Sarwat Chadda - Billi SanGreal 02 - Dark Goddess Read Online Free Page A

trunk."
    "You're... you're joking, of course," said Rowland.
    Arthur did not have his joking face on. He turned to Billi. "Go with Lance. Put Vasilisa in the spare bedroom."
    "She's staying with us?" Billi asked. She pulled the blanket over her shoulders. The girl had just seen her parents slaughtered, and they were leaving Billi to pick up the pieces. She didn't want to be dealing with a hysterical kid first thing in the morning. "It's not my job to babysit. Give her to Rowland."
    "Your job is to do what I tell you." Arthur settled the weight of his armor better. "
Now
, Billi."
    Billi headed toward home on Middle Temple Lane, followed by Lance, who carried the sleeping girl in his arms.
    The smell of fresh paint still lingered as she entered their house. Billi inspected the limp fern beside the door. Their attempt to bring some life into their home was failing miserably. None of the paintings were back up yet, except one. Jacques de Molay, the last Templar Grand Master, gazed down at them as they came in.
    "Top of the stairs, Lance. I'll bring some blankets."
    Lance nodded and eased Vasilisa through the doorway and up the steps.
    Billi stopped in front of the portrait. As a kid she'd always felt a little scared passing under it.
    Now?
     
    These days she didn't feel anything.
    A short nap and Billi was up by six. She dressed, checked that the poultice was still in place and she hadn't grown a fur pelt overnight. So far—not hairy. If she
was
infected, the pain of transformation would come with the moonlight, growing stronger as the moon waxed.
    She struggled to put her shirt on. Her muscles complained loudly about the treatment they'd received last night. The fragrance of warm bread was rising out of the kitchen as she opened her bedroom door.
    "
Bonjour
, Bilqis," said Lance as Billi wandered into the kitchen. Lance slid open the oven and drew out a tray of golden croissants. He emptied them onto a china dish with a shake. "Breakfast?"
    Of course. Guard duty. Arthur must have arranged a rotation of knights to protect Vasilisa. The werewolves weren't going to give up their prey that easily. Sooner or later they'd come around here, trying to sniff her out.
    Billi sat at the table while Lance stirred up a cup of hot chocolate. She could only remember being made breakfast once before.
    Kay had dished up her usual: muesli and a dollop of honey. Exactly two months and nineteen days ago.
    Lance knew his way around a kitchen. The Frenchman had been a patisserie chef in Marseilles. He'd also been a smuggler before getting involved with the Templars. Billi didn't know the full story, but that's how he'd lost his eye.
    Billi rocked back on her chair and looked around. Her
wakizashi was
leaning against the table. She picked it up and checked the blade: clean and perfect.
    "I thought you might like that back," said Lance. "I found it in the farmhouse."
    "Thanks. I'm seeing Percy after school. Wasn't looking forward to telling him I'd lost his favorite sword." She put it down on the table. "What else did you find?"
    "Little of use."
    Billi glanced at yesterday's newspaper, which her dad had spread out to soak up the oil he used for weapons cleaning. The usual blah-blah. Political scandals. More trouble in the Middle East. Football reports and who was wearing what at some charity do last night. Her gaze rested on the image of a smoldering volcano. Out in Italy, Vesuvius was rumbling, as it had been on and off fora month. Half of Naples had been evacuated; half couldn't make up its mind.
    She was doing Vesuvius as part of her Latin course. It was the one subject she excelled in. There were plans for a school trip in the summer to look at the ruins of Pompeii, the Roman city that had been wiped out by the last big eruption, back in a.d. 79. It would be cool to go, and Billi knew if she asked her dad he'd say yes.
    Billi scrunched the paper up. No, she had her Templar duties. Only they mattered.
    A plate clattered in front of her. The