Page 46 of Mortal Heart

They found Katy and Carly not in the living room, but out back in Carly’s garden. Katy sat cross-legged in a circle, her unfocused stare fixed on the surface of a gorgeous round obsidian scrying mirror. The tiny wingless demon lay still in her upturned palm, possibly drugged, possibly dead. Arkady couldn’t tell which. Carly sat nearby at a wrought iron table, keeping watch.

As quietly as possible, Arkady and Ronan joined Carly at the table. Their hostess had set out a plate of scones, a pot of tea, and full glasses of juice—two for Ronan and one for Arkady. Her expression made it clear she expected them to finish all of it.

Arkady dove in without hesitation, chugging her juice and then nearly inhaling two whole scones in between gulps of tea. Ronan followed suit. When they’d finished, Carly went back into the house and returned about ten minutes later with a tray bearing three plates full of eggs, sausage, bacon, and toast. Ronan ate every bite on two plates. When Arkady put down her fork, he eyed the remainder of her meal too.

She chuckled and slid the plate over to him. “Go ahead.”

Meanwhile, Carly’s satisfied expression reminded her of how Sean looked when Alice ate a proper meal instead of her usual ten cups of coffee and half a bag of chips. An alpha wanted all those in his care to be safe, happy, and well-fed, and that went triple for their mates.

Carly was kind of an alpha too, Arkady mused as she sipped her tea and surreptitiously rubbed her full belly. As High Priestess of her coven, she was bossy as shit, with the same desire to ensure those in her care were protected, guided, and healthy in body, mind, and soul.

Katy, with her dedication to black magic and morally gray choices, had proven a challenge for Carly, but they seemed to have worked out an arrangement that suited them both. That came as a big relief for both Arkady and Alice, since they liked Katy and wanted her to find her way within Carly’s coven.

As much as she’d enjoyed the food and drink and Carly’s peaceful garden, Arkady fidgeted as the minutes ticked by. She found herself playing with the handle of the enchanted knife she’d offered to Ronan as a way of getting out of Nyx. At the time, she’d thought that particularly extreme measure might be their only bargaining chip with the vamps. She was more glad than she’d ever let on that they hadn’t needed to use it after all. She wasn’t nearly as cavalier about dying and being resurrected as she’d led Ronan to believe.

Before handing over the blade, Katy had reminded her that while the spell would do its job, that kind of magic always had unexpected consequences. Alice’s own experience with death and resurrection demonstrated that very clearly. The aftereffects of the incident with the shifter relic had been many and varied—and nearly ended Alice and Sean’s relationship to boot.

Unlike Arkady, Ronan seemed uncharacteristically relaxed as they waited, even slouching in his chair, his long legs stretched out under the table. She was just vain enough to think it had something to do with her attentions. She tried not to look smug but probably failed, judging by Carly’s knowing smile.

Finally, after what seemed like eons but was probably more like twenty minutes, Katy’s voice startled them. “I see a shadow.” Her unfocused eyes remained fixed on the scrying mirror, which Arkady found mildly unsettling. “The shadow has two forms and many faces.”

“Most demons do,” Ronan murmured, his voice pitched so he didn’t break Katy’s concentration. “We need more.”

“The shadow likes to be worshiped always,” Katy continued, her tone dreamy. “The shadow sits on her throne.”

“Herthrone?” Arkady echoed in an undertone. “There’s afemaledemon in the middle of all this?” She knew relatively little about demons, but shedidknow their male-dominated culture rarely permitted females to operate independent of their male counterparts or lords.

“Katy, where is the shadow now?” Carly asked in a gentle voice.

“Traveling in a car.”

“Katy, where’s the car?” Ronan prompted, earning an irritated look from Carly. “What’s her destination?”

This time, Katy didn’t reply and went quiet for a long time as she sat motionless and stared into her mirror. Arkady sipped her tea, trying not to jiggle her foot with impatience.

Finally, Katy raised her head, pale and trembling from the effort. Carly crouched outside the circle. “Katy, tell me what you saw.” Her tone was kind but insistent. Arkady knew from previous experience that visions gleaned through scrying could fade quickly.

Instead of speaking, Katy picked up a notepad from beside her altar and drew with a pencil. She filled three pages, then dropped the notepad and pencil, broke her circle simply by cutting its perimeter with the tip of her athame and murmuring a quick prayer, and slumped over onto her side.

With a sigh, Carly checked Katy’s condition, then took several deep breaths with what looked like an effort not to lose her temper. When she looked up, she appeared more tired than angry. “She’s passed out, but she’ll be all right once she sleeps it off,” she said, to Arkady’s relief. “When she comes to you asking a favor, I expect you to grant it.”

It didn’t escape Arkady’s notice that Carly had said notif, butwhen.

“We will,” Ronan said without hesitation. “You have my word.”

“And mine,” Arkady added.

“Take this.” Carly handed the notepad to Arkady and rose. “Take her to my room, please. She can sleep in my bed. And then you two need to be on your way.” That last part wasn’t unkind, but it brooked no argument.

Carefully, Ronan scooped Katy up and carried her inside. Arkady stacked their dirty dishes on the tray and took it to the kitchen. She loaded the dishwasher while Carly cleaned up the scrying circle.

When Carly came inside, she met Ronan and Arkady near the front door and handed them a small wooden box. “The creature’s dead. Its master may be able to track it even now, so I’ve put its remains in here. I’ll take the box back when you’re done with it.”

Arkady gave Ronan the three sheets of paper from Katy’s notepad. As he frowned and studied them, she said, “Thank you, Carly. And please thank Katy for us too when she wakes up.”

“Of course.” Carly leaned against the wall and rubbed her eyes. “Speak to Alice, Ronan. She understands why you left. She’s not angry, but she does worry about you a great deal. Ease her fears.”

“I will.” Ronan gave Carly a solemn nod. “Thank you for your healing and wisdom.”

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