Twice Bitten (Chicagoland Vampires 3)

He blew out a breath, then nodded. "It is what it is. I'd like to leave for the church within the hour."

"Liege," I said again, obedience in my voice.

He didn't growl, exactly, but the acquiescence clearly irritated him. I smiled as I walked away.

I was showered and dressed - jeans, boots, and a tank top beneath my leather jacket - and on my way downstairs to Ethan's office when my phone rang. I pulled it from my pocket and checked the screen. It was Mallory.

"Yo," I answered.

"I know you're heading out, but I'm about to pull up in front of Cadogan House. Catcher wants to talk to Ethan, and I have something for you."

"Something tasty?"

"Do you only love me for my choice cooking?"

"Well, no, but I'll admit it's one of the reasons."

"As long as the reasons are many and varied. Get your butt down here." Knowing when to take an order, I closed and repocketed the phone, then completed my trip to the front door. The foyer was Master vampire free, so I headed outside with a pleasant lack of drama.

Mall stood at the front gate in stovepipe jeans and a long tank, hands at her hips. She looked to be interrogating the guard. I hopped down the steps, then took the sidewalk to the gate. Catcher stepped beside her just as I approached, probably having just parked the car, a mix of amusement and defeat in his expression.

"And I'd heard you folks were really great at the Third Key," she was saying. "Do you have any advice for me?"

The mercenary fairy at the gate stared down at her with maliciousness in his eyes. " 'You folks'?" Mallory grinned. "Sorry, it's just, your traditions are so interesting. So natural. So woodsy. Would you be willing to sit down with me and maybe you could share - "

"Okay," Catcher interrupted, putting his hands on her shoulders and turning her toward the House.

"That's enough of that. My apologies," he offered to the guard, then guided Mallory up the sidewalk.

"Making new friends?" I asked her.

"They're a really fascinating people."

"I bet they like being called by their names."

Mallory slid Catcher a flat stare. "Do you know his name?" He looked at me. I shrugged. "I just work here."

"Species-ism among supernaturals really is the last bastion of acceptable prejudice in this country," Mall said, then seemed to realize I was dressed in leather and holding my sword. "You look ready to chase down some shifters."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that. You're not in Schaumburg tonight?"

She shook her head. "I have practicum again tonight, which means I'm supposed to be at home making potions and whatnot."

"Good luck with that."

"Good luck with your shifters. And that's why I'm here." She stuck her fingers into the snug pocket at her hip and fished around. "Hold out your hand."

I arched a skeptical eyebrow, but did as I was directed. Mallory fished something out, then deposited it into my palm. It was an antique bracelet - a gold link chain, dark from wear, that bore a circular locket. I held it up. The image of a bird was engraved in the top.

"It's an apotrope," she proudly said.

"It's a what?"

"Apotrope. It's a charm for luck, to ward off bad juju." She leaned forward and pointed at the inscription. "That's a raven. It's a symbol of protection. I found the bracelet in a shop in the Scandinavian District."

I frowned at her, puzzled. "Chicago has a Scandinavian District?"

"Nope," Catcher said. "But the store was next-door to a restaurant that sold pickled herring. She decided that was the Scandinavian District."

"First you're moving furniture; then you're moving neighborhoods."

"I'm an up-and-comer," she said. "Anywho, I worked a little Second Key action of my own, and there you go."

"Well, that was very thoughtful, even without the gratuitous urban planning. Thanks, Mal." She shrugged. "I wanted to give you a tincture of wolfsbane, but party pooper over here said no."

"Wolfsbane?" I asked, looking between them.

"It's poisonous to shifters," Catcher said, mid-eye roll.

I nodded in understanding. "Yeah, might be bad form to wear wolf poison to a shifter convocation."

"I only would have put a little in there," Mallory said. "Not enough to give anyone a stomachache, much less actually kill somebody. And no one has to know about it."

"Still better to stick with the raven. Thank you for bringing it." I held out my right wrist so that she could clasp on the bracelet, but I glanced up when Catcher made a low whistle of warning.

"Company," he said, and since his gaze was on the door, I guessed who that might be.

"Ooh, she's pretty," Mall whispered, looking up once she'd secured the bracelet. "Who is she?"

"That would be Lacey Sheridan."

Mallory blinked at me. "Lacey Sheridan? The vampire Ethan - " I interrupted her with a nod.

"Were you going to let me know that his former girlfriend was in town?"

"I figured you'd already had a good dose of Merit humiliation for the week." She patted my arm. "Don't be silly. Vampire humiliation is like a fine wine. It should be shared between friends."

I stuck out my tongue, but Catcher shook his hand. "Here they come," he warned. "Put on your happy face."

I plastered on a fake smile and turned to greet them. His katana in one hand, he used the other to gesture toward Lacey.

"Mallory Carmichael and Catcher Bell," he said. "Catcher, I believe you and Lacey met when she was in the House."

"Yep." That was all Catcher said. He didn't bother extending a hand.

"It's nice to see you again, Catcher."

He barely acknowledged the greeting, and my heart warmed. Catcher was gruff, sure, but that usually didn't involve outright snubbing people, at least in my experience. I may have given him and Mallory a lot of crap about their naked shenanigans, but he knew which team he was on.

"Mallory is Merit's former roommate," Ethan told Lacey, "and a newly identified sorceress. She's currently training with an Order representative in Schaumburg." Lacey cocked her head. "I thought the Order didn't have representatives in the Chicago area." Mallory put a hand on Catcher's arm before he could growl at Lacey, but you could see the urge to step forward in his expression. Catcher had been kicked out of the Order under circumstances that weren't altogether clear to me, but the lack of an Order office in Chicago had something to do with it.