Page 70 of Blood from the Marrow
“Elena lets you speak to her like this?” Bernice asked with a faint whisper of surprise in her cool tone.
“Lets?” Zuri repeated, eyebrows raised.
Bernice chuckled as if to admit she saw the appeal of not having everyone around her bowing and scraping all the time. Though not enough to acquire it for herself.
“I’ve protected a coven of veil witches in my territory for generations,” she replied. “New Orleans was rather unruly before I took over. They owe me many debts I’d never planned to collect. When they heard I was coming here, they offered their aid.” She turned to Zuri again, but this time it didn’t feel like getting annihilated by a death-ray. “If you think they might prove helpful,” Bernice added like she was bestowing her with the blessing of being treated like an equal.
Zuri sat up. Veil witches had incomparable skill at communicating with the world beyond the veil. Hence their name. Zuri’s mind raced, thinking about how a power like that could help in a fight. Her tattoo burned at the memory of her ancestors. At how their power had flowed through her when she consecrated her coven grounds. Could they call on something like that?
Her blood warmed at the prospect, her skin itching to feel it again. Was it crazy to add more unknowns to the island of fucking misfit toys? God dammit if her instinct wasn’t to say yes, when her stupid head should say something reasonable like,let me think about it. But while they were sitting and waiting and planning and Sayah could storm the castle at any moment, it didn’t feel like she had the luxury of contemplation.
“And they’d submit to compulsion?” Zuri tried to play it cool.
“I’ll advise them,” she replied.
“And let them know it’s my ship until we deal with Sayah.” Zuri wasn’t going to invite a power struggle into her temporary home. If they had trouble accepting she was the boss, they might as well save the trip.
Bernice shook her head, but she couldn’t hide her amusement. “Certainly, General Washington.”
It was the first time Bernice’s relaxed tone sounded anything like the vampire Elena had described. Zuri un-tensed the muscles she’d reflexively clenched.
When Sofia jogged up to her, half hidden under the Assassin’s Creed cosplay Elena’s crew liked so much, Bernice drifted away.
“I found them,” Sofia said as if they’d been in the middle of a conversation.
Zuri looked at Sofia expectantly. When she said nothing else, she asked, “Are you gonna give me more? Or are we playing some kind of vampire charades?”
“The witches,” Sofia explained, handing Zuri a scrap of paper with an address written in what looked like calligraphy. Her green eyes darkened in a way that reminded Zuri that the tiny, unassuming girl was a centuries old killer. “The ones who helped Baylor and Narine.” Her lip curled, and she didn’t need to addthe ones who almost killed Elena.
Zuri’s pulse jumped, and she set down the half-drunk coffee on the table next to her. “Already?” She regarded Sofia in open approval. “You work fast, sneaky little spider.”
Sofia’s grin was the blade she always carried around. “It’s not too hard to find a coven that disappeared in its entirety.” Despite sounding casual, her pride was blinding. “Well, their empty witch house anyway.”
Zuri reached for words of gratitude, but they sounded too awkward in her mouth to speak aloud. If someone had told her she’d ever want to thank Sofia for anything, she’d have her apartment checked for lead.
“Since it looks like we’re really staying here,” Zuri pivoted to something else on her list, “Do you think you can send that dumbass helicopter to go get my coven sisters?” She didn’t add that she was worried about them making the drive there alone.
“Consider it done,” she replied with a nod like Cujo excited to have a job.
Sofia turned to go, and Zuri heard herself say, “Hey, uh, one more thing.”
Sofia turned around.
“Thank you,” Zuri forced herself to say. “For ignoring Elena and coming to Venice.” She swallowed, but the stupid knot in her throat was glued on. “For saving Bambi.”
This time, when Sofia smiled, there wasn’t a glimmer of steel in it. “Of course.” She shrugged like it was no big deal. “We’re family,” she added just to make Zuri’s heart squeeze and show her what a weak little bitch she was.
Before she could do something embarrassing like get teary-eyed at Sofia’s casually moving declaration, she started inside. Looking down at the paper, she remembered what Sayah had said about having killed the vampires. How it had sounded like a lie. Zuri might not be able to take on a troop of vampires, but she could erase some dangerous witches off the board. And if they were still out there, who knows what kind of shit they’d be making to use against Elena.
Zuri was in her underwear and heading for the shower when Bambi strode in wearing nothing but a sports bra, running shorts, and flushed skin covered in glistening perspiration.
As soon as she saw Zuri, Bambi pulled her earbuds out and smiled. “I can’t believe I’d forgotten how good it felt to run, you know?”
Zuri was lost in Marisol’s flexing quads and just how good she looked covered in sweat. If she couldn’t see the stupid paper on the dresser, she’d forget what was making her want to leave.
Bambi bit her bottom lip, eyes wide when she met Zuri’s gaze. Sauntering slowly toward her, she’d mastered the lethal combination of sweet and sultry.
“Were you gonna shower?” Marisol flung her arms around Zuri’s shoulders.
