Page 33 of A Soul's Curse
“They’re making a transaction,” Katherine informed us, standing beside the window as she swiped a glowing finger along the glass. “There’s a ward placed on the walls to block sound from escaping the room, but it looks like it’s weak around the windows. I don’t like others messing with my property. I formed a crack in the magic so you can hear.”
“What is the transaction for?” I asked.
“The female is Tara. She’s a Syndicate member but isn’t above using their resources to conduct her own personal business on the side. She is in possession of a powerful grimoire. Caspian wants you to retrieve that grimoire and deliver it to him.”
“And how the hell am I supposed to do that out here? I can’t exactly walk through walls and I’m pretty sure they’ll notice if I climb in through the window.” My voice was barely a whisper, but I abruptly ducked when the female rose from her seat on the couch. When I peeked over the ledge, I saw she had put on a pair of black gloves and pulled out a book from her large tote bag. It looked both heavy and thick, with a faded silver sigil pressed into the aged, dark brown leather. The man held out his hand to take it from her and inspect it.
Katherine made a sound of disinterest. “How you get inside isn’t my problem, it’s yours. Acquire the book, and Caspian will be in touch.”
I felt Katherine’s magic disperse as she left us to fend for ourselves. Ivy and Stella, crouching on the stairs behind me, gestured for me to move so they could slip past onto the landing and check out the scene. The curtain covered most of the view inside, but the woman was closer to the window now, her voice muffled but audible, although I still couldn’t see the man.
After placing the book on the table, Tara leaned over him, removing his cap to reveal messy dirty-blond hair. With thegloves still on, she raked her fingertips through his waves. She then lifted his chin for a teasing kiss. She grabbed his hand and placed it on her breast, encouraging him to fondle her through the plunging top that exposed her skin. Her moan was loud enough that I could clearly hear it from outside.
“Um, what’s going on?” Ivy gasped, her hand clutching her shirt as she tried to control her panicked breathing.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Stella huffed. “We’re interrupting a sex deal. I bet that woman’s a succubus. She’s gonna ride that guy the entire night and make him scream until he has no magic left in him—”
“Stella!” I hissed, just as Jacob returned from scouting the inside. “Do you have a filter? Too much information!”
“Big problem, guys.” We all looked over toward him. “Those two are not alone in there. There’s a guy hiding out in the bedroom, another one waiting out in the hallway pretending to be a staff member. My guess is, as kinky as this looks, the ropes and other weapons they have on them aren’t for pleasure.”
“Are the guards with the man or woman?” I asked.
Jacob shrugged. “I can’t be certain, but the woman seems to hold all the power. She has something the man wants, but she isn't dumb. She must know what that grimoire can do. She’s probably going to get what she wants and dispose of her client so she can keep the book and do the same thing to some other poor sap.”
I sat hunched on the landing, my hands rubbing against my face. We had to do something to get that grimoire. I might not get another chance to meet with Caspian, and the longer we stayed outside on the first escape, the more likely someone would catch us. Waiting around until Tara left could mean hours, along with possibly a dead body, but barging into the room meant dealing with four unknown enemies.
Tara let out a blissful cry, loud enough that it startled the three of us and we instinctively peeked over the window ledge to see what had happened.
It shouldn’t have come as a shock what we saw, but it still did. Tara was naked from the waist up, her breasts right in the man’s face as she straddled him in the chair, guiding his hand as it roamed her body.
“Are we really going to just sit here and watch this?” Stella sneered behind me. “They’re both exposed. Now’s a good time to attack.”
Tara’s lustful sounds became a symphony of pleasure, growing louder with each breath. “Mmm. Yes.Yes, James!Right there.”
James?Oh God. There was no way. He couldn’t be … what were the odds there was another James with blond hair who was a member of the Syndicate?
“They’re heading to the bedroom, Theo.” Stella dared to peek further above the windowsill. As she moved, her foot slipped off the landing, sending a loud creak through the aged metal as it groaned under the weight of three people. We all froze, but it was too late.
“Who’s there?” There was no hiding Tara’s enraged voice as it filtered through the window, the sound barrier put in place no longer concealing anything. She grabbed her coat from the couch to cover herself. “Show yourselves. I can see shadows outside the window.” She then directed her anger toward James. “Did you bring people here with you? Did you plan to swindle me out of our deal?”
“It’s now or never,” Stella said, her eyes steely with determination. “If you want that grimoire, we need to go in and take it.Now.”
“Stay here,” I told a trembling Ivy. “You don’t have to go in there with us.” I then nodded to Stella, assuming she had a planto get us inside given the mischievous grin that was plastered to her face.
“I … I’ll summon Talis! He’s a shadow assassin. He will help you,” Ivy promised.
Rose petals floated gently in the floral-scented air around us, their rich, red hue glowing with a faint, ethereal aura. With each breath Stella took they swirled gracefully, as if moved by an invisible current. Her hands, delicate and precise, guided their dance, fingers tracing intricate patterns in the air that made the petals follow in perfect harmony.
“Shield your eyes.” The petals surged forward with a burst of energy. With a sound like thunder, they collided with the window, shattering it into thousands of glittering fragments that caught Tara off guard.
She yelped as jagged edges of broken glass and petals sharpened like blades bit into her skin. Stella placed a hand on the ledge, magic blossoming as soft, lush greenery spread across it like a natural, padded cover. Then, like some crazy fucking ninja, she bounded through the window and punched Tara in the face. A storm of black petals fluttered before her like a swarm of butterflies, obscuring Tara’s view as she attempted to counter Stella with a strike of her own.
“Rodger! Where the fuck are you?” Tara screamed, and the hulking man Jacob had found hiding in the bedroom appeared in the living room. I imagined the second bodyguard out in the hallway wouldn’t be too far behind.
With much less grace, I lifted one leg over the window ledge and hopped inside, magic tingling at my fingertips. Stella’s petals took on the shape of objects—a knife, a shield, a vine that restricted Tara’s limbs. Tara, on the other hand, snapped her fingers. Her gloves sparked with electricity, releasing a bolt of her stored up magic that shot off like a bullet, barely missing Stella’s arm.
Panic rushed through me when I looked over my shoulder to realize Rodger barreling toward me. Ready to embrace the tackle, I was prepared to wrap my arms around him and give him the world’s worst stomachache. But instead, a black blur whizzed by me, like a shadow dancing in remnants of a tattered cloak. A faint mist clung to him, dissipating as he moved.
