I woke with Vela draped over my chest, Molly snoring in my ear, and Hina standing beside the bed as she clipped her stockings. Her slim legs looked smooth and inviting.
As though feeling my gaze on her, she turned her head and our eyes met.
I felt a hint of challenge from her.
Then her cheeks flushed and she turned away, smoothing out her skirt and trotting from the room as though nothing had happened.
"Hmm." I rolled onto my side, gently sliding out from under the two Renfields and heading towards my closet. Standing naked, I browsed the selection of shirt. I chose a white cotton shirt and black pants. Denim jeans, Molly had called them.
They were comfortable.
"Master?" Vela yawned from the bed, sitting up slowly. Her eyes looked at me sleepily. "I couldn't find it. It's listed, though, so it should have been there."
I cocked my head, thinking.
Ah.
I'd asked her to find a book in the library. One of my old grimoires.
"Tch," I grunted. "So, it's missing."
"I think I know where it is." She sighed, sliding out of the bed. She didn't bother covering her nude body. None of them did anymore. "We had a cleaner."
"A cleaner?"
"Yes. It was when the tower was first built. Everyone was so busy. We hired a contractor."
"Are you talking about Jackson?" Hina asked, returning with three little mugs of coffee on a small silver tray.
I had come to find I didn't mind the aroma of coffee.
Vela nodded as she took a cup with a grateful sigh. "I think he stole a book from the library."
"He stole more than that," Hina snorted. "Sleazy little rodent."
She put the tray on the little table beside the bed. Then tapped Molly on the head.
Molly groaned.
Hina grinned, taking her own mug and sitting on the edge of the bed.
"We caught him stealing supplies," Vela said.
"And panties," Hina added.
"Yes. And panties." Vela winced. "One of the girls found him in the laundry more than once. That's what started everyone suspecting him."
Molly sat up, shoulders slumped and looking like a zombie. "What?"
"Jackson," Vela said.
"Oh." She scratched her scalp and yawned. "Sleazy little rodent."
"That's what I said," Hina said.
"He stole my favourite red velvet panties," Molly growled. "I know he did."
"I think we all lost something," Vela said, rolling her eyes as she tried to keep the conversation on track. "But we couldn't prove anything. Darla paid him out and let him go."
"She should have cut his balls off," Molly scowled.
Hina nodded. "I would have done it for her."
"Do we know where he is?" I asked.
"Well, his details are on file," Vela said. "We had an apartment address for him. It was a year ago, so I don't know if he's still there."
"But it's a place to start," I said.
"Yes, Master."
"Then if you'd be so kind as to give the address to Hina, I'd like to leave early."
"Of course." She reached for a scrap of paper on the dresser. "I already wrote it down."
I smiled proudly at her. This was how servants should be. Efficient and always anticipating my needs.
The thought trickled through my head and I felt awkward all of a sudden.
Were they really my servants?
As the three girls sipped their coffee and started planning the next few hours, I studied each of them one by one. And as my eyes slid over their attractive bodies, I found myself confused by my feelings.
Perhaps, a long time ago, I might have immediately Turned them.
Made them my Brides.
But now?
Now I wondered if that was the best thing to do. I'd already made the mistake of trusting five women enough to gift them with powers beyond mortal understanding.
And they'd betrayed me.
I had thought I loved them. I had thought they'd loved me.
Yet, looking at the three Renfields giggling at something Molly said, I couldn't recall a time like this with my Brides. I couldn't recall any time where they weren't engaged in some form of invisible combat as they sought to gain my attention. Knowing that my attention might translate to greater power.
Digging through my memories, I hadn't found a single moment of true love.
It was as though my Brides had been nothing more than pieces chosen to strengthen my court.
And, if so, then the betrayal wasn't their fault.
It was mine.
Mine for expecting loyalty when the emotional bond was too shallow and the atmosphere too competitive.
I wondered if I could stop myself from making the same mistake again.
"Master?" Molly's voice cut through my thoughts. "What's Sophomancy?"
I blinked, feeling the fog of my past retreat. "Hmm?"
"The book you asked Vela to get. It was called Sophomancy and the Abyss, right?"
"Yes," I nodded, dragging my eyes from where Vela was pulling a pair of lacy panties up her legs. "It's the only real book ever written on the subject. Oh, there have been a few smaller grimoires, which is what inspired it. But there are no other books which study it in such… depth. As for what Sophomany is. Well. There lies between worlds, a place called the Abyss. Or the Void. Sophomancy is the magic which allows you to access it. To travel within. Safely, perhaps."
"Perhaps?"
"It depends entirely on the mental fortitude of the sorcerer."
"Umm… Okay."
I smiled, knowing she didn't understand. "The Abyss is a place not meant for human minds. Creatures, of a sort, exist inside it. I say of a sort, because I can't describe to you what they look like. Or even what they sound like. It's something you don't touch, see or smell. It's something you experience. And that experience drives most mortals mad."
"Oh." She nodded. "So, like Lovecraft?"
"I don't know what that is," I said. I couldn't imagine any magic based on love. It would be… confusing. Almost as bad as Sex Magic…
"Oh, it's not a thing, Master!" Molly giggled. "He was an author. He wrote horror stories about strange things which made men mad to look at. His monsters were always indescribable, and their names couldn't be pronounced with a human tongue. They're awesome stories."
"I'll have to read them, then," I said lightly. "Put a copy in the Little Library."
"I will."
"I assume this author of yours had access to a grimoire of his own." I tapped my chin. I'd spent the last hour of my time last night trying to remember everything I could. I only knew that the grimoire held everything I needed to know. "But I doubt he practiced anything from it. I've never known anyone who survived a basic ritual with their mind intact."
"Then how did Sophomancy and the Abyss get written? I mean, if everyone goes mad, then they wouldn't be able to write about it, surely?"
"Ah, well," I closed my eyes, trying to remember more. "This was a single exception. The other books are all fragments and speculations. Ideas on how to enter the Abyss. One was written by a monk who transcribed the rantings of a sorcerer reduced to gibbering in his cell, screaming about things in the shadows which stared at him. Another, I know, was pieced together from an older book which was never completed as the author attempted the ritual himself and never recovered. As for Sophomancy and the Abyss, it is a rare case of a sorcerer with a mind strong enough to withstand the terrible environment and emerge mostly whole."
"Mostly?"
"There is always a price to be paid for knowledge," I said solemnly. "You'll find just how true that is when you go to Scholomance."
"Umm… Okay…"
"How can you trust it, then?" Hina asked, her mouth tight as she squinted at me. "I mean, if everyone goes mad, how can you trust he was telling the truth? Maybe he made it all up."
"Good point!" Molly said.
"He didn't make it up," I said. "And, before I even consider meeting this Crowley fellow, I'll use the book to learn again what I've forgotten. I am sure I'll need its magic when dealing with him."
Hina folded her arms across her chest. "But how can you be sure it will work? I know I'd still be worried it was just the raving of a madman."
"Me too," Molly said, nodding.
"I know it will work," I said, pulling my lips into a smirk. "Because I wrote it."