Page 27

Zandre.

What the hell? I’d warned him it might take a week or so before I had any news for him. Irritated, but curious, I answered.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Hi, is this Maisy?”

I rolled my eyes. It was my phone. Who did he expect to answer?

“Yes. Hey, I’m really busy tonight?—”

“That’s all right. I won’t take more than a minute. I wanted to ask you something.” He sounded awfully pleasant, compared to his demeanor the last time we’d talked.

“What’s up?” I asked, half-expecting him to cancel the deal. But when he spoke, I realized my intuition wasn’t running on all cylinders.

“Maisy, I wondered if you’d like to go out to dinner with me? Not tonight, but soon—maybe Monday evening?”

I froze. He couldn’t be asking me out on a date, could he? Brushing it off, because it seemed highly unlikely, I cleared my throat.

“You know, you don’t have to take me out to thank me for taking you on as a client,” I said, keeping my words light.

But his answer once again made me question myself.

“It’s not a thank you. It’s…well, I was thinking. I enjoy talking to you, and you’re a smart, congenial woman. So, what do you say?”

I stared at my phone, not knowing what to say. He was a vampire, and I didn’t want to make him mad, especially after that crack he had made. Not to mention the fact that I really needed to focus on the initiation coming up. Panicking, I scrambled.

“Listen, I’m late to a really important event. Can I call you later? Tomorrow evening? It would really help.” I tried to sound nonchalant, but inside, my alarm bells were screeching like crazy.

He paused, then said, “Of course. Have a good evening. I’ll talk to you tomorrow night.”

As I set my phone down, I knew that I’d better have a really good excuse by tomorrow night, and once again, I wished I’d never accepted him as a client.

CHAPTER TWELVE

I didn’t know what to do. Should I tell my aunt, or ask for the initiation to be postponed? I couldn’t call Crystal because she’d be getting ready for her own vision quest. After a moment, I decided to wait. I’d talk to Astra tomorrow morning. In the meantime, I sat down on the bed and once again lowered myself into trance.

I took three deep breaths and cleared my thoughts, then built a barricade, keeping everything from the outside out, including my worry over Zandre. When I felt settled again, I finished dressing.

The dress made me feel exceptional—it was the fanciest dress I’d ever owned, beyond my wedding dress. I pulled my hair back on the sides, clipping the strands in the back with a silver barrette, then slid on a pair of witchy granny boots that were pre-laced, with zippers on the sides. When I finished dressing, I did my makeup, then gathered a few of my magical items into a bag and headed downstairs.

Astra was waiting for me. She looked over at me and her jaw dropped. “That dress is so perfect.”

“I know—I love it. What else do I need to bring with me tonight? I have my dagger, a couple of my favorite crystals…and I’m wearing my Aphrodite necklace.”

“Leave your personal athame at home,” Astra said. “You don’t ever want to chance losing it. You’ll find a dagger to use in the Dark Moon Society, and while that will also be magical, if you lose it, it’s not like losing a part of your magical self. You won’t need it tonight, anyway.”

I took the dagger out of my bag and set it on the counter. “All right.”

“You can also leave your crystals at home, for tonight. This evening’s all about drawing you into the Society. There will be times to take your personal gear, but tonight it’s not necessary.”

I glanced at the time on my phone. Crystal had sent me a quick text that she was headed out for her quest, and to wish her luck. I didn’t bother answering, not wanting to interrupt her.

“When do we leave?”

“Now,” Astra said.

As we headed for the meeting, I tried to keep the events with Zandre out of my thoughts, but deep down, I could still feel the worry, hiding there, among my other thoughts.