The Necromancer's Seduction by Mimi Sebastian Page B

meeting
     at the demon lair still had me unbalanced.
    The Death card hopped up and down in the air, seeking attention.
    “Calm down, Elizabeth Taylor.” Matilda’s voice rang through the room. “And stop with
     the Death dance.”
    Death calmed down, and all four cards gathered with the others in a pile that floated
     next to Matilda’s head.
    “Ruby, you know the Death card never means actual death,” Matilda said.
    I did. The card meant the end of things, rebirth, but the rebirth part is never guaranteed.
     However, the image of the skeleton, dressed in black armor, astride a horse with a
     dead body on the ground, did not inspire my confidence.
    In a movement too swift to track, Elizabeth Taylor flittered in a tornado of cards
     around a tall blond woman who entered the room.
    She slapped at them with her hands. “Damn cards. Get away from me.”
    Kara stood and set her shoulders in a defensive posture while Matilda waved her hand
     over the spell book, making it disappear. She waited a few more moments while the
     cards terrorized the blonde.
    “Elizabeth Taylor,” Matilda said. The cards halted. They floated in the air, forming
     a barrier between the blonde and the rest of us, then fluttered a sigh and retreated
     into a pile on the table.
    “Haven’t you come up with a way to reverse the spell on those cards?” the blonde asked.
    “Try as I may, I’ve yet to succeed.” Matilda didn’t even feign sincerity. The blonde
     narrowed her eyes, allowing only icy shards to pass through the slits. My admiration
     for Matilda inched up a few notches. She reminded me of Cora.
    “I wasn’t aware you were meeting with the necromancer. You should have informed the
     circle.” She remained standing, a good thing, because I wasn’t sure how she planned
     on sitting in her short skirt without exposing more yards of thigh.
    “She doesn’t have to inform anyone,” Kara said.
    Matilda gave Kara a warning glance. “The circle is aware of our arrangement with the
     demons.”
    The blonde bent toward Ewan, letting more cleavage pop out of the low-cut blouse.
     “Tell me Ewan, what do the demons plan to do once the identity of the killer is discovered?”
    “Follow the codes, of course.” His gaze rested on her face for a moment before moving
     away in a flicker of annoyance.
    “What do you want, Sybil? The circle met and decided on our course of action,” Kara
     said, glowering at the woman. I never wanted to be on the receiving end of Kara’s
     evil eye. A glare to frighten even the most stalwart Gypsy.
    Sybil ignored her, dismissing her with a wave of her hand. “I plan to make a motion
     at the next circle meeting to bring Adam in for discussion, if the necromancer succeeds
     in making him a revenant.”
    I hated when people talked around me. It wasn’t polite. I crossed my legs and leveled
     my best haughty look at her. Two could play at the bitch game.
    I gave her a half wave, the one British royalty uses when they wave at the masses.
     “Hi, my name is Ruby—you know—the necromancer.”
    She deigned to look at me and crossed her arms across her chest, puffing out more
     cleavage.
    I continued. “As a revenant, Adam will be under my control. I try to be a fair necromancer
     and allow my revenants to make their own decisions.” I paused and took my time meeting
     everyone’s gaze. Kara beamed. “I also need to shield him from stressful situations.
     We wouldn’t want an out of control revenant running around eating people, now would
     we? Especially the witch who subjected him to a witch inquisition?”
    Her lips whitened for a brief moment, enough time for me to know I’d gotten under
     her skin. She quickly recovered. “It’s on your head if he attacks anyone.” Sybil narrowed
     her eyes at Matilda. “I’m still taking this to the circle.”
    She marched out of the room, her skirt riding up her thighs with each step. I couldn’t
     help glancing at Ewan to see where his attention lay and