The Black Madonna (The Mystique Trilogy) Read Free Page B

suppress his annoyance, as Emmett got up and headed for the kitchenette, then resumed his friendly demeanour. ‘I was just on my way to get changed for a function. A friend of mine is opening a nightclub. Would you care to accompany me?’
    ‘Do you think I’ll pass for eighteen?’ I said. I had to let him know I was a minor.
    ‘As long as you’re with me, no one will ask any questions,’ he said arrogantly. ‘Unless, of course, you think your parents might object?’
    ‘Not at all.’ I smiled. ‘They encourage me to get out and meet others.’
    ‘It’s a date then.’ He slapped his hands together, pleased, then checked his watch. ‘Meet you back here in half an hour?’
    I nodded. ‘That’ll give me time to change into something more inappropriate.’
    Labontè looked discomfited for a second, then smiled. ‘I like you already.’ And with a wave he was gone.
    ‘Guess I’ll be reading about you in the social pages tomorrow,’ said Emmett when he returned from the kitchenette and saw me leaving.
    I sensed a warning beneath the comment, which was rather sweet. ‘Why read the news when you can be the news,’ I replied flippantly.
    Emmett shook his head, clearly taking me for a social climber, and I decided it was safer to perpetuate that illusion. As I headed back to my sleeping quarters to raid my luggage for a change of attire, I decided I rather liked Emmett Rich.
    ‘Are you insane?’ My mother was displeased by my decision to date her employer. ‘Your father and I have gone to great lengths to keep you hidden from undesirables, and you decide to date the guy who’s been hailed as the world’s most eligible bachelor for three years running! The press go ballistic every time he glances sideways at a woman. You’ll be world news by tomorrow morning!’
    ‘Exactly,’ I said, zipping up my pleated, checked mini-skirt. I reached for my little white shirt, pulled it on and tied it up around my midriff. ‘I don’t have time to chase up all the Nefilim. We need them to come to me. And they can only do that if they know where I am—not to mention Mathu.’
    ‘Everyone will know where you are, that’s the point!’ Mother frowned as she watched me pull my long white socks up over my knees. ‘You can’t go out dressed like that. You look like a schoolgirl.’ Nevertheless, she couldn’t help grinning at my blatant cheek.
    ‘I am a schoolgirl.’ I was quite prepared to promote that little fantasy among my prospective enemies and admirers. I pulled on my chunky black platform shoes, and my slim-fit black mohair cardigan. ‘The good news is that Killian isn’t one of my fallen kin.’
    ‘Yes, I realise that,’ Mother said. ‘So it would be best if we didn’t attract any of the Nefilim to this particular area of the world right now.’
    A vehicle pulling into the site camp drew our attention to the window—it was a long gold limousine. A handsome young chauffeur opened the rear door and Morell Labontè and his wife, Sabine, stepped into view. They each had an aura of sparkling gold and a light-body devoid of light centres. Physically, their true stature could be seen looming over the smaller human bodies they sported; they were Nefilim masquerading as humans.
    ‘Too late.’ I returned to view myself in the mirror. ‘Should I put my hair in pigtails, do you think?’ I grabbed my long, silky dark hair and pulled it into high bunches on either side of my head, then turned to my mother for an opinion.
    She was horrified. ‘Please don’t do this.’
    ‘I told you not to come here!’ It was Killian, yelling abuse at his parents, which sent Mother and me racing back to the window. ‘This business venture has nothing to do with you!’
    ‘You can only call an enterprise a business venture if you expect it to make money,’ Morell scoffed. ‘If you simply want to drill holes in the ground, I’ll give you an oil well.’
    ‘This has nothing to do with the money,’ Sabine cut in.