Chapter 2

I reached out to touch the mirror and noticed someone in the reflection whom I hadn’t seen since waking up. No, it wasn’t Greta, though I did wonder why she hadn’t mopped up the floors with these guys yet. It was Rho. Standing behind Walker in the reflection, she shook her head, “no.” What was she trying to tell me? That I wasn’t allowed to do this? That I wouldn’t be allowed to enter the vault due to the situation? What?

I looked back toward Walker to look directly at Rho, but she wasn’t there. I looked at the mirror again, and her reflection was as clear as everyone else’s. I didn’t understand why she was appearing for me like this.

“What’s wrong, Seth?” Walker asked. “You’re not thinking about fighting me, are you?”

I looked at him. “No,” I said, feeling conflicted. “I’m just trying to find the right words to convince Chloe and Michael to come out.”

“It’s simple,” he said, “You don’t find the right words. You command them to come out. That’s what that bond is for: you command, and they obey.”

I shook my head. “It doesn’t work that way.”

Jade pushed her way forward and got into Walker’s face. “You said this would be simple. You said we’d be out of here already.”

“Shut your trap, woman,” Walker barked.

“Well, if you won’t do anything...” she said and then moved around behind Kelly. She pulled out that long, slim dagger again and pressed the tip to my mom’s throat.

Kelly whimpered, “Walker...”

I reached out to grab Jade’s wrist with my telekinetic spell, but Walker was faster. He flung his arm up and the dagger disintegrated. Then he reached past Mom and grabbed Jade by the throat. Mom moved from between the two but stayed close to Walker.

Walker pulled Jade close. “I am in charge here. Not you. You would do well to remember that.” Then he released her and looked at me. “And you. Stop stalling. Call those two out, now!”

I looked at Jade for a moment. The expression she wore while looking at Walker suggested she hated him even more than she hated me. Granted, I didn’t want her anywhere near any of my girls, but if I could continue to push her so she rebelled against Walker, then all the better.

I turned back to the mirror and spotted Rho in the reflection again. She stood behind Walker, though a bit closer. She shook her head again when I reached out to touch the mirror.

Anger rolled through me. What did she expect me to do? Did she want me to protect these relics over my family? To hell with that. I touched the mirror.

My vision went white.

At first, I thought I was blind. However, the whiteness reminded me of the white space Rho and I had occupied when I first met her, which meant I wasn’t blind. The only problem was, I wasn’t with Walker and the others in the Manor either. Panic and anger shot through me.

Rho stepped up next to me in a conservative light gray skirt suit. She didn’t show off even a hint of cleavage with the frilly blouse filling in the V of her jacket. Her hair was styled with thick curls that put me in mind of the 40s and 50s hairstyles. “Let’s walk, shall we?” Then she turned and walked away. The back of her suit wasn’t so conservative. Three straps were holding the mock blouse and jacket in place, and three straps holding her skirt together. Under the straps was nothing but the silky tan of her skin.

I couldn’t afford to spend the time finding out how much fun that outfit could be. I made sure I still had on my pajama pants and followed Rho. The surprise of her outfit had diffused my anger, but I had to maintain a certain tone when I asked, “What the hell is this, Rho?”

She held out her hands as I followed her. “I have recreated the staging area where we first met. I thought it would be a good place for the two of us to talk.”

“You took me out of the mansion?” I asked, panic beginning to return.

“No, of course not,” she said. “You’ve only just touched the mirror. You haven’t left the room.”

“Walker and his people are all Magi. If they believe I am hesitating or planning something...”

She shook her head, making the thick curls of her hair bounce side-to-side as much as up and down with her stride. “Here, our thoughts exchange even faster than when we were at your mother’s house because you have no outside stimuli to process.”

“Oh, that’s so much better!” I said with a drawl.

Before I could say anything else, Rho smiled up at me.

“Look, Rho, there’s nothing to talk about,” I said. “You have to send me back so I can call Chloe and Michael out of the vault.”

“Why?” she asked. “Just so Walker won’t hurt your mother?”

I nodded. “For starters.”

“Walker has no reason whatsoever to keep his word,” she said.

“He has promised to hurt them if he doesn’t get what he wants.”

“That does not exclude the possibility of him hurting them even if he gets what he wants.”

“I’ve warned him what would happen should he hurt anyone,” I said.

Rho stopped and faced me. “He does not perceive you as a true threat.”

“And that will be his mistake,” I growled. “Now, unless you have a plan, send me back.”

She looked around at the whiteness surrounding us. “We could use the staging area as a duplicate of the vault,” she said and waved her arm.

Suddenly we dropped onto a floor made of the same stone as the walls in the vault. Walls quickly slid into place around us, complete with lighting and doors. Overhead, more stone filled in the ceiling. The place was quiet and the speed of everything moving into place unnerved me. I spun on my heel, feeling the stone under my bare feet, and took in the very real appearance of the hallway we were in.

As I calmed down, I moved around and touched different features. Everything felt real, just like all the details in the room she had created the first time we were in the staging area.

“I know the vault and its contents very well,” Rho said. “It would take little effort on my part to maintain this.”

“This is incredible,” I said. “And, for someone who hadn’t been in the vault before, I would say this would be perfect. But, Walker has been in the vault. He says he already knows where and how to reach the items.” Then I turned to face Rho. “The real downside about this is you can’t project this into their heads without them noticing. You’re bound to me and not even my people can interact with you.”

Rho sighed and shook her head. “Then what do you suggest?”

“Until an opportunity presents itself,” I said with a heavy sigh. “I’ll have to do what he says.” Then a thought crossed my mind. “You said you know the vault very well?” I asked and she nodded. “How well?”

“I was present when the vault was originally constructed,” she said. “I was present at the collection of each item. I know more about the vault and its contents than any living person.”

“Were you present when Walker previously visited the vault?” I asked.

“I recall his time here, but since he did not have a copy of me bound to him, I don’t know what he did in the vault.”

“Which means you don’t know what items he’s after,” I said and turned to take a closer look at markings carved into one of the doors.

“If you insist on allowing these invaders access to the vault, you should not go in uninformed.”

I looked at her. “It would take me months to learn everything you know about the vault.”

She took a step closer while shaking her head. “Not if I share memories with you.” Then she reached behind her back and released the lower strap of her fake jacket and blouse.

I stepped back from her, shaking my head in return. “No. No more sharing.”

She frowned at me. “This is too important.”

“Chloe warned me that gaining too many memories could cause problems,” I said. “Until I understand that better, I need to hold off on memory sharing -- unless I have no other choice.”

Rho stepped toward me again while twisting her arms behind her to reach the second strap. “There’s no reason to believe sharing memories will harm you. Especially considering it is one of your innate abilities rather than a spell you cast.”

I smiled with my hands out defensively. “I want to believe you, but you’ve implied that you’re going to share everything you know about the vaults.”

She nodded. “The more you know, the better armed you’ll be.”

I wanted to frown, but couldn’t because of what she was doing. “You know that we only need the slightest touch of skin-to-skin,” I said, continuing to slowly back away as she slowly advanced on me.

She smiled and the tension of her top released. “The more contact that’s made, the faster the transmission.”

“You mean like transferring data from one computer to another?” I asked, truly interested.

Her top fell to the stone floor. She arched her back, proudly thrusting her huge, round breasts out. She looked up at me, knowingly, and nodded. “Yes.”

I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her. The soft light of the vault made her skin appear soft and silky. I wanted to reach out and feel her, to press what she offered to my chest.

She moved closer, apparently perfectly ready to do exactly what I wanted.

I moved away, almost stumbling in the effort. Nearly falling broke my fixation on her and I shook my head. I couldn’t afford the distraction. I looked up, past her impressive breasts to her eyes, and said, “I don’t doubt that the transmission would be faster, but we’re talking about many, many more memories than I’ve ever gleaned before. If we were to do this gradually, I wouldn’t be so reluctant, but I don’t want to do it all at once.”

She stopped advancing and tilted her head to the side. “Then what do you have planned?”

I turned, shook my head, and began pacing. I had to do something to help me focus on the problem in the Manor rather than Rho’s suggestive actions. “I don’t know! If I thought I could take down all five of them without any harm coming to my girls, I would do it, but I’m not that good.”

“I thought your connection to your House Guardians allowed you to draw upon their skills?”

I nodded. “It does, but I’ve also learned that I do not have the same muscle memory as Michael and Greta. I still need to physically practice what they’ve learned so I can use it effectively.” Then I stopped and looked at Rho. “Speaking of whom, did you see Greta anywhere?”

“No,” she said. “I appeared once you understood that Walker wanted items from the vault.” She hesitated and then asked, “You don’t believe they’ve killed her, do you?”

I shook my head and returned to pacing. “If that had been the case, they would have told me. It would have helped prove how committed they are to this endeavor.”

“When did you see her last?”

“Before they knocked me out,” I said, rubbing my head where the pain continued to throb. “I sent her with my girls to get them to safety.”

“Why didn’t she fight to keep them from being caught?”

I frowned at the thought. “She may have considered it less dangerous to them if she let them be captured for the time being and get them free again later. Which probably means she’s somewhere in the manor waiting for an opportunity to strike.” Then I sighed. “She probably heard everything I’ve told Walker. She might even be waiting for us to enter the vault so she can free the others.”

“Do you know for certain, or are you guessing?”

I looked at her again. “Guessing.”

“Why not find out?”

“How?”

“Well, your bond with her will allow you to determine where she is, even if you cannot hear her thoughts.”

I was about to focus on Greta when something occurred to me. “How much do you know about the Padrone-Stirpe bond?”

“No more than you do.”

“So, no one from my family ever had one?”

“Several did, but they were as secretive about the creation and benefits of the bond with family as with anyone.”

I nodded. “Yeah, that seems to be the theme with the spell.” Then I closed my eyes and focused on Greta. I recalled doing the same thing when Deputy Lawson wanted to arrest me for being the castor for the Lockdown. Michael, however, saw that I had a Padrone-Stirpe bond and wanted me to demonstrate its use. That day, my only Stirpe was Emma. Today, I focused on Greta.

Instantly, I was looking at a corner of the kitchen. I could just make out an outline of someone squatting on the cabinets. It was Greta, using some form of camouflage spell, and watching the room where I was with the invaders and hostages.

I nodded to Rho. “I found her. She’s aware of what’s going on.”

“Good,” Rho said. “After we leave here, you should send her a mental instruction to take out any of the invaders who do not accompany you into the vault.”

I looked at Rho again. “I thought you didn’t want me leading them into the vault?”

“Of course, I would advise against it,” she said, “but without a solid plan on how to stop them, and keep all of your guests safe, you appear to have no choice.”

“Right,” I said. “And Walker wants me to call Chloe and Michael out of the Vault before we go in. He even seems to know how the bond works. He wants me to command them to exit.”

Rho sighed and said, “The only way to avoid commanding them to exit would be to sever your bonds with them.”

I shook my head and continued pacing. I didn’t want to sever the bonds. I had to find another way. Even if I called them out of the vault, and Greta was able to free them as well as the others, they wouldn’t be of any help to me unless they could get back into the vault. Without leaving the vault, I wouldn’t know when they were ready to follow. If I couldn’t let them in, how would they help?

I couldn’t help but look at Rho each time I passed her. She watched me as I paced with her hands behind her back and her chest thrust out. Notwithstanding her distracting actions, I focused on the construct herself. She had only ever been attached to family members, similar to the Manor, which had only ever belonged to my family too. But I didn’t know my family. I only knew the family I had back in Texas. I trusted them. Why couldn’t I give them access to the vault too? “Is it possible for me to grant my Stirpi access to the vault?”

Rho frowned. “Why would you do that?”

“I don’t know my family, the Rosenbaums that is. I don’t have a problem with the idea that Hayden is my biological mother, and that Valory is my half-sister, but, to me, my family is the one I have back in Texas. I also understand that my step-mom and step-sister cannot access the vault because they don’t have magic, but my Stirpi do. And I trust them. So, is it possible?”

She nodded. “Yes. You can - technically speaking - permit any Magus access to the vault. Keep in mind the Manor’s defenses must recognize the individuals who have been authorized first.”

I found myself rubbing my hands together. I recalled touching the mirror in the Library when I first arrived here, and the small zap I received that would have put me on the floor had I not been the person I claimed to be.

“When do you expect to grant them access?” Rho asked.

I looked up. There was something in her tone. “Why? What’s involved?”

“You have to update the Manor’s defenses. Touch one of the mirrors, focus on the list of family members with access, and add their names to it.”

“I’m touching a mirror now,” I said and Rho nodded. I closed my eyes and thought about the Manor’s defenses. Instantly, I understood that there were only two people who had access to the mirrors, Valory and me. I added Chloe, Michael, and Greta to that list, and the defenses gave me the impression that it would be waiting for each of them to touch a mirror to confirm identity.

I opened my eyes. “That was easy. Now, I have to instruct them to touch the mirror to gain access.”

“How far have you thought this through?” Rho asked.

“They’ll be able to follow us into the vaults once they take care of Walker’s people in the manor,” I said.

She nodded. “True, if they know where you are in the vaults.”

I thought about that. “What if we leave copies of you for each to bond with?”

She shrugged. “Same problem. They’ll know more about the vaults, but not where you are in the vaults.”

“What about Sebastian?” I asked.

She shook her head. “He will only respond to you.”

“Yeah, but I could call on him and have him lead the others to me.”

“And you plan to do this while Walker’s people stand there watching you?” She asked. “Remember, Sebastian has a physical presence, unlike me.”

“Crap! The only way they’d be able to help is when we’re about to exit.”

Rho shrugged. “That could work. Do you want me to leave copies of myself?”

I looked at her. “Yes. The more information they have, the better.”

“Then I take it you’re going to call Chloe and Michael out of the vault?” she asked.

I nodded. “Walker hasn’t exactly given me a choice. I only hope that Walker plans to subdue them rather than kill them. After I lead Walker into the vault, Greta could then take out Onyx, free Michael and Chloe, get the girls to safety, and then prepare for when we exit the vault.”

Rho nodded. “You have to hope that Walker leaves only Onyx with the girls.”

I grinned. “You don’t believe that Greta could handle Onyx and one of the others?”

“If she attacks one, the other could do something dreadful before she could respond.”

“Not if she’s free to use lethal force.”

“If you allow your people to do that, then Walker will feel no need to stop his people from doing the same,” she said.

That thought squashed some of the hope that had risen. “Then I’ll have to trust that Walker won’t kill if my people don’t.”