[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
the television at a loud volume.
When Sylvia paused in what she was saying and glanced toward
the living room, Harland said, He ll come around. He just doesn t like
change. You know that.
She nodded. Thanks, guys. For understanding. This
means& everything to me.
Will I get to learn how to make mochas? Doyle asked. And if I
work there, are my specialty coffees free?
Sylvia laughed and hugged her little brother. We ll talk about the
details when it s time. First I have to get the place ready to open, and
that s going to take some work.
I ll help, Doyle said.
Me, too, Harland chipped in.
We all will, Bartholomew said. Whatever you need.
Sylvia looked around the table. The end result was better than
she d expected. She should have tried being honest with them years ago.
* * * * *
Her no-account nephew best not screw this up, Marie thought as
she settled into a dark corner of the bar and maintained a direct line of
sight to Rupert, who sat alone at a table closer to the front door.
She didn t want Deidre to have to be braver than absolutely
necessary, and it took quite a bit of courage to enter such a place as the
Snake Pit. Marie didn t want her chickening out if she made it as far as the
front door. Of course, there was still a chance the wealthy widow
wouldn t show tonight, but Marie would make certain Rupert was here
and in character every Friday night for however long it took.
She d already briefed the man on his role. Get the money, hand
over the vile, and wait for the widow to leave. Once Marie made sure the
coast was clear, she d give the signal, and he could meet her behind the
tavern to hand over the money.
Her nephew was a virtual unknown in the town. Orphaned at an
early age, he d been raised by a system that cared little and provided even
less. Though he was now a full-grown middle-aged man, Rupert had
never amounted to much. Addicted to role-playing video games, he d
worked menial jobs for little pay until Marie found him and coaxed him to
Everland with the promise of teaching him how to become a powerful
wizard in the mystical arts of black magic.
Keep your hood down, she whispered, watching the obviously
bored man glance around.
But then the door opened. Rupert tipped his head forward and ran
a fingertip around the rim of his glass.
Deidre was covered from head to toe in black, but her shoes gave
her away. Marie smiled as the widow made her way over to Rupert s
table.
Although she was too far away to hear the conversation over the
hubbub of regular bar activity, Marie saw the moment money and
product exchanged hands.
Won t be long now. She d found a way to destroy the oh-so-perfect
reputation of the Princetons, and she d barely lifted a finger to do so.
What are you doing here, witch? A tall, cloaked figure moved
between her and Rupert. Marie looked up, recognized the mask, and
smiled. She couldn t risk making a scene with Deidre still in the bar, but
this was a pleasant turn of events. It had been decades since she d last
seen the man who d broken her heart, years since she d been able to
needle him so that he shared her pain.
Drake&
He hissed at her use of that name and leaned over the table toward
her. I should kill you for what you did to me.
Do, and you ll be cursed to live like the toad that you are forever.
You ll never be able to show your face in public again.
I can t now, he gritted out. His hand inched toward a knife
sheathed at his waist. I m as good as dead to everyone I cared for
anyway. To society, I m already dead, so why not rid this world of your
treachery?
She lifted her own coat to reveal an ever-present pouch of potent
protection. Do it, and you ll suffer a fate worse than the one you
deserve.
I didn t deserve this. And Jacqueline was innocent.
That s a matter of opinion. He d cheated on her with that harlot,
and they both had gotten what they deserved. Marie s only regret was
that the curses she d used on them had locked them in an ageless cycle of
youth, while she d grown old naturally. But looking at him now, alone
and helplessly irate a bitter shadow of his formerly strong, handsome
self made it all worthwhile.
She found a way to be free of you.
So he kept track of his family, too, did he?
I will, too. And when that day comes, I ll find a way to make you
pay.
Perhaps, but then again, who says that she-wolf is out of the
woods?
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]