by Lauryn Evans
“Who are you?”
“Come now,” the yellow-eyed demon said, feigning disappointment. “You know who I am.”
Aurora said nothing, glowering at him.
“Perhaps I need to jog your memory, Lelahel,” he purred, revealing his feathery black wings. “It has been quite a while since we’ve seen each other.”
Aurora stood taller and stuck out her chin, denying him the satisfaction of a response.
Azazel stepped towards her. “I have a plan, Lelahel. I intend to restore our place in heaven.”
Aurora took a step backward. She wanted nothing to do with the demon or his plan. He may have been part of her past, but this world was her present and future. She would do anything to protect it.
The yellow-eyed demon took another step forward, holding out his hand. “Join me, and we will right our wrongs. Together, we will wipe our slates clean and regain all that we have lost.”
Azazel paused, and his expression softened ever so slightly.
“We can go home.”
The vision faded, and the cafe came back into sight. The sounds of cups clinking and people talking filled the space around her as if nothing happened.
Renata rubbed her eyes before grabbing some more napkins. Back at the table, she mopped up the spilled coffee.
“I’m so sorry again, Mrs. Anderson,” Renata apologized. “I don’t know what came over me. Was anything damaged?”
“No,” Heather shook her head. “Just your notebook, Renata.”
Renata sighed, relieved. “Thank goodness.”
“Thank you for meeting with us, Mrs. Anderson,” Heather said, closing her laptop. “We’ll call you if we need anything else.”
Mrs. Anderson stood, adjusting her handbag on her shoulder. “Awesome. Thanks again.”
Renata waved. “Take care.”
Once Mrs. Anderson was out of earshot, Heather turned to Renata, helping her clean up the mess.
“Are you alright? Something seemed off back there.”
“I’m fine, really,” Renata assured her. “Another one of Aurora’s memories resurfaced. They come in the form of visions sometimes.”
“Oh,” Heather said, grabbing a bunch of dirty napkins. “What did you see?”
Renata paused with her hands on the table, mid-wipe. “Azazel.”
Heather was quiet for a moment. “What does it mean?”
Renata sighed. “I wish I knew.”
Back at the house, she got right to work, her things sprawled about the breakfast bar in the kitchen, taking a few breaks in between. She answered emails, scheduled appointments with clients, and secured the venue space and catering for the Anderson birthday party.
“Hey.”
Renata looked up from her work. It was almost nine o’clock. Jackson was sitting next to her at the counter, his brown eyes locked on her.
“Hey,” she said, tucking her hair behind her ear.
“Are you okay?” he asked. “Heather told me what happened.”
“Yes, I’m fine, really.” Renata admitted, “I’m just confused.”
Jackson furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?”
“The last time I saw one of Aurora’s memories was after Clarissa and I spoke to the ancestors. When they warned us about Azazel. Maybe…” Renata paused. “Maybe the visions come when they’re needed.”
“What’s confusing about that?”
“It’s not that.” Renata explained, “With the last vision, I can see why it was needed. But with this one, I don’t. It came out of nowhere.”
“Maybe it’s nothing,” Jackson said hopefully. “It could be just another memory.”
“Maybe,” Renata mumbled. It surely didn’t seem like it was nothing, though. On the contrary, it seemed rather important.
“It might be a good idea to go to bed early tonight,” Jackson suggested. “You’ve been doing a lot lately, with everything that’s been going on.”
“You’re right,” Renata agreed, closing her laptop. She was tired. “I think I will.” She kissed him on the cheek. “Goodnight, I love you.”
Jackson flashed a slight smile. “Sleep well. I love you too.”
Upstairs, in her room, Renata threw on pajamas and tucked herself into bed. She hadn’t been sleeping well lately, with Azazel disrupting her one way or another, and was hoping that maybe tonight would be different.
She reached over and turned off the lamp before sleep quickly claimed her.
“I’m here, Lelahel.”
Renata lurched forward, panting. The darkness surrounding her told her she’d woken up in the middle of the night.
Again.
She was tired of this happening.
Renata ran her fingers through her tangled brown hair, pulling it off of her face. She was just wearing an oversized T-shirt she’d thrown on the night before. She hadn’t even bothered to braid her hair before bed like she usually did. Jackson lay in bed beside her, fast asleep. He must have come to bed sometime after her.
An ominous presence filled the room. The outline of a dark figure stood in the shadows.
Renata shuddered, struggling to contain her fear. “Who’s there?” she whispered, even though the sickening feeling in her stomach told her she already knew.
The figure stepped into the moonlight pouring in from the window, revealing half of his pale face and piercing yellow eyes.
“Azazel,” Renata murmured, throwing her arm over Jackson’s resting form. She sat up defiantly, standing up to the demon that stood no more than three feet away from her.
Azazel let out a low, menacing laugh. “Ah, your precious human.” His voice was rich and dark, but smooth. Azazel slowly walked towards Jackson, gently dragging a finger along the side of his sleeping face.
Renata bared her fangs. “What do you want?” she asked him through clenched teeth.
Azazel chuckled dryly. “So feisty.”
Startled, Jackson’s eyes flew open as he sat up, panting. His eyes went wide at the sight of Azazel, and he pushed Renata behind him.
“How touching,” Azazel drawled with a smirk.
“What do you want?” Renata asked again, her voice tense.
Azazel vanished, reappearing on the other side of the bed, next to Renata. “You don’t remember our history yet, but you will.”
The self-assured look on his face made Renata sick to her stomach.
“Once you do, you will rush back to my side, where you belong. Then, the two of us will bask in the fruits of our labor.” His mouth curved upwards into a satisfied smile. “You’ll see.”
Azazel disappeared with a wicked grin, leaving a cloud of black mist in his wake.
Jackson gulped, his brown eyes wide with fear. “Was that…”
“Yes.” Renata’s voice shook. “Azazel was here.”
10
The following morning, the House members gathered in the open common room and kitchen area, discussing the previous night’s events.
“Who the hell does this guy think he is?” Veronica’s black bob swung with the ferocity of her sassy head movement, her hands on her hips. “Coming here, at night, to threaten us?”
Adela rolled her fiery yellow eyes, crossing her arms. “Some cranky immortal, that’s for sure.”
“More importantly,” Heather said, bringing the discussion back on track, “what does he want?” She rubbed her forehead. “Azazel wouldn’t show up here without reason.”
“I’ll tell you what he wants,” Jackson said, his arms crossed flat against his chest and his expression unreadable. “He wants Renata. For what sick, delusional reason, I don’t know.” He clenched his jaw. “But he made that pretty clear last night.”
“Why would he want Renata?” Alice asked, turning to face her. “What role could you play in his plan?”
“Who knows,” Mariel huffed.
“In the spirit realm, Rowena told me I was the only one who had the power to face him.” Renata paced back and forth. “Maybe he wants to make sure I won’
t be a threat to him.”
“Look,” Clarissa said, taking charge. “We still don’t know his plan. He mentioned something about your history, right?”
“What history?” Edwin threw his hands up in frustration. “We would know if he and Renata had a history, wouldn’t we?”
“Besides,” Mariel added with a sigh, “he’s thousands of years old. Renata wasn’t even a thought until the 1920s.”
“Maybe he’s got the wrong girl,” Adelaide added hopefully.
Wyatt rubbed his temples, stress lines taking hold on his forehead. “Either way, I don’t like it.”
“What do you think, Renata?” Adelaide asked, wrenching her from her silence.
“I don’t know what to make of this.” Renata stopped pacing. “For all we know, he’s trying to distract us, deceive us, or lead us in the wrong direction, taking our attention away from what he’s actually doing.”
None of this made much sense. Between what Rowena had shown her in the spirit realm, and what was happening now, Renata couldn’t find a middle ground. Azazel wanted the humans to turn on each other, to kill, that much was obvious. But why? What did he have to gain from the humans killing each other? And how did that relate to her?
There had to be some type of connection.
Clarissa glanced at Adela, her hands falling to her sides. “We need to work together. My coven and your House. We’re obviously not getting far on our own, but maybe with our combined strength, we could get somewhere.”
“I agree,” Renata said solemnly, turning to Veronica. “I need you to reschedule my meeting with the catering staff.” Keeping the House safe was her number one priority. Work could wait for now.
Veronica nodded. “I’ll do that right away.”
“Perfect.” To Clarissa, Renata said, “Let’s begin immediately.”
About a half hour later, the overwhelming scent of human blood filled the house. Adela twitched her nose, shrugging off of the aroma. Besides, there was only one witch she cared to pay attention to.
The coven leader.
Clarissa stood in front of her coven, debriefing them and explaining what they had to do, along with a bunch of witchy stuff Adela didn’t understand. She didn’t get the lingo, but thought Clarissa looked good saying it. Adela couldn’t help but stare. She looked so good up there, beside Renata, taking care of business.
Thank god she’s busy. Maybe then she wouldn’t notice her staring.
Clarissa caught her eye, flashing her smile her way. Adela’s cheeks instantly reddened, heat dancing across them. Maybe she was more than just crushing on this girl.
Renata cleared her throat. “Lightblood witches, I’d like to thank you for coming. You are welcome here any time.”
Angry looks rested on the witches’ faces. They did not want to be there, and they wanted the vampires to know that.
Renata continued, poised and calm, ignoring the witches’ hostile reactions. “As you know, with each passing day, Azazel becomes a greater and greater threat to all of us.”
“We have a higher chance of stopping him if we work together,” Clarissa added. “Witches and vampires.”
Renata nodded. “Neither of us can do it alone. We need your help and your talents to put an end to Azazel’s scheme.”
“Why should we work with them?” A voice called from the back of the room.
Uh oh. Shit was about to hit the fan.
The witch stepped forward, through the crowd, facing both leaders. “We can handle this on our own, without the bloodsuckers help,” she spat.
“You’re going to pay dearly for that,” Veronica charged with a fist, but Edwin held her back while she kicked and squirmed, muttering curses.
“Yeah,” another witch called. “We can’t trust them, anyway.”
“They’ll kill us and suck our corpses dry!”
The Lightblood witch coven erupted into a cacophony of noise. The witches argued, yelling and pulling each other’s hair.
“That’s enough!” Clarissa bellowed. “We are working with the vampires, and that’s the end of it.”
The witches continued to bicker, completely unbothered by their leader’s command.
“Stop!” Clarissa yelled to no avail. It was like she was yelling at a brick wall.
Adela watched the scene unfolding around her, her mouth agape. In shock, the other House members watched the madness unfold, exchanging uncomfortable glances.
Veronica looked ready to punch someone, and Mariel flung insults at the witches who were bad-mouthing vampires. While that was to be expected from those two, the coven’s behavior was unreal. The witches were deep in Azazel’s thrall, which meant his plan was already unfolding.
This was bad. Really bad.
Adela watched Clarissa struggle to control her coven. Defeated, she ran her fingers through her blonde hair, her frustration evident in each attempt to put a halt to the craziness. Adela couldn’t stomach it. She couldn’t watch anymore, while she stood around doing absolutely nothing. She had to do something, anything she could do to help calm the storm that was brewing.
“SHUT UP!” Adela yelled at the top of her lungs.
The room suddenly got so quiet, Adela swore she could have heard a pin drop. All the witches turned toward her, some gawking while others looked ready to kill her.
Clarissa mouthed a relieved “thank you,” to Adela.
Warmth filled Adela’s chest. She dipped her head, flashing a small smile in return.
“The only way we will stop Azazel is by working together.” Renata continued, standing tall as she stared down nearly every Lightblood witch. “Whether you like it or not, that’s what’s happening.”
Clarissa nodded. “It’s settled. Any further complaints come straight to me. Take ten minutes to cool down.” She sighed, clearly worn out. “We’re done talking.”
The witches funneled out the back door into the yard. The common room got quieter and quieter as they left.
Adela wandered by Clarissa. “You looked good back there.” She panicked, quickly realizing her mistake. “Uh, I mean,” she stuttered, tongue-tied, her cheeks hot, “did good back there. You did good back there.”
God, she wanted to face-palm.
Clarissa laughed lightheartedly. “Thanks.” She pulled a pen out of her pocket and scribbled something onto a scrap of paper.
Her touch sent a tingle of warmth across Adela’s cold skin. She felt the scrap of paper resting in her hand. “What’s this?” she asked, unfolding the note.
“My number.” Clarissa grinned, before sashaying outside to supervise her coven.
Her number?
Sure enough, a sequence of digits resembling a phone number was written out.
Clarissa had given Adela her phone number. Her phone number!
Adela surveyed the area, making sure Clarissa couldn’t see her. Once she was sure the coast was clear, she stopped holding back her squeal, accompanied by a happy dance.
She knew who she would call later.
Jackson sat at the edge of the bed, silent as his eyes darted around the room. Renata knew him well enough to know something was wrong.
She sat behind him on the bed, wrapping her arms around his chest. “What is it?”
“He seemed like…” He paused, afraid to say the words. “He seemed like he wanted to take you away. Like you were a part of all this.”
“He’s trying to get to us, Jack. He’s baiting you.”
“Well,” he huffed, with a ferocious look in his eyes. “It’s working.”
“Hey,” Renata turned his face towards hers, cradling his cheek. “I love you. We’ll figure this out together.”
Jackson placed his hand over hers, caressing it with his thumb. “I know.” He sighed, his expression softening. “I love you too.”
He didn’t have to say it aloud. Everything he did told her that he loved her.
“His interest in you is dangerous.” Jackson’s big brown eyes bore into her. She could see his fear inside th
em. His worry. “What if the Clarissa and her coven can’t keep him out?”
“Someone told me to save my worries until the time to worry comes.”
Jackson smirked, looking like he was feeling better. “He sounds like a pretty smart guy.”
Renata kissed him softly. “He is.”
Jackson turned his body towards her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to him, like any space between them was too much.
They broke away from the kiss, but Jackson still held her close. Renata rested her head on his chest, returning his embrace. He placed a gentle kiss on top of her head.
“I’m not going anywhere, Jack.”
He let go of her, his hands lingering by her waist. “I know.”
She took his hand, leading him back downstairs, back to the witches, back to the chaos. “Come on.”
The witches filed back into the common room, led by Clarissa. Adela’s eyes darted to the stairs, where Renata and Jackson strode into the common room, holding hands.
Renata cleared her throat. “Azazel has been here.” To Clarissa, she pleaded, from one leader to another, “I need you to help me protect my House.”
Clarissa nodded. “That we can do.” She turned to her coven. “Let’s start the ritual.”
The witches broke off into groups and drew symbols on the walls, protective runes to ward off Azazel. Then they assembled into a circle, joining hands as Renata entered the formation. Clarissa started to chant, leading the others as they filled the silence. Jackson and the other House members watched the Mistress intently as she pooled her energy into a spell fortifying the house. Protecting them like she always did.
The symbols on the walls glowed, and then dimmed, a blast of energy finishing the ritual.
“Thank you, Clarissa,” Renata said solemnly. “I won’t forget this.”
Clarissa nodded earnestly. “You helped me when I needed it. I’m just returning the favor.”
Now that their work was done, the Lightblood witches cleared out of the common room, leaving it silent.
