Page 158 of House of Pain
“Alecto, I’ve been looking for you,” Val said. She pulled up a chair and plopped into it. “I need your help.”
Alecto rolled her eyes, shoving away her notebook, which had nothing but her illustrations because she hadn’t been studying.
“What do you want from me, Val?”
“Well, why wouldn’t I want you? You’ve proved to be the most useful member of our House this year.”
Yeah, there wasn’t much that could top burning a fucking house down.Even if they hadn’t gotten their hands on the Tigers’ Book, it was still an impressive thing. All Alecto’s idea.
“Am I going to be your new favorite pet now?” Alecto cocked a brow, her tone mocking. But her heart thrashed against her chest as she waited for Val’s answer. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to hear. “Or am I—a half breed—still not merciless and cruel enough?”
Val’s smirk turned into a grin that was anything but friendly and warm.
“Look how sharp tongued you have become, Black. Quite an improvement from the start of the year. Keep it up and you might become my favorite pet.”
Once again, from the way Val’s eyes flickered, Alecto was sure she was challenging her. It was as if Val was curious to see how far Alecto was willing to go. How cruel she could truly be.
“Fascinating,” Alecto replied. “Now, how can I help you?”
“I’m glad you asked. I have a little thing I need your help with.”
“Yeah?”
“While we’re focusing on the Tigers and their Book this year, it doesn’t mean we can forget other Houses along the way,” Val said. “Rogue hasn’t been as useful as I’d like in getting the High Priests and Priestesses interested, so we need to get creative. It would be useful to break up the Dragon and Rat alliance.”
Alecto frowned. “I don’t follow. You said the Dragon and Tiger alliance was the problem for us?”
“It is and it isn’t.”Val and her thousand and one games.“Venefica’s politics are a complicated thing, Black. Every alliance or the lack of one matters. Anyway, I have a plan to speed things up.”
Alecto cocked a brow, crossing her arms. “Well, spill. I can’t wait to hear all about it.”
Val didn’t let Alecto’s sarcasm bother her as she leaned in, closing the gap between them before she spoke. “I want to steal something from the House of Dragons. I wish it was something as important as their Book, but it’s something else.”
Alecto nodded. “So, what is it then?”
“Well, it’s one of the heirlooms that Dragons pass down generation to generation.” Val swirled her finger in the air, rolling her eyes. “It’s a small chest filled with the Black Pearl treasure.”
“And is it cursed?”
Val exhaled a long breath, falling back in her chair with crossed arms. “Everything is cursed if you think about it, really.” When Alecto didn’t reply, Val added, “You won’t even have to touch it, so you don’t have to worry about the curse making you bold or melting your pretty face away.”
“And the curse won’t transfer to the House if we keep it?” Alecto was still not convinced it was a smart idea.
Curses and jinxes were at the heart of witches’ magic. There was no reason to play with something that might fuck them up without them even knowing.
“I won’t keep it in the House,” Val assured, growing impatient as she once more shifted in her seat. “Why are you being such a fucking pussy about it? Andro would have fussed less than you do now.”
“A real nice way to convince me to help you, Val. What do you need me to do?”
Val pointedly glanced at the golden watch on her thin wrist.
“Well, I know that you have a line rehearsal with Norse later today, just before the Saturday game. I’ll need you to distract him for me so I can slip in and steal the heirloom. Oh, and of course, I’ll need you to help me get inside without being noticed.”
“Norse is not stupid, you know that? He was the one who warned me that all Queens die or some shit like that.”
“Yeah, well, he also happened to be the one who told you personally that he would like to see you in his House,” Val retorted. Alecto couldn’t hide her surprise. She didn’t remember offering this piece of information to Val herself. “Norse doesn’t throw statements like that around for anyone. We’ll use it against him. Come on, Black.”
“Fine,” Alecto agreed with a heavy sigh. “Be there at 5:30 and not a minute later. I think we’ll be in the library, so I’ll make sure he’s gone so I can let you in through the window.”
