I had done nothing of the sort, but it was worth it to watch his eyes go slightly red, to see his fists clench and know he couldn’t do anything about it. Well, I suspected he couldn’t. If I was wrong, I was probably looking at a good dose of pain.
Neil put a hand on mine. “I think we should go.”
“Why?” I sat back and put my cards on the table. Figuratively, so to speak. “What’s he going to do? Strangle me? Use those noncorporeal hands of his to curse me? He has to be close for that to work, and I suspect he’s back in Dallas using some poor witchling over here to focus his image.”
Neil sniffed the air. “I can smell him.”
“Which only proves how good he is at this. But have you noticed? The server didn’t bring us an extra plate or teacup. Myrddin couldn’t follow us in here until someone held the door open. He’s sitting on the chair, but he hasn’t touched anything. He’s using some sort of spell to give his illusion depth and sensory reality,” I surmised. “But he’s not here. He’s all pretty and dressed up and completely impotent.”
Myrddin’s jaw tightened, and I could practically feel his frustration. “Watch yourself, Your Highness. I won’t always be a thousand miles away.”
No. Hopefully he would be on another plane trying to track down his grimoire. Or at least expending energy and resources to find out if I was lying. “But you are today, so you’ll forgive me if I’m not terrified.”
“There will be no forgiveness from me,” he vowed. “Not unless you convince Daniel to turn himself in now and you get my grimoire and the sword back. Did you have that in your pocket as well?”
“What can I say? I like a buy one get one free deal,” I admitted. “Besides, that sword didn’t belong to you. Of course I took it. That magical wallet was a hell of a gift. My dad’s still fucking with you even after you killed him.”
“Well, next time I see that little medium he’s hiding in, I’ll make sure to eat her soul. They’re sharing right now, so that can be my buy one get one free snack.” He leaned toward me. “Don’t think simply because I’m not physically here that I can’t make your life hell, Your Highness. I know basically where you are. I’ll send demon after demon until I get what I want back. Not even your witch friend will be able to help you. I’ll get my revenge on her, too. She thinks her heart’s blood can keep me out. She’s wrong.”
He’d had my full attention all along, but oh, he definitely had it times a hundred now. “Are you talking about Sarah?”
“You know exactly who I’m talking about, and I’ll cut her heart out when I find her,” he vowed. “You want the real me, Your Highness, you’ll get it. No more playing around with you. I’m going to kill everyone you love, and in the end I’ll still get what I need from you. You’ll bleed for me and I’ll close all the doors to Heaven. You’ll die knowing your line dies with you.”
Sarah might be alive. Or he could be lying to me the same way I’d lied to him. Lee had told us that Olivia had sworn Sarah and her family were dead. But Myrddin was flustered and I might have gotten the truth out of him.
“I’m shaking in my boots.” Like that was the worst I’d ever heard. I’d stood before Lucifer Morningstar and come out of the experience whole and alive. “Now run along, Myrddin. You won’t be getting your hands on my husbands again. And tell whichever woman has been playing around with my things that she should watch her back. Bitch better have my crown.”
I could see the rage in his eyes, feel it across all those miles, and it did nothing but harden my resolve. We sat there for a moment, the anger an ocean between us.
Then there was a knock on the window that startled me out of my stare off.
“Hey, Mom.” Lee was standing right outside the window, a bright smile on his face. He waved at me, seeming to take no notice of Myrddin at all. “Ooo, cookies. Nice.”
“He’s still human.” Myrddin’s lips curved up. “Isn’t that interesting? So human and vulnerable. Not that all your children aren’t vulnerable. I’ll get them all in the…” Myrddin’s voice trailed off and his eyes went wide. “Who is that?”
Dean had walked up and stood beside Lee. Unlike my son, who was making goofy faces, Dean could absolutely see Myrddin. He was staring at the wizard like he knew exactly who he was and how much danger we were all in now that he knew we were back.