“You won’t survive this.”

“When I become Titania, my first act will be your execution.”

“You don’t have the spine for it. You’re weak, just like your mother. Useless, whining witch,” Dorian sneered in disgust.

My temper snapped and my shields vanished in a fizzle of fury as I hauled back and slapped him across the face. “Don’t you talk about my mother that way, you-”

Lex cut me off mid-shriek as he clamped a hand over my mouth and hauled me out of arm’s reach of my father. I struggled, wanting to take another swing at him, but Lex didn’t let go. Several more suspicious men hurried over to join Dorian, and by the lack of color in their ensembles I guessed they were also necromancers, probably a dozen in total. What was this, a convention?

“So this is your daughter, Dorian?” a new voice interrupted, calm and soothing. The posse of necromancers parted like the Red Sea as the speaker approached us. The only one of the group who’d incorporated color into his wardrobe, the man stuck out from the crowd. Though I couldn’t remember where I’d seen him before, he looked vaguely familiar. He was tall, well-tanned, with sandy blond hair and a pair of expensive designer sunglasses. “It seems she’s inherited your temper. Thankfully she has her mother’s looks, lucky girl.”

Stunned silent, I blinked at him, wondering how to respond to that as he smiled perfect white teeth at me. It was a strange statement to make, because my father was actually quite handsome. All of Laura’s men were. She was like a connoisseur of pretty-boy magicians. From the way it made my father twitch I figured it was meant as an insult to him and not to me.

Lex eased his grip but didn’t let me go, eyeing the stranger with sincere concern. I was about to demand to know who he was when I caught the scent of vampire magic. Strange. Sure, vampires could go out in the daylight, but I’d never heard of one actually doing it.

“And you are?” I asked, curious.

“Zachary Harrison, a pleasure to meet you.” Extending his hand to shake mine, I reached for it in reflex but Lex grabbed my arm and yanked it out of the way.

“Don’t you dare touch her, Harrison,” Lex warned. Shocked, I turned and looked up at Lex. I’d never heard him use that tone of voice before.

“I was merely being polite, Duquesne.” He chuckled, and then it clicked in my brain why the vampire looked somewhat familiar. Zachary Harrison was a famous real estate mogul-one of those celebrities who’s famous for being famous. The man owned a string of high-profile buildings in cities across the country, as well as hotels and casinos throughout the world. Harrison was the subject of tabloids and gossip TV shows-who would be stupid enough to make someone with that high a profile a vampire?

Probably Laura.

Turning my attention back to Dorian, I raised an eyebrow. “What’d you do, ditch your skanky blonde for a new boss? Nah, I bet Laura finally got bored with you and upgraded to a younger, prettier boy toy.”

Dorian’s face went from angry red to furious, blotchy purple, and he raised a hand to take a swing at me. Lex dragged me another step backwards while the vampire clamped a hand on Dorian’s shoulder and yanked him back out of reach.

“Is there a problem here?” A pair of female security guards hurried up to us, looking as though they were three seconds away from tazing our whole unhappy group.

“No, just a small family dispute. While awaiting my arrival my associate bumped into his estranged daughter, and he’s very sorry for causing a scene, aren’t you, Mr. Morrow?” the vampire assured them.

“Yes, of course,” Dorian murmured, looking chagrined.

As the vampire smiled at the two security guards magic billowed around him like a thick fog, and I started coughing, my eyes watering. Blinking away tears, I noticed the women’s shoulders sagging as the tension smoothly bled away from them.

“Oh, Mr. Harrison! I didn’t realize you were coming through here,” one of the guards spoke. “We could have gotten you an escort.” If I didn’t know better, I’d’ve sworn she even batted her eyelashes at him.

“Thank you, that’s very kind, but it won’t be necessary.” Harrison favored them with a charming, reassuring smile. “I think we’ll be on our way now. Dorian, why don’t you go see to the luggage.”

After throwing one last glare in my direction, my father slunk away like a dog that’d just been kicked by its master. Wow. I could barely believe my eyes.

“Ms. Baker, Mr. Duquesne, I’m sure you have somewhere you need to be,” Harrison suggested regally.

“C’mon, Cat, let’s go. Y’all have a nice day.” The guardian grabbed my hand and tugged me after him as he walked away. “I’m sorry about that. I had no idea they’d be here,” Lex said once we’d reached a safe distance. “You’re real lucky they didn’t haul you off and lock you up for assault.”

“I know, I know… What’s our next move for finding out what the vamps are up to?”

“I have someone else we can talk to, someone more likely to have answers. If we hurry we can meet with him today.”

“Oh. That’s good then.”

We headed out of the terminal and back to the parking garage. As a smoker I am opposed to stairs, so we took the elevator up to our level. Everything continued to be normal with our departure, until we stepped out of the elevator and the world dropped out from under us.

Chapter Seven

For a heartbeat I was afraid I’d been dropped into the same earthen cavern as last time but with a different dragon, one that’d be more open to barbequing me. After all, maybe that had been the point of the original test, and the Council hadn’t realized that the dragon they’d plopped into the room with me was an easygoing pacifist who just wanted to watch celebrity Jeopardy!

The thought faded as the lights came up around me, allowing me to see my surroundings. The floor beneath me was made up of rough carved blocks of stone coated with a thin layer of dampness that soaked into the seat of my jeans. Though I could see, the light was still dim, produced by a series of torches placed around the room. The air was humid, and the sound of dripping water echoed around me.

“Well, I don’t think this is our level,” Lex commented. Surprised, I turned toward the sound of his voice and saw him getting to his feet. He won’t be able to protect you during the next test. My father’s words echoed in my head, and yet Lex was here.

“Yeah, definitely not. I think our trip to your next contact is going to be delayed.”

Reaching down, he took my hand and helped me up. “Looks that way. Let’s find out where we are.”

We walked down a corridor toward a better lit area, and as we approached, three doorways loomed into view at the end of it, each crossed with ominous, thick metal bars. A prison? A dungeon? It was difficult to see what lay beyond those doors, so I took another hesitant step forward.

“They are all guilty.”

Startled, I turned to my right, and Cecelia of the Silver Crescent stood next to us as though she’d appeared out of thin air, her gaze turned toward the three doors.

“Guilty of what?” I asked.

The faerie woman turned toward me, ignoring my question as she coolly regarded me with her regal stare. “It is up to you to determine their punishments. At least one of these criminals deserves the sentence of death.”

“Death?” I blurted. I couldn’t call for someone’s death, not a stranger. Not anyone-well, with the very deserving exception of my father. Aside from that though, I was against capital punishment in my world, and I wasn’t about to start doling out death sentences here.

“You may speak with the prisoners. When you have decided their fate, speak with me again.” Folding her hands together, she took a step back, watching me with an air of infinite patience in her perfect posture.