36
"I know who you are." Karin watched Rob pace back and forth while gnawing at his fingernails. This nasty habit was all John, for her brother had always taken pride in his appearance.
"Good for you," Rob said tersely. "Why are you set against me?"
This last part was so unbelievable that she laughed. "How can I not be? You killed my parents, and were responsible for those deaths 16 years ago."
"Well, technically, Sibyl, they weren't your real parents," Rob said in a reasonable tone, completely bypassing the fire on that boat.
Karin's head came up at the sound of her real name. "Thanks for that. I never would have gotten it without your help."
"Now there's the Sibyl I remember," Rob said with a smirk.
"Who are you channeling this time?" At the rate at which he was acquiring personalities, she wouldn't be surprised if Francis came out to play.
"Funny girl. So you think you can beat me at my own game." Rob 's voice was cold and humorless, and she knew they were down to it.
"I don't think, John. I know." Karin tapped her forehead and closed her fingers around the carving knife she'd hidden under a napkin.
"You always were the powerful one...oh, wait, I took that from you."
Not everything, you bastard.
Karin inclined her head. "So you did."
He grabbed an apple and straddled the chair across from her. "What are you really up to, Sibyl?"
She tested the sharpness of the blade and decided it would do in a pinch. "Nothing whatsoever." With a blank look, Karin pulled out the blade and buried its hilt in Rob's right hand. It tore through muscle and went straight to the bone. Before he could do more than howl, she added, "I'd put some ice on that if I were you."
Rob was still cursing her name as she ran out to the car and drove off, feeling slightly smug that she'd gotten the drop on him. The knife had been treated with a slow acting poison that would start to erode his powers, so when he finally confronted her at the Balcoin vault, taking him out of play would be a fair fight.
Adam heard his father emoting in the background as he and Karin made pasta. "You did what?"
"Poisoned him."
"With what?"
"Mandrake root."
"Are you crazy? That will end him," Ethan said, concern raising his usually quiet voice to one that carried easily out to the bar.
"It's diluted, Ethan. My intent is to slow him down, not kill him."
"Why even bother, Karin? You don't have to do this."
Oh, but she did, and even Adam recognized that. "Yeah, she does." He moved to join them and started stirring the marinara sauce.
Ethan's brows raised slightly. "Son, this spell Karin wants to do...it's old, dark magic."
"That's the only way to stop Blackwell, Dad."
Worry radiated from his Dad, but Adam shrugged it off. "I don't like you getting mixed up in this, Adam."
"I'll be careful." He looked over at Karin. "And Karin will have my back."
"Will she?" Ethan looked at Karin for reassurance.
"Of course I will, along with Jane Blake and everyone from Crowhaven Road."
Ethan was nonplussed. "They agreed to help you?"
She laid down her wooden spoon and poured the pasta into a colander. "We struck a deal in 1692, Ethan. The spell was cast, and all of us came forward to the 20th century. And now it's time to pay the piper."