The hour is late, so Im for bed. John strode to the door of the chamber. You wont forget that favor Ive asked of you.
It didnt escape notice that this was a statement, not a question. I wont forget.
But will you do it? Livia pressed.
He refused to respond, and stood in the middle of the room as John made a quick bow before leaving. The front door opened then shut. The wheels of Johns carriage clattered down the street.
Studying the carpet beneath his feet, Bram followed the snaking pattern of vines. If plants such as the ones in the Savonnerie rug existed in real life, they would trap unwary animals and either choke the life out of the creatures or else consign them to a slow death by starvation.
Damn him, if only he had power over time. With that gift, hed take the Hellraisers back to the moments before they had freed Mr. Holliday. He would keep them from journeying to the ruined temple where they had found the Devils prison, distract them somehow, and they would go on just as they always had.
You cant go back. Her voice did not come from within his mind. Glancing up, he watched a silver white glow appear in the gloom of the chamber. It coalesced into a form he was coming to recognize far too well.
Im aware of that, he snarled.
All of thatshe waved her hand toward the door from which John had exitedwas
Stranger still was seeing Bram, or something that looked and sounded exactly like Bram, cringing in terror. So very unlike him.
I command you
No! the geminus shouted again. She is a danger! The greatest danger! It glanced wildly between her and Bram.
And disappeared.
For a moment, she and Bram simply gazed at the spot where the geminus had cowered. Then they looked at one another.
The hell? he growled.
Twice Ive helped kill gemini . Doubtless thats earned me a reputation. She couldnt keep the smugness from her voice, but it had been far too long since shed held an advantage over the Dark One. She needed to keep herself from complacency, however. This was a very minor victory in a much bigger war.
Marvelous, Bram drawled. Im shackled to Devils biggest adversary.
She whirled on him. You rat-eating bastard! That creature might have destroyed me.
Yet here you are. Safe as virgin in a library.
But you didnt know that when you summoned it. Fury poured through her. Is my presence such an inconvenience to your debauchery? Are you too concerned that Ill disrupt your pursuit of quim? Distract your cock just as its about to spend? She sneered. Poor Bram. All he wants is to fuck himself into oblivion, but the fate of millions of souls keeps intruding. What a nuisance.
His face twisted with cold rage. Quiet.
Ive never been quiet, she snapped. Not in life, and most assuredly not in death. And I vow to you, vow , that someday Ill make you pay.
Why wait? Bram planted his hands on his hips and tilted his chin. Do your worst, Madam Ghost. For nothing can match the hell Im in now.
Anger surged in hot waves, and she embraced it. Shed been trapped within this half state of being, without substance, without feeling, battling an enemy that was and always would be more powerful than she. Mighty men once trembled before her, kneeling in supplication, begging for her aid. Her, a daughter of Rome, a priestess of incalculable strength. Now brought to the lowest kind of existence, and lashed to a man of boundless self-interest.
It was intolerable. Galling. A wound that could never heal.
At that moment, she didnt care if Bram was crucial to the fight against the Dark One. All she wanted was to hurt him, as she hurt.
That is one order Im happy to obey, she spat. Energy swirled within her, magic she could wield like the fiercest weapon. Once, she had studied ancient scrolls to learn the proper incantations, but she no longer needed papyrus or words. The magic had imbued her very blood. Even in this spectral state, she had power few could match. She had given a Gypsy woman the means to control fire, and bestowed command over air to an English girl.
Ive razed buildings of stone, she snarled. Torn demons apart with just a wave of my hand. I was the woman who first summoned the Dark One. You are nothing.
Tear me to shreds, Madam Ghost. Challenge glinted in his glass-blue eyes. The only people wholl mind are my servants, and simply because of the mess.
She raised her hands, gathering her power. An Egyptian killing spell, the Summoning of Seth. Bright energy poured from her palms and shot toward him. He did not move from where he stood, waiting.
Before the stream of energy could hit him, it veered away like a bird with a broken wing. It collided with a small table off to the side. The table shattered.
Livia stared down at her hands. Never had that happened before, not even when she was a girl newly learning the ways of magic, surrounded by clay tablets and papyri.
Bram grated out a laugh. That happens to men sometimes. Not me, though. Not since I was a lad.
She bared her teeth at him. Its only because I havent tried to hurt a mortal yet. But my power will soon learn the way. She flung her hands out again, and another burst of energy rushed from them.