Dead Man's Deal The Asylum Tales - By Jocelynn Drake Page 0,22
I see skin again, if ever.”
“But if you could?”
“I don’t know.” Sofie sat on the book and looked at me. “It’s been several years since I was last there. I’ve lived with a human that I depended on for several years. I’ve lived with you and Trixie for a while now. I honestly don’t know if I could return to that life. I’ve changed and I feel like I’m too old now to change back to the way I was when I was living in the Towers.”
“I’m glad,” I said with a smile. It was a good answer. It was one Gideon could accept. If he could get Sofie changed back to a human, he would have someone safe who could train his daughter if she proved to have magical talent.
Sofie made a noise. She was either scoffing at me or coughing up a hairball. I prayed it was scoffing. “You make me sound soft.”
“No, just a good person.”
Sofie wouldn’t look at me. She jumped down from the table to the dirt floor. The air directly above her seemed to grow a little hazy. I stood and looked over at the symbol, but the protection spell was quiet. As I looked back at the cat as she crossed the room to peer in one of the cabinets, the misty haze above her solidified slightly so that it looked like I was seeing a ghost. But it wasn’t a ghost. It was a misty image of Sofie as she looked when she was human. She was right. There was a lot of powerful magic down here.
“Who cursed you, Sofie?” The cat or the ghost didn’t look over at me, but I could see her stiffen. It was the first time I had ever asked her that question. Sofie didn’t talk about the attack and I respected her privacy, but I had someone who might be able to help her.
“It’s none of your business, Gage,” she said in a low voice.
“I know, but tell me anyway.”
“Why the sudden interest?”
“Because I know of someone who may be willing to help you.”
Sofie jerked around and quickly padded closer to stand in the middle of the room. The freaky thing was that I could see hope scrawled across the face of the ghost as she peered at me. “Who?”
“Gideon.”
“You’ve spoken to Gideon?” The ghost’s mouth hung partially open and it was only then I realized how much I had gotten accustomed to trying to discern Sofie’s moods by her tone of voice and the expressions presented on a cat’s face. I was beginning to think that I was wrong . . . a lot.
“Yeah, we’re not exactly mortal enemies, though I can’t say that I would trust him with my darkest secrets. He’s indicated to me that he could help you if he knew who cursed you.”
Sofie moved away from me. She sat and then stood as if she meant to pace around the room, but she didn’t move. “Her name is Victoria, though I liked to call her Vicki to piss her off.”
“It worked.” I snickered.
“That wasn’t why she cursed me.”
“I hope not. I don’t want to think about this lunatic running around using magic. Last name?”
“Tremaine.”
“I don’t remember her.”
“She didn’t spend much time in the Tower you were living in. You wouldn’t have met her.”
“Would it help Gideon if he knew why she cursed you?”
The ghostly Sofie frowned at me. “If he needs to know, then he can talk to me.”
I threw up my hands and smiled at her. “That’s fine with me. I don’t need to know.”
“Why is Gideon doing this? Particularly now after all these years.”
“That’s something you’ll have to discuss with him, but I will give you the same warning that he recently gave me.” I shoved my hands in my pockets and leaned back against the table. “Things are getting bad in the Towers. Lot of unrest and anxiety, from what he tells me. I’d keep your head down as much as possible.”
“What does that mean for you?”
I sighed, my shoulders slumping. “Nothing good. As it stands, I’ll most likely lose Gideon as my assigned guardian soon unless he hands the council my head on a pike. From there . . . well, I’m sure you can imagine the shit storm that’s going to follow.”
“I’m sorry.”
I shrugged helplessly. There wasn’t anything I could do about it. “Thanks. I would appreciate it if you could keep this info to yourself. I don’t want Trixie worrying yet. You know how slow