"I'm sorry, what?" Kai asked, intrigued that the witch had brought up wolves.
"Funny, you would think they'd choose pumpkin, but I'll say, they do prefer lemon."
"I wouldn't know anything about that." Kai eyed the witch as she picked up the teacup, taking care to note she didn't put anything in it. "Would you mind seeing to Ilsbeth? I don't have a lot of time."
"The attraction to a strong wolf can be irresistible, even to witches. Well of course we cannot bear them children, but it's understandable, the desire to mate." Holly crossed the room and set the cup onto a pewter tray that rested on a white chemise ottoman. "Please sit. Samantha will be here within minutes."
Suspicious of the witch, Kai walked toward the sofa and gently sat on its edge, ready to attack if needed. She scanned the conservatory. Entirely made of windows, its cathedral ceiling sprawled two stories high. Beyond the glass, an elaborate garden flourished, and she imagined the witches held moonlight ceremonies in the privacy of the ivied walls.
"I don't recall this room being here. Is this new?" she asked.
"The coven home has undergone renovation. We must cleanse the property. Begin anew. This room was recently completed. Isn't it beautiful? Samantha attends to every detail." Holly retrieved her cup and padded toward Kai, sitting across from her on a pale yellow, velvet winged chair. Although dressed like a teenager, she sat as if she were a princess, properly crossing her legs and quietly sipping her tea. "I do miss the old room, but alas, change comes in like the tide. So do tell me, are you planning to stay long in New Orleans?"
"I really just need to see Ilsbeth." Kai glanced to the tea but didn't reach for it. Footsteps in the hallway alerted her to another presence. Instinctively she stood, her heart pounding in her chest, hoping to see Ilsbeth. Her face dropped in disappointment as a diminutive redhead stepped into the room.
"I'm sorry," she said softly.
"Sorry for what?" Kai asked.
"You're disappointed not to see Ilsbeth. I'm Samantha," she said, extending her hand.
Kai reached for it, giving it a gentle shake. The firm steady energy flowed into her skin, and she sensed the benevolent strength behind the witch. "It's I who should be sorry. It's just that I'm in need of her assistance. My name is Kai Beckett."
"Please. Let's sit. Holly," Samantha turned to the young witch, "please give us privacy."
"But of course." Holly gave Kai an odd smile that she wasn't sure how to interpret as she left; an uneasy shiver ran through her.
As the wall closed behind the young witch, Samantha began to speak. "I'm going to be perfectly honest. Your arrival was not unexpected in that I had a dream about you. You seek a spell. Tell me what you are looking for."
"Several years ago … " Kai paused and took a deep breath, nervous about disclosing her secrets. She hadn't told anyone what she was since the conversation she'd held with Ilsbeth. Running out of options, she chose to trust her instinct and Samantha. "Over a hundred years ago, I sought Ilsbeth's assistance. My kind. I am not bred. My abilities are not inherited."
"They are gifted from the Goddess herself," Samantha told her.
"Yes. I have not met anyone like me. My sister, Shilan, she possesses magick, but she's not of my kind."
"You weren't born here?" Samantha asked, but her tone implied she was merely stating a fact.
"I was born in China. My parents … soon after I was born, the vampires, they knew about me. My parents were tortured, killed trying to protect me. They wouldn't reveal where they'd sent me."
"And your adoptive parents?"
"They were killed as well. It happened here. The vampires in San Francisco … well, I'm sure you are aware of their reputation."
One moonless night on Angel Island, the demonic vampire had torn through the buildings, searching for her. Hidden under the floorboards, Kai had huddled with her sister as screams cut into the silence. The blood of her family swept down upon them, and it was the first time her creature had stirred in her mind, exposing its existence. With no control over her own power, her illumination had blinded the vampires, driving the bloodsuckers back to their lair.
"So this spell … " Samantha said, interrupting Kai's silent reflection.
"Sorry," she replied and continued. "My instinct is telling me I can trust you, and frankly, I have little choice at this point. Ilsbeth is the only one to ever know the truth about me. In exchange for my blood, she cast a spell cloaking me from all supernaturals. I have lived my life in virtual isolation, deliberately hiding. I had no interest in testing the spell. And until recently, it worked. But you see," Kai sighed, her chest tightening at the thought of Shilan dying, "my sister. She'd been alone for such a long time. She's gone missing. Her magick had never been concealed but if you'd met her, you'd suspect she was a witch, which she very well might be. But she's lacked training. I am the one they want, not her."