by L.H. Cosway
“So, Theodore just … killed him?” I asked.
“He did. I fear he would have killed me too simply to assuage his fury, but I managed to escape when Rita began to calm him down.”
Oh, how the mighty had fallen. I folded my arms. “And now you’re here to beg for sanctuary?”
“I didn’t know where else to go. I thought Theodore was the answer to making the magical families reign supreme in Tribane, but now I see he’s too old. His age has caused his sanity to slip. Most of the magical families are afraid of him and are in hiding.”
“You should have thought of that before you decided to bring him back from hell,” I said with no small amount of disdain as I nibbled a scone. It wasn’t too long ago that Marcel thought he was so high and mighty with Theodore on his side. Now his plan had backfired, and it served him right for what he did to my poor father. Just thinking of my dad made my throat grow tight with emotion.
“I know I’ve made a terrible mistake, and I’ll do anything in my power to make up for it. All I ask is for protection.”
“And how do we know Theodore didn’t send you here himself?” Ethan asked, suddenly stepping into the room.
Marcel’s eyes bugged when he saw Ethan. Obviously, he could sense the change in him, feel the power.
“I can prove it, I promise. I’ll tell you all of his plans,” Marcel replied in a jittery voice.
Ethan walked to me and sat, pulling me into his side, his strong arm wrapping around my waist. “Go ahead.”
“I need a promise from you first that ensures my safety.”
Ethan raised an eyebrow. “I will promise you nothing, warlock. You will tell me Theodore’s plans and then I’m going to lock you up until I see with my own two eyes that these plans are real and not some ploy to lead us into a trap. Once we have defeated the sorcerer, then and only then, will I set you free.”
“That sounds mighty generous,” Finn interjected, nudging Marcel’s shoulder. “I’d take that offer if I were you, mate.”
“Yes, yes, okay,” Marcel said in a fluster, running his hands through his long, wet hair.
“I’m waiting,” Ethan said, his words edged with impatience.
“He’s going to release the chaos again,” Marcel answered swiftly. “But this time it will be far more powerful. He’s been summoning it from the hell dimension, building up a store to release when you least expect it.”
“And when would that be?”
“Sunrise, three days from now. He’ll release the chaos, but because it’s stronger than before, it will kill the humans the moment it enters their bodies. By the time night falls and the vampires awaken, the humans will all be dead. There will be no blood for them to feed on, so they will weaken. Theodore will wait a few days and then he’s going to open a portal from the hell dimension and let all variety of entities through. Those entities will kill the vampires in their weakened states.”
“That is quite an ambitious plan,” Ethan mused, scratching his chin. “But why did he want Emilia and Rebecca?”
“He needed Rebecca’s blood to cast the spell that will open a big enough portal. He has a vial of it that he’s kept hidden somewhere safe. He was holding Emilia hostage to keep her from undoing the barrier spell around the city. It was an added bonus to his plan because not only would the vampires be weakened when he opened the portal, they would also be unable to flee.”
“Lovely. But what, pray tell, does Theodore want with an empty city? The magical families can’t number more than a hundred or so people at this stage. That’s not much of a kingdom to rule.”
Marcel chewed on his lip. “That’s just it. He doesn’t want to rule only Tribane, he wants to expand. If he can take the city and continue bringing entities over from hell, then he can build a dark army and move out until the entire country is within his hold. Tribane is just the beginning.”
My palms grew sweaty as I listened to Marcel speak. These plans of Theodore’s may be pretty grandiose, but I could see how they were achievable. Who knew what kind of creatures he’d be bringing over from hell?
“Well, obviously he needs to be stopped,” Ethan said.
“How we do that is the million-dollar question,” Finn added.
Nobody said anything for a long time, our minds struggling to conjure up ideas.
“We need to fool him into believing his plan is working,” I said. “If we can make it look like the people have all been killed by the chaos, lull Theodore into a false sense of security, then we can get to him and kill him before he has the chance to open up the portal.”
“There’s no way to fake that kind of carnage,” Marcel argued.
“What about a glamour?” I suggested.
“What about it?” Finn asked.
“Well, a glamour makes something look like something it’s not, right? So, why can’t we construct a glamour that makes it look like everyone’s dead when really they’re still alive?”
“Because that kind of magic is far beyond any of our expertise,” Marcel answered.
I smiled. “True, but I doubt it’s beyond Roman’s.”
They all stared at me, realising that I just might be right. Before anyone could say a word, the door opened and my grandfather stepped inside.
“My ears are burning. Has somebody been talking about me again?” he questioned.
***
The rest of the evening was a buzz of activity. I spent most of my time helping make plans while also eating everything I could get my hands on. Ethan smiled and told me it was perfectly normal for me to be hungry all the time. He said that dhampir babies needed far more nutrients than human ones since they developed more quickly.
No matter where I was, he was never far away, always keeping a watchful eye over me. The love I used to see in his eyes when he looked at me had grown even more intense. The way he looked at me spoke volumes. It said he’d die to keep me and our baby safe, and that knowledge assuaged some of my worries.
Marcel was brought to the basement, where Roman magically bound his hands and legs just like he did Emilia’s. There was no point in using regular old restraints for witches and warlocks, who could easily use magic to undo them.
Roman said that the kind of glamour I suggested was possible, but that there was a much better way of achieving a similar goal. He told us of a spell that would allow the humans to be taken over by the chaos mist, but when they died it would be a false death. They would essentially sleep and wake up after twenty-four hours, just like Shakespeare’s Juliet, Roman told us. And because this was a spell he’d designed himself, and one which had not been attempted before, Theodore wouldn’t recognise it.
He informed us that he would require a day or two to gather what he needed and then swiftly departed. Not long after Roman was gone, I started to feel sleepy, so Ethan picked me up and carried me to our bed.
I slept soundly, and I knew it was because Ethan held me through the night.
When I woke up, he was gone, but I wasn’t alone. Rebecca sat at the end of the bed. She hugged a pink teddy bear to her chest, looking happy that I was finally awake.
I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. “Rebecca, what are you doing in here?”
“Amanda’s still sleeping, and I’m hungry.”
Ah, I’d forgotten Amanda had sort of been relegated to Rebecca’s unofficial carer.
“You could have woken her. She wouldn’t mind,” I said, getting out of bed and walking to the wardrobe to find something to wear. Finn had brought my stuff from his place, so I had all my clothes in Ethan’s room now. I felt weird with how fast things were moving with us, but I couldn’t seem to find a way to slow the momentum. Besides, now that I was pregnant, there was no hope of taking things slow.
Rebecca got a shy look in her eyes, but she didn’t say anything.
“What’s wrong, honey?” I asked, pulling out a long black skirt and a lacy off-white top.
“I think there’s a man in Amanda’s room with her,” she whispered cons
piratorially.
My eyes widened. “A man?”
“I saw him go in there last night. The vampire with dark hair.”
Now my eyebrows practically shot right up into my hairline. “Lucas?”
Rebecca pursed her lips and twisted the hem of her top. “I don’t know his name.”
Yeah, it was definitely Lucas. I quickly dressed, washed my face, and brushed my teeth, while Rebecca followed my movements and played with a gold charm bracelet on her wrist.
“That’s pretty,” I commented. “Did your daddy give you that?”
She nodded. “He said it belonged to my mother.”
Huh.
Once I was done getting ready, I told Rebecca to stay put and that I’d be back in a minute. Then I marched straight to Amanda’s room like a woman on a mission. I didn’t even bother to knock. I simply pushed the door open and strode inside. The blinds were drawn, the room encased in darkness. For Lucas’s sake, I presumed.
A lamp flicked on, and I saw the vampire fast asleep in bed before I noticed Amanda staring at me, looking equally surprised at my invasion and embarrassed at being caught.
“Tegan,” she gasped. “You should have knocked.”
“Why, so you could hide the naked, two-hundred-pound vampire in your bed?”
“Talk quieter, you’ll wake him,” she replied in a hushed voice.
I rolled my eyes. “A chainsaw wouldn’t wake him this early in the morning. Fuck, Amanda, I didn’t nurse you back to health only for you to go straight back to square one again. Yes, he saved your life, but still. I thought you were smarter than this.”
She winced at my words. “I am smart. It’s different this time. He said he wants things to be different, and I do, too. I won’t ask him to feed on me. He threw himself in front of a bullet for me, Tegan.”
“Yeah, well, it might not be as valiant as you think. Vampires getting shot is like a human getting hit with a paintball. They heal from it pretty easily.”
She grew agitated now. “Please don’t talk to me like I’m stupid.”
I threw my hands in Lucas’ direction. “Someone with an addiction to vampire bites sleeping with a vampire is pretty stupid.”
“That’s rich coming from you, standing there pregnant with a vamp baby. Yeah, I heard everyone talking about it.”
“That’s different!” I argued.
“No, it’s not. You think you’re the only one special enough for a vampire to want to be with you. It’s obvious.”
“That’s not true. You know Ethan can’t drink my blood the way Lucas used to drink yours. That’s why our situation works. How do you know Lucas won’t bite you in the heat of the moment?”
“We had a really long talk last night. He doesn’t want to be alone anymore, and I believe him, Tegan. He’s jaded with his life and wants to make a change.”
I sighed, knowing there was no talking her out of this, but perhaps there was a good compromise. “Okay, well, maybe that’s true, but will you do something for me just in case?”
“What is it?”
“If I can come up with a potion that will make your blood taste awful to Lucas if he drinks it, will you take it for me?”
She nodded. “Sure, if it will put your mind at ease.”
“It will.”
Returning to my room and Rebecca, I grabbed a magic book that Rita had given me a couple of weeks ago from my bag and brought it downstairs with me. I laughed when Rebecca and I reached the kitchen and found Finn standing by the cooker wearing an apron and making breakfast for everyone.
I peeked over his shoulder to stare at the pan and my mouth watered. “Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that much bacon before.”
He laughed and patted me softly on the back. “You having any strange cravings yet, preggo?”
I scrunched up my face. “Don’t ever call me that again, and yeah, not exactly cravings for any food in particular, just food in general. I literally feel like I could eat anything and everything.”
“Okay, well go and sit down. I’ll bring a plate over to you.”
I sat in between Rebecca and Delilah and began flicking through the magic book. I found the spell I was looking for easily enough. The main ingredient I needed was rosemary. Apparently, vamps couldn’t stand the herb and found the taste of it sickening in the extreme. So, if it was ingrained in Amanda’s blood, then Lucas would probably vomit if he tried to bite her.
There was a spell on another page that really caught my interest. It was similar to the one Rita cast to find my dad when he’d been kidnapped by Marcel and Ridley. This one didn’t require the use of dowsing rods, but it did allow you to find a person’s location if you had something personal that belonged to them.
My eyes flicked to Rebecca, catching on the shiny gold bracelet around her wrist. I never did get Pamphrock to tell me the location of her mother’s psychiatric facility, but perhaps I could use magic to find it by myself. It wasn’t fair for the girl to be shifted from pillar to post like she had been these past weeks. She needed stability, and the only person who could give that to her was a parent. The problem was, her mother could be so unwell she was incapable of caring for a ten-year-old.
Well, there was only one way to find out. I determined that today I was going to find Rebecca’s lone surviving parent. After I ate more than my fill of bacon, eggs, pancakes, and maple syrup (and after Finn set a second plate down in front of me with a wink after I’d shovelled down the first), I enlisted the help of Gabriel and Alvie to cast the spell.
It took a bit of persuading to convince Rebecca to temporarily give up her charm bracelet, but I eventually managed by promising to let her have ice-cream for dinner. And okay, perhaps that was an easy bargain since I could definitely go for a whole tub of the stuff in my current condition.
We completed the rosemary potion for Amanda first, and I sealed it away in a glass bottle for later. Then we cast the location spell for Rebecca’s mother with a map of the country spread out on the floor between the three of us. I briefly remembered Pamphrock saying her name was Felicity when he spoke of her. The spell worked kind of like an Ouija board. We placed the charm bracelet beneath an upturned glass, and the glass moved to the location of the person we were looking for. In this case, it slid straight across the map, landing on a small town on the other side of the country, thousands of miles from Tribane.
“It’s too far to go there right now,” Gabriel said. “You should wait a few days until Theodore has been taken care of before you start looking for this woman.”
“Yeah, I suppose you’re right,” I agreed.
The door creaked open and Ethan stepped inside, taking in our spell with a bemused expression. “What are you three conspiring about?” he asked, coming to sit beside me as he eyed the random assortment of items for the spell.
He picked up the potion for Amanda, popping open the cork and taking a whiff. “Ugh, this smells awful.”
“We were casting a spell to find Rebecca’s mother. I’m going to find her once the Theodore situation is dealt with. That,” I said, grabbing the bottle from him and recapping it, “is for Amanda. She and Lucas are all shacked up again after his valiant attempt to save her life, so I’ve concocted a potion to keep her safe. Once she’s taken this, Lucas will be vomiting his guts up for days if he tries to drink from her.
Ethan eyed the bottle. “I don’t doubt it. It smells like a battlefield full of week-old corpses.”
“Eww, I do not want to think about how you know what that smells like,” Alvie said with a shudder.
I grinned at Ethan. “It only smells that way to you. It’s supposed to be repellent to vampires, that’s the whole point.”
He pulled me to him and began kissing my neck. “You’re such a clever little thing, aren’t you,” he murmured in a seductive voice, his hand roaming over my hip.
I heard Alvie giggle just as Gabriel subtly dragged him from the room, allowing us our privacy. Sighing, I placed my hand on Ethan’s obvious erectio
n, eliciting a goosebump-inducing growl.
“How is it that I haven’t been inside you for over a day? Surely, that is a sin,” he rumbled as he inched my top up over my breasts. Pinching a nipple, he hovered over me before taking it into his mouth.
“Ethan,” I moaned.
“Yes, my love?” he asked with a devilish smile.
It took every ounce of willpower to get my next words out. “The house is full of people, most of them with supernatural abilities. They’ll hear us.”
“I will fuck the mother of my unborn child in my own house when and how I want. I don’t care who hears.”
I shuddered at his possessive declaration. His hand went under my skirt and straight between my legs.
“But … I … do,” I protested weakly.
“I like it when you get embarrassed,” he murmured, rolling his tongue around my nipple now.
“Ethan,” I breathed.
“You’re soaking wet.”
“Your … fault.”
“Yes, I like that it’s my fault. Come, let’s get you out of these troublesome clothes.”
Ethan lifted me and carried me to our room, where he carefully removed every article of clothing I had on. Moments later, I was naked while he was still fully dressed. He slid a finger inside me as he lowered his head between my legs and started to lick. I ran my hands through his luscious hair, so silky it begged to be touched.
Ethan flicked his tongue in this rapid vampire way that was kind of weird but also the most exquisite thing I’d ever felt. He really was too good at this.
“Why do you still have all your clothes on?” I asked in frustration.
“Because this is about you,” he answered, moving his mouth up my body. He nipped and sucked at every inch of my skin, his fingers still thrusting inside me. I wasn’t sure I had the brain capacity to talk anymore. Then his mouth was on mine and I was lost to his kiss. I closed my eyes, no longer bothering to protest, just letting him whisk me away on a cloud of pleasure.
***
