Read Dominion: Zoë Martinique Investigation, Book 6 for Free Online

"That's right. But I wonder if Maureen even
remembers that."
    I was thinking she did remember it.
She just wasn't talking about it. If Maureen really was back,
having not made an appearance since her role in that fiasco that
got me locked into the Abysmal Throne, then I was pretty sure she
wasn't going to bring up anything that'd dredge up bad memories of
bad behavior. Yes, Maureen had been Overshadowed.
Controlled.
    But I was sure it still bothered
her.
    I felt it had while I took her place
in Dags for those days.
    Remembering that made me feel sad, and
my appetite crashed. I pushed the food away.

 
     
    Chapter Six
     
    Jason was the first one out the door
to meet the car when we pulled up in the drive of the Society
House. He scooped me up into his arms and gave me a tight,
breath-taking hug. He felt so good and comforting. "Geez…from the
way Nick talked about you, I figured you were in bad
shape."
    "I'm a fast healer," Jason said as he
gave me another squeeze.
    It is good to see you're
okay, Zoë.
    "Thanks, Old Man," I said aloud. Since
Jason could hear his First Born speak to me, I rarely tried to hide
it. And after losing my voice for several months, I now spoke
whenever I could. "It's good to be okay." When he put me on the
ground again, I saw Mom step out from the side door near the
garden.
    She looked tired. And all business. In
fact, she looked a little pissed.
    Her shoulders were straight, her
voluptuous bewbage up and elevated, and her lips were drawn into
that thin line that parents do—where they don't have lips at
all.
    I didn't try to hug her as we
approached each other. I was afraid I'd get smacked.
    So I was a little surprised when she
moved past me and went straight to Nick, who was still by the car.
She reached up, grabbed his ear, and pulled him down to her level.
I had no idea what it was she said to him—I was trying not to crack
up at the sight of Nick at my mom's mercy.
    Jason stood nearby, watching. He was
smiling, but it wasn't part of his face. I figured if Mom did
anything to harm Nick, Jason'd be on her like cute on a
puppy.
    "What gives?"
    He leaned over to me. "Nick took
something he wasn't supposed to. Apparently Joe's a little
irritated."
    Mom released Nick, who rubbed his ear,
then bent inside the car and handed Nona the folder he'd shown me
in the limo in Montreal. Mom took it, glared at him, and then
marched back toward us.
    "Zoë, Jason, come with me. Nick will
be along in a minute." She flicked her wrist at us as she passed by
and marched right back into the door she'd exited.
    I looked at Jason. He looked at me. He
winked.
    I filed in behind Jason and stepped
through the door and into the mudroom, the small anteroom just
before walking into the ultimate chef's kitchen. Everything was
silver and sparkly. I noticed several cakes under glass on a far
butcher block as we walked through and made a mental note to come
back for cake and milk later. Past the kitchen was a hallway that
ended at the lower-level service elevator.
    Mom, Jason, and I waited on the doors
to open just as Nick joined us. He and Jason nodded to one another.
I heard an echo, like someone was playing a radio in the distance,
and figured Mephistopheles was speaking to the two of
them.
    Once in the elevator, we all turned
and faced the doors as Mom stuck her key in a slot.
    Two floors down and then off the
elevator into a brightly lit hallway to a set of wooden double
doors.
    What was this? I hadn't been down in
this part of the House before. And since it required a key and
nobody had given me one…
    The moment we stepped through those
doors, two things happened. First, my ears popped and a low, dull
buzz set up shop in the lower part of my skull. It didn't hurt, but
too much of that and I was going to get one hell of a headache.
Second, we were in the infirmary.
    How…did that happen?
    Nick touched my arm. "This is the back
door to the infirmary. Actually, it's the level just under
it."
    Oh.
    Sure.
    A bubbly looking