Breathing Fire (Heretic Daughters) (21 page)

We got out of the car.
 
The room could have almost passed for an oversized version of a normal garage, all smooth gray concrete.
 
A small elevator took us back up to the main floor of the house.
 

As we stepped out of the elevator and onto the main floor, a goth kid handed me a note and a flower, darting off without a word.
 
I shared a confused look with Christian before looking at the note.
 
I handed Christian the flower, muttering, “candy ass,” when he took it.
 
He just smelled the flower, smiling pleasantly, unfazed.

The letter was on old parchment, wax seal and all.
 
“What the hell,” I said, ripping it open.
 
I felt my whole face turn red as I began to read it.

Christian whistled softly from behind my shoulder.
 
He had read it shamelessly from over my shoulder.
 
“Oh boy,” he said, and I could hear the laughter in his voice.

I turned sharply, jabbing a finger hard into his chest.
 
“Don’t even think of breathing a word of this to anyone.”

He shrugged, grinning.
 
“I won’t, if that’s what you want.
 
But, damn, Jilli-”

“And don’t breath a word about it to me, either,” I growled.
 
I was shocked that he actually listened.

Lynn approached me next, looking strange, and worried.
 
Christian gave us a moment of privacy to speak to each other, and I caught her up quickly on all of the messes I’d been making, and attempting to clean up.
 

She seemed distracted at all of my news, which worried me.
 
Some messy stuff must have been going on with her life if she didn’t so much as blink at the the catastrophe of mine.
 
“What’s going on, Lynn?” I asked her finally.
 
“Are you okay?”
 

She nodded.
 
That was all.
 
I got a real bad feeling, deep down in my gut.
 

My guided tour of the palatial retreat ended at the full-sized bar.
 
It was an impressive room, complete with an actual bartender manning the fully stocked bar.
 
“Is that one of Lynn’s followers, or did you really hire a bartender?”
 
I asked him, running a hand along the grainy pattern on the sandy toned granite that topped every surface in the place.

Christian laughed.
 
“That is a goth, making himself very useful.”
 
He raised his voice so it carried to the bar.
 
“Fix me whiskey straight up, my good man.
 
The stuff in the fancy crystal decanter will do.
 
And the lady will have a glass of room temperature water with a lime.
 
Thank you.”
 

The kid nodded happily, humming to himself as he followed Christian’s instructions.
 
“He makes a terrible goth,” I whispered in an aside to Christian.
 
“He’s downright chipper.”
 

We thanked the boy for our drinks and took them to a seating area that could have passed for VIP seating at a club.
 
“Well, what do you think of the place?” Christian asked.
 
I could tell by his eager expression that he wanted me to be impressed with his desert palace.
 
He was so like a kid in some ways.
 

I smiled at him indulgently.
 
“It’s perfect,” I finally answered him.
 
He beamed at me.
 

“You gonna share some of your weapon’s stash with us for the necro roast?”
 
I asked him, even though I knew I didn’t have to.
 

“You know it, girl.”
 
His usual endearment with his faint british accent almost always made me smile.
 
“And Caleb brought us all some nifty gifts.
 
He says I can’t see mine until the necro roast.
 
He seems to think I would waste it before it’s needed.
 
That makes me think it’s some sort of flame thrower.
 
It feels like waiting for christmas.”
 

I shook my head at him, laughing.

We stayed in the bar room, chatting, and I was surprised to have a packed house before long.
 
Apparently this was the popular hangout spot of the house.
 
I shouldn’t have been surprised.
 
It
was
a bar.

I was even more surprised about a half an hour later.
 
Two goth girls had just introduced themselves to Christian and I.
 
Mostly to Christian.
 
They both had black hair and brown eyes, with about a pound of black eyeliner on.
 
They were like different sized versions of the same person.
 
It was bizarre.
 
One of them was a short, heavy girl.
 
The other one was of medium height, and was stacked like a playboy model.
 
The pinup girl was named Cherry, and I knew by the way they flirted that Christian had found his bed partner for the night.
 
I rolled my eyes.
 
He was about to take a walk on the goth side.
 
Whatever.
 
And by the looks the other girl, Juliet, was casting at him, he could get a twofer tonight.
 
Barf
.
 
I tried to erase the mental image from my head.
 

“I’m hungry,” I said suddenly, to no one in particular.
 
I didn’t think anyone would pay me any mind.
 
Seemingly out of nowhere, a bag of food from my favorite mexican joint appeared on the table in front of me.
 
Two more bags joined it.
 
Slowly, I looked up and to my left in to black-lined, dark blue eyes half hidden behind curly dark hair that fell into a handsome face as though it had been arranged that way.
 
Luke was staring at me with an intensity that made me feel immediately uncomfortable and embarrassed.
 
“Mistress, I drove back into town and got you your favorite barbacoa bowl for lunch.
 
It has brown rice and all four kinds of salsa, just how you prefer.”
 
In a fluid motion, he sank to sit in a classic submissive pose, his eyes downcast.
 
“Please, Mistress, may I watch you eat your lunch?”
 

I nearly choked on the water I’d been sipping.
 
Christian started laughing hard.
 
I glared at him.
 
He just laughed harder.
 
He didn’t stop even when tears started running down his face.
 
He was clutching his stomach like he couldn’t keep it in.
 
I kicked my foot sideways, catching him viciously in the shin.
 
His knee bent into his chest, and he clutched his hurt shin, but didn’t stopped laughing.

I turned my glare on Luke.
 
“You may not.
 
Thank you for the lunch, Luke, but please stop this silly game.
 
I’m not your dominant.
 
And while I’m on the subject, what kind of a submissive pursues a dom?
 
Doesn’t that seem a little off to you?”
 
I tried to keep my voice quiet, but I knew the whole room was listening to this mortifying exchange.
 
“I read your letter, and I can say with no hesitation at all that that is never going to happen.
 
So just drop it.”
 
My words fell on deaf ears.
 
All he heard was the unconscious authority I had used.
 

“Yes, Mistress.
 
Shall I remove myself from your presence?
 
Where would Mistress have me go?”

I shook my head at him in exasperation.
 
I pointed at the opposite wall, a good distance away.
 
“Somewhere that way.
 
And don’t cast me any more of those mournful looks, either.”
 

Christian, who had finally fallen silent, started laughing all over again.
 
Dammit.

“And how will my Mistress punish me if I disobey?”
 
Luke asked.
 
He cast me his most mournful look yet.
 

Christian clutched his sides.
 
“Oh, God, I can’t take it.
 
This is too good.
 
I’m taking this kid everywhere with me from now on.”

I pointed at him threateningly.
 
“Don’t. You. Dare.”

He pointed back at me.
 
At my hair, rather.
 
“Oh, God, your hair is lavender again.
 
I think it does it every time you get pissed off now.
 
This really is like Christmas.
 
Will you move in with me, Jillian?
 
I want life to be like this everyday.
 
You complete me.
 
And I have room for Luke.”

That was it.
 
I’d had it.
 
I simply got up and moved to a different part of the room.
 
I sat down in a cushy light-brown leather chair.
 
I glared at the goth’s who had taken up residence in the chairs around it.
 
They beat it.
 
Good.
 
I was officially unfit for company.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Spiked Drink

Lynn shocked me a few minutes later by walking into the room with the strange asian man we’d seen at the renaissance fair.
 
Was that the man who’d put a love charm on her
?
 
Shit, that was bad.
 
He was bad news, I just knew it.
 
She was giggling and holding his hand, and just acting very un-Lynn like in general.
 
I stared, mystified.
 
He was some kind of foreign dragon-kin, and she had just brought him into our sanctuary.
 
It wasn’t a safe house anymore.
 
What the hell was she thinking?

The strange dragon sat down in a chair by the door, pulling her into his lap with an ardent look in his eyes.
 

I glanced at Christian to see how he would be taking the entrance of the strange intruder into his home.
 

He was completely oblivious, making a kissy face at Cherry while she and Juliet decked him out with goth makeup.
 
I couldn’t keep the disgust off of my face.
 
Way to stay focused on the problem at hand, Douche
,
I thought at him childishly.
 
And he looked way more pretty than any man should in black eyeliner.
 

Luke had a cow-eyed stare fixed on me.
 
I sent him a quick glare.
 
That was a mistake.
 
He liked that.
 
I looked away.

I caught Lynn’s eye, and glared.
 
She and I needed to talk, but she just giggled and looked up at the strange dragon as though they were old lovers.
 
His heated eyes on her showed a certain knowing intent, as though they’d slept together, and he was confident it would happen again very soon.
 

Caleb strode into the room, all business, and I was relieved.
 
He wouldn’t like this strange development any more than I did.
 
Caleb motioned with his head for Lynn to join him at the bar, and I was appeased somewhat when she got out of the strange man’s lap and joined him there.
 
They spoke quietly for a few minutes, and I couldn’t make out what they were saying.

Suddenly, Lynn looked at me, glaring.
 
She was swaying a little, and her eyes were glassy.
 
If I didn’t know better, I’d say she almost seemed drunk, but there was no way she’d do something that irresponsible.
 
Was there?

“What?” I asked her, glaring back.
 
Why was Miss Basket-case mad at me?

“Nothing,” she said, her words slurring alarmingly.
 
“Just talking about some stuff I lost recently.
 
Good thing some of my favorite comfy clothes were already here.”
 
She lifted a foot and wiggled a fluffy black kitty slipper at me.
 
She swayed precariously.
 

I flipped her off.
 
Like that was our main concern at the moment.
 
Caleb and I seemed to be the only ones here without a ticket on the crazy train.

“At least she’s sorry,” Lynn raised her voice dramatically.
 
I smirked, just to taunt her.

Lynn turned back to Caleb.
 
They spoke quietly for several minutes.
 
I went back to eating and brooding.

Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the bar top go up in flames.
 
My head whipped around.
 
Shit
.
 
The flames had come out of Lynn’s throat.
 
And it was going to happen again, going by the way she was taking a deep breath.
 
All of the air in the room seemed to be going into her lungs for the next breath of fire.

I looked in panic at Christian, whose head was just starting to turn toward the commotion.
 
There would be no explaining away breathing fire.
 
Even fire sorcerer’s couldn’t do that.
 
Shit.
 
Shit.
 
Shit.

I was across the room in a flash,
 
punching Christian square in the jaw before he could get a good look across the room.
 
It was an instinctual, knee-jerk, retarded reaction to the inevitable threat of discovery.
 
I didn’t think it through enough to work out why it would help the situation.
 
I just knew that I had to get his attention away from Lynn, and fast.