by Melody Raven
Bastian tilted his head. Derek didn’t know whether the man was considering his words carefully or whether he was somehow confused by the question. “Everyone comes back different. That’s the problem. When Claudia saved me, she never realized what would happen. That I would be devoted to her in a way that neither of us could predict.”
“So why bring me back? How am I a weapon? Why can’t you give me a straight answer?”
Bastian clenched his jaw. “I’ve been following her orders for so long. Now that she’s gone, her compulsion over me has been slowly fading away. I’m able to do things right now that I couldn’t a few hours ago.”
“Fine. Then tell me why Claudia saved me. Why, after telling Sam for years that it was impossible, would she take the chance on me?”
“Bringing someone back isn’t only extremely hard. It drains energy and leaves the witch vulnerable. It was bringing you back that led to Claudia’s murder.”
The words were passionless. Not angry or accusatory. But Derek couldn’t stop the flash of guilt. He shouldn’t feel guilty. Claudia had been a bad person and death was going to come for her eventually. But nonetheless, he knew how hard Sam had been taking it. And now he knew for certain that it was all due to him.
“So why? Why take the risk for me?”
Bastian narrowed his eyes. “Why are you truly out right now?”
“Don’t answer a question with a question. I’ve had an epically bad few days and I will punch you across the room.”
In a flash, Bastian grabbed Derek’s throat and slammed him into the wall hard enough to send powdered drywall sprinkling down around them. “If you want to hit me,” warned Bastian, “I’ll hit back.”
Derek grunted, but it sounded more like a growl to his ears. He grabbed Bastian’s wrist, and with a quick jerk, it twisted and cracked in his hand. Bastian barely winced at the broken bone, but Derek fell back and stared at the unnatural angle the man’s hand had taken. He’d done that. Without thinking or even trying, he’d done that.
Derek looked down at his hands. “What’s happening to me?”
A second later, Bastian’s good hand pushed Derek back again. Derek didn’t fight this time, too worried he’d kill the man by accident.
“This is what’s happening,” said Bastian, the palm of his hand hot against Derek’s chest. “Claudia didn’t bring you back alone. She piggybacked on magic that had taken root in your heart, your soul, a long time ago. The darkness has had a hold on you for longer than you know.”
The image of the mother from hell smiling at him flashed in his mind. Derek clenched his eyes shut, willing the memory to leave him be. “So what?”
“You’re a part of the darkness. It is what helped pull you back from the abyss. That is what will make you dangerous.”
“So what? I’m some kind of monster now?” Derek thought back to the women Tommy Collins had violated and killed in order to free the darkness. The string of dead bodies the darkness had left in its wake. He didn’t want to be a part of that. What life was worth living if it was on the back of so much evil?
“You can be upset if you want. But you now have a purpose. A reason for being, which is more than most creatures on this earth can say.” Bastian let him go and stepped away. “I don’t think you’ll be anyone’s slave,” he added.
“Because Claudia is dead?”
“Because everyone is different. That is the real reason Claudia tried so hard to convince everyone that resurrection is impossible. Because everyone comes back with different rules. The chance of getting an abomination is too great to let this be regular practice.”
Abomination. One hell of a word. “So I should consider myself lucky that I’m still me?”
Bastian narrowed his eyes. “What makes you think you didn’t come back wrong?”
Sam started around the corner but pulled back when she saw Bastian and Derek speaking in hushed tones. She held her breath and tried to tune her ears so she could catch what they were saying, but she seemed to be too late.
“Thanks for the gun,” said Derek before his footsteps sounded and got fainter as he disappeared down the hallway.
Well, she supposed she should be happy that she wasn’t the only one Derek didn’t want to talk to. She let out a sigh, and a second later, Bastian turned the corner to consider her.
“You need to get better at sneaking.”
As always, Bastian lived to lift her spirits. “I wasn’t sneaking. I was getting a glass of water and found out there was a little party happening in the hallway. Mind telling me why I didn’t get an invite?”
“Because it’s not my place to tell you his secrets.”
She snorted. “It’s not your place to tell me anything.”
Bastian frowned. “I’m trying, Samantha. Now that Claudia is…” He took a deep gulp. “Now that you are in charge, there are things you need to know.”
“There are things I should’ve known back when my mother started trying to kill me. When my sister tried to kill me. But now that the shit has utterly hit the fan, you think that it’s a good time to talk?”
“If you don’t want my help, I don’t need to give it.”
“Don’t be stupid, Bastian. Say what you want to say before you retreat back into your normally unhelpful self.” She didn’t mean to be so rude to him, but the stress of the past few days was catching up to her, and the idea that she was in charge of anything was enough to send terror right through her.
“I want you to know that I have devoted my entire life to serving Claudia. My life was tied to her, and because of that, I have been in the same state of being for decades now. I don’t know what will happen to me now, but no matter what, I’d like to officially devote myself to you.”
Sam’s eyes widened and she took a step back. “I was expecting some bank passwords or something,” she said awkwardly. But things just got worse as Bastian went down on one knee in front of her, bowing his head in respect.
Sam glanced around them, praying that Claire or Dante or Angela would show up suddenly and break the tension. “Get up, Bastian,” she ordered. “I’m not your leader.”
He looked up but didn’t rise off his knee. “You killed Claudia. You absorbed her power when you did it. That makes you the most powerful witch in existence.”
“No, no, no, no. I think I would know that.”
Bastian stood and pulled a knife out from the holster attached to his belt. She sucked in a breath and immediately called fire to her. The flames popped up around her hands, and the light danced across the walls and the deep ridges and planes of his face. “You are not alone, Samantha.” He drew the blade over the palm of his hand.
“Please stop,” she said weakly.
He squeezed his hand shut and the red drops hit the floor, each one seeming to echo through her. Was this a ritual he was doing? See, if she truly were the new Claudia, she would know something basic like that.
“This is the first time I bleed willingly for you.” He opened his hand to show the blood smeared on his palm, but no actual wound left. “And I doubt it will be the last. I will guide you in any way I can in your new endeavor.”
“I have Derek for that,” she said weakly. “But thanks.”
“You believe that Derek will protect you, but be careful, Samantha. He might be the one you need protecting from.”
Derek was halfway down the driveway when he saw the headlights approach. He unholstered his gun and stood his ground, but soon enough he saw the black Charger he recognized as Angela Parker’s car. Even so, he didn’t lower the weapon as the car pulled up next to him and the window rolled down.
“Hey, stranger. I’m going to need to see some ID,” said Parker, his newest partner. Her tone was joking, but he could see the concern in her eyes. She, like Sam, didn’t want him wandering around so soon after he’d come back from the dead. He put on a fake smile, but it immediately felt so unnatural that he went back to his standard grimace.
Leaning on the car, he glanced in to
see Dante in the front seat and Claire in the back with a woman he didn’t recognize. “Make any progress?”
Parker didn’t answer, but rolled her eyes to let him know that she wasn’t too optimistic.
“This is Madame Storm,” said Dante. “She’s going to help us talk to the dead.”
The woman leaned forward in her seat to get a better look at Derek, and her eyes widened. “Ahhh, you want to talk to the dead and yet the dead is already here. Curious.” Madame Storm looked the part. She wore a purple hat with about a two-inch brim, and her knit red sweater appeared intricate and homemade. But it was almost impossible to see any of the craftsmanship because of the layers and layers and layers of necklaces around her neck. Her face was similarly covered with a dark eye shadow and bright-red lipstick. She was the kind of person who everyone would notice and no one would want to get involved with.
But if she knew he’d been dead, that might be a good sign. It was going to take someone damn good at what they did to help them get Jackson back without letting him wreak havoc on the earth again.
“Wrong dead guy,” said Claire with a hint of annoyance in her voice.
He had a feeling that she was in the backseat because she’d drawn the short straw….
“Where are you headed?” asked Parker, bringing the focus once again squarely on him.
“Just taking a walk.”
“Alone? After all the shit that’s happened?”
He knew Parker was just looking out for him, but he didn’t like the idea that he couldn’t do what he wanted. He’d lived on his own for too long to think he had to be contained anywhere. “I’m a big boy,” he reminded her.
“Most of the dead guys I see are big boys too,” she pointed out. “I didn’t realize you were so different.”
Derek’s grip on the roof of the Charger tightened, and half a second later, the metal crunched beneath his hand. He jumped back and Parker tightened her lips. Before he could think of a good excuse for what happened, he said, “Go. I’ll be there in a second.”
“Resurrected, but not the same, I see,” said Storm. “The strength is common, but something about you is so… wrong.”
He could just see all the things she wanted to say flashing through her mind, but she managed to hold it back.
“I’ll see you soon, Pierce.” Angela stepped on the gas and the car jerked away from him.
Derek looked up and the moonlight caressed his face. But it didn’t feel like it used to. Now, it was as if he stood in the bright sunshine. The soft glow from the moon was warming his entire body, which had been cold in an unimaginable way ever since he’d come back. The only thing that seemed to make a difference was the soft moonlight and the heat of Sam’s body pressed against him.
He let his eyes close as he appreciated the sensation. But a second later, he heard the shrill voice of Madame Storm cutting through his peace and pulling him back. There would be no calming and relaxing walk tonight, it seemed.
He let out a sigh and turned back to the giant house that used to belong to Sam’s mother. Well, he supposed it still did. He doubted they’d ever be able to separate the darkness from Abigail, but he wasn’t going to rule anything out. He was walking, talking proof that anything could happen.
When he made it back to the house, everyone was gathered in the entryway. Sam was wearing a pair of short black shorts and a loose tank top that hung low on her front and back, draping gently over her breasts, not showing much, but leaving little to the imagination at the same time.
Derek knew he should be more interested in the bastard they were about to raise from the dead, but he found a sudden lust racing through him. He winced and averted his gaze even as his hard-on pressed firmly against the fly of his jeans. For one, this was pretty much the worst possible time to pull Sam away for a quickie. Also, he hadn’t been with her since he came back. On some level, he’d known he wasn’t the same person from the moment he woke up. Now that he kept on doing more and more fucked-up things, he didn’t want to risk touching Sam.
What if he hurt her? He had bent the car roof without even trying, and he’d have much less control over himself when Sam was involved. She’d always had that effect on him….
When he looked up again, he saw her eyes were on him so he focused instead on the newcomer. “Welcome,” he said briskly as she walked around the entryway, touching everything, eyes bouncing over every bauble and decoration.
“Oh, I’ve always wanted to see how Abigail Harris lived, but she was never a fan of mine. She thought I was eccentric.” She let out a little giggle, and Derek wasn’t sure whether she was agreeing with the thought or she’d seen something funny. “You know, for someone as normal as her, she sure got herself in a world of trouble now, didn’t she?”
He stiffened at the insult to her, but Sam wasn’t about to take that. In a fraction of a second, her hands were engulfed in flames and she moved to stand in front of Storm. “I think you should remember who your host is at the moment.”
Instead of being scared, Storm smiled widely at Sam. “Look at you in all your finery. Claudia really did choose well. Bless her soul. She’ll need it. She has so many skeletons in her closets.” Storm’s eyes widened. “You should find those! I hear they can cause quite a stink.”
Sam met Derek’s eyes over the woman’s shoulder and he could see the uncertainty in her face. This was the woman they were relying on to tell them how to fight off the darkness?
“We’ll get looking for those skeletons right away. Why don’t you tell us how to bring Jackson back?”
“But only temporarily,” added Claire quickly. “Like, long enough to get him here, and then as soon as he gives us what we want, he’ll be gone.”
“The last thing we need is another soul sucker running around,” grumbled Bastian.
Claire looked questioningly at him, but Bastian wasn’t apologetic. “You’re fine in my book, but your kind and me haven’t always gotten along. Jackson especially.”
Claire crossed her arms over her chest and shifted her weight, as though trying to appear as strong as possible in front of Storm. “When I was under the sleeping spell, Claudia appeared to me and was very clear that you would be able to give us everything we need.”
“Well, she’s wrong.” Storm continued to walk around the room.
“So you let us bring you all the way out here and you can’t help?”
She tsked with her tongue and turned to face Claire. “For a species that is supposed to be extinct, you’re surprisingly demanding. Of course I can help. But I don’t have what you need. To complete the ritual, you’re going to need the cursed Byzantine blade and sand from all corners of the earth.”
Derek wondered whether she was just making up words.
“Okay,” said Sam. “Abigail has a map of cursed items. We might be able to find the location there.”
“Oh, I know where it is,” said Storm. “I just don’t have it.”
“All right,” said Sam carefully. “Care to share its location with the rest of us?”
“Claudia has both items. She would keep it close to the heart, where it would be protected.”
Derek met Sam’s eyes once more and they each reached the same conclusion at the same time.
“It’s in the vault.”
Sam looked up at the ominous dark building with almost no lights on at all. So different from the vibrant, bustling center she was so used to when Claudia had been in charge.
“So.” Derek looked up too. “Does this mean this is yours now?”
“I don’t know,” she said, not quite honestly. Yes, on one hand, Claudia had named her the successor, so the tower and all of Claudia’s properties would pass into her ownership. But there were so many things between her and taking control like that, that the very idea was almost impossible to imagine.
“Let’s go.” Derek threw the car in park and reached for his belt.
Sam reached out, putting her hand on his and stopping him. “I’ve got this.”
“You’re walking into a building overrun with a crazy mystical power and you’re going in alone? No. We’re doing this together.”
She had known he would be hard to convince, which was why she hadn’t been able to muster up the courage to tell him her true plan until now. So she reached up, cupping his face with her hands, and turned him to look into her eyes, willing him to see how serious she was. “I know this place like the back of my hand. I’ll be in and out in no time.”
“If your mother is there, she can kill you in a heartbeat.”
“That’s why I need to go. I’ve faced the darkness before and she’s always let me go. I’m not a threat. I’m an annoyance she has to deal with. If you’re there, she could be threatened. That’s when things will get dangerous.”
“I can’t let you go alone. Sam—”
“Tell you what. If you let me do this, I’ll let you take me on a date.”
“You’ll let me?”
“Yes. Because I don’t need your permission to do this and you don’t need my permission to do whatever you want to me.”
“That makes no sense, Sam.”
“That’s what makes it fun.” She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. She didn’t know whether she was trying to work her magic on him or whether he was working his magic on her. Either way, for a few brief seconds, she was able to forget about the maelstrom around her. This wasn’t her recently resurrected boyfriend and she wasn’t about to walk into enemy territory. It was just her and Derek.
Finally she pulled herself away from him and got out of the car before he could physically stop her. Though she could get away from him if she wanted to. Now that Claudia was dead, the protection charm wouldn’t protect him any longer.
Another reason why he shouldn’t be getting in the middle of anything. Even though the darkness had always been able to get around the charm, Phillip and his people could be anywhere. If he wanted to kill Claire for being a soul sucker, who knew what he’d want to do when he figured out that Derek had just been raised from the dead?
