She turned her gaze away for a moment. “Alton told me about it, yes,” she replied, after a pause. “I’m just glad that you knew me well enough to recognize that it wasn’t me. I might be a Shapeshifter, but I’d like to think that doesn’t immediately make me guilty of every crime.”
“You must get that a lot, huh?”
A tight laugh rippled from her throat. “It’s all too easy for people to suspect or condemn those who are different, simply because they possess a power that others don’t. We don’t choose to be this way; we are born with the abilities we have. And yet, people judge us and fear us because of something we have no control over.”
I reddened, looking away. I’m sorry, Sloane… I’m sorry that I’m guilty of that very thing, where Shapeshifters are involved.
Just because I couldn’t read someone didn’t mean they were inherently bad. I’d come to this realization a long time ago, but I’d let my fear and suspicions cloud my judgment, regressing me to former thoughts that weren’t valid in any way. Looking back at Bellmore, I vowed to do better. The spy was a Shapeshifter, we knew that much, but that didn’t mean all the Shapeshifters were spies.
Twenty-Five
Santana
I’d hoped a couple of hours in the coven pool might make me feel better, the soothing water washing away the sick feeling that had been nagging me since coming back from New York. Unfortunately, my body seemed to have other ideas. With my stomach still churning, and my skin drenched in a sheen of cold sweat, I dressed in comfy clothes and padded along my curve of the living quarters to find Raffe.
If he likes me in a slinky bikini, then he can damn well like me in sweats and a t-shirt, looking like death warmed over.
My last few peaceful laps of the pool, without Harley spraying pillars of water at me or creating tidal waves, had proven pretty useful in getting the mental juices flowing. The Children of Chaos had already been playing on my mind, ever since our little trip through the mirror, but I kept fixating on one particular point: Erebus, the Child of Darkness. A nice, non-threatening title if ever I’ve heard one. I’d seen him mentioned in the spell that Harley had been reading. Plus, the creeping, unsettling black fog whipping around her had been a damn good indicator of who was involved in the spell.
A memory came back to me, floating through my mind on a wave of tranquility. There’d been a book in Astrid’s room—one of the texts we’d been reading through during our gossip sessions. At the bottom of one page, there’d been a footnote in an embossed text box. It had mentioned djinns and how they were directly connected to Erebus. According to that book, a djinn’s powers were fueled by Erebus’s energy, and so these demons could be called upon to help perform the incantation that would summon him. It could be done in other ways, but using a djinn as a sort of gateway appeared to be the easiest method. It was only after a peaceful swim that the pieces started to make sense, coming together in my mind.
It had given me an idea. As friggin’ terrifying as Kadar was, I figured he might have insight into how a magical could become a Child of Chaos, like Katherine wanted to. It didn’t sit too easy with me that I’d have to get Raffe to let the demon loose for a bit so I could speak to him one-on-one, but right now we were clutching at a whole bunch of nothing where Katherine and the kids were concerned. That psycho-bitch would stop at nothing to get what she wanted, which meant we’d have to do the same.
Fire with fire, and all that jazz. Although, if this ruins my dating plans, I swear I’ll come down on you like El Niño, Shipton.
I knocked on Raffe’s door, hoping he was in. He’d mentioned something about a meeting with Alton, but it was almost eleven. I doubted Alton would have kept him so late. A shuffling echoed beyond the door. He answered a moment later, looking even sleepier than before.
“Santana?” He frowned at me. “Is everything okay?”
I nodded. “Are you busy?”
“I was about to go to bed, but I can stay up for a bit if you need something.”
“I was wondering if I could ask a favor,” I said tentatively. “Only trouble is, I don’t think you’re going to like it.”
“Oh?” He sounded wary.
“Can I come in?”
He stepped back and ushered me into the room. He’d never invited me in before. I glanced around the place, admiring the black-and-white photos on the wall. They were mostly landscapes, with the occasional portrait mixed in—a group of kids sitting in a circle, an old lady on a porch stoop, a soldier kneeling in the middle of a vast desert. Raffe had never struck me as the kind of guy who liked photography, but these were amazing. I walked over to one and touched it—a landscape of a boating lake, with a single vessel out on the water.
“Are these yours?”
He nodded shyly. “I used to like taking pictures. Not so much anymore.”
“How come?”
He shrugged. “Other stuff got in the way, I guess.” He sat down on the edge of the bed. “How was your swim?”
“Really nice,” I replied, with a smirk. “Harley didn’t even know the pool existed.”
“Are you sure you’re okay? You don’t look too good.”
I pulled a face. “Just what a girl wants to hear.”
“No, I mean… you always look beautiful, and you still look beautiful now, it’s just… uh… you seem a little pale. Did you swallow pool water? I know it’s clean and everything, but you can never be too careful.”
I smiled, my heart swelling at Raffe calling me beautiful. “I’m fine, honestly. I think I’m just worn out after everything that’s been going on. I’m guessing you’re the same, with all this napping you’ve been doing.”
“The djinn is being louder than usual,” he admitted. “It’s draining, but I’m doing okay. Weirdly, he gets more volatile whenever… never mind. I’m fine, just sleepy.” His cheeks flushed pink, his gaze dropping for a second. So, Kadar gets feistier whenever I’m around, eh? I suppose I should be flattered, but not if he’s sapping Raffe to do it.
“I won’t keep you too long,” I promised.
Sitting down at his desk, I launched into conversation, quickly filling him in on what Harley and I had been up to earlier. I left out the bit about the Grimoire, making up a white lie about another book on the Children of Chaos. After all, I’d promised Harley I wouldn’t say anything about it. She was scared about what might happen if it got out. If the Mage Council caught one whiff of it, she’d be toast. Frankly, I was scared for her, too. I’d witnessed it with my own eyes. They’d lock her up and throw away the key if they found out what she was capable of. Levi already loathed her for her power, even with the Suppressor keeping things on an even keel.
“Anyway, there was this passage about Erebus and his relationship with djinns,” I explained. “I was hoping you might let me talk to Kadar about Erebus, see what I can get out of him. If he’s got some info on whatever Katherine is up to, we need to know about it. I hate to ask you to let him loose, but we’re desperate.”
Raffe sighed. “I’ve always known that djinns shared ties with Erebus, and I thought the same thing as you. I’ve already tried to talk to Kadar about it, but he just mocked me the whole time. He flat-out refused to say anything useful and told me to deal with whatever Katherine had in mind. He’s not bothered if she gets the power she wants. I guess he thinks it won’t affect him.”
It surprised me to hear that they’d already talked about it. For some reason, I hadn’t thought they spoke to each other that often, even though they shared the same body. Raffe seemed to hate Kadar, and Kadar wasn’t exactly Raffe’s biggest fan. Then again, I supposed it made sense that they’d chat from time to time. It probably made their life sentence go a bit faster.
“I don’t want to press the issue if you’re too tired, but would you mind if I tried anyway?” I asked. “Kadar might be more willing to speak to me. I can’t explain it, but he doesn’t seem to mind me that much. I guess he’s grown to like me, just like you have.” I flashed him a cheeky grin.
He smiled back, chuckling to himself. “That’s true about Kadar, but I wouldn’t say you grew on me, Santana,” he said. “I liked you from the moment I met you. You have this energy about you that I’ve never seen or felt before. I’m not good at showing affection. I never have been. It’s probably a family trait. But you make me want to show my feelings more. I’m still learning when it comes to this.” He gestured to the space between us.
My pulse quickened. For the first time in my life, I’d been rendered speechless. And by Raffe, of all people—the man of so few words, silencing me in the space of a few moments. There was a delicious irony in that, though my mind wasn’t functioning well enough to appreciate it. All I could do was sit and gape at Raffe like a moron.
“Do you want to go to the cage and try this out?” he prompted, grinning.
I struggled to find something to say. “Try what out?”
He laughed. “Coercing Kadar into talking.”
“Oh… yeah, of course. Right. That.” I smacked my forehead. One-nil to Raffe, you sneaky, surprising, handsome bastard. “Yeah, we should go before it gets too late. If you’re already tired, I don’t want to keep you up until four in the morning again—talking, that is. Talking to Kadar.”
“Fortunately, I haven’t had a recent conversation with my father, so we should be fine on that front,” he replied, a pleased smirk tugging at the corners of his kissable lips. “I’ll be able to control him better this time, since my anger isn’t feeding him. He feeds off other things, but I’m pretty sure I can control those feelings for a couple of hours.” His gaze met mine, my heart damn near stopping at the sight of the irreverent glint within them. Raffe Levi, are you being saucy with me? Now this I can get used to… once I can think straight again.