Dreamwalker (Stormwalker #5) - Allyson James Page 0,73
skirt and blouse, Elena in blue slacks and brightly flowered top, were the most frightening and powerful beings in the hotel, more even than the wolf Changers in the saloon or the Nightwalker in the TV room, who was enjoying Laura, a noir classic. These two women could destroy half the town, if they put their minds to it. Thank heavens they were kind underneath it all, and didn’t like to see innocents get hurt.
I did not want to ease the wards to let Emmett enter the hotel, but I conceded that they had a point—if we had to face Emmett, we’d be stronger on our own ground.
On the other hand, if he beat us, he’d have control of my hotel and all the magics in it, including the mirror.
“I’ll think about it,” I said. I took my empty plate to the sink, threw away my paper napkin, gave a nod to Don, and went out.
Cassandra was typing briskly behind the reception desk. I leaned on the counter, waiting for her to pause.
“Why are you here so late?” I asked her. “Not that I mind,” I added quickly.
Cassandra looked up, unoffended. “I’ve moved into the bedroom on the third floor so I can better keep an eye on the place. Pamela has too.” Her tone turned apologetic. “She wasn’t about to let me stay here alone.” While she sounded exasperated, she knew I’d understand. I had a very protective mate as well.
“That’s good, as a matter of fact. I was going to ask you to stay. I’m sorry I’ve been so out of it lately—thanks for covering.”
Cassandra gave me a puzzled glance. “It’s my job to cover, and your absences haven’t been your fault. You’ve made an enemy of the Ununculous. The fact that you’re still alive attests to your amazing strength.”
At the moment, I felt about as strong as a wet napkin. “Cassandra, you are so good at running this hotel, I think I should step aside permanently. Sell the place to you, retire and take photos the rest of my life. Sounds restful.”
Cassandra’s light blue eyes widened. “What on earth would I do with a hotel?”
“Obviously make a lot of money from it. No one could run it better than you. You’re a frigging genius.”
She shook her head, my unflappable manager suddenly agitated. “No, no, no. I am good at managing—I love organizing and finding the most efficient way to turn a profit without sacrificing quality and the comfort of the guests. But Goddess, I wouldn’t want to own a hotel. What a nightmare.”
“Thanks,” I said dryly. “My thoughts exactly.”
Cassandra frowned at me. “You misunderstand. You have done wonders here—you are the perfect hotelier. You hire people like me to make it work and you don’t get in our way, but you’re generous and understanding. Plus, your magic and Mick’s is what keeps this hotel safe. You’ve made a place where the supernatural can relax and not have to battle for every second of their lives. You have a Nightwalker watching movies with a witch, and neither is worried about killing the other. And goblins now have a place to celebrate their two-hundredth wedding anniversary without fear.”
I glanced across the lobby to the ancient couple. “Is that what they are?” I whispered.
“Yes. It’s an old earth-magic race, like dragons, but different.” Cassandra waved this away. “I suggested the hotel to them, and they are having a blast. I could never have provided a setting like this. You need to stick around and keep this haven as it is.”
Cassandra was not one who lavished praise indiscriminately—she was like my grandmother in that regard, though much more polite about it. If she thought I was doing a good job here, then maybe I was. I warmed.
“Elena thinks we should bring Emmett here,” I said. “That would end the haven real quick, if we can’t defeat him.”
“I think she’s right,” Cassandra said, her eyes snapping. “Time for the Ununculous to end his reign, in my opinion.”
My friends were extremely confident we could take down Emmett, or at least that I could. But I was ready to take the fight to him, as I’d already decided.
Meanwhile … “The magic mirror,” I began.
Cassandra’s cheeks tinged pink. “It’s in the basement, near Elena’s storage room. I thought it would be safer there, and Flora is anxious to get started.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Elena’s “storage room” was what we called the place where a vast well of shaman magic she’d inherited from her ancestors pooled. Cassandra’s assessment that