Skeleton Key by Z.J. Cannon

Author:Z.J. Cannon [Cannon, Zoe]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Z.J. Cannon
Published: 2021-02-21T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 22

“I hate to interrupt such a rousing speech,” she said, with warmth in her voice that made me think of fresh-baked cookies coming out of the oven, “but I need a moment of your time. And a little something else. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.”

Around the room, people muttered quietly to each other, watching Grandmother with narrowed eyes.

Grandmother clucked her tongue. “Where are your manners, Mallory? Aren’t you going to introduce us?”

I looked around at the sea of suspicious stares. Those weren’t the looks of people who were wondering who this old lady was and how she had stumbled into their secret meeting. “Looks to me like they already know who you are.”

Grandmother chuckled. “That they do. I’ve made some very fruitful deals with more than a few of the people in this room. But that’s no excuse to neglect good manners. Not everyone here knows me, after all—although I’d like to change that in the future.”

“I can’t introduce you when you’ve never told me your name,” I pointed out. “Anyway, did you really come here for handshakes and small talk?”

“Right you are, dearie. As much as I hate to jump straight to business, time is of the essence.” She sighed with what sounded like genuine regret. “Now, I believe you have something for me?”

“Hang on just a minute,” said Sloane. “What’s going on here?”

“I’m afraid that’s between me and Mallory,” Grandmother answered. “She’s just following up on a little deal she made.” As her eyes landed on me again, that friendly twinkle grew as sharp as a sewing needle. “Assuming, of course, that you have what you promised.”

“So she did make a deal with a demon.” Sloane didn’t sound contrite. There was no apology in her tone. No hint of regret for how she had dragged everyone else from my temple out of bed because she had thought I was plotting against her, when all I had wanted to do was keep my word to Grandmother. “What did she promise you? And what did you do for her in return?”

“I’m afraid that’s between me and Mallory.” Grandmother’s lips quirked up in a secretive smile. “At least for the moment.” She held out a cupped hand to me. “No dawdling, Mallory. As I said, time is of the essence.”

“Hang on. I’ll get it.” Painfully aware of how many eyes followed me as I walked, I crossed the distance to our room and grabbed the cooler where Kimmy had been keeping her green smoothies until I had co-opted it. She hadn’t been happy about it—there had been a lot of protests about how it’s impossible to win a war if you’re not fueling your body with proper nutrition—but when I had given her the choice of either sharing the cooler or taking it for myself, she had taken one look at what I wanted to put in there, portioned out the remaining smoothies among Hades’s allies, and let me have it.

I lugged the cooler out with me and plopped it into Grandmother’s arms.

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