by Sophia North
Vlad, however, was not amused.
"What the fuck do you mean the onyx doesn't work? We've been sitting here this whole time wide-fucking-open!" Vlad turned to Gabe, his grey eyes simmering with barely concealed rage. "What do you know about the Dragon Curse?"
"Some, but not nearly enough considering the obsessive thoughts you and your charming wife have had on the matter since arriving here. So, might I suggest you bring me up to speed if you want my help."
Penny nearly choked. "And why would we want your help, High Holiness?"
Gabe smiled insincerely back at her. "Because unless you do, I will be forced to do use everything at my disposal to figure it out. An unpleasant experience for all involved, and one I advise should be avoided."
Vlad knew when to accept defeat.
"Penny, it's time. Trust me, love, all will be well. Tell Gabriel the truth."
Drawing in a shaky breath, she let loose. "I am a Dragon."
Gabe sat upright. Dragons were thought to have long been extinct. "And the curse?"
"That's a wee bit more complicated. How much do you know about the 1600s?" Penny asked.
That was the century Gabe had unexpectedly become Praetor and Legatus with the deaths of his family. He knew it well.
"Could you be more specific? It was quite a busy century."
Vlad picked up the tale. "The Terrors. What do you know about them?"
The Terrors had been an incredibly tumultuous period in Vamp history. Set off thanks to Haan's attempt to overthrow Lowerton's Council of Elders and install himself as Supreme Leader back in the early fifteen hundreds. He'd been executed for his efforts, but his fascination with the dark arts had resulted in a seed of corruption being planted. And from this seed the Terrors grew until it exploded in the 1660s.
The slaughter of vampyres over two centuries had been immense and resulted in the most unseemly behaviour to try and increase numbers again. Breeding harems were set-up and male vamp behaviour towards human women had been the worst ever seen.
The only solution Wilhalf, who was Grand Elder at the time, could find was to seek an alliance with the Fae in order to try and regain control of the madness.
As a consequence of the unholy alliance, the entire vampyre population turned on the fae folk believing them responsible for their transformation into hideous creatures. For those who had been the most depraved with human women were spelled to age a century for every vamp seed that produced a child as punishment.
It was from this act that the Serpent Brotherhood formed. With their hatred of all other supernatural beings intensified, their secret mission was to hide in plain view and await the return of their Master Haan. His prophecy to return and avenge the betrayal perpetrated on their kind was right in their wheelhouse. They eagerly awaited his resurrection, when his return would signal the dawning of a new age - the Age of Vampyre.
But alas, Haan's plans were thwarted by Dante and Vlad when he was believed to have been sent back to the fires of hell until resurfacing hidden inside the vampyre Darius. But through it all, the Brotherhood were tasked to find a way to reverse the damage done by the Fae and so the battle to break the curse had begun.
Of course, none of these details were known to the average vamp. Not even the Lowerton elite knew about the curse. Wilhalf had kept it from everyone, brought in the ban on breeding to hide the truth. If no vampyres were sired then the curse remained inactive. Made sense.
"The Dragon Curse relates to what the Fae did during the Terrors?" Gabe asked, careful to keep his tone neutral but already knowing the answer. The clue was in the name.
"The Fae were not responsible for what happened...my bloodline cast the spell," Penny explained.
Gabriel drew in a sharp breath. This changed everything. Dragon power was a force so great it was coveted by many a supernatural creature. "Does Alessio know the truth about the curse... who Penny is?"
"No. I did not trust him with the information," Vlad replied forcefully.
His distrust surprised Gabe. Alessio's decision to put Vlad on trial may have felt like a betrayal, but in his estimation the Grand Elder had little choice but to proceed as he did. Surely Vlad could see that. He understood how the weight of responsibility worked. And yet, he would still not forgive Alessio. Strange. There had to be more to it.
"What else are you not telling me?" he asked, determined to test his theory.
Vlad hesitated. "I did not regain my human form exactly as has been explained. Penny saved me."
This made Vlad what exactly? A dragon experiment? Shit, things were getting more and more out of control.
"I see. Well, this certainly adds to the pot, doesn't it? Dare I ask what Hannah's involvement in all this is?" Gabe returned.
"She's helping us find a way to break the curse so the Brotherhood will let my child and I live."
Finally the pieces fell together.
"Hence, your husband's desire to have you protected. You know, it would have been a hell of a lot easier if you'd just told me the truth, man."
"Why the fuck would I do that?” Vlad responded. “My track record with trust has not been exactly stellar lately. And as I have no fucking clue who you really are, I was not going to put Penny's life in your hands. Fuck, I wish Dante was here."
"He's not. So you will have to make do with me." Gabe didn't want to admit it, but it bothered him that Vlad did not see him as an ally. "But if the Brotherhood wants the curse broken, why would they send the Warlocks to attack Hannah?"
Vlad rubbed his chin. "I hadn't thought about it like that. For all intents and purposes, no one knows of her involvement. Perhaps it is your, er, interest in her that has placed the target on her back. Piss off any Warlocks lately?"
"I've pissed off my fair share, but none of late."
Hannah did not like to be talked about as if she wasn't in the room. And his 'interest' in her was not a topic she was too thrilled with having bandied about like it was nothing.
"Could it be your OO links, Hannah?" Penny asked.
"If you thought my involvement with the curse was a secret, I can assure you my OO connections are even more tenuously linked. I have not met with my OO mentor in months, and other than having dinner with Horatio, they would have no reason to centre me out...unless...yes, that's it. The box!"
Hannah got up from the settee. "Gabriel, where is the box from the Archives?"
"On the desk, but..."
She immediately went to it.
"I remember more now. In the Archives, I felt a...presence, shortly before I went to find the artefact my database search discovered. Then there was a strange bang and I found this, it had fallen from a shelf."
Vlad knew a thing or two about strange boxes in Archives. It had been how he'd found Haan's papers and realised the demented vamp's obsession with Dragons. "Fucking fae magic," he growled under his breath.
Hannah held it up. No one paid any heed to Vlad's cryptic comment.
"I think there is a hidden compartment at the bottom."
Gabe shimmered to her side.
Hannah carefully probed the inside of the box. Nothing happened.
Taking it gently from her hands, Gabe said: "I think I may know the way..." he pressed one of the more intricate carvings which resulted in a click.
A drawer slid open. Gabe stepped back to let her finish what she started.
Grateful for his consideration, Hannah gently opened the hidden drawer. Inside was an old key. Carefully lifting it out, as soon as she touched the iron surface a powerful vision flashed.
Dark...musty smelling. A door high on a wall...the lock...this key would fit it! Out of the corner of her eye she spotted something familiar...no, it couldn't be...
"It opens what looks like a safe door in a wall,” Hannah uttered in a low voice. “But the door was most peculiar...it appeared similar to those found in the illustrations of Alice in Wonderland...you know the one she needs to shrink down to in order to fit. 'Twas a strange door to be on a wall."
"Do you know where it is?" Penny asked excitedly.
"Sleep," Gabe commanded, sweeping Hannah into his arms the moment unconsciousness claimed her.
Outraged to see her friend under his Praetor spell, Penny leapt from the sofa. "What the hell are you doing? Vlad, he is using his Praetor mind fuck powers on Hannah!"
Gabe held up his hand. "Relax. Hannah will come to no harm. But I know the reason she is of interest to the Warlocks."
"And this required you to put her to sleep?" Penny snorted, unconvinced by his actions.
"It will require me to do much more than that."
Penny's ire went up tenfold. "And what might that entail, Praetor?" she asked, her voice edged in ice.
Vlad could see things were getting out of hand. Penny's highly charged state had her emotions all over the place. And emotion brought out the Dragon in her.
The idea of having to explain why one of London's landmark hotels ended up burnt to the ground was not a pleasant prospect. So he thought it best to ease the tension.
"Gabe, if you value having a roof over your head, I suggest you give Hannah to me. My wife is not someone you want to upset. And mate, you are on very thin ice right now."
The faint glow of fire emanating from Penny's hands made Gabe think twice about ignoring Vlad's sage advice.
There was no avoiding it. He would have to tell them the truth.
"Hannah's injuries were not as minor as I have led you to believe. The attack left her for dead and I had to do something a bit...drastic."
"Spill, Praetor," Penny demanded.
"I gave Hannah my blood to heal her."
Vlad whistled low. "That can't be a good thing. Granted my knowledge is limited, but I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess doing so is not standard operating practice for one as powerful as you."
"Praetor blood can have some unusual after affects. It links us in ways a vampyre to human blood exchange doesn't even come close to doing."
Penny froze. She knew the effects of sharing a blood blond with a vampyre, having consumed Vlad's while he was still one. A secret neither of them had told anyone. Not even Dante and Simone, their best friends. But from what little experience they'd had with the power, Penny could only imagine how much stronger a Praetor blood bond would be.
"So what you are telling me is that you are now mystically bonded to my friend and I am just suppose to be okay with it?" she screeched, finally finding her voice after the shock of hearing what Gabriel had done.
"Pretty much. But there is a twist."
Penny threw her hands up in disgust. "Of course there is."
"Hannah cannot know what I've done. I will have to erase her memories of the past twenty-four hours and will need the two of you to help me make the new ones stick."
Penny scowled. She didn't like the notion of being Gabe's accomplice, but what could she do?
"And if her memory stays intact?" Vlad asked.
Gabe was none too thrilled with the notion of erasing Hannah's memories either. It meant their passionate night would be gone too. But her safety was more important than his male pride in having her remember how much pleasure he'd given her.
"We can expect a whole lot more trouble from our Warlock friends, for they believe Hannah is the key to my demise. The particular branch in question will stop at nothing, and no one, to have their revenge."
"Forgive me, mate. But did you not say but moments ago you hadn't pissed off any Warlocks lately?" Vlad asked.
"Me personally, no. My bloodline, however, is another matter altogether."
Penny perked up. "You too? Maybe we should start a support group. What did yours do?"
"Fell in love with a witch Seer promised to the coven leader of the powerful Warlock bloodline in question. It didn't end well for all parties involved."
Chapter Twenty-Three
THE SMELL OF FRESH paint lingered in the air as Hannah wandered through largely empty rooms. Her first home. She'd finally flown the proverbial nest and it was both incredibly scary and exciting at the same time. It was hard for Hannah to fathom just how much her life had changed in a matter of weeks. And yet, a small voice whispered to her that all was not as it seemed.
Something was missing. But for the life of her, Hannah could not figure out what it could be.
If she had to narrow it down to a point where things started to feel off, it would have been a couple of weeks ago when a strange night at work led to her spending the night at Penny and Vlad's new flat.
Her memories were hazy about how it had all come about, but from what Penny had filled in it seems she'd gone round to their flat to update the couple on her research's progress. Apparently the discussion involved a number of drinks before Hannah had crashed in the spare bedroom.
It was all rather strange, especially the part about her clothing being ruined by a glass of red wine she'd apparently spilled on herself. Yet as time passed, it was the only story that seemed to stick whenever she tried to remember the events of the evening.
But she didn't have long to dwell on it.
Her days were soon filled with appointments about the house, with Lawrence and Penny as her self-appointed wing-people. The two had become insta-friends the moment they'd met to discuss Hannah's house warming party. And much to Hannah's horror, were now inseparable.
Their strong personalities were hard enough to handle individually, but together - good lord, it was like Barnum & Bailey wherever they anywhere. And they went everywhere.
Worried Hannah would go all Laura Ashley without their guiding her choices, they'd dragged her to various upscale furniture stores to find the base pieces that would set the stage for her new home.
At first she'd not been terribly enamoured with Lawrence's love for modernity, but eventually deferred to his judgement by choosing a few iconic pieces. A decision which proved to be a good one. The open concept kitchen sitting room area at the back of the house suited the massive white leather sectional with matching Bauhaus chairs perfectly.
The only other room to receive the same treatment was the Master bedroom suite. In there, she'd been drawn to purchasing a massive king-size platform bed and insisted on navy blue accents for the colour scheme.
She'd no idea why she'd been so adamant about the look, but her usual taste for four poster Fairytale beds just didn't appeal. She wanted upscale, luxury five star treatment in the room where she slept. It was a most bizarre change.
But sadly this was not the only strange behaviour Hannah had been exhibiting lately.
Every night she'd have extremely vivid dreams about Gabe making love to her...and steak. Strange, right? But steak aside, her dreams weren't the wildest experience she'd been having. That prize went to the mysterious dress shirt she'd wake up in every morning since the night she'd stayed at Penny's.
The first night it happened, she'd been extremely upset and had rung Penny in a panic about where it had come from. To which, her friend paused for the briefest of moments, before flippantly informing her it must be the one Vlad had given her to sleep in when she'd crashed at their place.
The news did not make Hannah feel any better about the situation.
Why the hell would she be drawn to sleep in Penny's husband's shirt? It didn't even smell like Vlad, not that she was prone to sniffing him. Rather it's slight scent reminded her of...Gabriel. And that possibility made no sense whatsoever.
Ding...dong. The doorbell sounded. Must be the next round of deliveries. They'd been coming thick and fast all morning.
Opening the door, Hannah did not expect to find an enormous bouquet of flowers on display."Hannah, is that you?" a familiar voice asked from behind the flowers.
"Melinda...what on earth?" Hanna said, recognising her visitor. Melinda Rowan, her OO mentor. This was unexpected.
Taking the flowers, Hannah carried them into the main hall and placed them on the newly delivered cent
re table. Turning round, she saw Melinda was still standing in the doorway, having not yet entered.
"Please, do come in." Hannah invited. "It's a bit of a zoo in here today."
Melinda smiled. "Your new home is lovely."
"Oh, thank you. I must confess, it's quite overwhelming. This is my first proper home. I think my parents may fly back from Peru to make sure I have not completely lost my mind!"
"I remember my first place, it wasn't anything as grand as this, mind you. It was a simple bedsit in Notting Hill - with shared facilities. Nonetheless, independence is independence. Congratulations."
"You needn't have been so grand with the flowers." Hannah said.
"I wasn't, they're not from me. Call it divine timing. The delivery man was walking towards the door when I arrived, so I signed for them."
Hannah was puzzled. If not Melinda then who?
Finding a card tucked within the large bouquet, Hannah opened the envelope. It read: Best Wishes on your new start...I'll always love you. Px.
Pierce! Why would he send her flowers and a card like this? Hannah felt guilty enough as it was...and how had he even known about the house? She'd never told him.
Probably some friend of his found out and informed him. She'd forgotten how well connected Pierce was in London.
Placing the card on the table, she turned back to Melinda. "Would you like a cup of...bloody hell, not sure if I can offer you a cup of anything. The kitchen has yet to be delivered."
Melinda shook her head. "Oh, not to worry. I don't mean to intrude. When I went to see you at work they told me you were moving today. I hope you don't mind me stopping by, but the reason for my visit is rather time sensitive."
Intriguing, whatever could she mean? Their line of OO work was hardly what one would describe as being of a time sensitive nature. "You've piqued my interest. Come, we can at least sit on something while you fill me in."
"Thought I might and this is a most fascinating case. Also, it's been far too long since we've caught up," she replied, following Hannah into the back sitting room beside the kitchen. "Wow, this is even more impressive than the main hall."
