The night was silent in the predawn time. No one was walking around. A couple bums were sleeping on the park benches that he could see. Cheap motels lined the road, with bright lights in poor taste, including the one of a Native American chief waving his hand.
He shook his head and walked down the street when the scent of another vampire hit him. He turned to see the figure suddenly standing at the corner of the park. Ragged jeans and a dark t-shirt. His spiked black hair caught the fading moonlight as he crossed his arms and looked around. Probably searching for his next victim.
Levi took a moment and waited. Another vampire appeared, and the two of them exchanged something. The second one just disappeared without so much as a word. Levi grinned and took himself to the first one.
“Hello.” He flashed fangs at the vampire. “I hear you’ve been selling drugs in my territory.” A look at the vampire’s face told him that he was a youngling. He still had the fresh reddening of the cheeks, the silly instinct to breathe, and the wide-eyed surprised look.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about man.” He gave an effort for a fake shrug. “I ain’t selling anything.”
The tell-tale signs of lying were all there. The hitch in the breathing, the further widening of the eyes, the avoiding of the gaze, and the smell of fear. It pushed Levi’s wicked smile further.
“I just watched your provider drop off more drugs.” He leaned in to reach for the package in the man’s hand. “I’m going to tell you this now, and it is your only warning. Tell your maker that he is not welcomed in this territory, and his drugs are not to be found in my area again. Or next time, I’ll kill the dealer.” He snatched the package from the terrified youngling. “Got it.”
He gave a shaky nod and disappeared. Levi knew it wouldn’t be the last of it, but it was a start. There shouldn’t have been new vampires popping up in his territory. He would need to get to the bottom of that as well. Each youngling should have been registered with him so he could monitor their feeding. No one had mentioned unsanctioned feedings in the territory though. Maybe they weren’t residents.
He shook his head and walked the park. The sun would be up soon, and he’d have no choice but to return to the mansion and sleep for the day, but part of him wanted to test fate, see how long he could stand the sunlight, just for a single glimpse of the sunrise. He remembered watching Elizabeth from deep in the mansion hallway as she stood in the sunlight, the way the colors danced off her hair and her skin. The warmth she carried when she’d come in from watching the sunset.
How she made him ache to be human again. She wanted to give that to him. The red and orange rays peeked over the horizon, and he took himself back to the mansion before he could feel the sting. His eyes felt heavy as the dawn broke. Even as a vampire, exhaustion could swallow him.
CHAPTER FIVE
The ringing of his phone cut through his sleep. He snatched it up and answered it. He could feel the sun fading as he stretched his limbs and was thankful for a dreamless sleep.
“Levi speaking.”
“Abby woke. She’s alive and healing. Sort of.” Clarissa’s voice came over the phone, cautious as if she knew he wouldn’t like what she had to say.
“Sort of?”
“The hex isn’t gone. She’s requested a few items, but I don’t want to leave the hospital to get them.”
“What does she want?”
“Her book that’s in the chamber, apparently a bag of tea leaves that’s in a box under her bed, and her phone.”
He noticed the pentagram her mother gave her wasn’t on that list, but he’d pick that up anyways. “I’ll grab the items and be there.”
“Okay, thank you. I’m doing the best I can to take care of her.”
“I know, Clarissa, thank you.” He disconnected the phone and went to get ready for the evening. He needed to go see Abigail, just to assure himself that she was alive and still human.
When he finished getting ready he went to find her book. It still sat in the chamber, where she’d been looking over it when the hex hit her. He hated taking anything out of the room, but if she wanted it, then she thought there was something in there that was going to be able to help her.
He took himself to her house next and looked around at the amount of discarded items and rolled his eyes. Always Abby. She lived alone so why should she bother putting things up, like her laptop? He went to her room and found the small box under the bed. Opening it, the bitter smell of the tea leaves assaulted him. He closed his eyes. He’d smelt the same ones in the kitchen the night Elizabeth had been killed. His heart clenched, and he grabbed the bag. Underneath it, he found the small silver pentagram. A crescent moon curved around the star that held a gem in the middle. Another harsh memory came over him.
“Abigail, oh Abigail. You have a present waiting for you.”
The three-year-old toddled over with her hands outstretched. Levi stood to the side watching as Tobias swept up the child. “Present?” She clapped her hands together. “I like presents!”
Elizabeth hung the pentagram in front of her daughter’s face. “This will protect you, always.”
“Ohhh pretty.”
Levi watched as Elizabeth put it around Abby’s neck and Tobias kissed her cheek. “Beautiful.”
“Thank you, daddy!”
There it was again. The title that should have belonged to him, not Tobias. He turned away to leave.
“Levi?” Elizabeth’s voice caught him off guard.
“Let him go, Elizabeth. You know as well as I do that he shouldn’t be here.”
Elizabeth hesitated. “It’s Abby’s birthday though.”
“I’ll send her gift back with Mario.” He disappeared, taking himself away from the pain of the scene.
He grabbed the necklace and appeared at the hospital. Abby was sleeping soundly as the hospital machines monitored her vitals. Sleeping, she looked almost exactly like her mother.
“Hey.” Clarissa stepped up next to him.
He looked at her and saw the dark circles under her eyes. “Go home and get some rest.”
“Are you sure? I can stay if you need me to.”
“Don’t worry about it. I have it covered. You need rest.”
She nodded and squeezed Abby’s hand before she left. He took a few minutes to find some hot water and started brewing her tea while he waited for her to wake. She was a creature of the night, even if she didn’t want to admit it, and she would wake soon.
Her eyes fluttered open.
“You look peachy,” he said and came to the edge of the bed. He kept his face blank, and she held her hands out for the tea. Her movements were slow and cautious, and he wondered if she was sore. She used the button on the bed to move into a sitting position and sipped her tea.
After a moment she answered him. “I’m pretty sure I was hexed, and I think it’s the people who killed my parents.”
“Abby—“ His voice held a warning, and his carefully blank face fell into a frown.
“When I was unconscious, someone came to my dream and told me if I wasn’t careful, I’d end up like them. In the dream, I could see the runes all over the house. They said they were on a mission and that Ra had sent them.”
His mind spun. There had been no visible runes the night her parents were killed. No signs of magic, nothing. “I didn’t think anyone worshiped the old Egyptian gods still.” He sat in the chair that Clarissa had abandoned when she left.
Abby shook her head and then cringed. “I didn’t think so either, but it’s what he said.”
“So what do you plan on doing?” Levi asked. “I know I’m not going to want to hear the answer to this, but I also know that we can’t let it go unanswered.”
“Once I get my pain under control and get out of here, I’m going back to my parents’ house. I think the answers are there. Or at least the start of it.”
“And the state?”
“I’m pretty sure whoever hexed me killed the man in the barn. I just don�
��t know why. Once I know who he is, I’ll have a better understanding of what is going on there.” She sipped her tea and sighed. “Clarissa said you had my phone. Did I miss any calls?”
“Detective Mason said they had identified the arm, but there was a problem. He wouldn’t tell me what but wanted you to call him the moment you were feeling up to it. I’m not part of the team.” Levi snorted, he hadn’t exactly been friendly to the detective about it though.
“Okay, I’ll add that to my list once this is under control.”
“Your mother left you a pentagram pendant. You weren’t wearing it the night you were hexed.”
She shook her head. “I can’t wear it to crime scenes. Sometimes the spell on it messes with my ability to see things.”
“Do you think it would have helped with this?” He motioned to her lying in the hospital bed and then to the machines.
For a moment her confidence disappeared from her face. “I don’t know. She would’ve had to know what kind of magic was used. Mostly the pendant helps with simple stuff: nightmares, visions, that kind of thing.”
“If these are the same people, she might have known.” His voice was somewhere between mocking and concerned.
“Any chance you brought the necklace?”
“Yes.” He pulled it out of his pocket and tossed it to her.
She studied it for a moment before wrapping her hand around it. Relief flooded over her face as her fingers closed.
“I really wish my parents would stop hiding things from me,” she growled and put on the necklace.
He chuckled. “They’re dead. It’s not like they have much of a choice.” If only she knew half the things that her parents were still hiding from her even in death.
“Let me call Detective Mason back, and then I’ll talk to the doctor about getting out of here.”
Levi handed her the phone. “You’re not going to your place alone. Clarissa will go with you, or Simon.”
“Simon.” There was no hesitation in her voice. “Clarissa tends to overreact. I need someone who can keep their head on straight.”
Levi nodded. “Then I shall call the wolf.”
“Tell him I’ll do the wards tonight too.” She rubbed her eyes. “Losing two days of my life sucks.”
Levi met her gaze. “I’m glad you’re back though.” He meant it. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if she managed to die. Especially if she didn’t come back as a vampire.
Levi stepped out of the room, leaving Abby to make her phone call and so he could call the wolf. Simon would do anything for Abby, and sometimes Levi depended on it. He pulled out his phone and found the number for Simon.
The wolf answered almost instantly. “She okay?”
“She’s awake now.” He kept his voice blank. He wouldn’t lead on to how much Abby had scared him. He couldn’t afford weakness in that aspect. “She has a hex on her, and she’s not to be left alone.”
“You want me to stay with her?” There was barely a question in Simon’s voice.
What he wanted was for Abby to quit PIB and come home, but that wasn’t an option. “Yes, at least until the hex is gone. Keep her by your side. She wants to go to her parent’s house, that’s fine, but she can’t drive. It won’t be safe for her. She offered to do the wards on the bar tonight. I know that she won’t risk doing anything stupid there.”
Simon waited patiently for Levi to add anything else. Finally, Levi sighed. “Take her to your house. I swear that if something hurts her because you failed to protect her, I will cut your balls off and feed them to you.”
“Understood, I’ll be there as soon as I can to pick her up. If you’re that worried, why don’t you just have her stay at the mansion until the hex is gone?”
“She won’t listen to me. I don’t like her wandering around, but at least I know you’re there and you can handle most things thrown at her.”
Simon hesitated for a moment. “What happened?”
“Someone sent her a message, once in a dream and now a note. Something about letting them complete their mission. I have no idea what it means.” But god help them if he ever got his hands on them.
“Maybe Abby does. I’m on my way.”
He nodded even though the wolf couldn’t see him. “Call me if you need something. I have things that need to be taken care of.” He closed the phone and peeked in on Abby. She was still nestled in the bed, talking on the phone. The crease in her brow and frown told him it was most likely Mason and it was about the case. She never stopped working. He shook his head and left the hospital, taking himself back to the mansion where he belonged.
Ivy was leaning against his desk when he walked into his office. Something was off though. She stumbled a little bit as she swayed towards him. “Hello, Levi.” Her words slurred a little bit. Her knees buckled under her, and Levi caught her.
The bitter smell of a drug hit his nose, and he hissed. “What have you been getting into?”
She laughed. “Thrills! Levi this is the most amazing thing. I feel like I’m floating, like I can see everything.”
He laid her down on the lounge chair in his office. This wasn’t like her. It wasn’t like any of his donors. He required them to be clean in all matters. “I need you to focus.”
“I am. I’ve never seen anything more clearly.” She reached up and stroked his face. “Feed from me, and maybe you’ll understand.”
“No. You know that I won’t feed from you when you are like this.” He growled. “Where did you get this drug?”
“Acacia park, downtown.” She basically purred. “A vampire there is handing it out like candy.”
His mind spun. None of his vampires would dare do this. They knew the consequences. Death by his hands. There was one person he thought might try this. Ira. He cursed. “We need to get you to a doctor. How much of this did you take?”
“Mm, just a little bit. No need to get me help. It’ll fade in a few hours.”
That was good to know, but he still wasn’t sure what to do with her. He stepped back. “Close your eyes and get some rest.”
She held her slender wrist out. “Sure you don’t want a bite?”
He nodded. “Rest, Ivy.” Her eyes fluttered shut, and she let out a content sigh. He was sure she was still riding the high from whatever the drug was, but now he needed to look into the matter a little deeper. This was going beyond unexpecting humans and dipping into more of the supernatural world.
He sat at his desk and added notes on what he knew about Ivy’s daylight hours. She worked an unassuming secretary job downtown, she served as a donor for several vampires in his territory, and belonged to the Safe Donor Society, a group meant to help those who had been abused in the donor position. As far as he knew, she had never been a druggy and was, until now, clean.
He sat back in his chair and looked at his notes. He could go downtown and figure out where the dealer was and make him talk. He’d kept his territory so clean of supernatural dealers, and one vampire could lead to bigger problems.
His security system dinged, and he looked up to see a man he hadn’t seen in years on the camera. The dark hair hadn’t changed over the years, and neither had the slim, sinister face.
Oliver.
Levi took himself outside using his ability. “What do you want? You aren’t welcomed here, and you know that.”
Oliver didn’t flinch. He simply folded his hands in front of him. “Abigail’s recently turned twenty-four.”
“I am very well aware of that. That doesn’t answer my question.”
“I want to be let back into her life. She is old enough now to decide if she wants contact with me.” His voice didn’t raise at all as he met Levi’s gaze.
“No.” Levi shook his head. “She doesn’t know you exist.”
Oliver sneered at that. “Of course she doesn’t, because she doesn’t have the book, and you haven’t told her anything about Elizabeth and you. But,” he regained a little of his composure, “her power is growing, and both you a
nd I know she’ll need a mentor.”
“Clarissa can teach her. Now, leave.”
“Clarissa is an innocent witch. She won’t be able to control Abigail’s urges.”
“What urges, Oliver?” Levi stepped up. “Abigail is a witch, just like Clarissa. The things her mother dabbled in do not affect her.”
“Oh, Levi, if you believe that, you’re lying to yourself. Elizabeth didn’t dabble. She wrote the book on gray magic. Not to mention, Abigail has vampire blood in her veins too, and aren’t you all creatures of darkness?”
Levi felt his eyes flash red at the anger. “Get off my property.”
Olive raised a brow as if debating on saying something but then shook his head. “You won’t be able to hide things from Abigail forever. She’s smarter than you give her credit for.” He turned and walked back to the black car he’d driven up here. Levi should have killed her pesky uncle years ago.
He took himself back into his office to see Ivy still sleeping on the lounge chair. A feeling of uneasiness seeped through him. He didn’t want to leave her here alone. Going downtown was a bad idea. He had no idea what would happen when she woke up. Best to stay here and keep an eye on her.
She started jerking in her sleep, and he cursed. He could hear her heart stammering to keep its rhythm. He grabbed her and transported her to a hospital he could trust.
“Levi?” An ER nurse looked up from behind the glass window. “What on earth?”
He’d known the ER nurse for a while. He’d been a donor at one point for new vampires. He’d since retired from being a donor to become a nurse. “Erik, I have a possible overdose victim with an unknown drug. I found her convulsing.” He wasn’t going to mention how she’d been at his house. The less suspicion on him the better.
Ivy jerked and vomited all over him and the floor. Levi cringed at the acidy smell and the warmth of it seeping through his clothes. This night just wasn’t going to get better.
Another nurse came and took her from him, and he looked at Erik. “I don’t have any information on her.”
The King's Gambit Page 5
