life-a no-doubt extremely abbreviated period of time considering how much of a target that made me. Not that my life expectancy at the moment seemed all that great, either.
"The originator of the geis can lift it for a particular person," Casanova confirmed. "I've heard of instances when the spell was used on heiresses by their guardians, to ensure that they remained chaste until appropriate suitors were selected. The devotion aspect of the spell was supposed to guarantee that they would happily accept whomever was chosen.”
I didn't like Casanova's expression. "What happened?”
He fumbled getting another cigarette out of a slim gold case. Considering how graceful his movements usually were, I had a feeling I wasn't going to like the answer. "The geis fell out of favor because it tends to backfire," he explained, lighting up. "Sometimes it worked, but there were cases when girls committed suicide rather than marry someone other than their guardians.”
At my appalled expression, he hurried to explain. "It is a very difficult spell to cast properly, Cassie. Devotion can mean so many things. The geis is designed to ensure loyalty, but how many human emotions do you know that have only one facet? Loyalty easily transmutes to admiration-for why, do you think, would I be loyal to someone who is not, in some way, admirable? Admiration becomes attraction, attraction grows into love and love usually leads to the desire to possess that which is loved. You follow?”
"Yes." Apparently, my body was a few steps ahead of my brain, because my arms had broken out in goose flesh.
"Possessiveness commonly develops an aspect of exclusivity-this person should belong to me and no other, we were meant to be together, that sort of thing." He waved a hand, causing his cigarette smoke to weave drunkenly on its way towards the ceiling. I felt kind of like that, too. My brain was stumbling about, trying to make sense of this mess, and my emotions were all over the place.
"That leads to covetousness," Casanova was saying, "which can convert to despair or hatred if thwarted. Even when cast properly, the spell often causes problems, with how many and what kind depending on the personalities of those bonded. And because it's so complex, it can easily be screwed up. Most mages won't even attempt it anymore. Your admirer is either a powerful magic worker or he knows someone who is.”
"He can afford the best," I said absently. It must have seemed the perfect solution: leave me with Tony, one of his supposedly loyal servants, and put me under the geis so I would remain untouched until he saw whether the power was going to come to me. It was a great plan, if my feelings were discounted. And, of course, they had been. Master vampires tend to treat their servants like pieces on a chessboard, moving them about with no concern over little things like what the piece itself might want.
"It can't be Antonio," Casanova mused, regarding me speculatively. "You were at his court for years before you ran away. The spell would never have allowed you to leave him, nor would you have wanted to try.”
I winced. Even the thought of being infatuated with Tony was enough to make me slightly sick. "Can it be removed?”
"By the person who originated it, certainly.”
"No, without him.”
Casanova shook his head. "I couldn't do it, and I'm very good, chica." He gave me an arch look. "Of course, if I knew more about who we're discussing, it might help. Perhaps one of my contacts…”
I didn't want to tell him. Tony was his immediate boss, but Mircea was Tony's master. He therefore had a claim to anything Tony had and to anyone who owed him loyalty. There was normally a certain amount of maneuvering that had to be done before a senior master could simply take one of his underling's possessions, at least if that subordinate had reached third-level master status, as Tony had. But since Tony was now in open defiance of both Mircea and the Senate, everything he owned had reverted to his master's control. Which was a roundabout way of saying that Mircea was Casanova's master. The incubus was unlikely to defy him, but he obviously wasn't going to give me any help without more information.
I sighed. I didn't like being backed into a corner, but who else was I going to ask? "Mircea," I said, after checking to make sure we weren't being overheard.
Casanova looked blank for a moment, then jumped up as