Once Bitten (Shadow Guild: The Rebel #1)(28)

“This way.” She pulled me toward a table in the corner of the room against the wall. It was fairly normal looking, and I had a feeling it was here even when the room wasn’t decorated and ensorcelled for the party. A bust of a regal woman sat on top of it, her patrician features staring in disapproval at the crowd.

“Who is that?” I asked.

“Hecate, one of their premier goddesses. I think they worship her or something.” Mac pulled a vial of potion from her pocket and dumped it on Hecate’s head.

The statue glowed briefly, then returned to normal.

“What was that for?” I asked.

“Every time I gate-crash a party, I play a prank on them. Then they play one back on me.”

“What will happen?”

“When I say the magic words, Hecate here will start screeching, and she won’t quit until they turn her off.” She grinned widely. “It’s fun for me, but it’s also insurance.”

“What kind?”

“The only way to shut her up is to get the password from me. If we get into a pickle breaking into your morgue, I say the magic words, and Hecate starts howling. When the witches call me, I’ll demand their help in exchange for the password.”

“Oh, genius.” I held up my hand for a high five, and she smacked it.

“Come on,” she said, “let’s go find them.”





9





Carrow



We bounced our way through the moon room and entered a tiki-themed space. A massive pool sat in the middle, and palm trees grew around the glittering blue water. There were half a dozen people in the pool, all standing around a floating table. Each end of the table had about a dozen red plastic cups sitting on it, each emitting colorful smoke.

Two women stood at either end of the table, tossing ping-pong balls at one another. When one of them landed a ball in her opponent’s cup, the other woman had to drink.

“Holy crap.” I leaned toward Mac. “Are they playing beer pong?”

“Potion pong. Much more dangerous.”

The dark-haired woman on the left side of the table had green stripes through her hair and a bikini that glittered like black diamonds. She swigged back a cup of potion, then put it on the floating table. She grinned and shouted to the other woman, “That’s all you’ve got?”

The blonde woman at the other side laughed. “Oh, just you wait, Coraline.”

A half second later, Coraline grew a brilliant orange beak. Her masquerade mask shifted, and she chucked it off as she squawked loudly. It sounded something like, “Bitch!”

The blonde woman laughed like a loon.

“That’s Mary,” Mac whispered.

Coraline, still sporting her massive beak, picked up one of the small white balls and threw it at Mary’s cup. It landed, and Mary grabbed it and slurped it back.

She shot out of the water, propelled by an unseen force, and landed in the top of one of the palm trees growing from the hardwood floor. She laughed hysterically, then jumped into the pool with an enormous splash, upsetting the beer pong table. The colorful potions in the red cups spilled into the water, sending purple and pink and green streaks bleeding outward.

Coraline’s beak had disappeared, and she shouted. “Hey! No fair! I had some good potions there!”

Mary surfaced, her hair wet. “It’s cool. We’ll set them up again.”

Coraline scowled at her. “You’re ignoring the point.”

Mary was about to respond, but her gaze landed on us. A huge smile lit up her face, and a shiver of unease went through me. It wasn’t an entirely friendly smile, and when I looked at Mac, I realized that she had the same expression.

They were friends, but…

It was kind of a murdery friendship.

Mary waded over and hopped out of the pool. Her swimsuit was ridiculous, bright yellow with sopping yellow feathers and an eye over each breast. She was dressed like a slutty Big Bird, and I choked back a laugh.

“Mac! Have you pranked us?” she asked.

“You better believe it.” Mac grinned. “But we need some help.”

Mary crossed her arms over her chest and raised one eyebrow. “Oh?”

“Yeah.” She nudged me. “My friend here can read the future and the past through objects. She’ll trade you that for—”

“Nope!” Mary held up a hand. “She’s got to play us in potion pong first, and if she survives, we can negotiate.”

“Survives?” I asked.

Mary nodded. “We don’t do business with just anyone.”

“That’s not true,” Mac said. “You guys have basically no standards.”

“Ha! We have weird standards, not no standards.” She gave me a look up and down. “And I can tell this one is trouble. Her aura screams it. So she’s got to earn an audience.”

“I can do it,” I said. “In the pool?”

“Yeah.” Mary grinned. “In a suit?”

“I don’t have one.”

“You do now.” She waved her hands at me, and my glittery slum queen outfit disappeared, replaced by a bikini that was blue and fluffy.

I was the Cookie Monster.

Fantastic.

I touched the chain around my neck. At least I still had the truth serum.