“Yeah. She was part of a Wiccan coven when I met her at MIT.”
“She was?” Cally asked, her voice small, blood thumping in her ears.
“It was all the rage back then. She dragged me around all the museums.”
“Wait.Yougot involved?”
“Only on the fringes. I’ve forgotten most of what I knew about Boston’s neopaganism and occult heritage.”
It was like talking to Eve again. “But Mom was into it in a big way?”
“Pretty big, yeah,” he said. “Why are you asking about this? I’ve never known you to be interested in history, just math and science.”
“A friend of mine introduced me to a group of amateur witches,” Cally said evasively.
“Coven.”
“What?”
“It’s called a coven.”
“Oh. Yeah, I know that.” Cally was still reeling from the confirmation her mother had been a practicing witch, like Eve had suspected. Maybe there was some truth to the blood thing? “Did you ever see her, you know, do spells?”
“Men don’t get invited to covens.”
