Page 83 of The Book Reader
“She isn’t as powerful as her father; she can shape shift and has some mind control, but her main power is lightning.”
“How did she manage to kill me every time if she isn’t as powerful as her dad?”
Gaelan kisses the side of my head and moves to pour himself a glass of wine, and adds some Black to it. “She has a team of daemons working for her, all of whom have powers that she uses. She collects powerful daemons, and they fight for her.”
“Collects them? What do you mean?” I ask, taking a larger sip of my wine, I feel like by the end of this conversation, this whole bottle will be gone.
“Macy, just like her father, wants to rule everything. They are both powerful daemons, but greedy for more than what they have. So, Macy bribes or blackmails them into joining her. Once they’ve joined her team, they can never leave. I’ve heard her call them her ‘collection.’ Like she owns them.”
“Is that why she wanted you?” I ask. I know that she wanted Gaelan to merge with him.
“Yes. She doesn’t have a dream daemon working for her; none of my people willeverwork withher. Dream demons can be dangerous when they go into people’s dreams; they can ultimately destroy worlds. That is one power she should never have.”
“What role does Tate play in all of this?” I get up from the chair and walk around to where the stove is, pulling open the drawer. I find pots and pans, take one out, and set it on the stove.
“Macy is Tate’s favorite; what she wants, she gets, and she wants me for herself. Her obsession with me is unwavering. He always let her get away with pretty much anything. By letting her kill all your past lives, leaving me with no other choice but to go to her, he wins. No one to go against him, and his daughter will be the Lady of Illis.”
“That makes sense. She can control the dream realm and its inhabitants. She also gets you,” Knowing what I do about Gaelan and his world, that will be dangerous for everyone. “Will I be able to beat him in a fight?”
Gaelan comes over and sits where I was sitting
“You’ll be able to beat them all. The powers from the book are unmatched.” He nods toward the pan. “Seeing as you know your way around my kitchen, I’ll leave the cooking to you.”
I smile at him. “My plan all along, just to keep pouring my wine.”
He grins and fills my glass to the top. It’s already laced with Black, but it’s light, so I’m not going to be too drunk before we eat dinner.
“Without the full knowledge of the book, I won’t be able to beat them at all?”
“We just need enough time for you to learn its magic. Once you do, you’ll be unstoppable.”
I begin to slice the steak into strips, which gives me a chance to keep my hands busy and think about this for a second. Either way, Tate or his daughter kills me. It’s a win-win situation for him every time.
“Who is the Blood Bringer?”
Gaelan took a massive gulp of his drink, then set his glass down slowly. “The Blood Bringer is Tate’s top assassin. Tate traveled with her to clans and villages; she would kill everyone who didn’t follow her. She didn’t care who she cut down, woman… children. Some say she’s his daughter, a pureblood of Hell; others say he made her. But she has powers that almost rival yours. Learn the book and she will not match you.”
“What do you mean,rivalmine? What powers does she have?” A little flutter of nerves bubbles in the pit of my stomach.
“She has reaper blood in her, I’m not sure how or why, I’ve seen her black eyes, that's the only way I know. She is strong; she can use both fire and water. I’ve also seen some mind control powers,” he answered me, and he sounds just as worried as I feel.
“Where is she now?” I pick up my glass and almost down the entire drink. At the start of all this thought, I only had Macy to deal with; now it’s all three of them—my odds of living a whole life are a lot less.
Gaelan gets up, pouring me another glass of wine, and kisses me softly as he hands it to me. “Tate has her locked in a cage in the underworld; he always keeps her with him. No one has access to her, not until he says so.”
“He keeps her in acage? If she’s that powerful, why doesn’t she overthrow him and break out?”
“Fear, my Rose.”
I frown at him. “What do you mean?”
“I heard rumors that he beat her from a young age, starved her of blood, it made her fear him and be loyal to only him—the hand that feeds her. She will never leave his side.”
I turn and wrap my arms around Gaelan and look up into his eyes. “That’s so sad. Could no one help her?”
He shakes his head. “We were too late. You and I both tried many times; it was always a lost cause.”
“What happens if she comes, Gaelan? If theyallcome for me? I still have no clue where the book is.”
