Page 54 of Wicked Little Tricks

Ringo watched silently from the bookshelf as I went to answer it, smoothing the hem of my lightweight gray sweater over my jeans. The sweater covered my wrists and most of my neck. I didn’t want to needlessly tempt anyone at Crimson Kisses. Not this time.

Sebastian stood outside with a bored expression. I was pretty sure devils didn’t know a single thing about sympathy. “I wanted to discuss what might happen tonight.”

I stepped back, inviting him in. Maybe he was an asshole, but he was also the only person going into the vampires’ den with me to rescue Braxton. We needed to be on the same page.

I walked toward my bed and sat.

Sebastian looked down at me. “You do not know how to reach your mother.”

I glared up at him. “Obviously.”

“This will present a problem. Ivan believes you can reach her, and when you fail, he will not let you go easily.”

“I thought my bargain with you trumped whatever the vampires want.”

“It should, and it may tonight, but Ivan will not relent until Celeste is found. For now, you are his only lead.”

His words hung in the air for a tense moment.

“So you’re saying even if we’re able to rescue Braxton, it won’t be the end of it. None of this will end until someone finds my mother.”

“Or until whoever offered the bounty is dead. And the item claimed by another.”

I studied his impassive face. “You mean you don’t know who it is?”

“I do not, although I suspect a full-blooded celestial. No one else would be willing to let go of such an item.”

I furrowed my brow. “But why do they want my mother?”

He gave me a knowing look, then said softly, “She took your memories, didn’t she.” He didn’t say it like it was a question.

I stiffened. I may have admitted it to Mistral and Ringo, but I sure as hell wasn’t willing to admit it to a devil. I stared back at him.

“It’s important, Eva. If she took your memories, there had to be a reason. Perhaps somewhere deep down, you even know who is after her. That could lead us to whoever supplied the bounty.”

“Us?” I asked

He stepped closer, looming over me. “I want thebounty, Eva. Either you can learn enough about your own power to find your mother, or you can unlock the memories hidden inside of you. Either way, you are the key.”

Uncomfortable with him looming over me, I stood, but with his height it did little to rectify the situation. “I know the bounty is the Realm Breaker.Allegedly. Though I think you’re all fools if you not only believe it exists, but that this person will give it to you.”

He leaned his face near mine, his eyes serious. “You believe I would go to all this trouble if I had not seen the sword myself?”

I jerked back like he’d slapped me. “You’ve seen it? How?”

He took a deep breath, then slowly let it out. I could tell it pained him to actually explain himself. “The bounty was not listed through any of the normal networks. I was approached by . . . someone. They were heavily glamoured, their enchantments strong enough that not even I could see through them. And they had the sword—I could sense its power.”

My heart fluttered in my chest. If the Realm Breaker was real, then Mistral was right. He could go home. He could cut a path directly to the goblin realm.

“But how can you trust that this person will actually give you the sword?” I asked.

He smirked.

“You made them sign a contract,” I realized. “What were thespecifics?”

He tilted his head. “The terms were quite simple. Your mother for the sword.”

My cheeks flushed with anger, though I shouldn’t have been angry. My mother didn’t deserve my protection. But there was still something else for me to be pissed about. “You manipulated me into agreeing to find my mother and turn her in.”

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