Boundary Crossed (Boundary Magic #1)(26)
I considered that for a long moment while the two vampires sat unmoving. My first thought was how ridiculous it sounded—the idea that Charlie, who considered the greatest things in life to be Sesame Street, climbable furniture, and personal boxes of raisins, was some kind of traveling magic-free zone? Come on.
But then I thought of how I’d been able to hurt both Victor and Darcy, and the way they’d both healed supernaturally fast when they moved far enough away from my niece. And how they’d been able to get into John’s house in the first place. “How close is physically close?” I asked finally.
“Anywhere from a few feet to perhaps ten or fifteen,” Maven answered. “The area tends to expand, however, when the null loses control of her emotions.”
“When she gets upset,” I clarified.
“Yes.”
More pieces fell into place. I wanted more time to think about it, to reconsider the distances at the Depot and at John’s house, when Charlie was screaming mad, but I wasn’t sure how long they would just sit there waiting for me. Already Itachi was looking bored. I decided to accept what they were saying for the moment and spend more time processing it later.
“I guess I can see how it could be valuable to you all to be human again sometimes,” I said slowly, “but it hardly seems worth risking an AMBER Alert, especially after Victor and Darcy failed the first time. Why risk so much to kidnap a baby just because she’s a null?”
Maven’s eyes widened a tiny bit, and I had the immediate impression that I’d made an error. “Lex, being able to neutralize magic isn’t just valuable,” she said rather patiently. “It’s far beyond invaluable for the Old World. Werewolves can stay human during the full moon, and witches, who have no supernatural strength or healing ability, are actually safe from a physical attack by either of the other factions. And vampires, well . . . we can go out in the day.”
“There are those of us who would do much worse than risk an AMBER Alert, as you said, to be in the sunlight,” Itachi added.
“Oh,” I said, feeling stupid.
“To put it another way,” Maven continued, in a voice gone soft and cold, “a null can also get to anyone in the Old World, regardless of their magical defenses. She could walk right up to me and shoot me in the chest, and I would die. If you managed to find such a person while she’s young, and still programmable . . .” She trailed off, letting me fill in the blanks.
Horrible possibilities flashed through my head. Charlie being hurt, being brainwashed. Charlie being taught to hate and kill. “I thought . . . I thought it was a human-trafficking thing,” I whispered numbly, fear sending a burst of cold electricity down my spine. Now I felt so much worse than stupid—I felt helpless. Charlie was basically the equivalent of free bacon at a dog show, and I was as useless as I was outnumbered. This changed everything.
Maven’s eyes narrowed suddenly, and I saw her nostrils flare. A second later, Itachi shifted restlessly. Oh, God. Could they smell my panic? I was suddenly very aware of the fact that I was trapped in a tiny room with two deadly predators, and I worked to push the fear aside. I squared my shoulders and met each of their gazes in turn.
“I want protection for my niece,” I said to Itachi. “If you really are in charge of the supernatural world in Colorado, I want you to make sure Charlie is left alone.”
Maven tilted her head in thought, an oddly birdlike gesture that reminded me of how Victor had looked at me when he’d been unable to press my mind.
“That is an extremely large request,” Itachi said tartly.
“But within your power?”
“Of course.” A hint of disdain had crept into his tone.
“You misunderstand,” Maven said, acting as Itachi’s spokesperson. “It is not a large request because the task is too difficult. Now that Itachi is aware of Charlotte, he can make it clear that she is under his protection. But she is within his enclave, which means she is already his.” She lifted a shoulder carelessly. “Why should he care about your wishes in respect to something that is already his?”
That shocked me. It hadn’t occurred to me that the vampire in charge might already think he owned my niece. Everything in me wanted to scream that Charlie wasn’t theirs, that my niece would never belong to anyone but herself. That I would kill every vampire in the state before I let one of them touch her. And if Itachi had said those words to me, I might have done exactly that.
But there was something magnetic about this woman. I couldn’t explain it, even to myself, but she had a force to her, strong as gravity.
“I suppose the question, Lex,” Maven continued, crossing her legs under the burlap-looking skirt, “is, what are you offering?”
“Myself,” I said, firmly and immediately.
Chapter 12
Itachi raised a single scoffing eyebrow. “Do you have any experience in making lattes?” he asked sarcastically. I just stared at him levelly. He added in a more subdued tone, “Witches don’t work for vampires, any more than foxes work for bears.”
Maven glanced at him. “That is historically true, but then again, we don’t have the most traditional structure here in Colorado,” she pointed out. To me she said, “What do you suggest you could do for us, Lex?”