Page 72 of The Paranormal Investigation Bureau
“I spent a lot of time in human school,” Beyla said. “Kaine switched my high school when he adopted me, and I finally started getting a supernatural education. I was seriously behind everyone then, and had to bust my ass, but even I know all about the last gryphon king.”
“That’s because you’re smart, and know your looks are only going to last you so long. That’s part of the reason she won’t retire,” Madame Lucinda said. “No one is going to tolerate her being around children for long. Ballet schools and academies don’t care how famous you are if parents threaten to pull their children because they don’t want to take classes from a certain teacher. The school classes at the academy are to prepare you for life if you don’t get a contract, or your ballet career ends. She didn’t take them seriously, and now it’s going to bite her in the ass.”
“She was watching me for weaknesses,” Beyla said. “She could have done that and watched the combinations, too.”
Madame Lucinda just threw back her head and laughed.
“You’re under the assumption she hasn’t fried all her brain cells with all that booger sugar she shoves up her nose. Bellatrix was high off her ass at eight in the morning, in her very first class when she got back from rehab.”
“How are we supposed to deal with this?” Merlin said. “She’s not going to stop, and she’s getting dangerous. This is the second time she’s tried to attack you.”
“My hip and knee might make me move slower than a younger vampire, but I’m still faster and stronger than a pissed-off succubus. Don’t let my cane fool you. My doctor says I’m healthy as a horse. When I do kick the bucket, it’s not going to be because of some coked up, 90 pound ballerina. Go to rehearsal and be prepared for anything.”
Fuck, I loved that woman.
Chapter17
Beyla
Everyone was expecting drama if Bellatrix was at rehearsal, but I knew better. In a way, she got what she wanted in class. She assessed me in class, and I whipped out my magic to stop her from hurting Madame Lucinda. She now knew damn well that if she came at me, I could stop her physically or magically.
However she came at me next, I wouldn’t see it coming. We weren’t there yet, so rehearsal was going to be uneventful if she was actually there.
She totally was. She was never early though, so just as usual Bellatrix walked in at the last minute because she wanted all eyes on her. I rolled my eyes. She was over by the mirrors, pulling this wounded bird act while Marsden held her and stroked her back.
Okay, yes, she got her ass kicked, but she was not the victim here. Someone unbound her, and it looked like they set her nose. Bellatrix had a big, purple bruise covering her face. She was lucky that was all she got. If she had actually landed a blow, someone would have killed her, though who would have done it was beyond me.
We all started stretching at the center of the floor and just glared at her. Bellatrix was seriously milking this. If Marsden wanted us to apologize, I was going to break his nose, too. I didn’t care how famous he was, or that I could lose my job over it. This was beyond insane.
Marsden let her go and kissed her forehead.
“If you’re insisting you’re well enough to dance, then you need to warm up properly, or you’ll hurt yourself. This is a difficult ballet, and I need you at your best, Bella.”
I rolled my eyes so hard that I nearly gave myself a migraine, and all four men let out little disgruntled noises.
“Is he fucking serious?!” Bevan muttered.
Bellatrix ignored us and went to stretch, as far away from us as possible. That was when I noticed it. She was wearing a new necklace. We rarely wore them to rehearsals that involved partner work, because they could easily get snagged on someone’s hand.
She was wearing an evil eye pendant around her neck. Plenty of witches used them. I had one in my jewelry box. There were plenty of unscrupulous witches who sold these alongside an enormous pack of lies about what they actually did. There were plenty of criminals who bought them, thinking they’d offer protection from all kinds of magic.
I was guessing Bellatrix was sporting an evil eye around her neck because she thought it meant Bevan and I couldn’t use magic on her anymore. She was just asking for trouble. The witches that sold those put little care into making them properly, since they mass produced them and only sold them to people who would misuse them. Because of that, they tended to be volatile and have the exact opposite effect. The evil eye warded off bad spirits or bad luck. I wore mine when I was communing with the spirits. If evil eye jewelry was given to someone with bad intentions, things could go two ways when magic was used against them. If someone made it carelessly, people realized they got scammed when the spell hit them. If it was a genuine evil eye, things tended to get a bit explosive for the wearer.
I had no way of knowing how her pendant was made without touching it, and I knew there was no way she’d let that happen. Bevan might be able to get a closer look when he was partnering with her. I scooted over to him on the floor.
“Look at her necklace. Can you get a look at it when you are partnering, to see if it’s authentic?”
“Shit. Aren’t they arresting witches for lying about what they can do?”
“They warned us about it, but they aren’t really cracking down on it, since it’s really more of a scam, and they aren’t charging much for them.”
“Okay, to the center!” Marsden said, clapping his hands. “I want to perfect the initial meeting dance so we can move on to Damita’s solo, when her warriors leave to make camp. Bella, this solo isvital. You have to nail the emotions and acting. This is where the audience falls in love with Damita, so they accept that all four warriors are in love with her. You need to be sweet and innocent, but sassy and strong at the same time. Can you do that?”
“You know I can do that, Marsden,” Bellatrix said haughtily.
Bellatrix was anamazingsolo dancer. I’d seen the videos. But not every solo was suitable for her skill set. She could make anyone fall in love with her in certain roles. I’d seen it. I followedThe Preligiously, because I was still a big fan even though I didn’t initially go to their school. Bellatrix wasnevercast in roles like this before. Not until he needed a succubus and a witch in these roles.
I just couldn’t figure out what his end game was.
