Free Aspen by Skye Knizley Page A

especially in the company of new friends.”
    Shirina’s face was dead for a moment, then broke into another charming smile. She laughed and leaned back in her chair. “I see now why Ravenel has chosen you. You are smart and far more than the simple human you appear.”
    She snapped her fingers and Rowan pulled a piece of paper from inside her corset. Shirina took the paper and offered it to Aspen.
    “These are our findings from the Four Seasons. Nothing much, though an organic substance was found in both wounds,” she said.
    Aspen took the sheet, which was a series of lab tests run on the claw fragments. The results didn’t make much sense, though.
    “Is this right? According to this the weapon or claw that killed them was over two thousand years old,” she said.
    Shirina nodded. “That’s correct, I made the lab run the test twice. The weapon is at least two thousand years old and doesn’t match anything in the Totentanz database.”
    “So something we haven’t encountered before, or at least don’t know we’ve encountered before. Fascinating!” Aspen said.
    Shirina’s face was blank. “I don’t think ‘fascinating’ is the word I would use, Aspen. Tell me, what do you intend to do next?”
    Aspen couldn’t take her eyes off the test result. The composition of the material was all wrong. It was part bone, part skin, part something the mass spectrometer thought was an organic based compound similar to steel, which was impossible. Steel was steel, organic was organic. But there it was in black and white.
    “I have a man to find and interview. If that doesn’t pan out, I thought I would go out to the last place he went before all of this happened,” she said.
    “Interesting. And where is that?” Shirina asked.
    Aspen looked up from the lab results. “I’m sorry, Mi ‘lady, that’s classified, at least for the moment. I can’t have Bruno traipsing all over my crime scene like he did at the hotel.”
    A shadow of anger crossed Shirina’s face. “You forget yourself, Faramo. You are not in Chicago and I expect you to answer my questions.”
    Aspen slipped the lab sheet into her pocket. “No, ma’am, I won’t. I’ve been polite and I’ve let you bully me into coming here. Since my arrival you have tried to drug me, use your abilities on me and push me around. I am not just Raven’s familiar, impressive though that should be. I am the Magi of the House Tempeste.”
    Inside, Aspen was terrified. She was standing up to the Mistress of St. Louis, a vampire as powerful as Lady Valentina. If she got it wrong, Raven would be taking her remains home in a shoe box. She inhaled through her nose and stoked the fire of her magik, all the while fighting to keep her fear in check. She could feel her power glowing in her eyes and she smiled at Shirina, who looked as if she’d been slapped. Flame erupted from the candles that lit the room where it rose to the ceiling and swirled into an inferno that circled above their heads.
    “I suggest you let me go about my business without further interference,” she said calmly. “I would hate for anyone here to have an accident.”
    Shirina watched the flame and took a sip of her claret. “Impressive, Faramo Tempeste, impressive. As you wish, I will leave you to it, then. But I expect to be kept apprised of your progress. Rowan?”
    Rowan glanced at the flames with a mixture of fear and jealousy on her face. She then stood and pulled a slim piece of metal from the purse at her waist. She ran a thumb over the engraved front and held it out to Aspen.
    “This is my private cell number. When you have news, you may contact me directly.”
    Aspen took the card and added it to the others in her pocket. “Of course. Now, if someone will see me out, I have work to do.”
    Shirina stood and beckoned to Lydia, who straightened. “Lydia will see you out. I look forward to our next meeting, Faramo Tempeste.”
    “Likewise, Lady Blackwood.”
    Aspen turned to follow Lydia,