The High Priestess - The Darkest Desires Series

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cho hissed as her bandages rubbed against her raw skin again. Dressing this morning had been a bitch and she'd eventually picked a slim-fit, black shirt that cupped her breasts nicely. The long sleeves also covered her arms which, one; hide the mummification going on, and two: made her feel warmer. There was still a chill in her bones that she couldn't shake, and her finger tips still felt raw. Besides, it was only some of the regulars who noticed her dramatic change from a walking sex on legs, into a lost Nun. Plus, it had only been Sam who'd said anything, and she'd only asked if Echo was ill after she'd made a list of drink demands.

"Your aura is all-... washy as well." She wrinkled her nose in distaste. "What is wrong with you?" Samantha was stretched like a big cat across the bed in the Summer Annex, fresh sheets beneath her. Echo had made some sugar cubes laced with Lily of the Valley as welcoming treats. It gave Sam and her clients a running start, making their blood pump faster, harder and hotter. The delicate pink flower was nestled in the centre, merely for aesthetics. At least these flowers Echo didn't have to go to the cool room for, she'd been happy to discover.

"I'm feeling off is all." Echo admitted. She hadn't slept last night because her cuts and scrapes stung as she'd tossed and turned. She'd created some healing paste to smear on, but it hadn't soothed the pain.

Samantha huffed, stretching, "Well you better get back on track fast. Archer doesn't want you off your game while the cops are snooping around. With Wharton leading the pack, there's no way Archer can influence the dirty cops in the police department. The nosy bastards will keep coming." Sam rolled onto her back trailing sharp nails up her chest and over her bare chest. "I'd suggest you get those Detectives gone and don't disappoint him darling." Sam paused for a moment and then spoke as if recalling a fond memory. "Your brother would have known how to distract them."

Echo's' elbow knocked the edge of a French, ornate love seat, dragging a straggled cry to her lips and tears to her eyes. Breathing heavily, she saw red. "Well he's fucking dead isn't he." She spat. "And he couldn't do a better job than me because he would have been too busy slaughtering half of the community." Echo tossed the silver platter of extra sugar cubes in the centre of the antique coffee table, the cubes jumping off the white doily. "I fucking told him not to kill them, but he went, and fucking did it anyway. He was an idiot!"

Sam narrowed her eyes in disgust. "You dare say that after everything you did together? After everything you achieved together? Everything you could have achieved?"

"I don't-," But Echo bit her tongue before she could say more. You didn't bite at the hand that fed you. Slowly like a deflating balloon, Echo felt the ragged breaths die from her lungs and suddenly she felt clear headed. "Dredging up the past is like kicking a dead puppy; all the funs gone out of it."

Sam regarded her for a beat, before her eyes flickered to the door way. "You know Mara darling, I think that's been bottled up for a while." She smiled savagely.

Looking to the door behind her, Echo saw long leather cladded legs with black ankle boots crossed lazily in the doorframe. Her red hair spilled from underneath a black cap and looked soft to touch, with a black bomber jacket over a white tank top. Mara always looked like an undercover cop or gang banger out for a walk. Yet, compared with her siblings, she was the most normal looking. Archer's tailored suits made people feel inferior while Sam's lack of clothes was too distracting for people to gage her trustworthiness. Twilight was so flamboyant it scared people and Gala dressed much like Archer, too tailored, too fancy.