Read Online Spellbound by Kelley Armstrong - Free Book Online

mother used to do the same thing,” she said. “Cruelty to the disabled apparently runs in the family.”
    â€œNo, we’re just trying to teach you a lesson. If you’re going to play a blind woman, spring for the semi-transparent contacts, so you can see if someone’s sneaking up on you.”
    â€œBut if I can see, then I’ll look. And if I look, then they’ll know I’m not blind.” She tugged me over and held me at arm’s length. “You look even more like your mother than you did last time I saw you. Prettier eyes, though. Just don’t tell her I said that.”
    There was a noise across the room, and she glanced over to see Adam.
    â€œYou must be the Vasic boy,” she said. “I’ve met your father. Can’t say it was a pleasant encounter. He wasn’t too happy with me.” She lowered her voice. “I was causing a bit of trouble at the time.”
    â€œMust have been quite a bit of trouble if you managed to get Dad away from his books.”
    â€œOh, I don’t mean Robert Vasic. I mean your real father, Asmondai, who appears outside his domain even less often than Robert. And when he does? One really wishes he hadn’t.”
    Holly gestured to her chair. “He’s responsible for this. I don’t blame him, though. I was young and arrogant, and it was a lesson I needed to learn.”
    She waved for me to pull another chair up to the table. As we sat, she picked up her tarot deck and shuffled through, fingers discreetly rubbing the edges, looking for the one she wanted. When she found it, she flipped it over.
    â€œThe high priestess,” she said. “Mystery and duality. Hidden meanings. You’ve come to me on behalf of a friend with one foot in the world of the dead. Yet I see her addressing masses of the living. She’s speaking to them when she’s interrupted by”—she flipped another card—“the fool. A man who thinks he speaks the truth, but babbles nonsense.”
    â€œNews travels fast,” I said. “Yes, Jaime’s show was interrupted by a crazy man last night. That’s not why I’m here, though.”
    â€œNo?” She arched her brows. “Perhaps you don’t think it’s why you’re here. But the cards never lie.”
    When I opened my mouth to steer her back on track, Adam cut me off.
    â€œIt’s not why we came,” he said. “But if you know something . . .”
    â€œI know many things. About this . . . not so much. But let’s just say that if the council launches an investigation, I won’t be unhappy to see it. This kind of nonsense pops up every now and then, and it seems to be coming back into vogue among the young and disaffected.”
    â€œSo you think it’s more than an isolated case?” I asked.
    â€œIt usually is. Supernaturals, mostly youths, band together and carry out their little uprisings. If you check your council records, you’ll note the last one was in late 2001. Before that, 1990, then 1982 . . . See a pattern?”
    â€œPeriods of social and economic unrest,” Adam said. “And now we’re going through another one, it’s starting up again.”
    â€œAnd it will be squelched again, by supernaturals themselves. These youths are like the lone fur protester at a fashion show. No one’s interested. They just want him to shut up and sit down. This time, though, they’re being a little more aggressive in their approach.” She glanced at Adam. “Do you know Walter Alston?”
    â€œI’ve heard the name,” he said.
    Holly laughed. “How very circumspect. You should take lessons from your friend, Savannah.”
    â€œI don’t need to. That’s why I bring him along. So this Walter Alston is a nasty guy? Someone Adam’s dad knows?”
    â€œHe’s a demonologist,” Adam said.
    â€œBut not the same kind as your dad, I take