All That Glitters Read online

  Kalina eyed the portal. “My mother tried to do this. I couldn’t sit up for three hours. And it still didn’t work.”

  Ryan took both sides of her face in his hands. Once she learned to depend on her magic and gained confidence in herself, she was going to be gorgeous. “You aren’t your mother, and I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  She slowly nodded. “I’m more useful to you alive.”

  If that was what she needed to tell herself, he would let her. The truth wasn’t something he wanted to examine right then. He held her hand as they both stepped through the portal.

  “Oh my God,” Kalina whispered.

  Ryan had to admit; Elena knew how to show off her taste. The main foyer of the mansion was something that screamed grandeur. High ceilings with crown moldings that were probably imported from France. Deep purple curtains hung over the windows. The walls and furniture were white, but there were accents of purple or black all over the room. It was a call back to when she ruled over an empire. “Elena,” he called out.

  She appeared at the top of the stairs. Her body was once again encased in a tight red dress. Ryan glanced at Kalina. She looked from Elena to Ryan and narrowed her eyes. “I won’t say thank you,” she whispered.

  “I wouldn’t dream of it.” He held onto her hand as they went closer to where Elena stood. He tightened his grip on Kalina’s hand when he realized Elena’s eyes were trained on her. “She won’t hurt you,” he whispered to her.

  Elena rolled her eyes. “If I wanted to hurt her, I would have done it before now.” Her eyes raked over Kalina’s form again. “I’m Elena. You’re Kalina Benton. Now that we have the introductions taken care of, let’s focus on why I wanted you here.”

  Ryan frowned as Elena turned and went back up the stairs. “What have you seen?” He loathed when Elena decided to play her little riddles. Kalina’s curious look to him made him shake his head. He didn’t trust Elena, but he also couldn’t ignore her when she decided to step into any situation.

  “The mirrors have become very talkative this morning.” She shook her head as she reached a pair of large doors. “Actually, one hasn’t shut up since last night.”

  Kalina looked as if she wanted to throw up. “Mirrors?”

  If anyone else wore the expression Elena did, Ryan would have called it sympathetic. In all the time he had known her, he never saw the blonde take pity on another person. “They talk to you too, don’t they?”

  Kalina shook her head. “Mirrors aren’t supposed to talk.”

  Elena laughed. “I know a few that would disagree with that.” She opened the doors and looked around the room. “They’re here now. Can you please shut up?”

  Ryan reached out and fingered a lock of Kalina’s hair. “We’ll be fine. After this, I’ll take you out to breakfast.”

  She knocked his hand away, but it didn’t have any of the force she had the night before. “I don’t want breakfast. I want to be normal.”

  He leaned close to her ear. “Normal is overrated,” he whispered into her ear.

  “Can you please not do that here?” Elena asked with her arms crossed over her chest.

  Ryan straightened slowly. Yes, if he was willing to coax and tease Kalina while in front of Elena, the younger witch was going to be a true danger to his sanity.

  *****

  Kalina heard snickering from around the room. She stepped away from Ryan and took in her surroundings. The room had no less than seven full-sized mirrors. She took a slow breath as she turned her attention to the one Elena stood in front of. In the reflection was a male figure. He stood between her own reflection and the blonde. Kalina took another step away from Ryan and gasped as she looked at another mirror. This one had a woman in Victorian dress staring at her. “There are people trapped in the mirrors?”

  “Something like that.” Elena looked at the mirror beside her before turning away. “The mirrors look into the past. There are some witches with the gift and curse to be able to do the same. But they risk being trapped in the past if they gaze too long.”

  “Why can I see them?”

  “Because your mother was one of the ones that could.” Elena waved her hand. “You can tell her why she’s here now.”

  The man in the mirror looked at her. “You have been hidden too long, Kalina Benton. You were supposed to wake up before now.”

  She heard the child laughing again. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “The necklace you wore kept you hidden. Now, you are out in the open and awakening,” the woman in the gown said.

  Kalina moved to look at her. “I don’t understand.”

  “If any of you say she’s part of some sort of prophecy, I’m going to find a way to banish you all,” Elena said.

  One of the mirrors by the door laughed. “I dare you to try, witch,” another woman’s voice spat.

  Kalina walked over to that mirror. The woman was covered in rags and her hair was dark and limp. There were dark circles under her eyes. Kalina felt tears come to her eyes as she looked an identical image of her mother. “Who are you?” she asked. She looked at the mirrors of the room. Everyone in the mirror was from different periods in time. “What is this?”

  Ryan took a step towards her and she held up her hand. She didn’t want his comfort. This was something she would have to learn about on her own. “I need to figure this out.”

  He frowned but nodded. His displeasure showed all over. But Kalina couldn’t worry about that. Not at the moment. She turned to her mother’s twin. “Who are you?” she asked.

  “We are beings of magic,” the man from the first mirror said. “We each come from different points in time and become stuck, for lack of a better term. That is Shae, a woman that was driven mad by what she saw.”

  A dark laugh left Shae’s mirror. “I’m not mad,” she said. “I have seen what becomes of my line, and I’m fighting it with everything left of my soul.”

  Kalina frowned. “So, I am part of some prophecy?”

  Shae shook her head. “I don’t make prophecies.”

  “Then what do you mean?”

  “Time always repeats itself. Did you know that?”

  Kalina understood Elena’s thin patience with the mirrors. All she wanted was a straight answer. “If you don’t learn from it, yes. History repeats itself.”

  Shae smiled. “I turned my back on everything I was for love,” she said softly. Her gaze became distant. “I left my child with my sisters. I let that man have me any way he wanted.”

  “Do we really need to hear this?” Elena asked.

  “If I have to listen to how much Colin over there wants to eat you raw, you can listen to me talk to my daughter!” Shae yelled.

  Kalina shook her head. She didn’t want to think about that statement. Not in any way. “You can’t be my mother.”

  The figure in the mirror rolled her eyes and shook her head. “You are a part of my line, girl. Wake up.”

  Kalina looked at Ryan. He stood in the center of the room, is attention focused on her. “Are you alright?” he asked.

  She heard Elena curse and looked at the mirror that housed Shae. Her hair was pink again. With a snarl, she ran her fingers through her hair and it darkened to a deep rose color. “I like that,” Shae said with a tilt of her head.

  Kalina wanted to scream. “What are you scared that I will repeat?”

  Shae looked at her. “You’re going to have a choice to make. Either be who you were born to be, or everyone around you will suffer. I pray you live.”

  “Who am I supposed to be?”

  A sad smile crossed Shae’s face. “I can’t tell you that. But embrace what makes you different. Grab hold of what will make you happy and run. Even if it scares the hell out of you. Please.”

  “That’s what you’ve driven me crazy for?” Elena asked.

  Ryan frowned. “What was she told?”

  It was Kalina’s turn to frown. “Didn’t you hear her?”

  He shook
his head. “I can do a lot of things. Unfortunately, speaking to spirits trapped in mirrors isn’t one of them. He then motioned his thumb to the main mirror. “Colin is powerful enough that I can speak to him.”

  Kalina wasn’t going to look at the mirror. There were some things she didn’t need to think about. And the picture Shae painted of Elena’s relationship of whatever you wanted to call it with the man in her mirror was one of those things. “It doesn’t matter,” she said stepping away from Shae’s mirror. She looked at her ancestor. “I know who I am. And I’m okay with my life. So, I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Shae shook her head sadly. “I don’t want you to figure it out when it’s too late.”

  She had never been a fan of cryptic messages. Kalina backed away from the mirror and looked at Elena. “Thank you for letting me speak with her.”

  Elena tilted her head in a slight nod. “If you want her, I can have her sent to your apartment,” she offered. Her dark eyes then focused on the mirror. “But if you would rather, I can have the whole mirror broken, I completely understand.”

  “Leave the mirror here for now.” Ryan reached into his pocket and pulled out a stick of gum. “If she needs to tell Kalina anything else, we can come. And if Kalina has any questions, she can ask them.”

  “Then why not just take her mirror with us?” Kalina asked.

  Ryan shook his head. “She’ll be a distraction. One that you really don’t need. Not right now.”

  “Listen to the goblin,” Shae said. When Kalina looked at her, she winked. “He may not have been all that pleasing to the eye, but his magic is true. And he won’t steer you wrong.”

  Kalina frowned as she looked around the room. The spot Ryan stood in was the only blind spot in the entire room. His reflection was nowhere in the room. “Why did you call him that?” she asked Shae.

  She rolled her eyes. “Because that’s what he was. The Goblin. Child, don’t you know who you’re sleeping with?”

  “I am not sleeping with him.”

  “What?” Ryan asked.

  Elena’s laugh rang through the room. “Even Ryan doesn’t move that quickly,” she said. She approached Kalina. Her dark eyes were focused on Kalina’s. “But you are going to need to do something about your hair color.”

  Ryan nodded. “I was going to see about having her amulet replaced. I think Merrick may have something she can use.”

  “Will Merrick even speak with you?”

  Ryan shrugged. “I won’t know if I don’t try. And this involves someone else. He might get off his ass and help.”

  “Who’s Merrick?” Kalina asked.

  Ryan looked at her and smiled. Kalina was once again stricken by how handsome he was. “Do you want to go to Venice?” he asked.

  She slowly shook her head. “Not if I don’t know why I’m going.”

  His expression fell as Elena started to laugh again. She walked over to where he stood. “A woman who doesn’t want to go gallivanting with you. I never thought I would see the day.”

  Ryan ignored the blonde woman. “We need to see a man about making another amulet for you.” He reached forward and touched her hair. “I wouldn’t want you to go orange again.”

  Kalina snatched her hair away from his grip and went to the entrance of the room. “Are we going yet?”

  Ryan looked at Elena and whispered something to her. Kalina folded her arms across her chest and focused on a painting in the hallway. If he wanted to play with someone that could be as dangerous as the woman he stood with, that was fine with her. She walked closer to the painting. It was a huge portrait of Elena in a medieval gown. Her blonde hair was done neatly in complicated braids that sat neatly on top of her hair in a bun. But what caught Kalina’s attention was the girl in the portrait with her.

  A hand came to the small of her back. “Don’t ask about the girl,” Ryan whispered into her hair. He looked over her shoulder and nodded to Elena. “Until next time.”

  Elena waved him off. “I trust you can see yourself out,” Elena said as she pulled the doors shut. “I have calls to make.”

  Ryan chuckled as he guided them down the stairs. “Things are never boring with her.” He then looked at Kalina. “What did the mirror tell you?”

  “Not to make her mistakes. And be who I’m supposed to be.”

  “Sound advice.”

  She looked at him as he opened another portal. She couldn’t forget the idea of Shae calling him a goblin. But something told her this topic wasn’t something they needed to discuss in Elena’s foyer. “That person in that mirror, she’s related to me.”

  Ryan slowly nodded. “Elena told me after you left the room.” His hand felt warm on the small of her back. “I can take you to Esme, and you can try to look her up.”

  Kalina shook her head. She didn’t want to start investigating that just yet. “Maybe after I get my own crap settled.”

  The portal swirled in front of them. Ryan stepped back and took her hand into his own. “Let’s go back to the apartment and then we can see a man about a necklace.”

  “That doesn’t sound like a bad idea,” Kalina said before they stepped through the portal. When she came through the other side, she couldn’t stop the gasp that escaped her.

  Cao Xian sat calmly on the sofa examining her phone. “There’s been an official bounty put on her head. A bonus if they bag you too, Gold.”

  Ryan moved around Kalina and held out his hand. “What are you talking about?”

  She gave him the phone and turned her attention to Kalina. “The boards are lighting up with bids. All three of us are marked.”

  Kalina wouldn’t back down from her piercing stare. “So, there’s someone still trying to kill me?” She frowned as Xian nodded. “And if they’re after you, wouldn’t that make you a little bit nervous?”

  The Chinese woman smiled. “Someone is always trying to kill me. But the bookies know better than to bet against me.”

  “Don’t scare her,” Ryan said as he dropped the phone to the sofa. He ran his hands through his hair and sighed. “And you don’t know who hired you?”

  Xian looked at him. “I only got a report of a rogue witch with no control of her powers. You know how I work.”

  “Yes, yes. You read the report and came running after her, no questions asked.” Ryan paced around the living room. “You need to work on that.”

  She shrugged. “It’s worked for this long.”

  Ryan shook his head and looked at Kalina. “We need to get to Venice,” he said.

  Xian frowned. “What’s in Venice?”

  “Someone that can repair the necklace you broke.” It felt good to be angry with someone. Kalnia folded her arms over her chest to fight the urge to run her hands through her hair. She didn’t want to turn it yet another color.

  Xian didn’t appear impressed with her. “You don’t need a dampener. You need control.” She stepped closer to Kalina. “If you wanted to, you could have wiped the floor with me. But you didn’t. Because you’re scared of what you are and who you could grow to be.”

  Kalina didn’t back down. She wouldn’t. “And why would I want to embrace something that kept me weak my entire life? Why would I become someone others only wanted around to be used, abused, and discarded?”

  “It’s called life.” Xian’s eyes flashed white, and Kalina realized the other woman hadn’t been blind like she first thought. “You’re using Ryan to gain knowledge. He’s using you to have you in his debt so he can use you at another time. I’m using him to make sure your magic doesn’t explode and kill everyone around you. These are all vicious cycles of life that don’t stop simply because you don’t want to appear to be the bad one.”

  She felt cold as she looked at Xian. “Why would I want to live in that world? Why would any of you want to live in that kind of world?”

  “Because it’s basic human nature. Or may be because someone has to. Not everyone can bury their head in the sand like you.”

 
“Leave her alone, Xian,” Ryan said.

  The assassin stopped and looked at him. Before she could reply, a massive black portal appeared in the center of the room.

  Kalina nearly fell to the sofa when Xian pushed her back. As she straightened, she felt a pair of hands stop her from moving. Ryan jumped over the sofa and put out a hand to stay Xian as well. She was still as a man stepped through. His dark hair was slicked back away from the sharp angular lines of a face that would make any woman sit up and take notice. He wore an impeccable maroon colored suit that complimented his tanned skin. He adjusted the button on his jacket as he looked around the room.

  Kalina’s breath left her when his red eyes settled on her. The anger she felt towards Xian changed to fear as he smiled. Before he could say anything, Ryan was between them.

  “What can I do for you, Faust?”

  CHAPTER 8

  “Why is someone after my prize?” The man called Faust asked.

  Ryan looked between her and Faust. His expression was closed as he stepped closer to the other man. “I can handle it.”

  Faust’s entire posture screamed displeasure. “I don’t believe you.” He turned his attention to Xian. “Are you ready to enter the fold?” he asked.

  Xian shook her head. “I don’t make deals with demons,” she replied.

  His nod said he expected that answer. Crimson colored eyes turned to Kalina, and she felt her skin crawl. He smiled at her, and she wanted to run. “Kalina Benton. I’ve had my eye on you since the moment of your birth.”

  She climbed over the back of the sofa to put more distance between them. “Who are you?”

  Faust stopped his advancement. “She didn’t tell you?” he asked. “It figures,” he mumbled.

  Ryan picked up the amulet from the coffee table. Again, he placed himself between Faust and Kalina. “We were about to head to Venice and get this replaced. It was helping her control her magic.”

  Faust looked at the amulet and hissed. He knocked it out of Ryan’s hands. “She has no need for such trash to be near her.”