Blood and Blade (Goddess with a Blade #6) - Lauren Dane Page 0,45
power to one being. But why? And who? What? This isn’t just some run-of-the-mill situation where supernatural beings have gone out of their lane to get more chicks and cash. This is something bigger. I’ve been wracking my brain thinking about the possibilities but coming up empty. Witches are involved but this is far more than making extra money on the black market. And why attack me personally the way they have? In the past I’ve generally stayed out of witch business unless it was too egregious so it’s not like the way Vampires feel about me. Certainly, the Blood Front is capable of doing this for their own ends. But there’s someone else they’ve been helping. That much is clear from everything we learned so far. So, what and why are the things I keep coming back to.”
“Yes. I’ve been thinking the same.”
“This feels...new? Unique? I don’t know.” Rowan shook her head and forked up some of the chicken salad Elisabeth had dished up for her a few minutes prior. Amazing. “If it’s not a Vampire or a witch then what is it? When Carl was with me, he quoted Shakespeare. The line about how there were more things under heaven than people dreamt of. So does he mean an entirely new thing? Because I do not support that at all. We have enough things to juggle. An entirely new threat? Ugh. I vote no.”
Genevieve snickered before thanking Elisabeth for the mug of strong black tea and the plate of fruit and chicken salad. “I don’t know about new. I’m old enough to have seen lots of things people called new but were really just the opposite. Very old. Some old things fade. Some old things learn how to hide better so we forget. There’s power in forgetting. And there’s a loss of power too. Like when beings of power lose worshippers and then their own power and place in time wanes.”
“Sure. Like that’s comforting? It’s some lost toy of a demigod or something?” Rowan sighed heavily and then got back to the day ahead. “Today we need to go to Arthur’s town house and Thomas’s house to do a roof to floor search. There are missing pieces so let’s see if any of them are hiding there.”
“I’m ready whenever you are. After we finish eating, naturally. Elisabeth is a very fine cook so I don’t want to waste anything on my plate.” Genevieve smiled prettily at the other woman.
Star trotted in with Betchamp. “Ms. Star and I had a nice walk. I let her set the direction as she had very definite opinions in the matter,” he said to Rowan.
Star had gone to her bowl to noisily slurp up what sounded like five gallons of water.
“Next time stay hydrated,” Rowan said as the dog came over to say hello. “You wanted to go check something out, huh?” She looked up to Betchamp. “Where’d she take you?”
“Very near the Tower of London.”
When Rowan’s brows flew up and she was about to ask if they’d actually walked all that way, he spoke again.
“Funny thing. Star and I were walking and walking and walking and just as I was considering a cab, one pulled up next to us. The driver was an odd sort but he did enjoy Star. He told me to roll her window down so she could sniff the London air. And then your brilliant dog barked when she wanted the cabbie to turn or slow. A few blocks down from the main entrance to the Tower we got out and she pulled the leash hard to get my attention. We walked to and fro. She left her mark in several places.
“That same cab waited for us, which seemed a very nice thing and probably magical. I told the driver to stop down at the square but he brought us right here, said the dog barked—which she had—and told him where to drop us off. I figured I’d let you know all this. It must be connected to your investigation.”
Carl. It had to have been. “This cabbie, was he an old white guy?”
Betchamp laughed. “Yes. But to be fair, there is no shortage of older white men in London. He didn’t have a British accent though. American South I believe. Do you believe you know this driver? Did I make a mistake in riding with him? It’s just that the dog had very specific ideas about where to go.”
Rowan snorted and looked down to where her bossy dog