Skyborn (Dragons & Druids #1)(51)
“Well, Stacey, my consultation fee is two hundred, and then whatever else you need on top of that…” She held out a hand.
Damn. I tried not to gape. Two hundred just to talk with her? Reluctantly, I reached in my clutch and pulled out two one hundred-dollar bills. I had a feeling this thousand dollars cash wasn’t going to last me as long as I hoped. I noticed two large males standing just beyond Jeanine; one of them was talking into his wrist cuff like CIA agents did in the movies. Something told me Jeanine was a well-connected woman.
She pocketed the two hundred and then ticked her head at the far wall, asking me to follow. I gave a shaky breath and headed after her. While we walked, I concocted a story in my head about leaving an abusive boyfriend and pack. That I was in need of hiding and that my old pack had a powerful sorcerer, so I needed some type of cloaking spell so that no one searching for me could find me. I was making my way through the crowd that seemed to part for Jeanine and her two henchmen, when I saw a man that made panic rise up fresh within me. The druid. Steven. He was here, and he was combing the place as if looking for someone.
Oh. Shit.
In one quick maneuver, I pulled my red hair to one side and popped up the hood on my jacket. Then I twisted my hair back so that it was all covered and kept my head down. What were the freaking odds that this bastard was in California at the same club as me? My dragon was positively swirling, gliding across my skin, threatening to break free.
Maybe I should just forget this whole sorcerer spell thing and get the hell out of here? I was about two seconds from doing just that when Jeanine flicked her wrist and the heavily-guarded double doors swung open on their own, nearly knocking the two guards out of the way. Only a faint trail of yellow announced that she had used magic. This woman was powerful.
Her henchmen walked into the dimly-lit hallway and she followed, turning back for the first time to look at me. “Keep up,” she growled, and I had a decision to make. Leave this place or go through with it quickly and then get my butt to Colorado? After two seconds of internal freaking out, I ran to catch up before the doors closed behind me and my decision was made. The second they sealed shut, I realized that what I was doing was completely stupid.
Like epic levels of stupidity.
What the hell was I thinking, coming to a supernatural bar, in a different town, with no one to make sure I didn’t get chopped up into pieces or descaled? Ahead of me, Jeanine stopped short of a large ornate wooden door. One flick of her wrist and it flew open. I gulped. The doors opened to reveal a neat and sparse office, nothing like Eva’s cluttered mix of bottle and jars. Hers held a large wooden desk in the center, with two chairs, one behind and one in front of it. Then it had wall-to-ceiling shelves with black, closed-lidded boxes and no labels.
Jeanine gestured for me to sit, and when I did she simply leaned on the edge of her desk, towering over me rather than taking her seat.
“Alright, pretty thing. What can I do you for?” Her eyes were gleaming as I gathered my thoughts.
“I’m in some trouble. Left an abusive boyfriend in another pack. I’m afraid they will look for me so I need a spell that … makes me invisible?” I didn’t actually know if that was possible. I very well could be wasting my time and my two hundred dollars.
She leaned forward, her lips turning up to sneer. “Anything’s possible with magic, dear.”
She held out her hand and gestured for me to take it, I reluctantly did. The moment we touched, I felt my dragon clench and freeze. Jeanine’s eyes flashed yellow and her mouth popped open slightly.
“You’ve already got a complex spell on you,” she stated in an airy voice. “I know this work.” Then her voice went deadly. “Eva,” she declared with malice.
I ripped my hand back and held it to my chest. How the hell did she know Eva? Oh God. Leave it to me to pick the one place that had ties to the people I was trying to run from.
She waved a hand. “Relax, I’m not going to call her. I despise that woman and will gladly do any spell that will piss her off.” She grinned, showcasing a full set of teeth.
“Okay,” I said in a nervous squeak. Something about the feeling she gave me when she touched me made me wonder if not all sorcerers were created alike. It made me wonder if maybe this sorcerer dabbled in the dark forces … if there was such a thing.
She stood and began to rummage through some of the boxes. “Normally this type of complex spell would cost you, but I’m going to give you a discount because it will enrage my nemesis.”
Shit. I liked Eva. She’d gone out of her way to help me, and now I was unknowingly siding with her sworn enemy? Fail. Fail on so many levels. This rabbit hole was getting deeper and deeper, and now I was afraid I just had to go through with it because I couldn’t crawl out. I just needed to get to the other side.
“So … how much?” Because she hadn’t stated a price yet.
She waved her hand. “Five hundred is fine.”
My eyes bugged. Five hundred freaking dollars. That, plus the two hundred, was nearly all of my gas and food money to get me to the Colorado Mountains. But going to the mountains would be useless if I was found.
“Okay,” I muttered, and pulled out five hundred, leaving it on the edge of her desk.
She scurried around the office, grabbing a dash of this and a pinch of that. At one point I saw her throw an unused match into the jar she held. Man, sorcery was weird. I couldn’t wait to be miles from here and on my way to a secluded mountain retreat to live out eternity without any of this bizarre crap.