hesitating. "Don't worry about him. I'll figure something out."
Retrieving the phone from my desk, I pressed it into his palm and winked. "Here, call her, and don't take no for an answer. There's a reason why even guys from the FBI come knocking on our door every now and then."
Chapter 11 – The curse
Dad didn't seem very happy to hear I was having yet more friends over.
"You're what?" He was pacing the study up and down; the frown on his forehead had been in place for the last two minutes, which was a new record given that we were neither at work, nor meeting Mum for lunch.
Pouting, I pressed my hands on my hips, ready to scream, beg or start giving him the silent treatment, all in this particular order. "You said I never bring anyone home, so there, I followed your advice."
"But, sweetie, I—" he ran a hand through his hair "—they're mortals ."
"You say that like it's a crime. Are you discriminating against your main target audience? Besides, they're not mortal." I couldn't hold back a grin when I saw his jaw drop.
Dad's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What are they?"
I shrugged. "This and that."
"No, Cass. If you want them to stay here you'll have to tell me the truth. Obviously, I could find out in a heartbeat anyway.
I laughed inwardly. If he could hear a heartbeat. Aidan was as dead as a doornail.
"Cass, are you listening?"
I nodded. "Sure. You were saying?"
"Why should I have to use my investigative skills? I want to hear the words out of your very own mouth." His voice sounded calm yet resolute. I sighed.
"All right, if you must know. Amber's a necromancer."
"And the boy?"
I winced. Nothing escaped Dad's heightened perception. "He's a
—" I snapped my fingers, thinking. "What's another word for vampire?"
Dad groaned. "He's a vampire? In Hell? You know that's about the only species we don't have down here, and there's a reason for it."
"Come to think of it, I'm not keen on that word since Aidan neither drinks blood, nor shuns the sun." I started playing with the green tapestry on Dad's sofa, avoiding his gaze in the hope he wouldn't ask how I knew them.
"Good then, because we're not causing an eclipse just so he can venture out in search of his next snack."
I jumped up from my seat and hurried over to plop on his desk.
"Dad, I told you he doesn’t drink blood."
He peered at me unconvinced. "Is that what he told you?"
Really, he kind of underestimated me. "Nope. Obviously, I don't rely on hearsay. I know this for a fact because I attended the ancient ritual ceremony at the Shadowland cemetery."
"What?" Dad's jaw dropped. "I told you to never set foot on their cursed territory. They could use your blood for their rituals."
"You watch too many movies." At his shocked expression, I patted his hand. "I was only there for all of five minutes because Aidan agreed to retrieve an ancient ritual book from the Otherworld and give it to the Shadows in exchange for a ritual to free himself from the curse of blood. Since at that time I was still considering my career options, I thought it might be a good idea to assist everyone so it wouldn't turn into a bloodbath." Obviously, my plan was to pinch the book because I couldn't just leave something that powerful with all these wannabe immortals. The book was now stacked in a hidden compartment in my bedroom, but Dad needn't know.
"Where do you know these people from anyway?"
My chance to avoid this particular question evaporated into thin air. I shrugged again. "You know me, I travel quite a bit so, naturally, I get to meet the odd person. It's a small world."
Dad smirked. "Yes, well, they don't exactly advertise themselves on social networking sites."
I gawked, open-mouthed, because I never figured Dad knew one could use a computer for more than keying the number of souls entering Hell in an Excel document.
"You're surprised, huh?" He laughed. "Yes, your old man knows a thing or two about what's going on in the world. It doesn't mean I like it, but
Retrieving the phone from my desk, I pressed it into his palm and winked. "Here, call her, and don't take no for an answer. There's a reason why even guys from the FBI come knocking on our door every now and then."
Chapter 11 – The curse
Dad didn't seem very happy to hear I was having yet more friends over.
"You're what?" He was pacing the study up and down; the frown on his forehead had been in place for the last two minutes, which was a new record given that we were neither at work, nor meeting Mum for lunch.
Pouting, I pressed my hands on my hips, ready to scream, beg or start giving him the silent treatment, all in this particular order. "You said I never bring anyone home, so there, I followed your advice."
"But, sweetie, I—" he ran a hand through his hair "—they're mortals ."
"You say that like it's a crime. Are you discriminating against your main target audience? Besides, they're not mortal." I couldn't hold back a grin when I saw his jaw drop.
Dad's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What are they?"
I shrugged. "This and that."
"No, Cass. If you want them to stay here you'll have to tell me the truth. Obviously, I could find out in a heartbeat anyway.
I laughed inwardly. If he could hear a heartbeat. Aidan was as dead as a doornail.
"Cass, are you listening?"
I nodded. "Sure. You were saying?"
"Why should I have to use my investigative skills? I want to hear the words out of your very own mouth." His voice sounded calm yet resolute. I sighed.
"All right, if you must know. Amber's a necromancer."
"And the boy?"
I winced. Nothing escaped Dad's heightened perception. "He's a
—" I snapped my fingers, thinking. "What's another word for vampire?"
Dad groaned. "He's a vampire? In Hell? You know that's about the only species we don't have down here, and there's a reason for it."
"Come to think of it, I'm not keen on that word since Aidan neither drinks blood, nor shuns the sun." I started playing with the green tapestry on Dad's sofa, avoiding his gaze in the hope he wouldn't ask how I knew them.
"Good then, because we're not causing an eclipse just so he can venture out in search of his next snack."
I jumped up from my seat and hurried over to plop on his desk.
"Dad, I told you he doesn’t drink blood."
He peered at me unconvinced. "Is that what he told you?"
Really, he kind of underestimated me. "Nope. Obviously, I don't rely on hearsay. I know this for a fact because I attended the ancient ritual ceremony at the Shadowland cemetery."
"What?" Dad's jaw dropped. "I told you to never set foot on their cursed territory. They could use your blood for their rituals."
"You watch too many movies." At his shocked expression, I patted his hand. "I was only there for all of five minutes because Aidan agreed to retrieve an ancient ritual book from the Otherworld and give it to the Shadows in exchange for a ritual to free himself from the curse of blood. Since at that time I was still considering my career options, I thought it might be a good idea to assist everyone so it wouldn't turn into a bloodbath." Obviously, my plan was to pinch the book because I couldn't just leave something that powerful with all these wannabe immortals. The book was now stacked in a hidden compartment in my bedroom, but Dad needn't know.
"Where do you know these people from anyway?"
My chance to avoid this particular question evaporated into thin air. I shrugged again. "You know me, I travel quite a bit so, naturally, I get to meet the odd person. It's a small world."
Dad smirked. "Yes, well, they don't exactly advertise themselves on social networking sites."
I gawked, open-mouthed, because I never figured Dad knew one could use a computer for more than keying the number of souls entering Hell in an Excel document.
"You're surprised, huh?" He laughed. "Yes, your old man knows a thing or two about what's going on in the world. It doesn't mean I like it, but
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