Blood and Blade (Goddess with a Blade #6) - Lauren Dane Page 0,85
priestess. A witch who fits between the Trick and the magic. Helps filter the power and enables the Trick to store it longer. The priestess is a key to many doors we cannot unlock without her. We can be strong without her. We are strong. With you, we’d be stronger. With you, we’d be safer.”
“Why are you so sure it’s me? Why haven’t you had one of these priestesses before?”
“We’ve had priestesses on and off. The last one passed from this world a century ago. But this region has only grown richer with magic because of Las Vegas. We have fed and strengthened without a priestess. It is our way to wait for the right moment.”
His gaze seemed to laser straight to her soul. “You are the right moment, Genevieve. The way the earth responded to you last night was only a conclusion of what you started that sunrise. I know you saw me watching you that day. Why did you choose that spot?”
“I just followed my gut.” Exactly to where the magic seemed to want her to be.
“To the tip of a vein of power. Where the breeze carries salt from the flats and Salton Sea here. That should have numbed your power, even if only slightly. But it did not. It greeted you. Surrounded you and welcomed you. I knew then. And then last night the whole Trick felt you. We drove to that spot and waited. And there you were not twenty minutes later. You are meant to be here right now. With me. With my Trick.”
“As I said, I have a job. I have allegiances and responsibilities I do not wish to give up.”
He reached out and took her hand. So much power and potential flowed between them that she gaped at him, openmouthed.
“You feel it too. This is right. You do not have to give up your position within the Conclave. We don’t need that from you.”
“And my work with Rowan? Because I rather enjoy it and don’t want to let that go. Won’t. She is my friend.”
He sucked in a breath. “You can’t work against the Trick.”
“Unless she is, I wouldn’t be. And I don’t think it’s a secret that she has no plans to. She’s wary of your power. Respectful of it. She serves balance, Darius. As do I.”
“Chaos serves the balance as well. We are all on the same side.”
“What all would you need of me?”
“For you to settle here in Las Vegas. The Trick has real estate if you’re looking for a place to live. If not, wherever you’ll be, as long as it’s on our territorial earth, is fine. There’s a salary. You may come and go as you need to. We understand that you’re serving your brethren via the Senate. We have no wish to hinder that. We can hold our own against enemies but are not in the business of making more enemies. But our enemies are yours. And yours are ours. There are rituals you will need to preside over. I can teach them to you. This book,” he patted it, “belongs to the priestess. It’s got our history in it, along with spells and traditions important to maintaining a healthy Trick.”
There was so much clarity within her at that moment she knew this was the step she was supposed to take.
But she wasn’t a fool. “I cannot, in good conscience, say yes or no without more information and involvement. There are many unknowns here. And I’m in the middle of an investigation. I need to finish that before I take on any new responsibilities.”
“You may have your probationary period, Genevieve. Sixty days?”
“If I’m done with this by then, sure.”
He took her hand between his and shook. “We are in agreement then. Tell me about these spells.” He indicated the papers.
“The witch I killed last night, these were hers. She was writing siphon spells for the Blood Front. Who was selling them to a Vampire sorcerer. Most of that power was being sent somewhere else. To power someone, or something else. We don’t know why. We don’t know who, though I’m fairly sure we’re dealing with a Faerie. And her magic—Patrizia’s—has elements I can’t identify though they seem familiar in some sense.”
“This here and here is Faerie magic.” He pointed to the parts of the spell that’d been bothering her.
She blew out a breath. “Was this witch Fae then? I killed her and it wasn’t all that hard. Her magic was all stolen. She was bloated with