Amaretto Flame (7 page)

Glancing at me, Ivanna said, “Will you stay
or would you rather visit your room for this tale?”

“I’m fine,” I answered. I immediately
disassociated myself with the story Ivanna was about to tell.

Ivanna nodded at me and then spoke directly
to Susanna. “We discovered her in much the same way that I learn
about all of the children with talents. Olivia’s biological father
was a wise one, but he and Olivia’s biological mother—not a wise
one—were very religious. When Olivia was six years old, her father
came into contact with a Venator. This Venator persuaded him that
his talents were to be used for removing the face of sin from the
earth. Of course, the Venator was speaking of us,” Ivanna made a
motion with her hand, gesturing at all of us around the table.
Everett grasped my hand under the table and I smiled at him.

Charlotte excused herself to visit the
kitchen, but I could see the tears glittering in her eyes and knew
she didn’t want to hear what was coming. Ivanna instructed Sylvia
to help Charlotte with refreshments. Muttering under her breath and
rolling her eyes, Sylvia reluctantly stood and followed her. That’s
when Ivanna continued.

“Olivia’s father believed him and received
the mark of the Venator. The very next time he picked Olivia up,
she screamed—not on purpose, of course. It was entirely out of her
control. The body of her father became dust on the ground. Olivia’s
mother,” she took my other hand on the tabletop, “imagined that
Olivia was evil and took it upon herself to try and kill the child.
She stabbed Olivia—five years old then—ten times with a kitchen
knife before the police arrived. A neighbor heard Olivia screaming
and called. Thank the Gods, she survived the attack.”

Suzanna, Lillian and Dray were incredulous.
No one else had ever heard this part of my story before. It was
easy for me to remove the feeling from it by pretending Ivanna was
speaking of someone else; a girl with a different name, a different
life. I had those memories carefully trapped away in a part of my
mind that I didn’t visit.

Ivanna continued, “Of course, the story was
in the newspaper. Olivia’s mother was…detained in a place where she
couldn’t hurt anyone else or herself and her father was listed as
missing. Olivia was placed with the state. I visited as soon as
possible and after her counseling sessions were over, I adopted
her. Of course, the orphanage only knows that a woman under a
different name than mine visited Olivia one day and the next,
Olivia disappeared.”

“Amazing. I’m sorry the beginning of your
life was so rough, Olivia, but you are a gem among wise ones,”
Lillian said.

“The beginning of my life was when I came to
Eagleton,” I corrected her gently, giving her a half-smile.

She nodded, an empathetic look in her eye,
and then turned to Susanna and Dray.

“Ivanna is the only one of us with the
courage to approach talented ones as children. Everett, Max and
Sylvia also came from very rough situations, but Ivanna saved them
from lives I can’t imagine. Unfortunately, when wise ones are born
from parents who are not able to wield the magick, it is often
harder for them,” she flicked a quick glance at Everett.

Susanna looked at Ivanna and said, “And the
power?”

Ivanna nodded. “We knew about the first part
of her talent, but didn’t discover her ability to bind the souls
until she and I encountered two Venator in another city. It’s
difficult to explain how it works, but as Olivia drains the life,
she absorbs the power of the soul to wield the magick. It stays
within her. While I hope she never has cause to fight another
Venator, the truth is that the more she does, the more powerful she
will become.”

Charlotte and Sylvia entered from the kitchen
now, carrying trays of food. I refused the food, taking only a cup
of tea. Amazingly, Everett polished off two sandwiches. During the
meal, Lillian introduced us to Susanna and Dray formally. Susanna
was an illusionist like Ivanna, and Dray had the ability of
removing sight from his victims—blinding them temporarily. After
eating, Sylvia and Charlotte cleared away the plates and Lillian
spoke again.

“Our time is running short, so I had better
get to the reason for my visit. I know you’re all aware of the
attacks that took place. Two of our younger ones were the victims,
if victim is the appropriate word. They weren’t hurt, and for this
reason, we aren’t exactly sure who their attackers were.” Lillian
paused and looked up at all of us.

“However, we have an oracle in our coven as
well who has seen something which gives us much to think on. Our
Margaret can call the visions at will, but she has no control over
what she sees at any given time. For instance, she may call the
vision upon herself once and see a coven brother or sister, and
then call it again and see a delivery man somewhere that is
completely unrelated to any event we’re concerned about. It also
drains her energy very quickly, making us hesitant to use her power
too often.” She took a breath before continuing.

“Margaret knows the Venator, though. Like you
do here, we train at home to fight them, in preparation for the
final battle. A vision came to her a week ago of the Venator. She
said they were furiously searching…looking for something or
someone.” If no one else noticed her eyes flicking toward me, I
did.

“She couldn’t see the object or individual
they were searching for, and could only tell us that they were
extremely anxious to find it. We can’t be sure, but I believe the
attackers who approached my younger ones were Venator.”

Ivanna kept her face calm, although she had
visibly paled. “Venator fight to the death, Lillian. Surely if the
attackers who had approached your coven members were Venator, they
would have fought.”

Lillian nodded. “I also thought about that.
They would have fought to the death, unless their only purpose was
to search. If there was something they needed or desired more than
their hatred of Wise Ones, they would be able to stop themselves
from fighting.”

She sighed, and then shook her head. “Still
though, we’re not sure. It was night when both attacks happened,
and they happened in public places. My young ones couldn’t see if
they had the marks of the Venator.”

Ivanna nodded thoughtfully. “Well, you
already know that we will assist you in any way we can, even if it
means fighting. But what can we do now? I feel powerless at this
point.”

Lillian put her hand over Ivanna’s on the
table. “I do as well. But I had to come here today to warn you. If
the attackers were Venator and they were searching, it leaves me
only one conclusion. They are searching for someone. A Wise One.
Otherwise, I don’t see why they would have approached my young ones
and left so quickly.”

Although I didn’t think it was possible,
Ivanna grew even paler. She and Lillian looked at each other for a
moment before Ivanna said, “And your young ones weren’t the someone
the Venator were searching for, so they left them be…for the
moment.”

Lillian nodded. “That is the only logical
explanation I can think of,” she said.
Ivanna clasped her hands in front of her and was quiet for a few
moments. I glanced at Everett, Max and Sylvia. The boys were
composed, but both had their jaws tensed and I could feel the hate
radiating from them. Sylvia’s face had paled as well, and her eyes
betrayed a glint of fear. Finally, Ivanna drew in a deep
breath.

“Well, this does give us much to think on,”
she glanced at Lillian. “And you’re sure your home is safe…that
they haven’t discovered where you live?”

Lillian nodded. “We are always very careful
when we leave and take steps to ensure that no one can find us.
However, there are always risks. Each time we leave and then
return, there is that inkling of fear that someone may have
followed us. That’s why we prepare, though.”

It was quiet for a few minutes as we all
digested her words—both the ones about the Venator searching and
the ones about the possibility of the Venator finding her home. Of
course, I was sure that my family was thinking the same thing I
was. What would happen if the Venator ever found our home? The
thought of that was too painful for me to entertain. The thought of
my family being hurt…

Then Lillian announced that she and our other
guests must leave now, and after the formal goodbyes, Charlotte
walked them outside. Ivanna seemed very preoccupied in thought and
I knew she was still worrying over what Lillian had told her. After
Charlotte had returned, Ivanna looked up at us.

“Olivia, you may have a few moments with your
brothers and sisters before you leave. I’m sending you back with a
vehicle this time. I’m sure you’ll have need of one in Staves.
Charlotte will give you the keys. The rest of you can meet me back
here at dinner. I have some things to attend to.”

“Wait, Ivanna,” I said shakily. Forgotten for
the moment was my need for revenge. It was replaced by the fear
that Lillian’s words had inspired. “I’m sorry about what happened,
and I know I deserve punishment, but can’t I stay? Can’t I take a
punishment here?” I searched her face pleadingly, swallowing pride
the size of the state we lived in, looking for some sign that she
would let me stay. She gazed at me for a long moment, and then
lifted her chin.

“You have proven your usefulness to me,
Olivia,” she said coldly. “Not only did you fail to get the boy,
but you ignorantly disclosed details about our coven. I think we
would all be safer with you in Staves.”

It was such a change in attitude from when
she’d been talking to Lillian and her coven members, and it was
such a difference from any way she’d ever spoken to me, that I
couldn’t find my tongue to reply. I knew I stood there gaping,
furious tears welling in my eyes, but I was unable to move. Ivanna
then moved forward and kissed me on the cheek before leaving the
room. A moment later, Everett’s hand was on my back and he was
guiding me toward the front of the house.

I regained a sense of myself before we
reached the front door, and I shrugged away from Everett’s grip. I
took the car keys from Charlotte’s hand, glanced furiously at my
family members, and then left, slamming the door behind me before
they had a chance to follow me out. I knew it was a childish
reaction, something I seemed to be quite good at lately, but I was
heartbroken in the moment and my pride was hurt severely.

With a bitter taste in my mouth, I broke the
speed limit laws all the way back to Staves, rushing toward my
prison, and toward the humans.

My mood stayed dismal all afternoon, and
although my body begged for me to sleep more before it was time to
go back to Stallott’s, I was unable to. Maybe I did deserve to be
stuck here, but because Ivanna was mad at me, she was risking the
coven. If I was there, and Venator attacked, we’d have much better
odds…better odds that my entire family would survive. So, I paced
through the house, picked at some food, and paced some more before
it was finally time to suit up in the ridiculous uniform and
leave.

Right away, I could tell that a weekend night
would be different at Stallott’s. The previous night, Renee had
worked until eight o’clock, and then a tall, thin man named Rick
took over as bartender while Renee had helped us take orders and
serve drinks. Tonight, Rick was already there, as was another girl,
who appeared to be a few years older than Jenny and Erika.

This was the first interesting thing that
happened to me. The girl was impossibly beautiful. She was tall and
shaped like a woman straight from the centerfold of some magazine.
Her lips were full and pink; her eyelashes were long and thick and
shaded nearly black eyes. Her dark hair was cut short, like a
boy’s, but on her it was fantastic. It almost hurt to look at
her.

“Paula,” Jenny said, as I entered and put my
coat behind the bar, “this is Olivia. She’s our new waitress.”
Paula smiled at me, a brilliant smile that showed perfect white
teeth. I tried to smile back, but I felt dim. As we moved to tie on
our aprons, Jenny whispered to me.

“Paula and Jackson had a thing going not too
long back, but she wanted more from him than he wanted from her.
She’s still completely in love with him.” Her face betrayed her
excitement for scandals, and I glanced toward Jackson, who was
already on the stage. Somehow, this sad story depressed me even
more, and I rode those waves of depression for the next several
minutes.

Luckily, I was able to forget my troubles
easily, because once the crowd packed into the place, it was
difficult to think straight, much less be depressed. I did all I
could to keep up with the drink orders, and near nine o’clock,
Erika approached me.

“You look like you could use a break. Go
ahead and grab something to drink and sit for a moment. I’ll
cover,” she smiled at me, and feeling an extreme gratitude toward
her, I nodded and found my way to the bar. Rick made me a coke and
I let my overheated arms rest against the cool, polished wooden bar
top as I sipped it. My feet were already on fire, and I wondered
how beneficial this experience would be for my fighting back in
Eagleton. I was lost in my thoughts, sipping my drink, when
Jackson’s voice beside me startled me.

“Penny for your thoughts,” he said quietly,
leaning close to my ear so I could hear him above the noise in the
bar. I instantly let my eyes flick toward Paula, who was busy
taking Jenny’s drink order.

I smiled up at him. “It’s too noisy to think
in here, so I’m afraid your penny would be wasted.”

He sat on the stool next to me and gave me a
long smile. “I guess your assassin work is much quieter,
usually.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, unless it’s a particularly
brutal kill,” I said. “You know, the screaming, the pleading…it’s a
drag.”