Page 7 of Dallas

She caught me. The hatred in her eyes was palpable.

“What do you suggest?” Alan asked Mary, either unaware of this drama or unwilling to participate. I would’ve wagered on the latter. “Could they bring the book to us?”

“I don’t know that it’s worth the risk.” Mary’s mouth tugged downward at the corners. “Until we know just how important this book is, keeping it secure in their cave looks to be the safest course of action.”

I knew what she was going to say before she said it.

“I believe the safer course of action would be to send the coven to America.”

“To America?” Iris whispered, her otherwise lovely face screwing up in disbelief. She hissed the word as though it were a curse.

“The entire coven?” Selene asked, then shook her head until her silver hair swayed. “To be honest, the thought of all of us going hardly comforts me. I believe I could send a handful, however. With all due respect, this is the only location in which I feel safe having us all together. I know nothing of this American clan or their ways, nor do I know to trust their security measures—if there are any in place at all.”

“I assure you, there are, but I understand your reservations,” Mary nodded. “It’s entirely up to you. But at least one of your… girls who knows how to translate runes would be ideal.”

“What of the clan?” Alan asked, looking to his left and right. I happened to be on the right, and our eyes met. “Shouldn’t we send a few of us to protect them? I’m sure a plane can’t land directly on the mountain, where the dragons live. They’ll need protection along the journey.”

He held my gaze, and I knew what he was asking. I’d never been one to turn down my leader, and my dragon knew the importance of coming through for the clan.

Alan wouldn’t want to go, and neither would Tamhas. They were both concerned with their mates. Ainsley had Klaus and would likely not wish to leave him behind. That took care of Alan’s most trusted advisors. Which left me and perhaps Owen.

“What do you think?” he murmured.

I nodded. There was no choice to be made—besides, it would be a chance to get away for a while and see how the other half lived. We’d become friendly with Gate and Miles after they’d helped free us from captivity and it would be good to see them again.

And it would mean getting away from certain irksome witches, which was hardly a drawback. The notion of spending even a day without hearing her complain or feeling her eyes burn holes into me as we passed in the corridor was enough to make me want to pack immediately.

“All right, then,” Alan agreed. “I’ll send one of us for each witch.”

“That’s more than fair,” Selene agreed.

“How many should I tell them to expect?” Mary asked.

“Iris… Electra… Callie…” Selene counted off. “And Hecate, naturally.”

My heart sank. Why her? Why did it have to be her? Just like that, all hopes of being away from her for even a short time burst like a soap bubble.

“Why do we all have to go?” Hecate asked, then added, “Not that I’m complaining. It merely seems like a great number of us to translate one book.”

“There could be more than one,” Mary interjected, “and this is not a slim volume. When I spoke to Pierce, he made it sound like a rather massive tome. Ancient, fragile, some of the characters are faded. It could take several of you many days just to translate this, let alone any further discoveries which might be made.”

That silenced her. Too bad, that, seeing as how I’d hoped she could argue her way out of accompanying us. No such luck to be had.

“When should we be prepared to leave?” Alan asked.

“The sooner, the better. I can have a private jet prepared and waiting in Edinburgh within a few hours.”

That came as no surprise. It seemed Mary had endless resources at her disposal, and those of us who’d spent time with her knew better than to ask just how it came to be that she could snap her fingers and have everything fall in place about her.

The woman lived in a rarified world of her own.

“I’d better pack up, then,” I announced. “What’s the weather like out there, so I’ll know what to bring?”

“Rainy,” Mary replied without hesitation. Like she knew what I was going to ask before I asked it. “Bring a poncho and boots, for sure.”

All I had to do was buy a poncho and boots.

I left Alan to deal with logistics in favor of going to my room to pack. Many days, Mary had said. It could take many days to translate the runes. Lucky me. Lucky all of us.

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