Damned and Cursed | Book 10 | Fallen Skye

by Bullion, Glenn

  Victoria didn’t budge just yet. Wearing a mischievous smile, she held a finger to her lips and lowered her voice.

  “Shhh,” she said. “Let’s sneak.”

  Another teachable moment. She gestured to her feet and removed her shoes. Zoey followed suit, sliding off her sandals and setting them aside. Victoria blinked, and her eyes turned red. The darkness in the mansion faded. Zoey did the same. A vampire could be very quiet. They had all the tools necessary to be invisible in a crowded room. She wanted Zoey to practice seeing in the dark, trusting her nose, using a vampire’s natural grace.

  Also, it was fun.

  She led the way down the halls at first, but then drew back and eased Zoey forward. Zoey took over, stopping occasionally to listen and smell. She was cautious, absorbing every detail. Victoria watched with pride.

  They heard tidbits of a discussion from the kitchen. A male and female voice.

  “Baking soda, sugar, salt—”

  “A lot of powders.”

  “Yeah, I know. Weird, isn’t it?”

  “What else do you need?”

  “Let’s see … whoa. Bone dust from a sparrow.”

  “That’s disgusting.”

  “The good stuff always is.”

  Zoey’s eyes reverted to normal as they approached the kitchen, and Victoria followed her example. The light was on, casting the large dining room beyond in a soft glow. Zoey wanted to walk in the kitchen, but Victoria stopped her.

  “You actually have sparrow dust?”

  “Yeah. In the safe, second shelf.”

  “Shit. You know, normal couples are out right now. Getting drunk, dancing, partying.”

  “Where’s the fun in that?”

  A quick kiss.

  “Yeah, I know.”

  Victoria and Zoey leaned in the doorway. Victoria folded her arms and smiled, watching the conversation unfold.

  Kevin Mishnar had the kitchen in a state she’d never seen. The dining table was to the side, giving him plenty of space to work. Three pots sat on the stove, with unknown magic boiling inside. A plastic storage container sat in the middle of the floor, large enough to store a small wardrobe. Leese Teague was busy at the counter, retrieving various spices from the cabinet.

  It was great to see them together again.

  “Okay,” Leese said. “What’s next?”

  Kevin read from a sheet of paper.

  “Hmm. Some milk.”

  Leese froze as she opened the refrigerator.

  “Whole? Two percent?”

  “Uh, my brain didn’t quite go that far. Just whatever is there.”

  She handed the milk over. Kevin poured some into another pot and jabbed his finger into the mixture. The rising steam turned purple. He began dumping different mixtures into the storage container. It turned various colors along the way, and a nasty scent filled the air. Even Leese, the only human present, pinched her nose.

  “What the hell?” she said. “Oh my God, that is so gross. What is all this crap supposed to do?”

  Kevin smiled.

  “You’ll see.”

  Victoria stepped forward.

  “What are you doing in my kitchen!” she shouted.

  Kevin and Leese jumped and whirled in place. Their expressions were priceless. Surprise, fear, awe. Victoria laughed, getting the reaction she wanted.

  Hugs and hellos were handed out. The last time she’d seen Kevin, he was packing a car and leaving his life and friends behind. Kevin and Leese were both miserable, but now they were whole again. There was color in Leese’s cheeks, a spring in Kevin’s step.

  Kevin had a hug for Zoey. The pair had fought together before. She’d saved his life.

  Victoria held him at arm’s length, looking him up and down. He looked happy, refreshed, but she could see a darkness in his eyes. He’d been through something.

  “God, I’ve missed you guys so much,” she said, giving him another hug. “Are you back for good now? No more disappearing for months at a time?”

  “Hey,” Leese said, wagging a finger. “You can’t talk. You haven’t been around, either.”

  Zoey laughed.

  “This place is like a haunted castle when Victoria’s not here.”

  Leese seemed surprised, maybe even hurt.

  “You’ve been here by yourself?”

  Zoey nodded sheepishly.

  “What the hell? Why didn’t you call me? We could have hung out.” She went to the table and pulled her phone from her purse. “What’s your number?”

  The two young women paired off, disappearing into the corner. Victoria watched carefully, without trying to look like she was watching. Age gap, human, vampire, it didn’t matter. She could see that if Zoey wanted it, a new friendship was right in front of her.

  Closing her ears to their conversation, she focused on Kevin. The witch was the youngest, and strongest, of her inner circle.

  “How have you been?” she asked. “What have you been up to?”

  He smiled mysteriously.

  “You know. Just surviving.”

  “Sounds like you might have an interesting story.”

  “Maybe. How about you?”

  She nodded.

  “We’ll swap tales later,” she said, putting an arm around him. “Leese looks good, doesn’t she?”

  Kevin smiled at her steering of the subject. They both eyed Leese, who was busy discussing phone apps with Zoey. Watching the women talk was almost jarring for the eyes. They were both beautiful, but opposite in nearly every regard. Blonde versus brunette. Leese’s skin looked as if she’d spent weeks at the beach. Zoey’s complexion resembled that of a vampire. While Zoey’s figure had filled out some since Victoria first met her, she still needed to drink more blood.

  “She looks great,” Kevin agreed.

  “So,” Victoria said. “You finally came to your senses.”

  He scowled at her.

  “That’s not what you said before. You said maybe I was doing the right thing leaving.”

  “True, but I also said I couldn’t tell you what to do. It’s not fun, but sometimes you have to watch a friend make a mistake, so they can learn.”

  “I’m going to smack you.”

  She laughed, and turned her attention to the plastic container at their feet.

  “I’m almost afraid to ask, but what exactly are you doing?”

  His eyes lit up.

  “Ah! A new potion! You guys got here just in time.”

  His excitement caught Leese’s eye. She stepped forward. Zoey watched with interest behind them.

  “Is it ready?”

  “Yeah.”

  He moved across the kitchen and retrieved his coat, a custom-made gift from Victoria. She didn’t even realize he’d brought it. Something felt off as he ran a hand along the back. It took a moment to realize what it was.

  It actually smelled like a normal coat. All the magic that Kevin carried, the potions, trinkets, the parts of dead animals, they were gone.

  Victoria would never admit it to him, but a slight pain needled her. She’d bought that coat specifically for him, to keep magic, and it seemed he’d moved on to something else.

  She nearly gasped when he held it over the plastic container.

  “Uh, Kevin? What are you doing?”

  “Don’t worry. Trust me.”

  He set the coat inside the container, making sure every inch was soaked. The liquid changed colors whenever his fingers submerged.

  Nothing else happened. Leese spoke, so Victoria didn’t have to.

  “Uh, Kevin? We’ve spent hours gathering crap. Please tell me there’s more than that.”

  Victoria hid a laugh at Leese’s behavior. Something had changed for her as well. She’d always been accepting of Kevin’s magic, but now she seemed more involved than before.

  Kevin said nothing. With a smile, he pulled a trinket from his back pocket.

  His magical feather, capable of granting weightlessness. The trinket had been with him a lon
g time, was a regular part of his arsenal. It had saved his life many times.

  A look of sadness crossed his face.

  “Goodbye,” he said.

  “You need to use that?” Leese asked.

  He nodded.

  Zoey said nothing, but flashed Victoria a look, not understanding the emotional attachment. The elder vampire merely smiled.

  Kevin dropped to a knee and placed the feather in the magical bath. The potion changed colors several times, and steam rose. When the color finally faded, the feather was gone.

  Leese clapped her hands, excited.

  “Okay, what does it do?”

  “Well, it’s not done yet. It has to soak for eight hours.”

  Victoria arched an eyebrow.

  “You were going to leave this in my kitchen all night?”

  “No, no. I was going to take it to the war room. We wouldn’t leave your kitchen like this.”

  “War room?”

  “I’ll tell you later.”

  She didn’t press further. She wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to know.

  “How’s Alex and Cindy been?” she asked, wondering about the rest of her circle. “Is business booming?”

  Kevin and Leese looked at each other, a serious air passing between them. Victoria watched the silent exchange, a knot forming in her chest.

  “Are they okay? What’s wrong?”

  “We didn’t just come here to use the safe,” he said, pointing behind him. “Can we talk?”

  Victoria wanted nothing more than to sleep, but that could wait. She’d always be there for her friends, as they were always there for her.

  “Of course. Let’s go to the living room.”

  Everyone retrieved various refreshments, the humans soda, the vampires blood. Kevin shoved the plastic container aside and moved the table back to the center. Leese and Zoey walked ahead, but Kevin held Victoria back. As they trailed behind, he handed over a magical stone. Victoria recognized it as her own.

  “It saved us,” he said.

  Alex had requested Victoria send it, during one of her cases. She’d assumed Leese simply wanted to talk to Kevin, as Zoey had lost hers, and had no other way of doing so. Apparently, she was very wrong, and they’d piqued her curiosity.

  “Shit, Kevin,” she said. “Is everything okay? You’ve got me worried here.”

  “Yeah. I mean, at least I think so.”

  Everyone grabbed a seat in the living room. Kevin sat next to Leese on the loveseat, their knees touching. It was wonderful to see them affectionate again. Victoria and Zoey settled on the couch.

  It was quiet as Leese gave Kevin a shrug.

  “Where do we even start?” she asked.

  Kevin gave it an attempt.

  “Someone tried to kill Alex.”

  Victoria was apprehensive, but that passed in a second. Alex, like all of her inner circle, was more than capable of defending himself.

  “No,” Leese said. “That’s not quite it. He wanted to steal his powers.”

  “Holy shit,” Zoey said.

  “Yeah,” Victoria agreed. “Holy shit. I assume he wasn’t successful?”

  Leese shook her head.

  “Kevin saved him.”

  It was Kevin’s turn to correct the narrative.

  “No. We did.” He held her hand. “But, I’m not sure if everything is done yet.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He was using magic. A human, with magic I’d never even read about. I’m hoping you can help me figure out where it came from.”

  “I’m guessing you can’t ask him.”

  “Uh, no, we can’t.”

  Victoria rose to her feet. She was sure there was more to hear, but she could get more details as she needed them.

  “Okay. Well, let’s see what we can find.”

  The four moved toward the basement. Victoria cast a quick glance to Zoey. She was quiet, simply watching and listening, absorbing everything around her. An excellent trait for her to have.

  Victoria leaned closer to Kevin as they descended the stairs.

  “I see that whatever happened, you didn’t show up on the news. I’m proud of you.”

  “Low profile,” he said, smiling. “My favorite words.”

  She wasn’t merely teasing. She was proud of him. The vampire and witch had come a long way since that first battle in a graveyard. He himself had come a long way from selling potions in the mall. Worry still gnawed at her, at times. Kevin was powerful, with a conscience and a pure heart, but young. Everyone made mistakes, but young people seemed to make more of them.

  Victoria’s large, extravagant basement had become Zoey’s domain. Protected from the sun, with every creature-comfort one could imagine. She didn’t use the basement much anymore, but still kept her computer in the corner. Pulling up a chair, she hovered her hands over the keyboard. Everyone gathered behind her.

  “Name?”

  “Michael Tavers. This is the guy that kidnapped Leese. He was using her to get to Alex.”

  Victoria absorbed that for a moment. There were so many bad people in the word. Some wanted power. Others wanted weapons. It was exhausting.

  She narrated the results as they came.

  “Hmm. Wow. Very wealthy. Owns his own company in Philadelphia. Interesting.” She found a picture of him. “Handsome guy.”

  “He tried to kill us, Victoria.”

  “Well, still. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t look good in a suit.”

  A heartbeat quickened behind her. She turned in her chair to see Leese, her face pale. Her eyes were locked onto Tavers. Whatever Kevin and Leese had gone through, it left a mark on her. Kevin squeezed her hand.

  “Looks like he’s considered missing.”

  “Yeah. Well, they won’t find him.”

  She eyed Kevin. Knowing his skills with technology, she couldn’t resist the joke.

  “You know, it wasn’t that hard to type his name into Google.”

  His cheeks turned red.

  “I didn’t know the guy was rich, would just pop up. Does Google say how he got a hold of magic?”

  “No.”

  “Then see? We need your help.”

  She smiled.

  “Yes, you do. Let me make some calls. We’ll dig a little deeper. Stay the night. Just use your normal bedroom. We’ll talk about this more in the morning.”

  “Why don’t you guys stay down here?” Zoey offered. “I could use the company. We’ll watch a movie.”

  Kevin nodded as he looked at his girlfriend.

  “Sounds fun. What do you think?”

  “It’s more normal than cooking magic in Victoria’s kitchen.”

  Victoria laughed. Everyone else moved to the couch on the other side of the basement as she reached for one of her greatest weapons of the past few decades. Her smartphone. She would adjourn to her own room, her own king-sized bed, to relax while calling several of her contacts.

  It was good to be home.

  CHAPTER 5

  IT WAS SEVEN in the morning when Victoria stepped out of the shower. The everyday routine felt wonderful. Her own bathroom, her own shampoo, her own towels. After drying off, she stepped into the walk-in closet to browse her wardrobe. The chore ahead would require more than simple sweatpants or a comfortable pair of jeans. She rummaged through her business ware, settling on a charcoal skirt and white blouse. She walked through the mansion barefoot. There was no reason to wear shoes until absolutely necessary.

  She paused as she opened the door to the basement, a smile touching her lips. Perhaps she should shout out first, maybe even call one of their phones. Who knew what kind of bizarre, human-vampire-witch threesome they had engaged in the previous night? Keeping her ears alert, she descended the stairs.

  The television was still on. Victoria only saw two heads from behind the couch, Kevin and Zoey’s. They sat on opposite sides. Kevin’s head was slumped to the side, his arms spread across the top. Everything seemed normal. There was no scent of sex
in the air. Zoey heard Victoria approaching, with her sensitive ears, and waved without looking. Victoria circled the couch to see Kevin and Leese, fast asleep. The sight was amusing and adorable.

  Leese was stretched out, her head in Kevin’s lap. She hugged his leg like a pillow, a look of peaceful contentment on her face. Her feet rested on Zoey’s bare legs. Kevin’s hand fell from the couch and landed on Leese’s hip. Zoey held a finger to her lips as she saw Victoria, signaling for quiet. Various glasses were spread about the coffee table. No blood was wasted, something Victoria appreciated.

  “They’re sleepy,” she whispered.

  Victoria laughed quietly. Zoey was the only one present who slept during the day.

  “You look nice,” Zoey said. “What’s going on?”

  “In a minute.” She looked over at the sleeping couple. “I want to scare them so badly.”

  “Don’t. They might lash out and hit me.” She stretched her arms over her head. “I’m getting tired, too.”

  Victoria nodded. It would be time for Zoey to sleep soon. She leaned from behind the couch, next to Kevin’s ear.

  “Boo,” she whispered.

  He stirred slightly, lifting his head. His movement woke Leese, who struggled to sit up. Zoey laughed and tickled Leese’s feet. She fell off the couch.

  Kevin smiled and stood up. He helped his girlfriend stand, giving her a quick kiss, before facing Victoria. They both looked her up and down.

  “Oh, wow,” Leese said. “Red Hot has returned.”

  Victoria frowned at the old nickname, given to her by Cindy. She hadn’t heard it in a while.

  “Man,” Kevin said, stretching. He looked at Zoey. “How much of the movie did we miss?”

  “About half. Don’t worry, we’ll finish it next time.”

  He took a sip of warm soda as he gestured to Victoria.

  “What’s with the nice clothes?”

  “I spoke with some of my people last night. It turns out Michael Tavers actually lived in his office building, had the whole top floor all to himself.”

  “Sounds nice.”

  “I’ll bet it is. I’m going to check it out.”

  Leese adjusted her shirt as she searched for her shoes, spread about the living space.

  “Well, guys, I’d love to see the home of the guy who pointed a gun at Cindy and me, but I do have to work today. So, my dear boyfriend. Would you mind?”