"Did you know something, Abigail? Have you ever heard the story about how and why Levi was turned?"
I didn't answer him. He stood and held his hand out for Hannah. "My dearbrother was caught robbing our maker. I had gone along to stop him. We were both changed; both turned into killing machines. Taught that we were superior. That we would rule the world. We had the same goals, the same ambitions."
I shook my head. "Levi is nothing like you." But even as I said it, I knew I was trying to lie to myself. I'd seen the trace spells; I'd seen that he knew about the experiments, and hints that he'd participated and even approved of it, but I didn't want to believe it.
"Lies, I can hear the hesitation in your voice. The rhythm of your heart stuttered, and your breathing caught. You don't trust him any more than you trust me. Or you would have chosen him as your second. As it is you have a member of the Cult standing at your back."
I didn't know what to say. I hadn't known Levi was really an option as my second. "Whatever it is that you're here for Ira, just get on with it. I'm growing tired of vampire games and politics."
He rushed me and stopped right in front of me. I almost went for my knife but thought better of it. He was just trying to scare me. "This is your life, princess," he hissed at me. "I wanted to offer to turn you because I know Levi won't. Give you a chance to be a real princess of vampires."
Hannah giggled, and I felt her magic start to press against me. My pentagram warmed against my skin. "No, thank you, I rather like being a witch. Hannah, I suggest you pull your magic back, or I'll consider it breaking the truce."
"Magic for us wasn't off the negotiation list. You can't do that Abby." There was that condescending tone again.
I nodded and motioned to Merick. "It wasn't off limits for him either. Are we done here?"
He wasn't going to be able to get what he wanted, thanks to Oliver.
Hannah put a finger to her lips. "Can I?" she asked, and I wondered who she was asking.
"Go ahead, Hannah."
What the fuck? I pressed my lips together, trying to decide what to do.
Hannah strolled up to me and reached her hand out. I moved back. "Don't you fucking touch me." I put my dominant hand on the hilt of my blade and flinched.
Neither of the vampires missed it.
"Poor Abigail, wounded in the line of work?" Hannah's hand went toward my shoulder, and I grabbed her wrist with my other hand. "Step away."
She giggled and turned so she was gripping my wrist. It was a mistake. Her touch burned. I jerked away, but it was done. The magic crawled through me, the pentagram heated to the point where I swore it was burning into my skin.
I cried out, but I dared not take it off. That's what she wanted. Merick touched my shoulder and the burning faded. I snarled. "Pretty sure that counts as harming me."
Hannah tilted her head to the side. "I don't know what you're talking about."
I took a deep breath. "If there's nothing left to discuss, I'm done with this meeting." I spun away from her and started toward the exit.
"Don't you want to know what happened to your mother, Abigail?" Ira called after me.
I froze in my steps. I would not give in. I would not give in.
"You do, I can tell. You've been putting in all this effort to figure out who killed her. Negotiating with the Cult for information on her death by helping them with translating runes. Runes that Tobias already had translated."
I stiffened and glanced at Merick. "My father," he whispered, and I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
"I don't want any information from you." I took another step forward, and he appeared in front of me.
"I loved your mother before I introduced her to Levi and they betrayed me and my vision. You. You are that outcome, Abigail. You are what I've always wanted to create. A perfect hybrid."
I growled. "I'm not a hybrid. I am a witch, through and through. I do not crave blood; I do not need it to survive. I am a witch. My mother would never love a monster like you."
That was it. His eyes flashed red, and I didn't see his hand coming until it wrapped around my throat. He broke the truce. I smiled even though my air supply was being cut off.
"I fucked your mother enough that you could have been my child."
I spat on him with everything I could muster. He threw me away, and I landed at Merick's feet. He helped me up, and I tried not to show any pain. "Get out of our territory."
Hannah's magic crawled around me again, and I raised my own. The fireplace was lit, giving me something to use if I needed to. She walked around me while Merick kept his eyes on Ira.
"Abigail, Abigail, you've stolen the heart of my fledgling."
I raised a brow. "Really? Is this still about jealousy? Pretty sure you pinning me with your magic was revenge enough."
"Abby," Merick shouted just before Ira took me to the ground. I hit the ground with a grunt and Hannah's magic spread out. But Merick muttered something and raised his hand, a black circle appeared around Hannah, forcing the vampire to stop in her steps.
Ira grabbed the pentagram but cried out as if it burnt him. He dropped it but kept me pinned to the ground. I wiggled and gripped my knife in my boot, pulling it out and attempting to stab him.
Ira jumped off me before my blade could meet his flesh. I flipped up and dropped into a defensive stance. I was no match for him wounded, but my god I was going to go down fighting. I held my other hand out and called for the fire from the fireplace.
It came to me, forming a ball above my palm and I gave a wicked smile. Ira laughed. "I thought you were an elemental the night at the lab. Seems you have much better control now than you did then."
It helped that I wasn't drugged up. "I'm going to tell you again. Get out of our territory."
Magic crashed around us, and Merick cried out as his circle shattered and Hannah stalked towards him. He was trying to recover. I snarled and threw my hand out casting a fire circle around Hannah.
The bitch walked right through it.
"The thing you don't understand, Abigail, is that I am so much stronger than you think. Not only do I have magic, but I'm a vampire with the ability to make you feel safe. To get you to obey me."
Something crawled through me, and I knew that it wasn't her magic, but her vampire ability. My body started to relax and my magic boiled down. I tried to hold on to it, but I couldn't. My mind started to slip, and I knew I'd do anything she would ask of me.
This wasn't right. I wrapped my arms around my stomach, and the pain from the wound started to bring me back. It grounded me. I called on my magic and commanded the fire to surround Ira. This wasn't a magical circle, this was a pure circle of fire. I dared them both to walk through.
My body was aching from the amount of energy I was using, but I was riding high on the magic. "You've broken the truce. Leave. If you want to talk further, renegotiate."
Ira laughed, but they both disappeared. I waved a hand, the fire disappeared, and I let out a deep breath. I could still feel my magic humming through me, and I flexed my hands. I never wanted to feel that helpless again.
Merick looked at me. "Abigail?"
"I'm okay, don't worry."
"I can feel the magic crackling around you. Don't lose control. Rein it in."
I would. All I needed was a moment to gather my thoughts. Levi appeared, a worried look on his face.
I couldn't help myself. I gave a wicked grin. "Hello, Father."
Chapter Fifteen
"What are you talking about?" Levi took a step toward me but hesitated. "Abigail, what happened here?"
Mario appeared just a moment later, and my gaze flickered to him and then back to Levi. "Ira attacked me."
"He broke the truce." Levi looked around. "Merick had your back?"
I nodded. "You and I have a lot to talk about."
Levi shook his head. "We have nothing to talk about
."
"Like hell we do, Your Highness," I snapped, my magic swirling around me.
Mario cleared his throat. "Merick, I think it's time for you to go."
"Yeah, I don't think I want to be here for this conversation." Merick gave me a knowing look. "Find your calm, Abigail."
I nodded and tried to remember how to find my calm and my center, but my anger kept driving my magic forward.
Levi stared at me for a moment when Mario and Merick left. I walked over to his throne and sat down, my hands running over the smooth wood as I tried to find my calm. Wrapping one hand around my pentagram, I prayed that I would calm down and find the right words.
"When I turned eighteen, we promised each other no secrets."
Levi hadn't moved from where he stood. "We did."
"But you've broken that promise."
"To protect you, Abigail, everything I've done has been to protect you, and it has failed." His normally carefully blank face crumpled, and he hung his head. "All I wanted was for you and Elizabeth to be safe. To not have to worry, and then someone slaughtered her and Tobias and thrust you into my world."
"You could have given me to Oliver."
"No, I couldn't have. I told Elizabeth that I would take you and that I would do everything in my power to keep you safe. And it worked, until your case with Devon." He shook his head. "Your uncle decided he had to come back into your life, against my wishes, because we caught a rumor about Ira overseas."
"Life magic, Levi. The only reason I'm alive is life magic because you and Ira wanted to create a hybrid creature." I shook my head. "You used my mother to try and create a monster."
His head snapped up at that. "No, no I didn't. I loved your mother; I loved Elizabeth with everything I am. It was her choice to use the spell to save you. She asked Oliver for help; I didn't even know until I came to visit the hospital that night." He rubbed his eyes. "Elizabeth…her face lit up the moment she realized she was carrying. The moment you were born she held you so close because she knew what was happening." His voice broke a little bit. "You were so tiny and helpless, and the doctors gave you less than twenty-four hours to live."
I leaned back in the throne and watched him. "Why hide it? Why not tell me when I was older?"
"Because we decided it was best since I had just become king. And with Ira knowing, and his jealousy…"
"We all see how that worked out." I shook my head. "Now what? Now that the truth is out there, Ira will share this far and wide."
"We go on as normal. We keep it under wraps, you keep your job at PIB, and continue to be by my side when I meet with the council."
"Does the council know?"
He shook his head. "No, they know you're adopted and nothing more than that. This doesn't change anything Abigail; you just happen to have my blood in you is all."
He'd still stepped in to raise me; I wasn't sure why it was so important to me to hear him say it out loud. That I was his by blood, not by paper, but there was something in me aching to hear it. "You're so calm and collected about this."
"I got to raise you, and I raised you as my daughter. The adoption was paper, Elizabeth trusted me to do what needed to be done. You are my daughter Abigail. You always have been." He stepped up to me. "And now you know the truth."
I still had a lot of questions about him and Ira. I stood. "Ira said he was your brother."
"We are, which means you have two crazy uncles, not just one." Levi's mouth twitched into a smirk, and I realized he was making a joke.
"I don't think I can handle two of them." I shook my head. "He also said he loved my mother."
Levi's smile fell. "He did, and she loved him. Until she realized that he was planning on using her in his experiments."
"Like the ghost at the house."
Levi nodded. "Exactly. Your mother had her flaws, Abigail. She wanted a better world, and until we met, she thought the way to do that was through changing everyone. Until she saw your face, she thought the world was dark and cruel."
He pulled me into a hug. The door opened, and Mario cleared his throat.
"The Cult member has left."
I pulled away from Levi. "I need to go take some painkillers. I'll stay here tonight, but I'd like to return home tomorrow."
Levi looked like he wanted to argue but nodded. "How did things go with Melody Grace today?"
"Seems she got her hands on part of that tablet translation and a warlock as a partner. The working theory is that they are trying to bring back someone close to her."
He sighed. "I should have destroyed the rest of those notes."
"How would someone have gotten them?" I raised a brow. "Oliver said my…Tobias burnt the important parts."
"He did because he didn't want anyone to perform the spell. I wish I knew how the translation got out Abigail." He shook his head.
My phone rang, and he raised a brow. "You brought your phone into the meeting with Ira?"
"Remember that whole married to my work thing?" I answered it. "Special Agent Collins speaking."
"Abigail, do you happen to still be in town?" Liz's voice came over the receiver.
"No, but I can be there. What's up? What happened with Grace?"
She called something over her shoulder. "You're not going to like the looks of this. But she's dead and our other suspect? Gone like a ghost."
Gone like a ghost. "You mean her lawyer?"
"Yes, he just…faded away."
"Like your spell?" I could hear the panic rising in my voice a little bit.
"Yes." Which made sense if he was involved with the Cult somehow. Merick had never gotten back to me on how to draw Carson out; maybe he couldn't get approval from the other Cult members.
"How was she killed?"
"She was shot. Nothing fancy."
"I have a strong feeling he was using her to get those translations. False promises to bring back her loved ones." Much like Tomes had promised with his necromancy. But I felt like that was too neat of a death, and had a feeling Carson had something to do with it. "But we're not going to get answers?" I looked at Levi, and I could see the sadness forming in his eyes.
"We got answers, Abby. Meet me for coffee so I can fill you in?"
I glanced at Levi, and he nodded. "Okay, give me a couple hours, and I'll meet you at my regular shop." I disconnected. "Melody Grace is dead."
"Are you all right?"
"I'll be fine. I always am." I went and picked up my blade and put it back in my boot. My magic had calmed down now, but I didn't know if I was going to be able to trust my emotions the rest of the night. "Levi?"
"Yes, Abigail?"
"No more secrets?"
"No more secrets," he promised. "I'll answer anything you ask honestly. Now that you know."
Now that I knew I was his daughter, the last part of that statement hung in the air.
"Okay. I'll be back tonight."
"You can stay home if Mario can stay with you tonight."
I shook my head. "I'm not quite ready to trust him again. I might just stay home today anyway."
"Don't take your pentagram off."
I nodded. "Promise."
∞
I drove down to the coffee house and walked in. Liz was sitting in the corner with two cups of coffee sitting in front of her.
She looked at me and raised a brow. "You look exhausted."
"Yeah, well, it's been a long night." I tried to force a smile. "He killed Grace, didn't he?"
"Yes, and she killed Clarissa. It turned out that Starla was her sister and Nick was on the case, it was before he went into PIB. She and Carson killed everyone that was a suspect, using the demon, in order to have a human sacrifice for that spell. I believe that Carson was the one wielding the magic since Grace was a shifter. I think you're right, that he was using her because she had the resources to get the spell."
&nbs
p; I cringed. "Why Clarissa?"
"Abigail, Grace hated you. She had something against you the moment she met you, and it turns out that she knew all along that Clarissa meant the world to you. So she thought it only fitting -"
"To use her against me in the attempt of a black magic spell." I hung my head. I had always worried about people being used against me. It'd happened a few times over the years, and now Clarissa was dead because of it.
"I have to close Clarissa's case out since we got a confession out of Grace. Your demon case is considered open though, and they are pretty sure that Carson is the serial killer. Why he's killing, they aren't sure. But Grace didn't seem to know that."
"Of course she didn't, all she saw were his lies and his promises to bring back her sister. Carson's long gone, I'm sure, but I'll work on it until it officially becomes a cold case."
She reached across the table and squeezed my hand. "You'll get your guy."
I leaned back and sipped my coffee. I wasn't sure what to tell her because I knew the truth. He was gone, long gone, probably to kill someone else with a demon. I snorted.
"What?" she asked.
"I guess everyone really does have their demons."
Liz laughed and shook her head. We sat there and enjoyed our coffee, and for a few minutes, I felt that everything in my world hadn't crashed down over the last week.
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About the Author
A.L. Kessler is the author of the best-selling series Here Witchy Witchy. She resides in Colorado with her family and pets. Her addiction to coffee and chocolate fuels her creativity to bring her readers wonderful stories
Other Series by A.L. Kessler
Dark War Chronicles
Children of the Apocalypse
The Case Files of Abigail Collins
The Syndicate (with Mia Bishop)
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Everyone has Their Demons Page 20
