the hall, her eyes shifting from face to face until she stopped at mine again. “I never heard of Gian. I’m fey. I skipped Wizard History in school. It was such a boring subject.”
I bit my lip, trying to stay calm, but inside I was dying. “You’re a liar. You said you loved me.”
She sent me the ugliest hate-eyes I’d ever seen. “I wanted to barf each time I said it. I’d never love a human child. When I get the chance, I will kill you. And I want my cat back.”
“Cleo?”
“I’m going to skin her for turning traitor on me. She was supposed to spy on you and report back.”
“If you harm her, I’ll scratch your eyes out!” I started toward her, rising to my knees, but Nick grabbed my arm and stopped me. “What did you do to my globe?”
“I eliminated it,” Lorelle said. “You’ll never be able to use it again.”
I pulled off Nick’s T-shirt and opened my palm. Nick’s dried blood from my earlier reading was a rusty smudge against the bright red blood oozing from the tiny cuts in my skin.
“Mostrami la verità,” I spoke the charm to ignite my truth globe. A flicker of light zapped and vanished. I tried again, and nothing, not even a flicker. “It can’t be. How—” A sob cut off my words. Nick wrapped his arms around me, and I leaned into his embrace.
“What did you do to her?” Carrig said, the vein in his forehead throbbing.
“Conemar is obsessed with her and her powers. He wants her.” Lorelle’s face brightened. “I used an ancient charm straight from a book I found in Katy Kearns’s house. It destroys globes. Were any of you aware Katy had such a book? There are some powerful charms in it. Conemar won’t want you now.”
“Good! You can have him,” I yelled.
“Where be this book now?” Carrig demanded.
“Like I’d tell you,” Lorelle said. “Oh, poor little Gia has lost her globe. Go ahead, someone tell her. Tell her she can’t be a Sentinel unless she has a battle globe.”
“Too bad for you, biatch,” I mocked, a pink globe balancing in my hand. “Oops. I have another globe. How did that happen?”
I lobbed it at Lorelle, not sure what would happen when it hit her. A wave of energy knocked her on her butt and the dagger flew from her hand.
“You forget,” Carrig said, crossing the room. “She be the daughter of two Sentinels. Therefore, she has two battle globes.”
Lorelle clambered to her feet. “Not so fast,” Lei said from behind Lorelle, pressing the tip of her sword to Lorelle’s back. I hadn’t seen Lei come up behind Lorelle. She was quick like that.
Carrig strolled the rest of the way to Lorelle and glared down at her. “Now, tell me where this book of charms be, and I won’t send you to the scryers. Do you remember your fey lessons? You know the part, where scrying an unwilling party can cause the brain to become soggy. I’m certain you do.”
Lorelle lifted her head. “You wouldn’t.”
“Ah, it’ll be a fight, won’t it? Take her to the scryers. I’ve no time for her games.”
Arik and Demos each snatched one of Lorelle’s arms.
“When Conemar finds out he has a son, he’ll kill the lot of you to get to him,” Lorelle threatened as Arik and Demos dragged her away. “You all will die.”
“Conemar has a son?” Sinead stared at Carrig with disbelief. “Who is it?”
Bastien aided me to my feet with a firm hold on my arm and a gentle hand against my back. “Are you all right?”
I glanced at my hands. “Yeah. They’re just small cuts.”
Nick stood and gave me a forced smile. “I guess I’m not the yoga instructor’s kid, huh? I’m the Antichrist’s son.”
I buried my head farther into the down pillow, refusing to yield to the sunlight tickling my eyelids. Every muscle and nerve ending in my body ached. Some moron decided to knock on the bedroom door at the ungodly hour—I checked the antique table clock—of nine thirty. “Come in,” I called angrily.
The door eased open, and Arik came into the room.
I quickly ran my hands over my hair, smoothing it down. I yanked the comforter up to my chin to hide my ratty old Hello Kitty tank top. “Hey, what’s up?”
“I need to talk to you.” He sat on the bed and rested his elbows on his knees. “That was a gloomy funeral yesterday, eh?”