Immortals After Dark 06 - Dark Desires After Dusk

wondering if you can take over my classes for a spell? Not a literal spell. Ha-ha. Um, I’ve had a family emergency crop up and might not be back for”— how long will I be gone?— “a week?”
    Holly felt distanced from herself as she spoke, stunned by how normal she sounded when she was on the verge of breaking down. “Call my cell if anything comes up. I owe you big-time.”
    After she hung up, she exhaled unsteadily. Need to get dressed, get moving.
    Crouching beside her bag, Holly checked the side compartment for her underwear, frowning at what she found. Inside were thigh-highs, thongs, and demi-cup bras, each still packaged or with the tags attached. They were all in her size, and they were…provocative.
    Why on earth would Nïx swap out Holly’s perfectly good high-waisted briefs and minimizer bras for these?
    Left with little other choice, Holly smoothed on silky thigh-highs, and for the first time in her life, she donned a thong.
    Once she was fully dressed with her pearls and glasses in place, she set about righting her hair. With angry strokes, she brushed the curls back, wrestling them into submission as usual, only now she made sure her weird ears were covered.
    With the last hairpin in place, she studied her reflection. How could she look much the same as usual when she was such a wreck inside? Her eyes began to water, and she clutched the countertop for balance.
    After all the madness of the night, she knew only two things for certain. I have to get this condition reversed. And Cadeon Woede is dangerous for me to be near.
    The countertop cracked under her grip.

10
    C ade, you’ve got it bad,” Nïx said as she hopped atop the Veyron’s hood.
    “What’s new there?”
    “You know Holly doesn’t trust you?”
    “She shouldn’t! And apparently, not you either. So, don’t leave me hanging. Why did you lie to her?”
    “I wanted to see where you were going with this.”
    “I’m going ahead with the plan.” He popped the trunk and opened his bag. Rooting for the flask, he snagged it, then drank deeply of demon brew. Unfortunately it had a delayed effect, but he would sow the seeds of buzz for the future.
    “You believe you could turn Holly over to a wicked sorcerer, just when she can be claimed by you? You’ve waited nine centuries for her.”
    “I have to do this. I don’t want to. Gods, I don’t want to. But now that bitch Sabine has my brother, and I already owe him so much. This is the only way I can atone for what I’ve done. The kingdom and its people are now depending on me, and me alone.”
    The truth of that statement hit him like a stray punch. Bugger me. The fate of all Rothkalinians rested on the shoulders of the black sheep, the ne’er-do-well.
    Speaking of which… “You told Rydstrom that the mortal Néomi died. Are you certain?”
    “Abso-smurf-ly.”
    Cade hadn’t realized he’d held out this much hope that she’d survived. Block it out….
    Nïx studied him. “I’m considering joining in with your deception of Holly. Mainly because I don’t think you will be able to turn her over. And, no, I don’t see that outcome. It’s a hunch. And secondly, because I believe you have to be cruel to be kind. Holly needs to be educated about the world—bluntly and swiftly—and no one would be better at that job than you.”
    “What do you mean, educated? She’s as educated as she can be.”
    “I want Holly to experience life . To take away the blinders she has so assiduously relied on. I think you’re just the type of person to show her what she doesn’t know and doesn’t want to know. My niece is innocent in so many ways, and there comes a time in a woman’s life when innocence is merely a euphemism for ignorance.”
    “How innocent could she be in this day and age?”
    “She’s avoided anything that could fire her Valkyrie tendencies—anything arousing or enraging. She has content controls on her computer, and no cable on her TV. She’s lived a PG life. She’s sublimated these tendencies so persistently that she’s made herself ill at times.”
    “That’s what the counting’s about?”
    Nïx nodded. “And anything she couldn’t sublimate, she would medicate.”
    “She wants her pills now.”
    “Well, as her auntie, I say she can’t have them. Now, other Valkyrie will have felt her energy emerging. They’ll soon be searching for her themselves.”
    “Then you need to stall them.”
    After long moments, Nïx said, “I’ll do it. If you