Sorceress, Interrupted - By A. J. Menden Page 0,18
retaliating, all guns blazing. I reminded myself that he didn’t know the first thing about me, considering he had just named Emily as the Reincarnist’s only daughter.
“So, now you think I’m part of the Dragon cult?” I growled.
“It wouldn’t surprise me,” he said. “If there’s something you can get out of it.”
That did it. I glared at him. “How dare you? How dare you suggest I would do anything to hurt her?”
Emily winced. “Fay loud.”
“Yes, Fay’s loud when she’s being insulted!” I crossed my arms over my chest and gave Cyrus a death look. “I can’t believe that even you would dare suggest I’m a heartless user of a little kid.”
“You know how I dare?” Cyrus stared me down and I had to fight not to look away from that icy gaze. “I dare because that’s how you act all the time, Fantazia. You act like you’re a coldhearted man-eater who doesn’t care about anything or anyone. Why would it matter that Em’s a kid?”
“Down!” Emily protested, obviously getting sick of listening to us yell at each other. Cyrus did as she commanded, setting her on the floor.
I glared at him. “Maybe it’s not all of humanity that I would leave to die and step over the bodies on my way out, Cyrus. Maybe it’s just most of them. Maybe I have a few people on my good list, people who’ve earned it or deserve it. Ever think of that?”
“Actually, I think you might potentially care about more people than you think, Fantazia.” His voice was soft.
I couldn’t read his expression; his face was a neutral mask, if his eyes held a bit of warmth. “So, now you’re saying that deep down I actually care about people? Why don’t you make up your damn mind.” I watched Emily toddle around the room and head straight for an electric socket. “No! Don’t touch that, Emily!”
“I get glimpses of a possible soul from you now and again,” Cyrus said, nodding at Emily. “When you let the big ‘I’m a bad girl’ act slip. On the rare occasion.”
“She’s just on my good list,” I murmured.
Whispering under my breath, I created a glowing ball of light for Emily to chase around the room. She squealed with delight as it floated just out of her grasp at every turn. I enjoyed her enthusiasm, then looked up to see Cyrus with a knowing smile on his face.
I frowned. “What?”
“When you let the mask slip, you’re something else, Fantazia.”
His voice was tinged with real admiration. I felt my pulse quicken as I caught his gaze and saw warmth there. I didn’t know how to respond to that, and I felt heat come to my face. What was going on with me? I just didn’t like it when people caught a glimpse of my softer side, I reminded myself, that’s all it was. I said, “Well, don’t let the sight of me being nice to a little girl fool you. Like I said, she’s on my good list. Most of humanity is not.”
“Am I on the good list?” Cyrus asked, his voice still a bit warm.
I felt the need to break the moment and scoffed. “It’s a very short list.”
He laughed harshly. “I would think you’d get exhausted, proving to the world you don’t care all the time.”
“It’s easier than you think,” I said.
He shook his head. “No, it’s not. I did it every single day, every single hour when I was in jail. Before that, too, when I was big, bad Cyrus the Virus. I know how tiring it is, living like that.”
I was saved from having to find a response by Emily squealing, “Pity light!”
“Yes, it is a pretty light,” I said automatically. Then I turned to look at her. It was not my ball of magic the little girl was talking about. There was a bright white rectangle of light, almost like a shimmering doorway.
Cyrus must have caught my astonishment. He turned and muttered, “What the hell? Where’d that come from?”
Alarms started screaming. I grabbed Emily by the arm and jerked her behind me. At the same moment a man emerged from the portal and fell to the floor in front of us. He struggled forward, trying to push himself upright, but fell back down again.
I gasped. “Joseph?”
He managed to look up at me. “Well? You said you’d protect me, Fantazia. Start protecting.” He slumped forward again onto the floor.
CHAPTER SIX
“He just appeared in the room?” Wesley was saying.