Jareth shakes his head. “Do you know how many false threats we get on the Master’s life every day? I have no time to follow up on each and every one of them. And the last thing the Master needs is to be bothered by some crazy, ranting mortal with an even crazier sister who has no proof to back up her claim. He’s got a very busy schedule, you know.”
“Well, I can assure you his calendar will be completely clear next month, after he’s been staked through the heart,” I dare to say. “But, sadly, then it’ll be too late to warn him.”
Jareth rolls his eyes. “Come back with proof,” he says. “And maybe I will see about granting you an audience. Until then, please go away. And tell your sister to go away, too. Magnus, here, may be blinded by your beauty, but I know your kind all too well. You’re trouble with a capital T, and I want nothing to do with either of you.”
And with that, he storms into the back room, slamming the door shut behind him. “Whatever,” I mutter, annoyed by the whole thing at this point. Lucifent doesn’t want to be saved? Fine by me. We should have just left things well enough alone, I guess, and not tried to go out of our way to save the future. I turn and stomp down the hall, heading back to the dance floor to find my sister.
But before I can open the door, I feel a hand on my shoulder, turning me around. Magnus has followed me down the corridor, an apologetic look on his face. “I’m sorry,” he says. “Jareth means well. And he’s very loyal. But he can be kind of…rough around the edges at times.”
“I know,” I say with a sigh. “I mean, I’ve heard,” I correct quickly, catching Magnus’s look. “I mean, he seems that way. To be honest, I’m not sure what my sister sees in him.” I shrug. “But whatever. I’ve done my best. If your coven refuses to take me seriously, then there’s really nothing I can do.” I start for the door again, but Magnus stops me.
“Tell me,” he says in a low voice. “Is Lucifent truly in danger?”
“God, do you think I would be bothering with all of this if he wasn’t?” I demand. “I mean, no offense, but I have better things to do than get humiliated by arrogant, self-serving vampires. For example, I haven’t even begun to study for my chem test tomorrow.”
“Then I believe you,” Magnus says simply.
“You do?”
He gives me a rueful smile. “You’re my blood mate. Why would you lie?”
I can think of a million reasons, actually. But I’m not going to mention any of them right now. Instead, I’m just going to enjoy the fact that he’s willing to take me at face value, without demanding any proof.
“Except we’re going to need some proof,” he adds gently. “I mean, if you want the others to take you seriously, that is.”
Sigh.
“But I can help you get it,” he adds. “If you know where to look.”
I raise my eyebrows in surprise. This, I wasn’t expecting.
“Okay,” I say, nodding, a plan forming in my mind. “Well, from what I understand, Slayer Inc. is as big on the red tape as you guys are,” I muse aloud. “And they’re bound to have done some kind of investigation. Maybe they’ve even put together an official commission.” I think back to some of Rayne’s past slayer assignments. She always got a folder with background information and photos, along with the slay order. It made sense to think they’d have created one for Lucifent, as well.
“Of course,” Magnus agrees. “And if we could somehow find this order and bring it back to show Lucifent…”
“Then he’d have to take us seriously,” I conclude. “And maybe we can still stop this murder before it’s too late.”
“Well, then what are we waiting for?” the vampire says with a smile. “Let’s go get our proof.”
9
My heart pounds as Magnus pulls the BMW over to the side of the road, just down the street from the spooky old manor at the edge of town that serves as Slayer Inc.’s secret headquarters. (Though evidently not so secret, since the vampire knows exactly how to get there, without so much as a Google Map.) The whole trip I’m furiously texting my sister, whom we left behind at Club Fang, to get any and all information she can give us about breaking into this place, seeing as she used to frequent it quite a bit, back in her slayer days. Thankfully she’s able to give me some alarm codes and information on the layout, so we won’t be completely on a fool’s mission.
“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” I hiss as we slip out of the car and head down the road toward the mansion. It’s pitch-dark, and unlike Magnus, I don’t have vampire night vision. So I clutch his arm and allow him to lead me off-road and through the woods. It’d be kind of romantic, if only my heart weren’t sounding like an 808 drum in my chest. After all, I know from personal experience that Slayer Inc. is no organization to mess around with. And I doubt if I go and get myself killed a second time around, Hades will grant another do-over.
“Well if we’re going to find proof, this is where it’ll be,” Magnus whispers back, gently guiding me over a small bridge that spans a stream. He’s so close I can feel his breath at the back of my neck, which sends a shiver down my spine. I can’t help but wonder if he’s feeling the same attraction to me as I am to him. I mean, he was attracted to me the first time around, so I must still be his type, right? Plus the fact that I’m no longer Gothed out to the max has to score me at least a few extra cuteness points.