Red-Headed Stepchild

That got me a frown. “Sabina, this is serious. You can’t just go around hexing people or casting spells willy-nilly.”



“I was kidding, jeez.”



He cleared his throat and pulled a book out of his backpack. “This is a textbook used in mage schools. It’s pretty elementary, but it gives a good overview of the basics.” He pushed the book across the table. I picked it up and flipped through it. He wasn’t kidding. It read like the Dick and Jane version of The Book of Shadows. “There’ll be a test tomorrow.”



I brought my head up, ready to tell him where he could stick his test. But stopped myself when I saw his smirk.



“Gotcha.”



“Nice one,” I said. “Can we get to the good stuff already?”



“Not yet. You need to learn about the basics before we move into introductory spell casting. That book will help.”



Just then, my cell phone rang. Grimacing, I picked it up to check the number. Lavinia. Cursing under my breath, I hit the end button and then powered the phone off. If things went as planned, I’d be able to call her back later with news of my success.



“You could have taken that,” Adam said, nodding toward the phone.



“I didn’t recognize the number.” He didn’t look convinced but let it drop. “Okay,” I said. “What else, Teach?”



“That’s it for tonight.”



My mouth dropped open. I’d gotten myself all worked up and all he did was give me some stupid book? “That’s it?”



“I don’t want to rush this. You’ve got a lot to learn and tossing you into intermediate casting might overwhelm you.”



“Wait a second,” I said. “You’re making it sound like I’m in this for the long haul.”



“Aren’t you?”



“Hell no. We agreed on one lesson. I thought you’d teach me a few spells and that’d be it.”



He sighed and tilted his head to look at me. “Don’t you get it? I’m here to help you claim your birthright.”



“What are you talking about?”



“Sabina, you’ve lived your life so far as if you were a pureblooded vampire. But you’re not. Half of your blood is mage. And until you accept that you’ll never be whole.”



I sat back in my chair and stared at him, dumbfounded by his audacity. “I think we’re done here.” The scrape of the chair legs against concrete made me cringe as I stood.



“Sabina,” Adam said. I ignored him and continued to the apartment. Behind me I heard him curse followed by his chair being pushed away from the table. “Wait!”



“See you at the temple!” I yelled. The door slammed behind me.



Two hours later, I was ready to stab myself in the eyeball with the pen I was tapping on the notepad in front of me.



“If we go in through the west entrance, we can disable the cameras,” Frank said.



“But why would we do that when I can simply disable them with a spell?” Adam argued.



Vinca and I looked at each other as the two men continued to debate the various methods of entry. The meeting had already gone on too long, most of it consisting of Adam and Frank arguing over every last detail of the plan.



“Frank, how many vamps can we count on to help us?” I interrupted.



Frank’s glare shifted from Adam to me. “I’ve got five of Clovis’ personal guard.”



“Shit,” I said. “We need a lot more than that. They’ve got security all over that place.”



“I can probably get some faeries involved,” Vinca offered.



Frank snorted. “What are they going to do, blow pollen on them?”



Vinca stuck her tongue out at him. “Don’t underestimate fae folk, vampire. We’ve been known to kick some bloodsucker ass. Would you like a demonstration?”



Frank started to lean forward, his eyes hot. I put a hand on his arm. “Stop it,” I ordered. “Vinca, I appreciate your offer, but I need you to focus on gathering the weapons and supplies right now.” Vinca leaned back in her chair with a frown.



“I can put a call out to some of the covens in the area,” Adam said.



I shook my head. “Absolutely not. We can’t chance the Hekate Council stepping in.”



“But—”



I held up a hand, cutting him off. “No. We’ll have to make do,” I said. “Now, let’s start by going over what we know about the facility.”



An hour, and a lot of shouting, later, we’d come up with a rudimentary plan. It wasn’t fleshed out, but it was a start. Frank stood and stretched.



“I need to go brief my men.” He stalked out without another word.



Adam watched him go. “That guy’s got an attitude problem.”



“No doubt,” Vinca said.



I sighed and stood, gathering papers. “Look, this isn’t ideal for any of us. We just have to manage with the resources we have. If either of you has a problem with the plan, you are free to walk away now.”



I looked at each of them, hoping they’d bow out. The plan we’d come up with was a suicide mission. Neither spoke.



I stood and began gathering the papers on the table. “Adam, I’ll need your list of supplies by tomorrow evening. That should give Vinca enough time to get it all together by week’s end.”



Adam nodded, eyeing me. I ignored him. Vinca rose to leave. “Thanks for including me, Sabina. I’ll see you at home.”



I nodded curtly and went back to my shuffling. After she left, Adam continued to lounge in his chair.



“Don’t you have some place to be?” I asked.



“I thought we were going to continue your training,” he said.



I stopped and stared at him. The gall of this guy. “The deal’s off.”



“No, it’s not.”



“Yes,” I said firmly. “It is. It’s obvious we have different goals here.”



He leaned back in his chair and tossed the pen he’d been holding onto a set of blueprints. “You’re scared.”



With deliberate slowness, I placed the palms of my hands on the table and leaned toward him. “What did you say?”



“Come on, Sabina. It’s obvious. My comment earlier about realizing your potential stung your pride. But more than that, it scared you,” he said. “And you want to know why?”



I shook my head and pursed my lips. “No, but I’m sure that’s not going to stop you.”



He leaned his elbows on the table. “You’ve spent your whole life living in this little bubble where the rules were clear. The Dominae brainwashed you against all of mage-kind, and embracing that side of yourself terrifies you.”



“You know what terrifies me, Adam?” I said. “That you think I’m so gullible that I’ll buy that psychobabble bullshit. You don’t know me. And you certainly have no right to sit there and pontificate about what I’m thinking or how I feel. I meant what I said, no more training. It’s not because I’m scared or because deep down, I’m a lost little girl. It’s because I’m not interested.”



He watched for a moment, his expression unreadable. Finally, he stood and came around the table. “You’re not interested? That’s fine. But if you don’t agree to continue with the training, I’ll walk out of here and tell the Hekate Council everything.”



My eyes narrowed and my fists clenched. “You’re a real bastard, you know that?”



He smiled and picked up a stack of papers from the table to hand to me. “I’ve been called worse.”



I closed my eyes, wondering how things had gotten so complicated. If Adam went to the Hekate Council now, war would follow, no doubt about it. If I could hold him off, there was a chance I could convince the Dominae to change their minds. Granted, the chance was small, but I had to try.



When I opened my eyes, Adam’s smile had faded into a frown. He seemed to be holding his breath. “Fine. The training continues. But no more life coaching, okay?”



He nodded. “Deal.”



I knew conceding was a sign of weakness. However, if things went according to plan, I’d off Clovis that night and be gone before Adam could schedule another lesson.



Thinking about the devil made him appear at the conference room door, as if I’d summoned him. “Sabina?”



I turned quickly. “Yes?”



He eyed Adam and me, his gaze taking in our closeness. “Did I interrupt something?”



I backed away a step. “No, we were just discussing the plans.” I glanced at Adam, willing him to confirm my statement. Instead, he merely looked at Clovis with a small smile hovering on his lips. I wondered why he’d want Clovis to think something else was going on.



“Sabina, may I speak to you in private?” Clovis said. It was stated as a question, but his tone made it clear I didn’t have a choice. That was fine with me because I had plans for Clovis.



“Sure,” I said. “Excuse me.” I said this last to Adam, who nodded.



“Tomorrow evening then?” He was obviously referring to our next training session, but his tone implied otherwise.



Distracted, I nodded and gathered my things. I walked to the door where Clovis waited. When I looked up, he was staring at Adam. A quick glance backward confirmed Adam was returning his stare. Freaking males, I thought, they couldn’t be more obvious about their territorial dispute if they’d both peed on me.



“You ready?” I asked Clovis. He reluctantly ended the stare-off to smile at me.



“Always, my dear.” He placed a hand on my hip to guide me through the door. Before he closed it, I caught a quick glimpse of Adam scowling at us.



“Frank said the plans are coming together nicely,” Clovis said, leading me down the hall. His words interrupted my confusion over Adam’s sudden possessive behavior.



I nodded. “Yeah, I’m a little worried about the lack of manpower, but I think it’ll work out.”