What was so funny? Hadn’t her power surprised him?
It didn’t matter, all that did was his attention was on her now. I licked my lips and glanced around the room, trying to figure out how to help Octavia take him down.
That was when I noticed Ivette lunge forward, her foot connecting with Bram’s abdomen. Together, Octavia and Ivette landed blow after blow to Bram’s body and face. Still, he laughed. Never once did he stumble. Never once did he show a single ounce of fear.
He was strong. Stronger than I’d ever imagined.
This was not good.
When Octavia picked up one of the couches with her mind and flung it at him, Bram burst into a flock of crows like I’d seen him do before and disappeared only to somehow materialize behind her seconds later. His hands cupped the sides of her face before I could shout out a warning to her, and I watched as he snapped her neck the same way he’d done to Julian and Benji. Octavia fell to the floor and I couldn’t breathe.
Everyone was dropping like flies while going up against him.
“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Hazel shouted beside me. Her hand reached out for my wrist and gripped tight. “We need to get out of here.”
Hazel tugged me toward the front door, but I refused to move. Bram could materialize wherever he wanted whenever he wanted, which meant there was no outrunning him.
Besides, where would we go?
I couldn’t take Hazel to the inn—not to where my aunt and cousins were along with a slew of innocent guests—it was too risky. Too dangerous. Also, there was no way in hell I would leave Benji behind.
“We can’t run,” I insisted, locking eyes with her. “You saw what he can do.”
“Then what are we supposed to do? We can’t just stand here!”
“I know,” I snapped. “I just… I need to think.”
My gaze darted back to where Bram and Ivette were locked in a fistfight. I’d never seen her raise her voice to anyone, let alone hit them. She was doing a better job than anyone of fighting him. It looked as though she was holding her own against him. Was it because he was screwing with her? Allowing her blows to connect for the hell of it?
“Ridley!” Hazel shouted, panic in her tone.
The potion in my coat—the one to bind a person’s power—I needed to use it.
“Go to the kitchen!” I shouted to Hazel as Roman rushed into the room. My mouth clamped shut at the sight of him.
His fists were clenched at his sides and his eyes were dark and dangerous. He’d obviously heard the elevated chaos and left his office to see what was going on. It didn’t take him long to figure out who the threat was. The instant he did, he blurred across the room at vampire speed and smacked into Bram from behind. Bram never saw him coming. Which meant, he lurched forward and was taken off-balance for a split second. It was long enough to give me hope that we could take him.
Amulet or not.
I grabbed hold of Hazel’s wrist and tugged her into the kitchen with me. “Grab anything you can think of to use as a weapon. Bram might be a vampire-witch hybrid and strong as hell, but he’s still killable.”
“I doubt stabbing him with anything will do any good,” Hazel insisted. “Don’t you think my grandma or her family would’ve tried that first before creating the amulet?”
I grabbed the potion from my coat pocket and gripped it tight. As much as I hated to admit it, Hazel was right. If taking him out were that simple, someone would’ve done it a long time ago without resorting to trapping him inside an amulet.
Still, we had to try something. I wasn’t about to sit around and wait for him to snap my neck like the others.
A loud crash made its way to my ears from the other room and I exhaled a slow breath. What else could we use besides sharp objects and the potion I’d bought at Abby’s shop? We were only going to get one shot at this; I needed to make sure it counted. My mind circled to what I knew of magic and witchcraft—herbs, crystals, stones. All the witchy knowledge I’d gained during the length of my life filled my head.
“Basil! I need basil,” I insisted as I rushed to the cabinet near the stove in search of some. “There has to be some in here. I can use it with the intention of protecting us.”
It was better than nothing, and when added to the potion meant to bind Bram’s powers, it might be enough to allow us to inflict serious damage on him.
“I know there’s some in there. I used it in the pasta. It should be on the second shelf,” Hazel said. She stepped beside me, holding a butcher knife in her hand.
I spotted a glass jar of dried basil and grabbed it.
“Let’s go,” I said.
When we made our way back into the living room, Ivette lay on the floor like the others, her neck twisted at an odd angle. Roman, however, was still standing. His face was bloody, almost unrecognizable, but he stood strong. Bram had surpassed snapping necks and instead had moved on to full-fledged beatings.
Great.
I twisted the lid off the glass jar of the potion and stepped forward, erasing more space between myself and Bram. If he noticed me, he didn’t let on. I popped the lid off the jar of basil, knowing it would be best to hit him with both in rapid succession. Knock out his powers first with the binding potion, then use the basil to protect us and send him packing by reciting the same childhood spell I’d used on him before.
The words for the spell Aunt Rowena had taught me so long ago came to mind much faster than they had before.
When I was close enough to feel confident the potion would land on him, I tossed it his way. Purple droplets flew through the air, soaking into the fabric of his sweater. I wasted no time in tossing the dried basil at him next. It fell like confetti through the air.
“Darkness fades to light in day, hear these words that I say, protection finds me in all its power, to banish evil from this hour,” I said with thoughts of Bram being violently removed from this place and a barrier of protection lifting to cover the house like a translucent bubble.
My words garnered his attention, and so did the potion and basil, but not in the way I wanted. Fear wasn’t reflected in his eyes, but amusement was.
Bram shoved Roman to the side while laughing at my ill-fated attempt at vanquishing him.
“Oh, little witch,” he said between chuckles. “You’ve already used that spell on me once. You had to know I wouldn’t allow it, or any magic, to be used against me again.” He pulled up the sleeve of his sweater and flashed me a symbol drawn on his arm. I didn’t understand what it was, but I assumed it stood for some sort of magical protection.
Crap. We were in trouble.
Bram took a step forward and I straightened, shifting into a fighting stance. There was nothing else I could do. I couldn’t outrun him. Heck, I couldn’t even drive fast enough to get away. Not when he could materialize wherever he wanted.
The smirk on his face widened at the same time his eyes darkened. The vampire in him had come out to play.
Yup. We were screwed.
This was it. This was the moment my heroic journey came to a screeching halt. I was out of ideas. Out of spells. And as Bram stepped closer, I knew I was out of time.
“I’m tired of games,” Bram seethed. Whispered words floated past his lips I couldn’t make out, and then his attention shifted to something over my shoulder. “Ah, there you are.”
Hazel. He could see her.
Whatever he’d said had counteracted my cloaking spell. Crap. We were so freaking screwed.
Hazel moved from behind me until she stood at my side. She grabbed my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze before releasing it. I knew she was signifying if this was the end; we were both going down together. I admired her strength and allowed it to fuel my own.
My gaze fixed on Bram, watching as he sauntered toward us in a slow, teasing pace. I released the breath I’d been holding while I waited for him to reach us. While I knew fighting him was a longshot, I was still willing to try. If he was going to kill me, I’d make him work for it.
Was it fear? No. It couldn’t be. Why would he be afraid of me? Of Hazel?
“Where did you get that?” he asked in an accusatory tone.
His question sent my thoughts into a tailspin. What the hell?
“I asked you where you got that?” Bram shouted, his face twisting into the epitome of evil as he enunciated each word. Spit flew from his lips. “Answer me!”
“What’s he talking about?” Hazel whispered.
I had no clue.
“Get what?” I asked, even though a part of me wanted to play it off as though I knew what he was talking about.
My question only angered him. However, it also brought out more of his fear. When he took a step back, my gut told me to take a step forward. So, I did. Hazel followed.
Whatever he thought we had caused him to retreat, and we had to use that to our advantage.
“It doesn’t matter where we got it,” I said with more confidence as I took another step toward him. He stumbled back a step or two, heading for the window. “All that matters is that we have it.”
Bram didn’t reply. Instead, he dissolved into a flock of crows like before and made his escape out the broken windows.
I exhaled the breath I’d been holding and fought against my noodle legs to remain upright.
“Okay, I don’t know what you were doing or what the hell just happened,” Hazel said. “But I’m so glad he’s gone. I thought we were done for.”
“Me too.” I placed my hand over my heart, hoping to calm its erratic rhythm.
Roman coughed and forced himself into a sitting position, drawing my attention to him. Hazel moved as though she were about to check his wounds, but I grabbed hold of her wrist, stilling her. She glanced at me, her brows pulled together in question. I opened my mouth to tell her he was the most dangerous of the Montevallo vampires, but Roman spoke before I could.
“I used my ability on him,” he insisted. “I filled his mind with images of his worst nightmare.” He coughed into his hand. It sounded wet and as though it hurt.
I released my grip on Hazel’s wrist and glared at Roman. While I didn’t trust him—or like him—he was pretty darn clever.
“His worst nightmare?” Hazel wrapped her arms around her midsection. Either in an attempt to warm herself from the cold breeze blowing through the broken windows or because she was uneasy with Roman’s admission of what his power was.
“The amulet,” I said. “He used his gift of making someone’s worst nightmare feel as though it were happening by forcing Bram to believe we were in possession of the amulet. His worst nightmare is being trapped inside it again.”
Hazel’s eyes widened before shifting to lock on Roman. I swore I spotted a slight amount of fear flicker through her expression as she stared at him. I knew how she felt. I’d felt the same. Always had and always would.
Roman Montevallo was a monster. Albeit one who’d just saved our asses.
Chapter 8
I made my way to Benji. His body was limp and his eyes were closed. He looked as though he were sleeping, but I knew he wasn’t.
The memory of Bram snapping Benji’s neck surfaced, causing my heart to thunder. I could hear the bones popping and the rush of air leave his lungs as his body fell.
“Benji,” I called softly. My hand shook as I touched his cheek, feeling the tiniest bit of stubble scratch across my fingertips. “Benji, wake up.”
“He’ll wake on his own soon,” Roman snapped as he picked up pieces of a broken lamp Octavia had thrown. “When he does, you aren’t going to want to be so close to him. I suggest you take a step back.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because he’ll be locked in the same state of adrenaline as when he went down.” Roman disappeared into the kitchen, taking pieces of the lamp with him. “They all will.”
I blinked. My gaze darted to the four vampires lying around me. Yeah, maybe sitting where I was wasn’t such a good idea. I should probably give them space so I didn’t accidentally get hurt.
“How long will it be before they wake?” Hazel asked Roman when he came back into the living room, holding a broom.
“Not long,” he said as he swept up shards of broken glass.
I carefully deposited Benji’s head back on the floor and stood. While I wanted to be close to him when he woke, I now knew it wouldn’t be the smartest decision. Instead, I kept my distance and helped clean. Hazel did the same.
Once we’d cleaned the living room up as best we could, Roman mentioned it would be safer for Hazel and me to wait for the others to wake in the kitchen and then he headed upstairs for a shower. I paced the length of the kitchen, unable to remain still. It was after midnight. I knew I should be tired, but my mind raced as worry for Benji pulsed through me.
“I remember seeing chamomile tea in one of these cabinets when I was cooking earlier,” Hazel muttered as she rummaged through the kitchen in search of some. “Yes! Here it is. I don’t think Ivette would mind if I made a cup after everything. Do you want one too?” she asked.
I shook my head. Tea was the last thing I wanted right now.
“It might help you calm down,” Hazel said. “You sure?”
“Positive. Thanks, though.”
“Okay,” Hazel said as she filled a kettle with tap water.
Footsteps approached the kitchen, and I paused in my pacing to make sure they were real and not just my imagination. They were real. My gaze locked on the door and hope bloomed through my chest it was Benji awake and well. It wasn’t. Instead, Roman stepped into the kitchen, freshly showered. No one would ever have known he’d been in a knockdown, drag-out fight with another vampire tonight from the looks of him. There wasn’t a scratch on him thanks to his vampire healing and he’d changed into clean clothes.
My eyes remained on him as he stepped to the fridge and grabbed out a bag of blood. He tore the corner off with his teeth and then reached for a glass. After he poured the contents of the bag into it, he maneuvered around Hazel and placed his glass in the microwave.
“I don’t know what the two of you are thinking about,” Hazel said as she pulled a mug down from a cabinet for herself. “But all I can think about is how the hell Bram found me. I mean, wasn’t that cloaking spell you set supposed to keep him from finding me?” She tossed a glance my way as she unwrapped a bag of chamomile tea.
The cloak had still been up. It was why Bram hadn’t been able to see her. Somehow though, he’d still known she was here.
“I have no clue how he found you,” I said.
An honest answer was always best. Even if it wasn’t exactly what the person doing the asking was hoping for.
“He found you through his familiar,” Roman chimed in.
“Familiar?” Hazel asked. “As in witches familiar like books and movies always talk about witches having?”
Roman nodded but didn’t speak.
“Familiars are cats, right? Black ones?” Hazel asked him.
He leaned against the stove and folded his arms over his solid chest. His eyes were dark and brooding, but he didn’t seem as confrontational as he had previously.
Maybe my view of him was changing?
“Not necessarily,” he said.
The microwave beeped, and he grabbed his glass of blood, then took a long swig from it. I imagined fighting with Bram and having to use his power had probably caused him to work up an appetite.
“Do you have a familiar?” Hazel asked me.
“No. I don’t even know anyone who does.”
Having familiars wasn’t something my family did. It wasn’t something any witch I knew did, actually. I’d always thought it was made up for TV and books. Either that, or it was a lost tradition. Something time had snuffed out.
“She wouldn’t. Neither would her family. Familiars are for evil witches,” Roman insisted. His eyes shifte
d between Hazel and me. “They bind themselves to an animal form of their choosing. It allows them to take on the form of the animal as well as use the animal to see through their eyes, so to speak. It’s ancient and can be painful for the animal, which is why using a familiar isn’t common practice among witches any longer.”
No wonder I’d never heard of it before.
“What is Bram’s familiar? A crow?” Hazel asked before taking a sip of her tea.
“Precisely.” Roman nodded.
A shiver slipped through me. Him having a crow as his familiar made sense.
“I’ve been seeing crows all over lately,” I said.
“Where?” Roman asked.
“Caraway Inn. There was also one outside Abby’s shop, Earth Roots, too. It’s almost as though—”
“Bram has been following you, hoping you would lead him to Hazel,” Roman finished my thought for me.
I swallowed hard and nodded. My stomach filled with knots the size of my fist at the same my chest tightened. I knew with certainty then that I’d led Bram to Hazel.
How stupid could I be?
“How though? How did he know where this town was?” Hazel asked, still not one hundred percent satisfied with the answers she was being given. “I’m sorry, but this isn’t a big town. It can’t be that well-known.”
“It’s not,” Roman said. He took another swig from his glass.
“Then how did he find this town in the first place? How did he narrow down where I was with all of these cloaking spells on me and this house?” Hazel pressed further.
My stomach bottomed out as the answer hit me. A chill rippled through my veins.
“It’s because of me. The spell I put in place the first night we were here wore off while I was sleeping. Benji said the candles had been out for almost an hour when I woke. And, an hour would have given Bram ample time to pinpoint where you were.” I averted my gaze to the floor of the kitchen, because I couldn’t look at her. “And, like you said, Mirror Lake isn’t big. I’m sure it wasn’t hard for him to find us—to find me.”
“Especially with your last name used in the naming of a popular business—Caraway Inn,” Roman added.
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