hand over her mouth to try to muffle the sound of her scream, because whoever or
whatever
this thing was, there was no way she wanted to make her dad come out to check on her when he was supposed to be resting. Instead, she used her teeth to bite down hard on one finger, in the hope that the pain would cause the vision in front of her to disappear. It didn’t work, and when she looked again, his disconcerting gaze was still fixed firmly on her.
He looked annoyed, and strangely enough, it was that which finally helped Cassidy to get herself under control. She dropped her hand back down to her side and took a deep breath. There had to be a logical explanation for what she’d just witnessed.
“What are you?” she said, her whole body still shaking from the shock.
“I told you”—his voice was laced in an accent that she couldn’t quite place—“I am Thomas.”
“I didn’t ask
who
you are. I want to know
what
you are,” Cassidy repeated, as she unconsciously took a step backward to try to avoid his uncompromising stare. To try to give herself some space in which to think. “I mean, you were an owl, and then you were . . . Well, then you weren’t an owl. Are you some kind of shape-shifter, werewolf thing?”
“I am not a beast,” he said in a low voice, and it was obvious from the way his jaw was clenched that patience wasn’t one of his virtues. “I’m a knight of the Brotherhood of the Black Rose.”
Black Rose?
The tattoo on her arm burned in response, and once again she heard a voice calling out to her.
Pick me. Pick me.
She took another step away from him until the rough plaster on the exterior of the house was rubbing against her sweater and into her spine. She thought of the crazy guy at the mall. Armand. His accent had been almost identical to Thomas’s, and he had kept pointing at her temporary tattoo.
She let out a small gasp. “He gave me the book on purpose?” Her mind was spinning as she tried to connect the dots, but it was a puzzle that didn’t want to be solved. Where was Nash’s brilliant mind when she needed him?
“
Oui
. Armand would have been desperate. He came here to protect the Black Rose, and when he discovered his mistake, he would’ve been looking for another guardian who could handle the burden. There must have been something about you that called out either to him or to the grimoire.”
“Wh-what’s a grimoire?” Cassidy was almost too scared to ask.
“It’s the most important book that the Brotherhood possesses, and it is the heart of our magic.”
Cassidy was silent.
She had been forced to sit through more than her fair share of strange conversations with Nash, most of them full of names and places that she’d never heard of before. But right now this Thomas guy was making Nash’s conversations sound like watercooler stories. It was ridiculous, and she’d heard quite enough of . . .
well, whatever it was.
She edged her way along the wall, hoping to slip past him, but Thomas quickly blocked her way, his mismatched eyes cold and clinical.
“You must listen carefully,” he said, a guarded expression on his tense face. “Perhaps if I start at the beginning, it will make more sense.”
Doubtful,
Cassidy thought as her mind raced, trying to decide if she could get out through the gate that led through to the front yard. Unfortunately, her gate-jumping skills weren’t what they should be, and she doubted she would have time to unlock it. She took a deep breath and tried to stay calm.
“The Black Rose is an essence. A very powerful essence that offers immortal life and unlimited power to whoever inhales it. It was created by alchemists before they realized that everything comes at a cost, and that the Black Rose also brings madness, pain, and destruction. That is why the Brotherhood has sworn to protect it from the men and demons who desire it.”
Essences? Immortal life? Demons?
Cassidy, who was still struggling to deal with the
whatever
this thing was, there was no way she wanted to make her dad come out to check on her when he was supposed to be resting. Instead, she used her teeth to bite down hard on one finger, in the hope that the pain would cause the vision in front of her to disappear. It didn’t work, and when she looked again, his disconcerting gaze was still fixed firmly on her.
He looked annoyed, and strangely enough, it was that which finally helped Cassidy to get herself under control. She dropped her hand back down to her side and took a deep breath. There had to be a logical explanation for what she’d just witnessed.
“What are you?” she said, her whole body still shaking from the shock.
“I told you”—his voice was laced in an accent that she couldn’t quite place—“I am Thomas.”
“I didn’t ask
who
you are. I want to know
what
you are,” Cassidy repeated, as she unconsciously took a step backward to try to avoid his uncompromising stare. To try to give herself some space in which to think. “I mean, you were an owl, and then you were . . . Well, then you weren’t an owl. Are you some kind of shape-shifter, werewolf thing?”
“I am not a beast,” he said in a low voice, and it was obvious from the way his jaw was clenched that patience wasn’t one of his virtues. “I’m a knight of the Brotherhood of the Black Rose.”
Black Rose?
The tattoo on her arm burned in response, and once again she heard a voice calling out to her.
Pick me. Pick me.
She took another step away from him until the rough plaster on the exterior of the house was rubbing against her sweater and into her spine. She thought of the crazy guy at the mall. Armand. His accent had been almost identical to Thomas’s, and he had kept pointing at her temporary tattoo.
She let out a small gasp. “He gave me the book on purpose?” Her mind was spinning as she tried to connect the dots, but it was a puzzle that didn’t want to be solved. Where was Nash’s brilliant mind when she needed him?
“
Oui
. Armand would have been desperate. He came here to protect the Black Rose, and when he discovered his mistake, he would’ve been looking for another guardian who could handle the burden. There must have been something about you that called out either to him or to the grimoire.”
“Wh-what’s a grimoire?” Cassidy was almost too scared to ask.
“It’s the most important book that the Brotherhood possesses, and it is the heart of our magic.”
Cassidy was silent.
She had been forced to sit through more than her fair share of strange conversations with Nash, most of them full of names and places that she’d never heard of before. But right now this Thomas guy was making Nash’s conversations sound like watercooler stories. It was ridiculous, and she’d heard quite enough of . . .
well, whatever it was.
She edged her way along the wall, hoping to slip past him, but Thomas quickly blocked her way, his mismatched eyes cold and clinical.
“You must listen carefully,” he said, a guarded expression on his tense face. “Perhaps if I start at the beginning, it will make more sense.”
Doubtful,
Cassidy thought as her mind raced, trying to decide if she could get out through the gate that led through to the front yard. Unfortunately, her gate-jumping skills weren’t what they should be, and she doubted she would have time to unlock it. She took a deep breath and tried to stay calm.
“The Black Rose is an essence. A very powerful essence that offers immortal life and unlimited power to whoever inhales it. It was created by alchemists before they realized that everything comes at a cost, and that the Black Rose also brings madness, pain, and destruction. That is why the Brotherhood has sworn to protect it from the men and demons who desire it.”
Essences? Immortal life? Demons?
Cassidy, who was still struggling to deal with the
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