Finn gave a stiff nod while Ethan motioned for Lucas, Dru, and Delilah to follow him out of the house, leaving me a little disappointed that he didn’t look at me before leaving.
Delilah hovered by the door, shooting Gabriel an apologetic glance, perhaps for how Ethan spoke to him. Those two had grown substantially closer over the last few weeks, and I wondered what Ethan made of their budding friendship. Gabriel silently nodded to her, and she left the room.
Once all the vampires were gone, I sat down beside Rita, taking a moment to study her. She still seemed jittery after what happened, and she tensed up as I stared at her.
“What?” she asked. “Why are you gawking at me?”
“What aren’t you telling us, Rita?”
“Nothing,” she replied, rubbing her hands up and down her arms as though to rid herself of a chill.
“Tegan’s right. You’re hiding something. Out with it,” Alvie encouraged.
Rita remained silent but looked to each person in the room in turn. First me, then Finn, Gabriel, Alvie, and finally, her mother.
“I don’t mind working with the vampires, but you all have to promise to keep your mouths shut about who my dad is. If it got out, they’d probably end up trying to use me to blackmail Theodore in some way.”
“Of course,” I reassured her. “We won’t tell a soul.”
“You know we’d never reveal your secret,” Gabriel added while everyone else nodded in agreement.
“I’m just scared,” Rita said in a small voice. “Theodore went out of his way to visit my mind. His message was clear; he wants me to join him. He might not think much of me in terms of paternal love, but he certainly knows I inherited some of his power, and he wants me close by. If the vamps did try to use me as leverage to get to him, it could very well work. Only I’m not sure they’d ever let him have me in the long run. They’d probably just trick him in some way and do away with me. Nobody wants a sorcerer’s daughter running free to cause mayhem in the future. So, as far as the vamps are concerned, I’m just an average, everyday witch, do you all hear me? Nothing to write home about.”
“I certainly have no intention of telling anyone who your dad is, Rita,” Finn said. “But the vampires aren’t going to think you’re an average witch after seeing you work powerful magic twice now. Plus, if you hadn’t noticed, Cristescu has set his sights on you. He’s not being extra nice to you because he’s a friendly sort of bloke.”
Rita snorted. “I’m well aware that the blond Adonis wants to use me. The thing is, sometimes when it seems like one person is being used by another, it’s actually the other way around. I’ll let him think he’s winning me over because it could be useful to have an old vamp like him on my side.”
“Good strategy,” Finn said approvingly.
I held my tongue, a little frustrated. I didn’t want anyone using anyone else. Even though the vampires weren’t my biggest fans, a part of me yearned for our tentative alliance to turn into a real friendship over time. I wasn’t sure that was ever going to happen though.
I got up and went into the kitchen to make myself some tea. Ira was still seated and staring out the window. Perhaps he had the right idea. A solitary life had its advantages. Getting involved with other people just left you broken and bruised.
At least in my experience it did.
Ira glanced at me serenely and turned his attention back to Finn’s overgrown garden. A moment later, Rita came into the room, folding her arms as she stood by the door.
“What’s your problem, Tegan? I can tell you’re annoyed about something.”
I let out a sigh. “It’s nothing to do with you.” Not entirely, anyway. “I’m just tired of how all of the vampires still hate me. It’s exhausting to deal with.”
Rita came to sit by me, but as she did, Ira emitted a low growl. “Calm down, doggie. I’m not going to put any spells on you,” she said, hands raised.
I glanced at her questioningly.
Rita blew out a breath. “He seems to have a problem with witches, probably because of the witch who put the curse on him. He’s not so bad with Alvie or Gabriel because they’re men, but with me and Mum he just growls and won’t let us get too close.”
“That’s odd. He doesn’t get defensive with me at all,” I said.
“Well, you aren’t exactly a traditional kind of witch, at least not yet. Plus, I think he’s used to you since you’ve been living here for a while.”
I took a sip of warm tea. “Yeah, probably.” I studied Ira a moment before reaching across the table and placing my hand on his bare arm. “Rita’s not going to harm you. She’s a good witch.”
Rita chuckled. “Well, that’s debatable.”
Ira stared directly into my eyes, grunted, then pulled his arm away. Rita, being the provocative madam that she was, dragged her chair along the floor and pushed it right up next to Ira’s. His growling started again, louder this time. She put her arm around his very broad shoulders and placed a smacking kiss on his cheek. “Get used to me, pooch, because I’m not going anywhere.” She squeezed his shoulders before swiftly leaving the room to return to her RV for the night.
“Goodnight, Tegan,” she called.
“‘Night, Rita,” I called back, just before she slammed the front door behind her.
I picked up my tea and stood from the table, placing my hand gently on Ira’s shoulder. “Don’t mind Rita. She likes to provoke people, but she’s harmless underneath it all.” He closed his eyes a moment, and I thought he appreciated my reassurance. Then he gave a low grunt of acceptance. I gave his shoulder one last pat before heading upstairs to my room.
***
I woke early the next morning. Not because I planned on it, but because Finn pounded on the door at seven-thirty, informing me we were going sorcerer hunting.
I hadn’t done laundry all week, and all of my comfy jeans were dirty, so I had to resort to wearing a knee-length blue dress under my coat with thick black tights for warmth.
Rita, Alvie, Gabriel, Ira, Delilah, Finn, and I gathered in the front garden while Finn divided us up into three teams. Rita and Delilah were going to take a boat out to Ridley Island to have a look around and see if they could find any clues as to Theodore’s whereabouts. Gabriel and Alvie would perform some reconnaissance at Michael Ridley’s estate, the home of a warlock who was currently in league with Theodore. That left Finn, Ira, and me to pay a visit to my old place of work, Indigo, which was owned by Marcel Girard, who was also in league with Theodore and who, as it turned out, was his great-grandson. Or great-great-great grandson, depending on how old Theodore actually was. No one knew for sure.
I climbed into the passenger seat of Finn’s car. He wasn’t using the DOH van today, since there were only three of us. Ira sat quietly in the back seat.
“I thought I’d bring him along to give us a bit more of a menacing air,” Finn said as he started up the engine. “Marcel’s not exactly the bravest sort, so he shouldn’t try anything too threatening with Ira standing beside us.”
I glanced at Ira in the overhead mirror. Finn must have taken him shopping for some clothes recently because he now wore garments that actually fit him. Ira’s frame was larger than the average man’s. He was even an inch or two taller than Ethan. I suspected Finn had to take him to one of those specialist Big and Tall stores.