Aeromancist (Seven Forbidden Arts 3)

Maya scoffed. “I didn’t sign up for babysitting duty.”

Lann studied Joss from under his lashes. He worried about Clelia, but his feelings were getting in the way of his better judgment. Not that Lann blamed him. However…

“For this mission,” Lann said, “I need Clelia.”

“No,” Joss said, the word falling like a lash.

Clelia laid a hand on her husband’s arm. “I’m a firestarter, Joss. You don’t get a better vampire weapon than that.”

Joss cursed. “You’re too inexperienced.”

“Joss,” Lann said gently, “she’s ready. We’ve all seen her in action.”

“Fuck.” Joss dragged his hands over his head. “No. I’ll go too. Cain and Maya can hold the fort.”

“Josselin,” Cain said, “we need you here to manage security. Lann and Clelia will go. Maya, you’re on babysitting duty.”

Lann nodded. “When do we leave?” David had a lot to answer for.

“Tomorrow morning,” Cain said.

“I’ll be ready.” On his way to the door, Lann gripped Joss’s shoulder. “She’ll be fine.”

Kat woke to light streaming into the room and Lann’s place next to her empty. She dressed quickly and went downstairs. Rounding the hallway on her way to the kitchen, she saw Eve entering the library. Except for the times when Eve took samples, Kat hardly saw her anymore, not even at breakfast. She got the impression Eve was avoiding her, not wanting to admit that despite all her efforts and the long hours she put in, she wasn’t making progress. Kat followed her into the room.

“Hey, Eve.”

Eve jumped. “You gave me a fright.”

“Sorry.”

Eve returned a book to the shelf. “How are you feeling?”

“Less nauseous.”

“That’s good. Any new attacks?”

“They’re less frequent and, now that I know how to handle them, less frightening.”

“How does Lann cope with the attacks?”

“I try not to let him see.” When Eve frowned, she added, “It’s harder on him than on me.”

“Your first trimester is almost over. The attacks should stop soon, and you should also feel less tired.”

“Look,” Kat said carefully, “I know you’re doing your best. I don’t want you to think I don’t appreciate your efforts.”

Eve uttered a nervous laugh. “It’s not like I’m working with normal human morphology.”

“I understand.” Kat moved closer. “You can be honest with me. I can handle the truth.”

Eve rubbed her eyes. “It’s not that I have no hope. It’s that I’m running out of time.”

“Is there something I can do to help?”

“Unless you’re an experienced scientist, no.”

Kat glanced at the books on the shelf. “You’ve been doing a lot of reading lately.”

“I’m reaching beyond what the lab can give me. I’m trying to find answers elsewhere. Maybe somewhere in history…” Her voice trailed off.

“Lann has been doing research of his own, even if he doesn’t want to tell me.” Kat smiled. “He thinks he’s protecting me. I’m not ignorant when it comes to ancient scripts. Give me your list. I can help you read and flag whatever seems important.”

“You’re working on your thesis. It’s important to you. You should focus on that.”

Kat had never mentioned her thesis to Eve. “Is that what Lann said?”

“He told me it meant the world to you.”

“Maybe it used to, but things have changed.”

Eve considered Kat’s words for a moment, and then sighed. “All right, but Lann isn’t going to like this.”

“Don’t worry about Lann. Just tell me which books you’ve already covered.”

“I don’t even know what I’m looking for,” Eve admitted, “but I’m going through all the forbidden books I can get my hands on, searching for references to births of gifted babies. So far, I’ve come up empty-handed.”

“Lann owns an extensive collection,” Kat offered.

“We went through his first, with the help of his library staff in Santiago.”

Wow. He could’ve told her. It hurt that he hadn’t shared the information with her.

“Joss has some,” Eve continued, “but they’re about the arts itself and not about the birth phenomenon. I’ve checked with museums and libraries, but I’ve got to be careful not to leave a trail, or someone might become suspicious.”

“I’ll see what I can pull from my sources. I’ll speak to my mentor, Charles. I’ll tell him that I’m considering including a new chapter in my thesis so he won’t suspect something. Are there other private owners you know of who I may contact?”

“Cain is looking into that. He’ll let me know if anything comes up.”

“Cain?” Kat hadn’t expected him to get involved with the research.

Eve grinned. “He’s actually a good guy, you know.”

“I didn’t think he was bad. I just didn’t expect that from him.”

“I’ll make a list of what I still need to go through, and we can split it.”

“Good. I’m going for a walk. Want to come?”

Eve looked toward the window. “In this cold? No thanks.”

“I need to get some air,” Kat said, but Eve was already studying the spines of the books again.

In the entrance, Kat pulled on her coat.

“Where are you going?” Lann asked from the top of the stairs.