by Ali Vali
“Gran and Pops, come on.” She waved to them, hoping they’d save their questions until morning.
“What in the Sam Hill is going on here?” Mac said loudly as Molly made her way to him with Lenore’s help, and he opened his arms to her. “What were those things?” Lenore and Charlie herded them up the stairs, but Mac stopped at the pile of dust that was created when Kendal destroyed the man who’d gotten close to her and Hill. Hill touched it like she’d figure out the trick if she thought about it long enough.
“How’d she do that, and why right now?” Hill rubbed the dust between her fingers. “It was a great magic trick, but scaring the crap out of people wasn’t the way to pull it off.”
“I promise that Kendal and I will talk about all this and explain exactly what happened and why, but tomorrow, okay?” Piper maneuvered them toward their rooms with Lenore and Charlie’s help.
“What if I don’t want to wait until morning?” Mac asked, but her grandmother stayed silent.
“I agree with him, Piper. This was way out there,” Hill said.
“I understand and I’m sorry, but you’re all going to have to wait until we’re done with this. My place is with Kendal and she needs me right now. Please try to understand that.” They stopped in front of her grandparents’ door, and Charlie opened it for them and Hill so the people who’d come with Lenore and Morgaine would stand guard.
“We’ve lost you to all this, haven’t we?” Mac asked as he put his arms around Piper before she was able to leave.
“I’m not lost, Pops. I’ve finally found who I am and where I want to be.”
“I don’t know what’s going on, but you’re going to be okay, right?”
“Pops, I trust Kendal with my life. We’re all okay tonight because of her, so don’t condemn her until we have a chance to talk.” She hugged her grandparents before she urged them into their room. “I know what you saw tonight is crazy, but please be patient. As soon as we’re done, Kendal and I will come back and explain everything. I promise.”
“Just make sure you’re okay, and the rest can wait.”
“Do you want me to come with you?” Hill asked, the pistol in her hand pointed to the floor.
“Not yet, but tonight’s probably going to be the only night you’ll be left behind, if I know Kendal. Only if you’re interested, that is,” Piper said, and smiled when Hill followed her grandparents into their room.
“I’m interested, but make sure you listen to Mac. And don’t take any chances you don’t have to.”
“For the first time in a long time, I actually feel great.” And she did, considering the only thing about her vision that had come to be was the attack.
Chapter Fifteen
Vadoma appeared calm as she sat strapped in a chair in the middle of a room with no windows somewhere in the bowels of the house. After getting her grandparents and Hill situated, Piper headed to the spot where Kendal had disappeared and found Morgaine waiting, since she would’ve never been able to navigate the maze of secret corridors to reach Kendal and Vadoma.
Kendal, who sat across from Vadoma, had put on a robe, and another dagger lay across her lap. Piper sat on the arm of the chair and took Kendal’s hand so she could study Vadoma. Right now, she appeared normal. It was hard to believe that this beauty lived on the blood of others; how many people had she killed to survive?
“When my hunger grows these bindings won’t hold me,” Vadoma said, and moved the chair closer to them.
“I wouldn’t worry about that.” Kendal pushed her back with her foot and pressed the tip of her dagger to Vadoma’s forehead. “You’ll be long gone before you get the chance to drain another soul.” Kendal faced Piper and offered her hand. “Morgaine, if she tries anything, destroy her.” She handed Morgaine what looked like a small crossbow with a wooden stake. “We’ll be right back.”
When they were alone in the corridor Piper put her arms around Kendal and rested her ear against her chest. “Thank you for saving them.”
“You don’t need to thank me for that, and I hope you see now that the rest of the visions can be changed.”
“When I was talking to my grandparents, as horrible as this was, I was happy we all came out all right because of you. Even if the sword holds something as evil as that woman, we can beat it.”
Kendal led her out and up to their bedroom, where she sat her on the bed so she could kneel between her legs. “I’m going to have to deal with Vadoma so she can’t come back here, but before I drive a sword though her heart, I have to know why she was here. She mentioned a cousin that I have to think is Ora, so this might’ve only had to do with revenge.” Kendal kissed her. “But I have to know that’s all this was.”
“Please don’t leave me alone. I can’t be away from you right now,” Piper said as she pressed her forehead to Kendal’s.
“My darling, your days of being left behind are over. Don’t you know that by now? I’m not taking her anywhere without you, and Vadoma’s not motivated to talk yet. But like all the others, she’s got an internal clock that’s essential to her survival. When she’s outside right before sunrise, she’ll tell us whatever we want to know.” Kendal laid her back and got in the bed next to her.
“I do know those days are over, but I wanted to remind you just in case.” Piper smiled.
“Before we head back down, did you see Vadoma in your vision?”
“The thing I saw was already feeding on Pops, so I never saw its face.” The happiness that her vision had been wrong left her suddenly, and a coldness enveloped her. “Honey, do you think my visions are useless?”
“Why do you think so?”
“I see things but they never turn out the way I see them. I may be putting us all in danger because I’m so wrong.”
“Some seers look into the future, and what they see is written in stone. No matter what we do, the outcomes never vary. Then some see the possibilities, but our actions have the power to create better outcomes.” Kendal took her hands and kissed each knuckle. “If we’d been given a choice, I’d have chosen your sight, love. Your real gift, the ability to see the worst-case scenario when there’s danger to be faced, gives us a chance to plan for it.”
“Then don’t you wish I’d had a vision about you going out there in your underwear and how my grandfather would react,” she said as she got on top of Kendal, laughing.
“Breakfast should be interesting tomorrow.”
“You’ll have to come up with a good explanation as to what you were doing in here with just your shorts on. Had it been anything other than some spawn from hell trying to make a snack out of Pops and Gran, he’d probably tease you for months to come about your fighting outfit.”
Kendal’s laugh shook Piper’s fear off, and she got up to help Kendal dress. “I don’t usually show this much skin, but sometimes you have to just jump into the action no matter what.” Kendal squeezed her before steering them to the closet.
“At least Hill will stop wondering what I found so alluring about you,” Piper teased as she got a shirt and sweater out for Kendal.
Kendal picked out jeans and a pair of hiking boots, and Piper laughed when she thought of Kendal’s aversion to bugs. When they left the bedroom it was well after three in the morning and the house had once again grown quiet. She felt better that the guards in front of her family’s room were vigilant.
“How do you get her to talk? Drive bamboo under her fingernails or drip water on her head?” Piper hung on to Kendal’s pants as they went down the dark stairs.
“Bamboo and waterboarding? Is this gift for torture something you’re waiting to tell me about? Some hidden talent for making people squirm, perhaps?” Kendal reached out for her hand when they were close to the hidden door. “They’re not in there anymore.” They stopped at the fireplace and Kendal took down one of the crossed swords that hung up there as a decoration.
“I only like making you squirm,” she said as they headed out the back of the house through the large kitchen.
“Where are they?”
“I’m sure there’s a string of vendors back in New Orleans who might disagree about your torturing methods.” The outside air was heavy with dampness, and the cold immediately seeped through Piper’s clothing, making her move closer to Kendal to stay warm.
“You’re so funny.” Piper let Kendal guide her deeper into the woods at the back of the estate. “Where are we going?”
“If you want the truth out of someone like Vadoma, there’s only one foolproof way.” Kendal held the sword away from Piper but kept it at the ready, not trusting that the fledglings had really left.
After thirty minutes or so Kendal pointed to a clearing with an outcropping of rocks, and Piper followed her. Morgaine, Charlie, and Lenore had obeyed Kendal’s instructions and chained Vadoma to the rock so all she could really move was her head. Vadoma didn’t look as smug as she had back at the house, and even in the lamplight, Kendal could tell she was starting to sweat since, despite the temperature, her forehead was smeared with blood.
Kendal took a deep breath and exhaled in Vadoma’s direction, her breath visible as the vapor swirled around Vadoma’s head. “Do you smell that? The dawn is still my favorite time of day.”
“Were you this cruel with Ora?” Vadoma asked.
“You don’t have time to ask questions. I have so many that the sun will rise before I’m done. Why did you come into my house uninvited?”
Kendal pressed her sword to Vadoma’s chin, and Vadoma pulled her head as far back from the tip of her sword as she could, but the rock behind her wouldn’t give.
“I need no invitation to enter a place where I want to go,” she said, and Kendal let up a little on the pressure on her chin.
“Was it your cousin who taught you the skills to be a witch before she dragged you into the darkness?”
“My family was known for their talents in Romania for centuries, so yes. I was no different until Ora gave me true life. The darkness has never been my enemy.”
Kendal heard the others moving around behind her, as if patrolling the area, and she could see Vadoma peering in the direction behind them, but she had the lamp so close to her face she doubted she could make out anything. “So you came only to seek revenge?”
“That’s all you want to know?” Vadoma asked as she started to squirm more.
“Like I said, I have a lot more questions than that.”
“Why do you want to know?”
“What’s your name?”
“I am Vadoma Decebal, daughter of—”
“Inacu Decebal, or at least one of his descendants.” Her lineage explained how Vadoma had gotten into the house without an invitation. Her ancestors were well known to the Elders, so combined with her immortality from Ora, she came from one of the most talented families that practiced witchcraft. Considering how long Vadoma had been at it almost made her shiver.
“How do you know my family name?”
“Why the sudden interest in those close to me?” Kendal asked, already realizing she’d have to lock Vadoma away if she didn’t get all the information she needed. The silence stretched out, so it was time to put a little fear into the new queen. “I asked you a question, but if you don’t want to answer, fine.” She blew out the lantern and motioned for everyone to follow her back to the house. No matter how desperate Vadoma was to get loose, she’d never break through the chains in time. Her age and power would guarantee she wouldn’t die immediately at sunrise, and the pain would be excruciating.
They got about thirty yards away before Vadoma broke. “Wait,” she screamed out. “What do you want to know?”
“Just answer my question. You’re powerful, but you and those puppies you brought weren’t ready to face that many slayers at once. Why were you here?” She listened to the explanation about Vadoma’s meeting with the men who told her they were Elders of the Genesis Clan.
“That sounds like Julius,” Lenore said, and her shoulders slumped. “So it’s true.”
However he had managed it, Kendal thought, they’d have to worry about that later. He was back and he knew about the sword. That he’d used vampires to retrieve it made her crave to cut his head off again.
“I told you what you wanted to know.” Vadoma gazed up at her and struggled with her bindings in earnest. “Please release me before it’s too late.”
“I want one more thing from you.” Her explanation was as short as she could make it since the dawn was already starting to change the color of the sky around her. “What’s your answer?” she asked when she was finished.
“What’s in it for me?” Vadoma asked. She was struggling with the chains so hard the veins in her throat were visible.
“Aside from living out the night?”
Vadoma laughed and finally relaxed, as if she’d resigned herself to her two very limited options. “Yes, aside from that.”
“I’ll grant you a century of peace, if you leave my family alone and do what I ask.” She put her hand up before Vadoma answered. “Before you think to lie, let me warn you. If you enter my home again, any home, without an invitation I’ll kill you. If you touch someone under my protection again, I’ll kill you. There’ll be no negotiation and no bit of mercy ever again. Do we understand each other?”
“Perfectly, and I give you my word I won’t let you down.” As swift as Vadoma’s answer was as swift as Kendal’s sword came down on the lock that held the chains together.
Piper looked like she was in shock as Vadoma ran into the woods away from them. “You let her go?” Piper asked.
“I let her go,” she said, expecting Piper’s anger.
“You don’t think we should’ve talked about it first? She would’ve killed Gran and Pops without remorse if you hadn’t been there to stop her. They’re the only family I have left. She deserved more than you just letting her go.”
“I’m your family too, and I know you don’t understand what I’m doing, but I’d like you to trust me.” If they’d been closer to the house, the Marmandes would’ve heard every word Piper screamed. “We need her alive for now.”
“For now.” Piper kept yelling. “Try for the next hundred years. I know you, and your word is sacred to you. She gave you hers, but I bet it means nothing to her. That thing would’ve said anything for you to unchain her.”
“Piper, please.” Kendal moved closer to Piper. “We don’t have that much time to figure out how some psycho from my past is going to get to us, so forgive me for trying to do what I can to give us an advantage. Julius has the element of surprise, and that puts him in a better position. He made this deal with Vadoma and her followers in London, so he’s close, but I don’t have the first clue as to where to even start looking for him.”
The air directly in front of Piper’s mouth condensed, showing her long exhale. “I’m sorry. I’m sure you know what you’re doing.” She sounded so dejected Kendal almost heard the iron gates closing around her heart and locking her out. The others must have picked up on that as well, because they started back toward the house as if they realized their conversation didn’t need an audience.
“If you shut me out now, we’ll never make it through this.” Kendal moved away from Piper to give her the space she obviously needed. “If you shut me out now, the reality of eternity will become a nightmare for us both.”
“I’m not, but I’m not happy with you right now.” Piper crossed her arms over her chest, her mouth in a thin line. “Am I not ever supposed to get upset with you?”
“You’re free to do whatever you like.” For once the phrase “I’m too old for this” made perfect sense to her, and she started the walk back. “Let’s go. I’m sure your grandparents will be up soon and they’ll demand an explanation.”
“You promised me,” Piper said, which stopped Kendal.
“Promised you what?” she asked, but still hadn’t turned around.
“You said you’d never leave me behind.” Piper sounded small and vulnerable again, a tone Kendal hadn’t heard in months.<
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“Leave you behind?” She had to take a deep breath to control her anger.
She was furious, but it had nothing to do with Piper, so she tried to control her tone before she said anything else. It’d been so long since she’d felt so lost and in the dark. Vadoma had gotten too close, and she’d been working for Julius.
“You may not want to see it, but I’m doing everything I can to keep my promises to you. I want a future with you, but some asshole I should’ve cut into so many little pieces it would’ve taken eternity to find them all is trying his best to get in the way of that.” She heard Piper run and then felt arms wrap around her waist from behind.
“I’m sorry, I know you’re doing your best. It’s just that I keep seeing those fangs so close to Pops’s neck and it’s making me crazy.”
“No matter what we face, I will never do anything to endanger you or those you love.” She turned around and drove the sword into the ground so she could pick Piper up. “Your family is as sacred to me as you are. I wouldn’t have done this if it meant they’d be in danger.”
With a ferocity she didn’t know Piper possessed, Piper pressed their lips together and kissed her as if it were the last time. “I’m sorry for doubting you.”
“No, I’m sorry for not talking to you first, but Vadoma was working against the clock.” She bent to retrieve her sword and started walking with Piper’s legs wrapped around her waist.
“I can walk, you know.”
“So can I, even when I’m carrying a light load.” She easily moved through the trees and reached the house after the sun had come up. As she put Piper down she wondered if Vadoma had found a place to sleep.
The Marmandes and Hill sat close to the fire in the library, sipping coffee, when she entered with Piper, and they all stayed silent as she handed her sword to Ming. When she sat, Piper chose the arm of her chair, as if showing her grandparents and her friend she stood with her.
