by Rhys Lawless
Just because he wasn’t as intimidating anymore didn’t mean he wasn’t dangerous. If anyone was to look up the definition in the dictionary, his name would be right underneath it.
His lips curled, and he put his hands in his trousers’ pockets.
“Your friends are fine, Caleb. For now, anyway,” he said.
After having heard him being possessed by Ealistair and his voice sounding what felt like eating glass, hearing his own voice was scaring me. Even his tone was composed and calm.
What on earth had he done to himself? What was he planning? And why the fuck did he sound stoned?
“I see you survived Ealistair’s occupation,” I told him.
He bit the inside of his cheeks and looked away from me.
“I’d rather not be reminded of that sordid affair,” he said.
“Why? Because he outdid you in the destruction caused?”
Christian stared me down with the look of a scolding parent.
“No,” he said. “If you must know, being possessed by a creature like him was...unpleasant. But! It has given me some newfound perspective.”
“Is part of that perspective doing your best to not look your age and end up looking like an ex child-star and washed-up junkie? Because I gotta give it to you. You’re rocking the shit out of this look,” I said.
He walked away from me and stood at the edge of the room, looking out into the London night.
“I used to love your acid tongue, you know. But for fuck’s sake, you haven’t learned to shut the fuck up,” he croaked.
“Nah, I’m a bitch through and through, we’ve already come to that conclusion. Did you miss the episode? Shit, I hope they show a repeat,” I said. “Or you can now catch up online, you know, if you’re so inclined—”
“Shut up!” Christian blurred out from in front of the window and was standing over me, his hand on my neck, in the blink of an eye.
What a great cue to get rid of him. I pushed out all my rage into him and gathered all my fears, not only for Easton’s and Selim’s safety, but also for Wade and who would protect him if I was ever gone, for Nora and Annabel and what depths the latter would go to to find me in the afterlife so she could kill me again. I took it all and shoved it into him. I wanted to immobilize him with the fear he induced.
He leaned down, only a breath away from my lips, and his gaze pierced into mine.
“This time, I came prepared for you, Tristan, Caleb, whatever name you want to go by,” he said.
A shudder washed my entire body, and I searched his hands, his neck, anywhere he could be hiding a gemstone or a talisman. But from my very limited position and under his grip, I couldn’t notice anything.
“You were always a weakness of mine. I was stupid enough to let that happen. I should have learned my lesson with Tania, but the heart wants what the heart wants, am I right?” He said.
“What do you want? Do you want me to apologize for not falling for you? Do you want me to say I’m sorry I couldn’t love a witch-killing, magic-sucking monster?” I spat in his face.
He shut his eyes until I stopped, then opened them again.
“You don’t understand, do you, Caleb?”
“I’m being fucking serious, Christian. What will it take for you to let my friends go and stop murdering my family? What do you want me to do?” I said, this time a little calmer.
Christian let me go and stood up.
“You consider the other witches your family? Need I remind you what happened last month?” he asked.
Despite his frustration, he looked composed, almost human. I’d never seen him like that before. It made me wonder what had made him so...demented before, or why the hell he appeared calm now.
“No, you do not,” I told him. “The previous high council was polluted. Corrupted. But we’re rebuilding. We’re starting from scratch to ensure it doesn’t happen again,” I said.
Christian laughed dryly and sharply. “Do you really believe it won’t happen again? Everything always gets corrupted,” he said.
“You’re one to talk.”
He bit his lip and nodded very slowly, his eyes contemplating something.
“I know,” he said after a long pause. “I was as corrupt as anything. But in my defense, it wasn’t truly my fault.”
It was my turn to laugh.
“It wasn’t your fault? I’d love to hear that story,” I said.
Christian put his hands behind his back and paced around to the other side of his desk.
“I’ve changed,” he said.
“Yeah, I can see that,” I said.
His gaze burned me with its intent. From the ground, he looked like a boss, like he was my superior and I was a nothing. It even intimidated me a little.
I pulled my stare from his and got off the floor, brushing the dust off myself that wasn’t there. The room was cleaned immaculately. It was time we talked as equals.
“You might not believe it, but I have,” he said. “One could say I’m a whole new person.”
“And is that whole new person as demented as you?”
Christian sighed. “I can’t blame you for not believing me. I hope in time you will see.”
“In time? How long exactly are you planning on keeping me here, Christian?”
Now the real fear really settled in and my voice cracked a bit. Not only was I powerless against him, but I was clueless as to his plans for me. And my imprisoned friends.
“That’s entirely up to you, Caleb,” he said, and he took a seat at his chair as if we were having a business meeting and I wasn’t his prisoner.
“Oh, well, in that case, I’d like to be free, like, now.” I leaned on the desk and made sure he knew I wasn’t kidding.
Christian licked his upper lip and laced his fingers together.
“Okay,” he said.
“What do you mean, ‘okay?’”
“I mean, okay. You’re free,” he said.
“What about my friends?” I asked.
This wasn’t right. He wouldn’t go through all this trouble to find and take me hostage only to let me go as soon as I asked.
“They can go to,” he said.
“But?”
“There’s no but.”
“There’s got to be a but,” I said.
“You will just have to agree to stay with me and tell that Rawthorne bastard you never loved him,” he said.
I laughed. Who wouldn’t? It was like I had been teleported out of reality and into a soap opera, because this kind of shit didn’t happen in real life.
“You find my offer amusing?” Christian said and looked genuinely baffled.
Either that or he’d gotten good at acting.
“Shouldn’t I?” I asked.
“I can’t see why you would,” he said.
I leaned in and extended my hand over Christian’s head and knocked on it as if it was a door.
“Earth to Christian? Did your brain cells die when Ealistair left your body?”
His face wrinkled, and he leaned away from my touch.
“Don’t remind me off that,” he said.
“Maybe I should. Are you out of your mind? What? You think we can be together?”
“Yes,” he said. “We can, Caleb.”
I couldn’t believe the kind of conversation I was having with this... guy. I was probably hallucinating. I was still in that prison, cave, cell, whatever the fuck it was, and I was having the world’s most absurd nightmare.
My body collapsed on the chair behind me.
“What makes you think I want to be with you?” I asked, and my voice came out defeated. Probably because I succumbed to the absurdity of the situation.
“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking since I escaped the clutches of the high council—” he started, and I scoffed. “And I’ve come to a realization.”
“And what would that realization be?” I asked.
He cast his gaze on me and, probably, for the first time, I didn’t see evil in them.
“That you were the one person in my thousands of years that I truly loved,” he said. “And surely that must mean something.”
My mouth fell open and my vision blurred as I was trying to digest what he’d just admitted.
“What do you say?” he asked. “Will you give me a chance to prove I’ve changed?”
His words brought me out of the haze I’d got lost in just enough to find my words again.
“I could never love you Christian. Ever,” I said.
“How do you know unless you give it a chance?” He said.
I sat back on the chair and joined my hands together, crossing my legs for good measure. The more barriers I put between him and myself, the better.
“Because... because I’m already in love,” I said, unable to believe the cheek of the question.
“With Rawthorne,” Christian said. “That’s okay. He’s being taken care of.”
Fuck!
Had he just said he was having Wade taken care of? What did that mean? Did Wade know he was in danger? Was anyone with him? Did they stand a chance against Christian’s minions?
“And?” I asked, determined not to let my worry show.
“I thought you loved him. You don’t care that he’s going to be dead sooner or later?”
I shrugged.
“All of us are going to be dead sooner or later,” I said.
“You don’t understand—”
“No, you don’t understand!” I shouted and stood back up. “You think killing Wade will drive me to your arms. Is that what you think? Is that how much you’ve changed? You think that will make me fall for you. Or do you think I’ll let you turn me into a vampire and I’ll have eternity to learn how to love you? Let me spell it out for you, Christian. I will never, ever, find even an inch of love inside of me for you. Do you understand?
“Even if your killing Wade didn’t bother me, do you think I can forget who you are and what you’ve done? The lives you took? The people you destroyed?”
“That was a different person,” Christian said.
“Was it though? Really?”
“It was,” he insisted.
“Then why am I seeing the same asshole who sucks the magic out of witches and doesn’t care who gets in the way?”
He winced, but quickly recomposed himself.
“But...you don’t know?” he asked.
“Know what?”
“That’s all behind me now. Those magic-eating times are all in the past,” he said.
I let out the biggest sigh I’d ever had and fell back on the chair. This conversation was pointless, and I didn’t know how to get what I wanted without antagonizing him any further.
“How? Have you discovered an evergreen magic well that you can feed off for the rest of your existence?” I didn’t even know why I bothered talking anymore.
“I don’t need magic anymore. All I need is blood, and thankfully, that’s in abundance everywhere,” he said.
“What? I thought dhampirs didn’t need blood,” I said.
Christian pushed his chair across the slated floor, and it creaked with a high pitch that made me shiver.
He walked around and sat on the desk in front of me, a confident smile appearing on his face again.
“I’m not a dhampir anymore. After the events at the bridge, I returned to being a vampire again,” he said.
This man was truly deluded. Only a few weeks ago he’d have done everything to bring about the apocalypse just so he can feed on more magic, and now, he was happy he had reverted to his old self?
“Everything that has led to this moment, the incessant hunger, the depths I went to feed, being possessed by a demon nonetheless, it all gave me a lot of perspective,” he said.
“Wh—what kind of perspective?”
Christian jumped off the desk and back to his feet as if his pants were on fire and walked to the window, his hands returning to his pockets.
“Magic is a disease. I see that now. It’s been infecting this world for... a very long time. Everything it touches, magic destroys. So, I’ve awoken a new man with a new mission,” he said.
My heartbeat slowed down, and my breath caught in my throat.
“Wh—what mission?” I asked.
Christian turned to look at me, the smile on his face more terrifying than his evil grin. He looked like a philanthropist being awarded for his work.
“To destroy magic once and for all,” he said.
“I’m sorry?”
“You heard me.”
“Okay, so let me get this straight. You want me, a witch, to leave my witch boyfriend and my witch family and come be with you while you go around destroying the very magic that’s running through my veins?”
“Exactly,” he said.
“And how are you planning on...destroying magic?” I forced myself off the chair even though my legs felt wobbly and tried to approach him.
“My plan is already in place. Join me, and you can find out the rest,” he said.
He gave me his hand to take. Instead, I took a step back and crossed my arms.
“You’re not hearing your—” and then it hit me. “That’s why you got your vampires killing witches? Because you want to destroy magic?”
“That’s part of it,” he said. “But it won’t be enough. And, of course, we’ll have to find a way to kill your magic without killing you. And make sure there are no more ignitions.”
“You’re crazy,” I told him.
“It’s time to decide. Are you going to join me or not?” he said.
“What happens if I say no?” I asked.
“Well,” he said and took the few steps between us. His hand traced the side of my face. “If I can’t have you, no one else will.”
Seventeen
Wade
After notifying the high council of what had happened tonight, Ash took it as his responsibility to assemble a team of witches that could help us take Christian down.
We had a hard task ahead of us. As long as Christian was alive and kicking, the vampire clan masters would serve him to the death, whether it was out of fear or respect. This meant that the vampires who would be protecting him had nothing to lose.
I’d have loved more than anything to tell Ash I could take care of it myself, just like Caleb would have done, to avoid more innocent deaths. But as much as I wanted to do that, I needed all the help I could get to save him, Easton, and my father.
I left Ash to get everything in motion. Winston, Hew, and Alyssa headed off for Winston’s place to load up on spells, and the best I could do was go over to Caleb’s home and warn Annabel about what had happened.
I knocked on the door and waited for her to come down while Troy kept tapping his shoe impatiently. He was feeling the emptiness in his soul as much as I was.
“Oh, hello. We bring uninvited friends over now?” she said as soon as she opened the door.
“I’m Troy,” Troy said and shook Annabel’s hand. When he pulled it back, he stretched his fingers and massaged his palm.
“What can I do for you?” she asked, not stepping aside at all.
“We need to talk about Caleb,” I told her, and she pursed her lips.
“What’s he done now?” she asked.
I looked her in the eyes, and her face changed from the snarky mask she had on most times to a somber one I’d never seen before. She opened the door wider and let us both in.
We took the stairs up to the living room and found Lorelai perched over Nora, playing with her and her toys.
“Hey, guys, you all right? Where is Caleb?” she said.
I wanted to tell them. I wanted to explain everything. But at that moment, my heart fluttered and the weight of it lifted.
“Can you feel Easton?” I asked Troy. “I can sense Caleb again.”
“You can?” Troy replied. “Does that mean Easton is—”
“No. I refuse to believe that. I don’t know what happened, but I can sense him,” I said and squeezed his arm
.
Annabel turned to both of us, and Lorelai let Nora play and stood up.
“Tell us everything,” Annabel said crossing her arms.
So we did. We told them about what Troy dug up from the depths of the internet, and we told them about our discovery at Dion’s and about the vampire ambush and Christian’s message.
“What the hell are you doing here? Go get him for fuck’s sake,” Annabel protested when I finished.
“I thought you’d like to know what’s going on,” I said.
Lorelai huffed. “Please. Caleb has been getting himself in trouble since the dawn of time. We’re used to him not coming to work or home for days on end,” she said.
“You should be out there trying to get him back. We’re fine. We can take care of ourselves,” Annabel added.
I looked at Nora who appeared blissfully ignorant of the goings-on, and I sort of envied her.
“That’s what we’re doing after we leave here,” Troy said.
“Then let’s go,” Lorelai urged us.
“No, Lorelai. You can’t come,” I said.
She placed her hands on her hips and frowned. “Try and stop me. Besides, when have I ever missed a good party?”
Lorelai turned to give Annabel a hug, and Annabel told her to take care of herself. Then, Lorelai bent down to say bye to Nora who gave her one of her adorable, chubby smiles that made my heart ache. What if Caleb never got to see that face again?
As soon as I thought it, an emptiness pulled at my heart, and I lost my connection to Caleb again.
“We need to hurry. I don’t know what Christian is planning, but we need to go before it’s too late,” I said.
Troy nodded, and we both turned for the door.
“One minute, you two,” Annabel said behind us, and I turned around expecting to be scolded.
“Are you geared up? You can’t go face this grade-A douche if you’re not fully armed,” she said.
I rested my hand over my hilt, but she shook her head.
“That’s only going to get you so far. Have you got spells?”
It wasn’t something I’d ever expected Annabel to lecture me about, and I was pretty sure she knew I couldn’t cast a spell to save my life, let alone anyone else’s, but I cast my glance to the rosary on my chest that carried some borrowed magic.
