Page 80 of Outlaw Witch

“My nephew has told me exactly what happened. How the ritual required an act of penance to be successful. How Fabian asked foryouto drain him of his magic.”

I meet his beady eyes for a moment before I’m distracted by the bead of sweat dripping down from his temple. As soon as I notice it, I can’t tear my eyes away. Revulsion fills me and I bite my lip to tamp down the sneer that’s desperate to break free.

I have no idea how this man can be related to Roscoe who is so light, he’s almost painfully beautiful to look at.

And then there’s this guy.

He grips my bicep and squeezes. My attempt to yank myself free only tightens his grip as he gets right in my face.

“Remember what I told you before, Ms. Alabaster Clement.”

It’s a chore not to roll my eyes at him. Whipping out my birth name was a big deal the first time, but it doesn’t pack the same punch a second.

Especially since there’s every chance Fabian knows who I am, along with what I can do. And the authorities haven’t come calling yet.

It’s likely my usefulness is saving me.

So the smart thing to do is to demonstrate that I’m indispensable. I can’t help them if I’m locked up. Or dead.

I just need to work out a way of continuing my usefulness once we’ve lifted the curse.

Because I am going to. I have to.

The other reason my name doesn’t have the same ring of power is because it’s just so damn ridiculous. Have you ever met another ‘Alabaster’ before? No? Yeah, there’s a reason for that. The name I was born with I rejected a long time ago. It’s no longer mine.

I flick my eyes up to meet his narrowed gaze and reply blankly, “You told me you want to use Fabian. You’ve been training him up or whatever and you don’t want to lose your investment.”

That was the gist I got, anyway. Although, I do find myself mighty distracted when I’m around this old fuck. Mostly because I spend half the time fighting the urge to crawl out of my skin to get away from him.

He squeezes my arm even more tightly, and I grit my teeth against the pain.

“Youwillhelp him remove this curse and youwilldo it without him giving away his power in the process.” Felix laughs humorlessly. “The most powerful blood mage this city has ever seen, and he wanted to hand it all over? The concept is sheer insanity. Thank all that’s holy it failed. Clearly, his brain has been addled by the taint of his blood. And if I hear he tries another thing so ridiculous in your presence and you don’t stop him? Well, I’ll be holding you personally responsible.”

With that, he releases his grip and strides off down the hall, leaving me rubbing my bruised arm.

I slump against the wall for a moment to collect myself. I’m mad at myself for not frying the guy’s eyeballs right there and then. Or I could at least have practiced that new trick I learnt from Dante and wiggled my way into his rotten brain. I could have forced him to forget about me, or that it would be a good idea to jump off the roof and see how benevolent gravity is feeling today.

But I didn’t.

I let him bully me once again.

It’s like as soon as I come into his presence, I forget exactly who I am and what I can do. I go back to that helpless and scared little girl, looking for sanctuary and finding nothing but a bed of vipers.

I’m kicking myself after our encounter, feeling out of sorts, and my urge to head into the guys’ apartment has all but dissipated. I don’t think I can face seeing Fabian and my failure up close, not right now, while I feel so... fragile. Shitty.

Instead, I whip out my cell phone and dash off a couple of texts as I head for the elevator. One to Roscoe to check on Fabian’s status this morning. I might be too cowardly to face him right now, but that doesn’t mean I can’t check he’s all right.

The other message is sent to someone I’m fairly sure won’t be happy to see me.

But we need answers and a plan.

And the only way we can do that is to get more insight.

Which means paying another visit to a vampire.

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