Page 10 of Call of the Ride
Cassandra grunted, unamused, before fixing her heavily made-up eyes directly at me, as if I were plainly visible. “Your Rider needs to cool his jets before I change my mind about retrieving his idiotic arse from the atmosphere. I’ll leave him to linger in the ether like a bad smell if he doesn’t show respect inmyhouse.”
Well, shit.
“How did you know…” Tan began, then shook his head. “Never mind. Yes, we need your help to get Nox back to this plane of existence, so whatever bibbidi-bobbidi-boo that involves, let’s get on with it, ya?”
“Always such an impatient boy!” Cassandra chortled, as if the whole situation was even remotely funny. “Allow me to lock up the shop while you take your friends through to my playroom.”
I was yanked after Tan as he led the way through a cheesy beaded curtain concealing exactly what I was expecting—a small space packed floor to ceiling with shelves of sex toys. Of course, this meant we all had to stop so themudakcould make a suggestive comment.
“Let us know if you see anything you like, doll,” he chuckled down at Vasi while she gaped at the surrounding selection. “Your lonely toy back at the hut could use some company on the shelf next to your bed.”
Vasi blushed in a way that made my non-existent dick twitch before quickly regaining her composure. “Why would I need another toy?” She lifted her chin like a haughty queen. “I already havethreewilling to do my bidding!”
This fucking woman.
Asa moved closer to crowd her from the other side. “Always willing, sweetness,” he purred, running his fingers through her long black hair, making me ache to touch her. “But perhaps there’s room for one more?”
“Ya,” Tan grinned. “In fact, I see some stretchers over there that could get you nice and ready for our next sandwich…”
I swear to all the gods above and below—that ass is mine!
Tan laughed as I blasted him upside the head with a gust of wind. “‘Cool your jets,’ Noxy! We’re simply prepping her for the python. You should bethankingus!”
“Come along, come along!” Cassandra bustled past with a bored-looking Anthia in tow. “And please,anythingthe witch wants is on the house!”
Color rose to Vasi’s cheeks again, but she cleared her throat and quickly pointed at a butt plug a hell of a lot bigger than I thought she’d choose. Even Tan’s eyebrows raised in surprise, but he nodded approvingly and stuffed the plug in his coat pocket before herding her and Ace after Cassandra.
The next room we entered was nothing like the witchy crystal shop or seedy toy closet we’d left behind. Every surface in the windowless space was flat black, with strange symbols drawn on the walls in glowing paint that reminded me of black lights at a club. This looked less like a pleasure emporium and more like the scene of the crime for either a rave or a human sacrifice to summon demons.
Including lost Riders…
I realized now that I’d been more mindless animal than man when we first met Vasi at the thermal pools. The last of my humanity was destroyed when my grandmother died, but instead of addressing my loss, I buried it deep enough to ignore. Once my father got his hands on me, I then channeled any lingering pain into becoming who I thought he wanted me to be—a monster in his image.
Until Vasi came along…
“Vasilisa and corporeal Riders! Kindly stand in the center of the room together, over the pretty pentagram,” Cassandra cheerfully called out from where she was busy rummaging through various items on a high work table. I warily watched as they obeyed, scenting electricity in the air the moment they stepped onto the design.
“We’ll get him back, sweet witch,” Tan whispered in Vasi’s ear, his heartbroken expression making me realize how badly I wanted to return to him and Ace as well.
Cassandra suddenly cursed, spinning to face the room as she dramatically declared, “It appears we’re missing an ingredient necessary to complete the spell!” All eyes shot to her, but the strange woman was focused on Anthia alone. “We will need to spill royal blood.”
Chapter 9
Vasilisa
In the face of yet another insurmountable obstacle, my hopes fell, shattering on the pentagram beneath our feet. I was aware enough of the outside world to know England was still a monarchy, but it wasn’t as if we could storm Buckingham Palace and draw blood from the first royal we saw.
Well…we could…
Being this close to reclaiming Nox only to hit yet another wall made me slump against Asa with a growl of frustration. I glared at Cassandra—infuriated that she looked triumphant after delivering such a disappointing statement—but her attention was elsewhere. Following her gaze, I noticed Anthia looking uncharacteristically uncomfortable under the seer’s unflinching stare.
“Icould help with that...I suppose,” Anthia muttered. “Butonlyso Vasi will stop moping.”
“Whatever helps you sleep at night, prickly pear,” Cassandra chuckled, motioning the swan shifter closer. Anthia scowled, but willingly approached, holding out her hand as the other woman suddenly brandished a wicked-looking blade.
What is she doing?!
“Anthia, stop!” I barked, alarm flooding my system as I thought of my own experiences with ceremonial knives.
