Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 128061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
“Here we go.” Sebastian picked up a stake from the top of a chest of drawers. “Silver stakes. Are these for killing vampires and shifters?”
She shrugged, counting them up before opening the next drawer. Then she started laughing again.
“Holy crap-cakes, look at this.” She held out an enormous loose stone for Sebastian. “Tell me that isn’t a ruby.” He took it and pulled out his loupe magnifier as she pushed other gems around. “And tell me these aren’t other enormous semiprecious gemstones just randomly kept in a drawer in the attic.”
“It’s a ruby, and this is what Jessie was talking about, remember?”
His phone rang. He put the loupe away and handed back the stone before digging it out. “It’s Jessie,” he said, tapping the screen. “Hi. What’s up?”
Nessa attempted to count the gems, but really, what was the point? The enormity of this house’s wealth wouldn’t register to gargoyles. Not most mages, either. Not most people, full stop.
One thing did occur to her, though.
“There weren’t any watches in the jewelry in Jessie’s room,” she mumbled to herself as Sebastian said, “No problem. We’re done anyway.”
“I didn’t see one pearl.” She looked over her notes. “Oh yeah, there was that huge one. But no pearls of regular size. Like everyday size, I mean. She needs a better wardrobe, too.” Nessa tapped the stylus against her lips. “She has a lot of golden oldies, but she’s pretty sparse with modern jewelry and other accessories. Stuff that screams wealth, I mean. She has the normal jewelry one might wear around town. She needs more sunglasses, handbags, shoes… We still have our work cut out for us.”
“Yes, it’s a bit mind-boggling, actually,” Sebastian was saying to Jessie. They were clearly talking about the riches randomly stored around the house. “I have what I need, yes. I’ll be able to use some of it, for sure. Okay…okay…okay, bye.”
He hung up and started for the door. “Someone is coming up the walkway,” he said, heading down the stairs. “Jessie wants us to intercept them in case it is Austin’s grandma. I think we should take some of those loose stones and have them made into some really swank jewelry. Something modern that’ll compete with that gargoyle’s bracelet. The old stuff is impressive, and it’ll be perfect for impressing some of the mages, but we want to show that we have better modern designers too. That’ll get that gargoyle’s goat.”
“One thought ahead of you, bro,” Nessa said. “We need to find a really amazing artisan, though.”
“Do you know of any?”
“Not on the level we need. I’ll ask around. Austin plays chill with his monetary status, but he’s got some gold coins jingling around in his purse, too. He probably has a list for when he wants to pamper Jessie.”
“He definitely has a refined side, I’ll say that much. I’ve seen some of his remodels. They are chic. He’ll do perfectly with the gargoyles. He won’t need any coaching, I bet you anything.”
“We’ll need to figure out his persona for the mages.”
“Scary,” Sebastian deadpanned.
“Well…yes…but let’s delve a little deeper, shall we?”
They reached the front door in time for it to swing open. Nessa jumped back with her hands up, her electronic notepad flying.
“Steady, Captain,” Sebastian said, his words riding a laugh.
A regal older woman was just stepping up onto the porch. She held herself with great poise, her posture perfect and her chin just a smidge elevated, as though she was a very important person who’d come to call. Her gray hair was curled around her head and into a bun, surprisingly artful for such a mundane type of hairstyle. Nondescript black slacks covered her bottom half, ending in black flats you wouldn’t look twice at, and a thin line of lace topped her black shirt. It would’ve been a plain outfit if not for her statement piece: a freaking cool-ass light coat that draped down to her thighs. Nessa couldn’t figure out what it was made out of. Kinda seemed like velvet, but it wasn’t, though it did look soft. It had a sort of sheen but wasn’t exactly shiny. It flowed gracefully along her body, elegant and chic.
This was where Austin had gotten his sense of style. Nessa would bet her life on that.
“Hello,” Sebastian said, his shoulders hunching a little. That meant he recognized the alpha shifter in her.
Nessa stifled a snicker.
“And you are?” the woman asked, her blue-eyed gaze like frost-tipped spears.
Sebastian hunched a little more. “I’m Sebastian. Jessie…Ironheart. Alpha Jessie Ironheart, I mean…of the…here. The house. Uhm…”
Before a laugh broke free, Nessa stepped partially in front of Sebastian with her hand out.
“Hi. I’m Natasha, but my friends call me Nessa. Sebastian is the mage training Jessie, and I am his accomplice. With Jessie’s approval, we were just making note of all the worth stashed within Ivy House and coming up with a game plan for making her shine for the coming gargoyles and eventually the mages.”