EXCERPT - INITIATION BY IMOGEN ROSE

INITIATION (excerpt 3)

She eyed Faustine and took a long sip from her bottle of fresh blood. “So, you’ve been through quite an ordeal. Way to start Initiation, Faustine. Now, I need to talk to you both separately, though Jagger insists on being around when I talk to you, Faustine. You know, in case I get the urge to snack on you.” She laughed. “Just kidding, of course. I never snack on my clients.” She rolled her eyes. “Since he isn’t here yet, let’s start with you, Cordelia. Faustine, can you excuse us for a bit? Quinn is waiting outside to take you back to your room.”

I wondered where Jagger was. We were sitting in his office. Was he asleep in the next room? I fought the urge to check it out, and potentially jump his bones again, the memories from the ski slope still fresh in my mind. I shook myself and turned my attention back to Octavia. “So, what do you think?”

“Like Jagger told you, I’ve seen the video. Now I need to hear the story from you. Your impressions may uncover additional clues.”

“Like what?” I asked, confused.

“Smells, for instance. There could be other things as well, so start from the beginning and tell me everything. Don’t leave out any details. Try to remember smells, colors, and things like nails–manicured or not–designer labels, everything, no matter how insignificant it may seem. Play the scene in your head in slow motion, analyze every nuance.”

“Okay.” I did what she said and told her everything I knew, which wasn’t much more than the video would show. I described the rancid smell of the shifters. “You know, just regular shifter smell.”

“Male or female?”

“There were four males and one female. You can see that on the video.”

“No, I mean how many female and male scents did you pick up before you actually saw them?”

I closed my eyes, trying to remember. Truth was that I wasn’t very good at the whole sniffer thing.