Witchling Wars

by Shawn Knightley

  He came down closer, almost like he was going to kiss me. My heart was racing. I had never kissed a man other than Caleb. A spark of fear erupted inside of me. Along with a spark of excitement. I had no explanation for it other than the fact that my heart was hammering away. Was this adrenaline? Was it the thrill of waking up alive? I wasn’t certain.

  My magic started lurking in my fingertips. Without any warning it floated above my palms and stayed there, ready for anything. I didn’t summon it. It was just there. Ready to protect me. Ready to send him across the room. Or was it? It just lingered there, wafting over my hands and making me look like an idiot.

  “Rest, Harper,” he said. If he were human I would have been able to feel his hot breath on my face. Lucky for me, he wasn’t. There was only the chill of his skin being close to mine. “I’ll have my private plane take you back to Georgia later tonight. But for now, rest.”

  He stood up and walked out of the large bedroom. I reached for the comforter and wrapped it over my body to bring some warmth to my chilled skin. The sun gradually rose above the side rail of the balcony and threw a bright golden hue over the horizon. A maid came in to bring me breakfast a few hours later. Or so I assumed. I fell asleep shortly after Tobias left only to find a silver platter with Eggs Benedict and fried potato slices sitting next to my bed.

  I had gone from a dead woman to high-class service in the span of one night. It wasn’t a feeling I enjoyed.

  Chapter 7

  I don’t pretend to know the kind of wealth that men can acquire after several centuries of being alive, especially after gaining the prominent title of coven master to the Catach-Brayin, but I knew it was more money than I could possibly envision. The private jet that picked me up from the airport hanger that night wasn’t the same one I took with Ragna. And why would it be? Ragna, along with the rest of the Catach-Brayin, believed I was dead. Tobias had to use a different one with a new pilot. One he trusted. And one doesn’t just simply buy a new private jet overnight to fly someone back to Georgia. Or if Tobias did have that kind of money, he was even richer than my wildest dreams.

  When I woke up again later that evening there was a new meal waiting for me along with a new set of clothes. Expensive ones. A woman removed the IV from my arm and I was taken to yet another fancy car to the private airport hanger.

  The staircase to the plane opened up and I walked inside, feeling as though I was walking directly inside the belly of another beast. The plane was just for me this time. There was a large seat in the very back that extended out so I could continue to lay down and rest a bit more, along with champagne and strawberries set out for me.

  If I didn’t know any better, I would think Tobias was behaving in a way that would lead any girl to believe he had a crush on her. Did he do this kind of thing for Samantha or Emily? And if so, it had to be an act. Tobias was like any other vampire. Ruthless and eager to get what he wanted. And at the moment, he wanted me alive to find out who was committing the murders of young women he acquired to help him move the vixra blood. I still didn’t know why he had vixra blood. He refused to tell me until I knew more. Or until I proved worthy of such knowledge. I felt myself slowly retreating back to a place where ignorance was bliss and I was better off not knowing. Better off by myself to live my own life as if I still had some sort of control over it.

  Unlikely.

  The doorway stayed open and a familiar face appeared just before I nodded off and the plane started to move. I sat up instantly and saw Nathaniel enter and walk directly over to me, taking the seat next to mine and reclining it in the same way with his hands crossed over his chest.

  I didn’t know if I should sit and pout or ask if he was alright. After all, he fed on me. He sunk his teeth into my throat and made me believe he was going to kill me.

  “Do you really have nothing to say?” I asked.

  “No. What do you want me to say?”

  His response took me by surprise. He really didn’t want to say anything? To apologize for what he had done? To say he didn’t have a choice? To say that he was glad I was alive? To explain why he tracked Georgeanna’s descendants but made me believe he would murder me at any given time? Anything?

  I gave a sigh and rolled over, taking the blanket to my right and spreading it across my body for warmth. I was still groggy from everything that happened and it didn’t look like I would get much sleep tonight anyway since I would be traveling for half of it by the time we landed and drove back to Dilton from Atlanta. Might as well get an hour or so while I still could.

  “You will remain near me at all times,” he said out of nowhere a few minutes later.

  I turned over to face him in silence. His eyes were closed. He was in the same style of suit I always saw him in. Classy and impeccable. He must have seen the confusion on my face because he kept talking.

  “Madison’s husband invited me in,” he said. “I’m to watch over you as we search for more answers. Tobias’s orders.”

  “Why does Tobias want you to protect me? I can do a little digging on my own. Isaac is dead now anyway. I’m not in any real dang-”

  “Yes, you are,” he interrupted, opening his eyes and looking at me with an expression that no longer appeared nearly as intense as I remembered. Something in them had softened.

  “From what?”

  “We don’t know who killed Officer Parker or why. And your face is plastered all over the news. You need protection.”

  Nathaniel eyed the champagne and strawberries sitting next to me that I deliberately didn’t touch. “Making friends fast, I see,” he said with a hint of judgment.

  “As friendly as a kruxa can get with a vampire these days,” I responded.

  A flash of spite crossed his eyes in a way I hadn’t seen before. In a way I didn’t recognize until he knew I’d seen it and closed his eyes again to make it appear as though he was resting. He was irritated. But not in his usual way. There was jealousy in his eyes. Jealousy! Over me? No way. That wasn’t possible.

  “You did a brave thing last night,” he said quietly, hiding his expression as quickly as it came.

  “What did I do?”

  “You testified for me in front of the entire coven.”

  “I wasn’t exactly given a choice in the matter. Lucky for you, Tobias seems to value you more so than he did Isaac.”

  “Regardless, it was brave. You conducted yourself with courage. You faced your enemies while standing tall before them, even if your words were a bit of a gamble. Actually, they were downright reckless. Nevertheless, you displayed great courage.”

  I let his words settle in for a few seconds. I gathered that was as close to an apology as I was going to get.

  “I imagine you’re curious,” he said.

  ‘You think?’

  “About Georgeanna?” I asked innocently.

  He said nothing.

  “Yes, I’m curious. You obviously cared about her a lot to keep a close eye on all her descendants. But I figure it’s none of my business. The same way Caleb isn’t your business. Let’s leave it at that.”

  He accepted this answer. Or so it seemed. Then he peered over to me and commanded my attention without saying a word.

  “You have the true look of her. I don’t know how, but you do. She was like you in so many ways. Passive from day to day but strong when life demanded it.”

  Nice to know that certain qualities remained in the family line. Maybe Madison’s girls would get those qualities too.

  “I’m sorry you lost her,” I said quietly before I rolled over and let my body start to give way to a light sleep.

  The plane started moving toward the runway for take off. I could feel the wings shudder as we lifted into the air. Only this time, I wasn’t curious to look out the window. I just wanted to rest. I would have a lot on my plate when I got back to Dilton and I needed time to think over all that had happened.

  Just before I fell asleep, I felt Nathaniel’s eyes drift over me. Then the soft caress of a
hand on my shoulder, slowly moving up to the bandaged gashes from two pairs of teeth sinking into my neck the night before. I had a matching bandage covering my wrist. A flash of emotions reached inside me and wouldn’t let go. And they weren’t mine.

  It was fear. But not the typical fear I was used to feeling when I gained a little insight after someone touched me. It was the kind of fear I only became well-acquainted with after I found Caleb. The fear of loss. The fear of finding something special and the knowledge that they could be lost as fast as they were found.

  Nathaniel was feeling that same fear. He was afraid of losing me. Somewhere along the road, I became special to him. Not just because I was Georgeanna’s living descendant, but because I was me. He no longer needed an outside motive to keep me alive. Or a reason to put on a show to make me fear him. And good thing too. I would remind him of his actions over the last twenty-four hours if he tried mistreating me again.

  We arrived back at Madison’s empty house sometime between one and two o’clock in the morning. I walked upstairs without a word and stumbled into the guest bedroom. The one where Emily had slept just a couple nights ago. As soon as it was light outside, I would start looking for her. I didn’t care if Nathaniel thought it was a waste of time or if it wasn’t what was most important. That was what I wanted to do. I could just use the ‘you bit me in the neck, asshole, so help me find my friend’ card if necessary. Guilt went a long way. At least with me. I wasn’t sure if it did with Nathaniel, but I would soon find out.

  It was after nine in the morning when I finally woke up. When I walked into the bathroom and removed the bandages from my neck, I was a bit astonished by how nasty the wound looked. There was bruising all around the four punctures to match the bruising from the IV that was in my arm. Two punctures for Nathaniel and two for Tobias. One of Tobias’s maids had applied some kind of ointment to help the wounds heal and prevent infection, but it still looked brutal. Like a wild animal had found me lost in the woods and thought it stumbled upon a jackpot of food to help it get through the winter.

  ‘I need some Neosporin for this mess.’

  I showered the musty smell of the caverns away and spent a good long while cleaning my neck and wrist, trying my best not to turn my head from side to side too much. Somehow it was sorer today than it was yesterday. Maybe from the stress of it all.

  I towel dried my hair, pinned it to the back of my head in a bun, sneered at the god-awful brand on my side, and finished getting dressed. Then I marched over to Madison’s master bedroom to fish through her medicine cabinet for some Neosporin ointment.

  I guess I wrongly assumed Nathaniel would take the second guest bedroom downstairs. Or maybe the couch. But no. He had slept in Madison’s bed. It was already made with the pillows a bit out of order and he was sitting in her husband’s leather recliner in the corner next to the bookshelf, reading through a copy of one of Ted’s military history books.

  He hardly gave me a glance as I walked in unannounced and marched directly to the medicine cabinet. But he still moved with effortless silence, because as soon as I found the ointment and closed the medicine cabinet, he was standing behind me. I only saw him due to his reflection in the bathroom mirror. Yet another vampire myth debunked. They must have made that one up too.

  I couldn’t help but jump a bit. I was on edge after a week of violence and the constant threat of death.

  “Here,” he said. “Allow me.” He took the ointment from my hand and opened it up.

  “Um…okay.”

  He squeezed out a bit, placed it on his index finger then dabbed it over my wound. I never thought in a million years that a vampire’s touch could be soothing, but the icy feel of his skin did actually feel good on the gashes. Like a cold compress finally greeting a bruise that had been left wanting for days.

  “Why did you threaten me?” I asked. “When you first broke into my house and put a knife to my throat. You knew who I was. What I was. That I was Georgeanna’s descendant. And you threatened me. I was terrified of you. I was terrified for my family.”

  His shoulders didn’t slump. He didn’t frown. Quite the opposite. He stiffened, as though he didn’t need to give me a reason.

  “Would you have done what I asked if I hadn’t?”

  I took a second or two before answering. The truth of it was on the tip of my tongue, but I didn’t want to admit it. “Probably not.”

  He took out a large cloth bandage and placed it on my neck. “I cared about Georgeanna. I won’t see her family harmed. But I also know how kruxa feel about my kind. And vice versa. I needed you to have motivation to help me. I also never expected things would go as far as they have. If Isaac hadn’t continued pursuing you, I probably would have left and never come back into your life. I had already just about given up on getting answers and was ready to simply lure Officer Parker into believing the case couldn’t be solved and the Catach-Brayin was nothing more than a silly myth.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  “Things got more complicated. It wasn’t something that could be solved by simply luring a few people.”

  “Did any other descendants of Georgeanna know about you? That you were watching over the family?”

  “No,” he said firmly, then stepped away and back into Ted’s leather recliner. “We’ll need to buy you a small black scarf to wear around your neck to cover the bandage.”

  “Why black?” I asked. “It’s mid-summer. I can’t wear a scarf.”

  “Today is Officer Parker’s funeral. It will look suspicious if you don’t go. The media will notice if you’re not there.”

  “They will also notice if I am there,” I snarled at him. I was probably out of line to speak to him in such a tone of voice. But the thought of being a pawn in the game the media likes to play made the uneasy feeling my stomach had when I first met Nathaniel come back like a rampaging storm.

  Nathaniel rested his chin on his hand, considering what I said. Or perhaps annoyed that I was fighting back against what he wanted. The way he sat there made him look downright regal. Like a nobleman from another time posing for a portrait. I wasn’t a hawk searching for prey like Samantha was when she wanted a man. Nor was I meek like Emily. And yet even as I stood there, I could see what other women must have seen in him. A mysterious man who was strong, in control, and somewhat domineering. The makings of a romance novel that I could never be paid to waste my time reading.

  “We can stay toward the back if you like, but it’s best if you at least show up. I won’t let the media get near you. I’ll lure them if I have to. They’ll be received poorly if they try interrupting the service.”

  I gave a heavy sigh, knowing he was probably right. And hating that he was right all the same.

  I went over to Madison’s chest drawers and searched through her scarfs. There was a black one in there decorated with some purple flowers.

  “Will this do?” I asked.

  “Yes.”

  I walked over to her closet to find a black dress. The only one she had was the same one she wore to Caleb’s funeral. I thought of burning mine a week after he died. I never wanted to see the wretched thing again. But I couldn’t be bothered to build a fire. Caleb was always the one to light the fireplace while we opened Christmas presents during the holidays. I feared I might set the house on fire if I so much as tried.

  The material felt heavy. Like it was trying to weigh me back in a horrible state of grief. I pulled my hair back into a slick ponytail and added the lightweight scarf around my neck, hoping everyone would be too consumed with thoughts of Officer Andrew Parker to notice my strange choice of attire.

  “Shall we?” Nathaniel asked, standing at the door.

  “You might want to grab one of Ted’s black work jackets,” I told him. He did so, making an odd face as he noticed how it wasn’t tailored like his suits were.

  ‘Honestly, does that really matter right now?’

  Madison’s black shoes were a touch big on me. I reached for the inserts s
he had in her boots and forced them to fit the best I could. Then we were off. Dressed in black and traveling in style. Nathaniel’s style, not mine. Another Lincoln town car to be exact. I was sweating in the passenger seat as we got closer to the cemetery.

  I knew Andrew was a good man, even though he had been so aggressive with me the day before I found his body. I knew many people in town liked him, but I had no idea he was so well-loved until we pulled up to see an ocean of vehicles in the parking lot of the cemetery. We had to circle back out and parallel park on the street just to get inside. We swerved around the media who were waiting outside the cemetery with anxious breath. They tried snapping a few shots, but Nathaniel was smart enough to have a pair of black sunglasses on hand. He gave them to me just as we got out of the car. At least they wouldn’t get a good shot of my face.

  Girls. There were girls everywhere! Young women around my age, some a bit older. A few a bit younger.

  ‘Oh, now it all makes sense.’

  So many girls in high school had a crush on Andrew. They called him Officer Dreamy. Really original. And they all had little fantasies of him one day speaking to them. He wasn’t exactly my type. And even if he was, Caleb and I had already become high school sweethearts by the time he got a job at my school. I had tunnel vision when I was with Caleb. No one else mattered. It was like blinders went up all around me. The other girls in high school clearly didn’t feel that way. They were sniffling, crying, and talking of how wonderful he was as Nathaniel and I walked by. I could hear their whispers too. Their eyes latched onto me. They must have known I was the one to find him. Someone must have said something. Did the media catch wind of it? Probably.

  Venom. Pure venom seeped from their bodies. I could sense it all around me. They were jealous. Jealous that I had Officer Parker’s attention. Little did they know that it was the unwanted kind of attention. The sort that led me to being branded by the Catach-Brayin.

  My magic stirred in my palm, sensing a nearby threat. Sensing so many of the young women staring at me with utter viciousness.