I stood next to Jack, Pearl on the other side of him, the three of us facing Elder Harcourt. Ezra moved to stand next to me, just a little too close, but I wasn’t about to move away because he was still growling quietly in his chest. I didn’t miss how his dad stood directly behind him, either.
Elder Harcourt glanced at Ezra, his lips twitching as he hobbled to stand straight in front of him. Crazy damn man. His head tilted as he stared Ezra in the eyes, then rooted around in his pants pocket, mumbling, “They’re in here somewhere.” A pause. “Wait. Other pocket.” He jammed his other hand in the other pocket, pulling out two tiny pairs of white dice.
“Hold your hand out, King Zeller,” Elder Harcourt instructed.
I blinked, then jolted, realizing he was talking to Ezra. That was the first time someone had called Ezra by that name. Even Ezra stood there motionless, blinking at Elder Harcourt, until I nudged him in the ribs covertly…well, as stealthily as I could with everyone standing in a circle around us, watching avidly. Ezra glanced down, his gaze still narrowed, but his growl cut off as his eyes met mine. I jerked my head toward Elder Harcourt, whispering, “Your hand.”
Real slow-like, he blinked, then held his hand out, eyes still on me. He leaned down, breathing against my ear, “You had better fucking call me every goddamn chance you get.” He straightened only when his dad cleared his throat behind him.
Elder Harcourt dropped one of the die onto Ezra’s palm, then placed his own palm on top of Ezra’s, gripping his hand. His eyes glowed, and I had to stop myself from stepping back as Elder Harcourt’s power began swirling around us. Ezra went rigid as Elder Harcourt lowered his head, placing his lips to the back of his wrinkled hand…and blew out a sharp breath.
Ezra jerked, but didn’t yank his hand away. Elder Harcourt released him, and the die glowed red and black in Ezra’s palm. Ezra sucked in a harsh breath, whispering, “Female.”
Elder Harcourt grinned. “The first female Prodigy Vampire.” He patted Ezra’s shoulder. “Go get her.”
Ezra stared down at his hand, slowly gripping the die hard.
Elder Harcourt hobbled a step over, standing in front of me.
I waited, wanting to hear him say it.
He chuckled. “Please hold out your hand, Queen Ruckler.”
I grinned and did as told.
He repeated the process, his power feeling purely of time and spells as he touched me. Only training kept me from blasting each of us apart in an invisible explosion. When he breathed life into the die, I almost turned to leave, feeling the instant pull to find the small life force. I grunted, widening my stance, murmuring, “Male.” Inside my glowing black die was the knowledge of a two-year-old male.
Elder Harcourt smiled, nodding, and moved down the line.
Jack’s glowed red. A fire elemental. Male.
Pearl’s glowed golden. Male.
“All of you stay safe while you’re out there,” Elder Harcourt said softly, shuffling back a step.
“East,” Pearl murmured. “I need to go east.”
“North-west,” Jack whispered, staring at his die.
Ezra and I glanced at each other.
His dad had said the spell didn’t work when other Mysticals were nearby, which had been the truth…and yet…it was working just fine right now.
Ezra’s lips curved in a tiny, vicious private smile. “West.” One eyebrow rose in question, but I knew my direction didn’t really matter either way.
I bit my lip to keep from grinning. “South-west.”
Five minutes later, Ezra and I gave heartfelt goodbyes to Pearl, who was taking Elder Harcourt, and Jack, who was taking a newly arrived Elder fire Elemental I didn’t know, and gave them pointed looks. We couldn’t all go together because they wanted us back as soon as possible, which was completely understandable, but that didn’t mean Jack and Pearl couldn’t travel together.
Afterward, as I sat on the beach, I wasn’t sure Pearl had understood, but Jack had definitely gotten the hint, tugging her away before they left. Now, I was waiting for Antonio to gather a few belongings and listening to Ezra’s voice in my ear — enjoying his use of the old form of Vamp communication — who stood down the beach with a few other Elder Vampires, who were all gossiping about the fact that the Prodigy Vampire was a female. Staring at the waves rolling in, I couldn’t help but smile as he continued to purr very naughty comments in my ear, even after he was done explaining a modest, but effective plan.
“I’m hungry,” I grumbled forty minutes later, driving my Hummer through the fourth town on the beachside road. “Let’s get some grub.”
Antonio stared. “That’s the first thing you’ve said since we left.” His fingers ticked on the passenger side door. “You aren’t going to pry for information about what I said earlier?”
“Nope.” My concentration was elsewhere, making sure I didn’t mess up Ezra’s instructions. “You wouldn’t tell me, anyway.” That had been obvious from his own silence.