Read Lupi 09 - Mortal Ties for Free Online Page A

“He’s picking me up in…Jesus. Any minute now.” She bolted to her feet
     and hurried to the bathroom. She needed to check her makeup.
    Deirdre pattered after her. “You need a spritz of my Opium—no, too obvious. He’d get
     his defenses up, and this is clearly an ambush. I know! That ‘come hither’ spell!”
     She dashed back to her room.
    Beth didn’t roll her eyes because she was redrawing her eyeliner. “I don’t have time.”
    “It’s super quick. I just need to find my grimoire—oh, here it is!” A muffled crash
     suggested she’d pulled it out from under something that hadn’t been entirely stable.
     She appeared in the bathroom door a second later, leather-bound book in hand. “And
     don’t give me any shit about not wanting to take unfair advantage. You know I only
     do white magic.”
    Beth wouldn’t object on those grounds at all…since this spell was no more likely to
     work than any of her friend’s spells. Deirdre was a complete null. On some level she
     had to know that, but she didn’t believe it. Plus her “spells” were derived more from
     her own freewheeling creativity than any existing tradition. Beth had to smile. “I
     know you do. No compulsion involved, huh?”
    “This is no more of a nudge than those shoes,” Deirdre assured her, and began chanting
     what might have been Latin. Or maybe Sanskrit. She’d gone through a Sanskrit phase
     awhile back.
    Just as Beth finished her mascara, Deirdre slapped the journal closed. “There!” she
     said happily. “He’ll be paying attention now.”
    And that was Deirdre. A flake, but so openhearted you couldn’t hold it against her.
     “Thanks,” Beth said, and gaveher a quick hug just as her phone chimed that a text had arrived. She checked and,
     sure enough, it was Sean, letting her know he was there.
    Be right down,
she sent, and grabbed the backpack with her workout clothes. Sean was courteous,
     but not insane about it. The apartment she shared with Deirdre and Susan—and wasn’t
     it funny that one of her roommates had the same name as her oldest sister? They were
     alike in other ways, too. The apartment the three of them shared was on the fifth
     floor and parking was impossible, so Beth didn’t really miss her car. Much.
    Five floors hadn’t seemed bad when her old college buddy mentioned needing a new roommate
     just when Beth decided she had to get out of San Diego. San Francisco was so crazy
     expensive she’d thought she couldn’t swing it, but splitting the rent three ways made
     it work. Their third roomie was a complete workaholic—hence the likeness to Beth’s
     oldest sister— so they didn’t see her much.
    After she moved in, Beth had realized she wasn’t in as good of shape as she’d thought.
     But stairs made for a cheap workout. She could run up all five flights now. Running
     down them was easy.
    When she hit the sidewalk, Sean’s Beemer was nowhere in sight. He’d be circling the
     block. He hated it when others double-parked, so he wouldn’t do it himself.
    San Francisco was a lot colder than San Diego. Beth set her backpack down and slipped
     on her jacket, but didn’t zip it. That would negate the effect of the sweater. She
     petted the buttery smooth leather and smiled. It was brand-new. A Christmas gift from
     Sean, and if he wanted to believe it was just a friendly way of looking out for her,
     he could go on thinking that…for a little longer, anyway.
    A bicyclist whipped by, legs pumping. Two high school girls hurried across the street.
     An older man and woman walked past, talking about where to eat that night, and a young,
     dark-skinned guy with hair frizzed out to his narrow shoulders stopped, scowled at
     nothing, and turned and went the other way. The supremely well-built if rather homelyman who lived two doors down came out of his building and glanced at his watch. Beth’s
     eyes were busy, keeping track of all of them, as she picked up her backpack.
    The particular