Really? I didn’t know why we were going there. “Those vampires are in strict violation of everything that is decent,” I said.
“Oh, they are, huh? You don’t think it’s romantic that they will do anything to find their love?” She licked her lips. “Lucky lady.”
“Maybe you should find yourself a vampire clan, then.”
“Sometimes I think I already have one because you are cold as a corpse. Why do you keep looking over at Charlotte?” She snapped her fingers.
“I’m looking at my friends,” I said.
“Oh? You’re looking at your friends? Especially the one in a sexy dress I bought for her?”
“Don’t raise your voice.” I could feel my cheeks heating.
“All you want to do is tell me how to behave so that I can be your perfect wife.” She sighed. “You’re the one who entered into an agreement. To marry me. To honor and cherish me ’til death do we part.”
“We’re not married yet. I haven’t made any vows.” I winced as I said it. This was not something you said to anyone you intended to marry.
“If this is the trial period, it’s not going that well, is it?”
“Don’t do this,” I growled at her. “It’s too late to back out now. We get along fine.”
She waved her fingers and they sparkled. “Tell me the truth, Harris.” She was trying to cast a compel spell on me.
“I will not be compelled.” I snapped my fingers back at her. “Soit silencieux!”
She countered my silencing spell with an amplified scream.
“Jesus, Daisy.” I grabbed her arm. “Everyone’s looking at us.”
“Just admit it,” she whispered.
“It is irrelevant,” I said. “She isn’t one of my choices. You are.”
“What if we had other choices, Harris? What if we didn’t have to make shitty choices that we were forced into?”
I was starting to get the sense this was more serious than I first anticipated. “What did Charlotte say to you?”
She snorted. “It’s no wonder you like her. You think I couldn’t have gotten that idea on my own? It’s not anything she said, although maybe it’s just the kind of person she is. She thinks for herself. No one tells her what to do. Why are we letting someone tell us what to do?” She leaned a little closer to me. Her perfume smelled like cardamom and vanilla. “I don’t want to be the diviner. If I have to spend my life alone, seeking out some other person’s answers for them, having a few perfect little witch and warlock babies on the side, I will go insane.”
Truly, if I was ever going to fall in love with Daisy, it would be this moment.
Remember the first time you saw this girl?
The first time I saw Daisy it was at a ‘magical mixer for teens’ at the annual National Conference of Magic. I saw her standing under the vine-covered arbor of the Edwardian mansion in Massachusetts where the conference was held that year. She was thirteen, wearing gold hot pants and cat ears, and carrying her cat familiar on her arm. Her laugh was as loud as a shriek and she used a ton of slang. That year, she was very much into calling anything she hated ‘sample size’. It drove my mother nuts.
My mother said that night, “Daisy Pendleton is certainly uncouth. I pity poor Ermengarde. I suppose she’s just too old to manage a child like that.”
She seemed to have friends, but I also sensed that she bullied them into being her friends by sheer force of personality and clout. Deep down, she seemed sad, but she barreled ahead anyway, not caring who she offended.
This encounter, and subsequent similar encounters, were the reason I preferred Daisy to my other potential matches. But Daisy confused me. I knew she couldn’t keep acting like that and she would drive me crazy if she did, but as I watched her tone it down bit by bit over the years, I also felt disappointed.
When Daisy agreed to the engagement, I knew she was giving in.
Now she wasn’t. But Charlotte was the root. And Daisy seemed as intrigued with her as I was.
“What the hell are you going to do?” I asked. “The council isn’t just going to let you go.”
“They’re not ‘just’ going to let me go. That’s true,” she said. “But they’ll have to, if I become a vampire.”
“A vampire?” My voice dropped to a hiss. “You have gone insane, Daisy.”
“Listen,” she said. “It all makes sense. I offer myself to help those guys, in exchange for them releasing Monty. We all take out the Withered Lord. I avenge my parents. Now you’re all off the hook and I get to do whatever I want. Travel the world. I have freedom.”
“That is the stupidest idea I have ever heard,” I said.
“Why is it stupid?” She was raising her voice now, and people were starting to stare. “You don’t get to decide what is stupid for my life. I have nothing going on at home. My grandmother is ancient and tries to keep me from everything I enjoy. My parents are dead. I have a bunch of kiss-up bitches for friends. My future is a nightmare and I was only going along with it because I wanted power to go after that demon. You don’t love me and I don’t love you.”
“Cash would die,” I said. “Vampires don’t have familiars.”
Until I said this, I thought Daisy was just being her audacious self, throwing out some crazy idea to get a reaction out of me.
But the way her face fell…
Shit. She must have come up with this plan in a hurry, because she had failed to do any research and missed something crucial.
But that expression was real.
“You were seriously thinking about becoming a vampire?”
Her warm brown eyes blazed at me, as if I had just created that rule to ruin her life.
“Why?” I asked.
“I literally—just—told you why.”
If Daisy went through with this, I would never hear the end of it. My parents and her grandmother would want to know why I didn’t stop her. Other potential suitors would see me as tainted.
She would be destroying her own life.
“There’s a way around that,” she said.
“Is there? Ask Monty where Rosa went. Ask yourself if you want to take a risk like that. It is a stupid idea, Daisy. Maybe I’d be a crappy husband but I’m not going to lie to you. You’re not meant to be one of those bloodsucking corpses.”
Her breath hitched like she was going to cry. She yanked her arm out of my grasp.
“Take a deep breath and calm down. You’re embarrassing us both,” I growled.
She slapped me. “Speak for yourself.”
Then she whirled toward the door in a blur of gold silk.
“Daisy!” I ran toward the door.
“Is everything all right?” Charlotte called after me.
“Fine,” I said. “Leave me the hell alone.” Fear made me more testy than usual. Well, my friends would probably say I was like that all of the time lately
“Are you sure?” Montague asked, his arm around her waist. “Harris, maybe you should just chill with us tonight. It seems like the two of you might need to blow off steam.”
“Yeah, it’s a little more complicated than that.”
“Maybe I should take him out of here. We’ll hang out,” Alec said. “Bachelor’s night.” He sounded somewhat testy himself, which was unusual for Alec, but I didn’t have time for any of this.
Plus, people were staring. Damnit. I was not someone who got involved in drama.
“Harris—”
“This is your fault,” I growled at Monty. “And yours.” To Charlotte. “Fucking putting ideas in Daisy’s head, bringing dangerous Sinistral influences to this school. Daisy’s kinda messed up. She’s too easily influenced. Just get out of my way.”
Alec was barring my way and I shoved past him. I punched the door open with my fist.
If Daisy was serious, I had to stop her.
“Daisy?”
I saw her driver pulling out.
“Daisy!”
She was sitting in the backseat staring straight ahead,
ignoring me. Then suddenly I saw her tell the guy to stop and he hit the brakes. I ran toward the window as she unrolled it a crack.
“Harris,” she said. “Don’t worry about it, okay? I’m just upset. I’m not really upset at you. You’re like a brother to me or something, like, if I had a brother I barely knew but still had a lot in common with. You’re cool. I have a lot going on in my head right now.”
“Are you going home?”
“I’m not doing anything stupid tonight. So relax.” But something in her voice sounded off.
She rolled up the window and the car pulled away.
Man, I was not reassured about this.
She won’t become a vampire because of Cash. Unless she finds a way to make him a vampire familiar. I’ve never heard of that. But she could become the vampires’ thrall like the girl they keep looking for. Maybe they’ll turn her down because they want their girl, but then, damnit, there are four of them. They certainly could have two girls.
Harris. Come on. She’s going to sleep on it and come to her senses and go back to Chicago. The engagement’s off. Not your problem.
I didn’t really believe that I could just wash my hands of Daisy, though. So I didn’t have romantic feelings for her, but I still couldn’t let her hurt herself.
What would I do if I woke up tomorrow to the phone ringing, and it was someone telling me she had gone missing?
Monty had a car. But I didn’t want to involve the rest of them. I didn’t know how to drive myself. I’d never needed to. Now it felt like a serious weakness I should remedy as soon as possible.
It seemed like I only had one alternative that would guarantee Daisy wouldn’t do something she regretted.
She’s going to hate me for this for the rest of her life.
But it doesn’t matter, because the marriage is off. All that matters is that I don’t let her make some choice that will wreck her life forever. She’ll get over it. She has a pretty bright future, once she gets used to it. She’ll be one of the most powerful witches in the world and she’ll thank me for this someday.
I went to the house phone in the dorm, which was eerily quiet with everyone at the ball, and I dialed the telephone.
Chapter Thirty-One
Charlotte
Last year, I attended the winter ball with Firian, to some scandal, although we tried to excuse it as a just-friends thing. This year, I walked in on Montague’s arm and everything felt very different. Alec was with us too, but as far as anyone knew, Montague was my one and only boyfriend.
Firian didn’t attend, even though I asked him to.
“No,” he said. “I think we’re under too much scrutiny as it is. I need to protect you.” He gave me a tender kiss and I could feel that he was resolved in this decision. “I’ll never be far away. But as far as us goes…I guess it’s better we learn to keep it private, so we don’t lose it.”
I really felt his absence. Of course, he was right. It was better to be safe. But I had never imagined how much it hurt to keep love secret. I wanted to talk to everyone around me about how Firian made me laugh, and he was always there for me, and was my best friend. I wanted the girls to admire him and then for him to put his hand on my shoulder, slightly possessive and proud, showing them all where his affections lay, the way Montague was now.
Then there was Alec, and he was just playing the part of the single guy who was Montague’s best friend.
I really was scared sometimes of how I would handle this in the future. Like, my dad knew I was dating Montague, but I made it sound super casual. The other day I was talking to my dad on the phone and I said I had a gaming date with Firian, and Dad said, “I hope Montague doesn’t get jealous. Not that you can’t do whatever you want, but I have to admit, I would. Just hearing that your mother used to run around with all those warlocks gets my hackles up!”
“Oh, Dad,” I said. “It’s just Firian. You know it doesn’t work like that.”
Why did I say that? I thought when I hung up the phone. Dad doesn’t really know how it works. Maybe…I should be honest with him? But Dad…no. Dad won’t get it for different reasons.
We barely started to dance when Harris and Daisy got into a fight. They both looked pretty upset. Daisy and the other witches wouldn’t be leaving until Monday, so I made a mental note to be a good friend to Daisy tomorrow. Like, we’d do whatever you did when you broke up with a boyfriend. We didn’t have TV, but I could pull up some old Bravo shows for her on my laptop. We’d scrounge up junk food. It actually sounded like a good day.
“Hey.” Fingers snapped next to me. “Is your skirt the proper length for a ball?”
Firian was coming up to us, wearing a badge that said ‘Chaperone’.
I started laughing. “You’re a chaperone? What about protecting me and keeping it private?”
“I asked Master Blair if I could just watch over the punch bowl,” he said. “Make sure it doesn’t get spiked this year. And this is totally different. I have nothing to do with you.”
“Is this any less weird than coming with me?”
“Slightly.” He leaned closer to me. “I really just want to watch over you.”
“Oh. Well, you might not like what you see since Montague is my date tonight.”
“I’ll have one dance with you before the night is over,” Firian said.
“One,” Montague said.
The talk of the ball was, of course, the vampires, plus the fight with Harris and Daisy. So at least it wasn’t me this year.
“I think she must be mad that Harris invited vampires to the school.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet. I thought Mr. Vampire Hunter was too good for that kind of thing.”
“Nah, I heard they drank his blood.”
“Ha ha. Man, that’s pretty gay.”
I started simmering up to a boil. Montague gripped my shoulder hard. “Don’t get into it.”
“Ohmigod,” I said. “If I really am the Chosen One Harris thinks I am, my first act of world domination is going to be flipping out on these morons. I didn’t tolerate it from Mr. Holier-Than-Thou Michael Smith-Braddock in high school either,” I said, thinking of a guy at my high school who seemed super nice until you mentioned anything that tipped off his religious radar, which was a lot because Kayleigh Patterson loved to egg him on.
Montague put a hand around my waist and urged me away from everyone else. “Let’s just treat this like a normal dance. We deserve a little fun tonight, right? And you look beautiful.”
“Is the makeup too much?”
“No. You’re shimmery.”
“Damn. I was hoping it was too much, because I’m not doing it when Daisy’s not here.”
He laughed in a low tone, pulling me a little closer, one hand spread across the back of my dress in a way that made me happy for its semi-sheerness. I wanted to feel as much as him as I could. “Personally, I feel like celebrating tonight,” he said. “I finally met Rayner and he’s just a man.”
“Oh, you think he’s just a man? He’s the most intimidating man I’ve ever seen.”
“But—he didn’t take me with him. That’s what matters. He can’t just snap his fingers and make me forget you and the rest of my life. He said himself that he killed his own sire. So if he forced me to go with him, he would worry that I might kill him. I’m not powerless in this situation after all. It’s comforting…Charlotte.” He said my name like I was the one who was powerless, and maybe that was true.
“When he said, ‘if’ you still want to be released…can he make you not be a vampire anymore?”
“No…but I can…be released from his memories. And of course, I want to be released.”
I pressed closer to him, one of my hands caught in his as we danced so slowly it was barely dancing. We’ve come a long way since last year’s dance, I thought, as the instrumental quartet filled the room with airy music. Where will we be next year?
Five years?
That was the part I couldn’t envision. In school, we could b
e together and hide our feelings. Once we left school, we would have to face difficult decisions.
Would we all live together? Montague hinted that he wanted a family someday. So did I. But it would have to be with Alec. And Montague won’t age.
Fifty years?
In fifty years, I couldn’t even imagine.
I bet that’s what Rayner is thinking. Even in two more years, Montague will see us growing older. Rayner thinks, in the end, he’ll choose the company of other vampires over us.
Or would Montague become like Rayner? Would he stay with me, but hunt me down in my next life? Turn Alec into a vampire too?
Montague and I had not been alone together since the night he bit me.
As we made our way around the ballroom, in a swirl of other couples, I saw Firian watching us. He gave me a small smile, both supportive and jealous.
I gave him a small smile back.
Then I closed my eyes, savoring the moment instead of worrying over the past. It creeped me out, that Rayner was always looking for Lisbeth, again and again, never letting her go, never letting her define herself without him. Professor McGuinness said that white necromancy was about letting people go. Maybe the first step to that, however, was the same thing my mom’s yoga video taught me. Live in the moment. Breathe.
If you live in the moment, you can let the past and the future go and surrender to wherever life takes you. I wanted to think I was piecing together the sort of person my mom would have been. The advice she would have given me as I grew up. Even if I saved her now, she would never be my parent the way Dad was. That stung. But, not to take away from my awesome dad, but I couldn’t help wanting to be closer to the mom I was slowly forming in my mind.
Fares Wyrd as she must…
Montague’s arms loosened a little as the music came to a pause before picking up the pace into more of a ragtime number.
“Music that’s only ninety-nine years old,” Montague said. “Damn, that string quartet is really busting loose for this early in the evening.”
“Should I twerk?”
“Then Firian might have to chaperone you.” He gave my ass a little slap, bringing me closer.
A Witch Among Warlocks: The Complete Series Box Set Page 43
