Chapter 14

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Lusio's lips were so tight that Tegan gave me a look that told me not to bother the tense man with questions. I took up the other high-backed seat on the opposite side of the hearth while Tegan positioned himself at the fire. He draped his arm over the mantel and an uneasy silence fell over us.

The minutes ticked by in such tense quiet until a faint noise came from somewhere deep in the house. All of us tensed and Tegan pushed off from the mantel. I heard footsteps on the carpet of the main hall and twisted around to face the doorway.

Miles made his appearance and at his side was the most shriveled woman I had ever beheld. She was below five feet in height and her being hunched didn't help her altitude. By my guess, the woman appeared to be well past ninety with such a mess of wrinkles on her face that she could have been much older. Her shocking silver hair trailed down her back in a long simple braid that wrapped around her waist like a belt. The woman's gnarled hands grasped a stick even gnarlier than them and she wore a long black dress with a shawl draped over her thin frame. I dared not breathe hard for fear of blowing her away.

Miles kept as polite a distance as he could manage from her as he bowed at the waist to his master. "Sir, I have brought her."

"Shut the door behind her," Lusio commanded him as he stood.

The old woman shuffled into the room with ample use of her cane and Miles gladly obeyed the order to shut us in. The stranger's dark eyes darted over each of us and lingered longest on Tegan.

Lusio strode up to her with his arms open. "Good evening, Clara. Won't you sit down?"

She scowled at him. "I will sit down when it pleases me, Lusio, so shut your yap unless you intend to tell me why I've been dragged here at this hour."

Lusio stiffened and pursed his lips but managed to keep his voice even. "I believe someone made an attempt on my life but I would like to know the weapon."

She looked him up and down and a crooked toothless smile slipped onto her lips. "Have you tried searching yourself? That would have been faster than having your servant fetch me."

"He wants you to take a look at this," Tegan spoke up as he strolled over to her.

Clara looked him up and down. "A handsome dragon man. I haven't seen your kind for quite a while."

Tegan stopped before the strange woman and smiled at her. "I'd be interested to hear more about the others you've met but there's the matter of saving Lusio's life."

She cast a wary glance at him and scoffed. "Why should anyone worry about that?"

His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in horror. " I should worry about that! It's my life that's being threatened! "

"With what?" she wondered.

Tegan drew out the dart and strode over to the pair. "This."

Clara narrowed her eyes and gingerly took the dart from him. She turned it over in front of her face before she drew the sharp tip to her nose. The woman took a deep whiff before she drew back and wrinkled her nose.

"Well?" Lusio choked out in a high-pitched voice.

Clara nodded. "Most definitely poison and of the most horrible kind."

The color drained from Lusio's face. "W-what do you mean?"

"Had you been pierced with this you would have suffered for many days before the poison took your life, and perhaps your soul."

Lusio's whole body quivered but he managed to slap a shaky smile on his lips. "M-my soul? Surely you jest."

Clara eyed him with a sharp look. "I never joke about magic, Lusio. You of all people should know that."

Our host looked about to collapse but he steeled himself against the scene Clara had produced in his mind. "Do you know who could have made it?"

"Anyone with a sharp eye for poison," Clara mused as she set the dart on the end table. "It could be any of your guests."

Lusio whipped his head around and narrowed his eyes at Tegan. "How did you come to save me from that?"

Tegan folded his arms over his chest and smiled at our host though I could see a glimmer of anger in the depths of his eyes. "I heard a noise in the bushes and suspected foul play, as we warned you when we arrived."

"Yes, you did say something of the sort," Lusio mused as he eyed both of us with that suspicious glint. "And Domini warned me as well, but how can I tell that you're actually in his employ and not the assassins yourself-"

Tegan's hand shot out and wrapped around Lusio's throat. The man made a squeaking noise and latched onto Tegan's arm. Lusio tried to pull himself free but Tegan merely lifted him off the floor. Our host thrashed in Tegan's hold but couldn't even budge a finger.

Tegan yanked Lusio toward himself so their faces nearly touched and his eyes were ablaze. "Because I wouldn't need poison to do away with you."

Tegan opened his hand and Lusio slumped to the floor in a puddle of his own terror. The scent of ammonia filled the air and Lusio filled his pants. Our host scrambled to his feet and shot out of the room leaving behind his dignity and a wet spot on the carpet.

A low chuckle came from our haggish companion. Clara was all smiles as she grasped the top of her cane in both hands and tapped the bottom against the floor. "A wonderful scene that warms my heart. It was about time somebody told him what's what."

Tegan didn't look as pleased as her as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I doubt that will convince him that we mean him no harm."

I stood from my chair and tiptoed around the wet spot to join the two close to the door. "I think saving his skin again is the only thing that will convince him of that."

Clara stroked her chin as she studied us. "What makes you two protect such a lowlife as him?"

"And what makes you be in his employ and craft such interesting trials?" Tegan countered.

Clara dropped her hand back to her cane and chuckled. "I suppose I was begging for that one. To answer your question, I do it because he would have gotten somebody else, so I'd rather it be me than any other."

I lifted an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't you want anyone else to do that job? It's not hard, is it?"

She wrinkled her nose. "Of course not, but what he demands for his trials is dangerous to the magic wielders who come here seeking fame. I do it to save them from incompetent hands."

"The money doesn't interest you?" Tegan wondered.

A bemused smile slipped onto her lips as she gestured down at herself with one hand. "I would need all the wealth Lusio holds to fetch a man willing to look at this every morning. Besides-" She looked off into the distance and pursed her lips, "-I doubt I have much time left here. Money would be wasted on me. Now then-" She tapped the bottom of her cane against the floor. "What are you two doing here? I smell a wreaking scent on both of you."

Tegan gave her a crooked smile. "Merely trying to repay a debt we owe."

She eyed us with a curious look before she half-turned away. "Mind you don't let that debt dig any deeper into your souls."

Miles appeared in the doorway and bowed to Clara. "Miss Vesper, My Master requests that you place a protection spell around his room this evening."

She rolled her eyes and pushed past the servant. "Such a damned coward."

The pair disappeared upstairs and Tegan turned to me. "I doubt the assassin will try again tonight with Clara's magic at the watch, so what do you say to watching the vampires dive?"

I looked up at Tegan. "Do you think it's safe for us to go out there? The assassin might not be happy about you interrupting his work."

Tegan grinned as he offered me his arm. "Then they'll have to get in the line to attack me."

I snorted and accepted his arm. "Morrigan and her entourage are at the head?"

"Undoubtedly, and we'll have to be sure to keep them that distance from us," he mused as he led me to our little vacation away from the protection racket.