Eight of Hearts: The Vision - Book 2

Chapter 22

Jonas peeked outside the curtain of the tent, watching for signs of pursuit. He had gathered the rest of their entourage and led them here to wait for James, Tobias and Shyla. Bryce was also still missing, but that was because he had insisted on confronting Circé first. He wanted to make sure that she wouldn't pin the blame of this incident on anyone else, so if she tried to retaliate, Rhea's team would be spared.

"What's takin' them so long?" Adriana demanded, punctuating her question by slamming her fist on the table in the center of the room and making Flora jump in surprise where she stood in the corner.

"James is being kept on the other side of the fairgrounds," Jonas explained, pulling the curtain closed again to keep from attracting any attention. "It will take them some time to get here, especially if Circé has any of her cronie's hunting for us."

"Why are we waitin' here then?!" Adriana snapped. "We shoulda picked somewhere closer to meet up!"

The tent they had chosen belonged to a fortune-teller's act, judging by the crystal ball Isaac kept tossing into the air. Isaac had insisted on this place, and Jonas had agreed with his decision; Isaac was unpredictable, but Jonas was learning to trust the boy's instincts when it came to things like this.

"This is the best place to wait for them," Isaac insisted as he peered at Adriana through the crystal ball barely an inch away from his eye. "This gives us a chance to say goodbye too!"

"Aw, what a touching thing to say," a husky voice said from right behind Jonas.

Jonas spun around and came face-to-face with Demetri Stavropoulos.

"Woah, there!" Demetri said as Jonas reached for his staff, holding his hands up to show he was unarmed. "I'm not here to fight you."

"What are you here for then?" Jonas asked, holding his staff defensively in case Demetri made any sudden moves.

"Don't tell me you forgot; I have unquestioning loyalty to my employer," Demetri said with a smirk.

"I remember; did Circé send you to bring us in?" Jonas asked.

"I'm not employed to Circé anymore, remember?" Demetri said, gently pushing aside the staff Jonas held pointed at his nose. "And Rhea destroyed my contract, so I became a free agent again. Trust me, I have no interest in working for that psychopath any more."

Jonas slowly lowered his staff, though he remained wary. "Who's your employer now if it's not Circé or Rhea?"

Demetri raised his hand and caught the crystal ball as Isaac tossed it to him. Jonas looked back and forth between the two of them, his mind grappling with the realization as it hit him.

"You?!" Jonas asked.

Isaac grinned proudly as he nodded affirmation. "He takes coffee beans as payment," he explained. "Caffeine compensation!"

"The fewer resources Circé has a monopoly on, the better," Demetri said, wearing a similar look of satisfaction. "Besides, I like the idea of trying my hand at starting a café somewhere once Rhea sets the world right."

"I can't picture you as a barista," Jonas admitted, allowing himself to relax a bit.

"And I can't picture you as the master swordsman who killed Tavros," Demetri countered.

"I didn't kill Tavros," Jonas said, speaking quickly.

"Hey, he wasn't my friend," Demetri said with a wink. "I'm just glad somebody managed to stop him before he defeated every swordsman left in the world."

"You seem to know a lot about him," Jonas said, raising an eyebrow at the assassin.

"Yeah, what's his deal?" Adriana asked as she settled into the chair on the far side of the table. "He acted like he had somethin' to prove, but from what I could see he was already top dog."