stared down at Grey. That…of all the things I expected her to say wasn't one of them. "Ina's…here?"
"What?" Ivan and Kyle said in unison.
That was more like them.
Signaling my Undine to follow, I pivoted and half ran to the back. Taking a left at the break room table, I ran to my office and shoved the door open.
Standing behind my desk was Inamorata Devonshire. She looked exactly like she did the night she tried to kill me, last year on Samhain. Blood trickled down the left side of her lip and when she smiled I could see her teeth. Her long, sharp teeth.
Inamorata had been my mom's best friend, her coven mate and her closest ally against a subrace of Vampires called Leviathans. All Vampires were a combination of a demon and a human, but the combos where the humans invited the demon in to share their lives and their bodies were known as Revenants. These demons bonded with the humans, flesh and blood. One could not live without the other.
Leviathans never asked to be invited in—they took what they wanted and rode the body's soul to prevent them from bonding, which made it easy for them to hop from one body to another. They moved from body to body, taking what they wanted and leaving devastated souls in their wake. One of these creatures, a demon named Dionysus, the one that made the deal with a Faerie queen to get rid of my mother, took Ina's body after the queen transformed my mother. But as payment, the same queen took Ina's soul and locked Dionysus inside of Ina's body where he was trapped until it could find a new soul to take Ina's place.
Ina took my mother's place when she was declared dead in the line of duty and raised me, directed me, took control of my training, and then manipulated me into using Arcane to kill an innocent. Dionysus took that innocent's soul and used it to free himself from the Faerie queen's magic. Dionysus tried to kill me that night, but Crwys and Grey had arrived and saved my life.
I hadn't seen Ina since then, but I'd always felt she was near, and her name continues to crop up. She was like an old ghost I couldn't shake.
And now she stood in my office.
I put my hand to the back of my jeans. I didn't have my pistols. But I did have something I knew would kill her.
Arcane.
"Samantha, dear," Ina said and put her hands on the back of my desk chair. "Here you are. Oh, I heard about what happened with your boyfriend. Tsk, tsk. So sad. He left you all alone. That's what you hate the most, isn't it? Being alone? Your mother's just a dumb animal, incapable of truly remembering more than an animal can. Your father and stepmother are dead. And now that big, strong boyfriend is gone. Everyone leaves you, don't they? Because you deserve to be alone. You're an abomination!"
The Undine on my shoulder broadcasted her concern and her disagreement with the turn my thoughts took. I dismissed her, with thanks, and held out my hand as I summoned the Arcane Power. The smell filled the tiny room. The lights overhead blinked as my hands ignited with red sparkling fire.
I was going to put her down.
No! Sam don't!
"Stay back, Mom."
Listen to me!
I raised my hand as the visage of Ina threw back her head and laughed.
That's not Ina! Ina doesn't know I'm a wolf!
I hesitated. Grey was right. Even I didn't find out about Grey until after I was warlocked. But if this wasn't Ina laughing at me, taunting me…who was it? Or worse, what was it?
"Sam!" Kyle said behind me and put his hand on my shoulder. "It's a Boggart!"
TWO
My Earth Elemental appeared in front of me, a short female Gnome with an axe and an attitude. My Undine reappeared. My Air Elemental, the Sylph, appeared in the air to my left and my Fire Elemental, my little Salamander, poofed in front of my face. It shook its head and pointed at my hands.
I looked down at the sparkling fire and doused it immediately. I was going to have a headache later for pulling that kind of power and not using it. My Salamander nodded and turned to face Ina.
But Ina wasn't there anymore. I turned as something very solid brushed against my legs and pushed me against the doorframe. Whatever it was shoved Kyle backwards and turned over a